Emus are increasingly farmed for meat, oil, and leather. Their welfare needs as large, active ratites require specific management considerations very different from conventional poultry.
Emu welfare requires an understanding of their wild behavioral ecology. As naturally wide-ranging, nomadic birds that may travel hundreds of kilometers seasonally, emus have strong locomotor needs that small enclosures cannot adequately satisfy. Stereotypic pacing behavior — walking repeatedly along fence lines — is common in inadequately housed emus and indicates behavioral frustration from space restriction.
Social management is a significant welfare challenge. Emus can be highly aggressive, particularly during the breeding season, with dominant individuals excluding others from resources. Appropriate stocking density, feeding point provision, and group size management reduce welfare harm from social aggression.