{"id":70579,"date":"2016-09-02T15:29:07","date_gmt":"2016-09-02T14:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/veganuary.com\/blog\/how-ducks-are-farmed\/"},"modified":"2023-04-19T12:46:58","modified_gmt":"2023-04-19T11:46:58","slug":"how-ducks-are-farmed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/veganuary.com\/en-us\/how-ducks-are-farmed\/","title":{"rendered":"How Ducks Are Farmed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the UK, ducks are reared for their meat, eggs, feathers and down, and some are also reared just to be shot. In other countries, ducks are also farmed specifically for their livers which are made into foie gras. Almost all ducks are reared under factory farm conditions, and are selectively bred. Some also endure painful beak trimming. Crucially, many are denied access to open water, which is a fundamental need for water birds, and without which they can suffer eye problems. Some even go blind.
\"WhitePhoto credit: CarolineG2011<\/a> via VisualHunt<\/a> \/  CC BY-SA<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ducks need water to control their body temperature and can suffer from heat stroke in crowded conditions. Lack of access to water can cause anxiety and stress-related behaviours such as head shaking and obsessive feather preening. Ducks need water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reared for their meat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ducks are kept in the same kinds of factory farm sheds as chickens and turkeys. Almost all are crammed into units with thousands of other birds where the feed and lighting is manipulated to maximise weight gain. Around 18 million birds are reared for their meat each year[1]<\/a><\/sup> and just two per cent are free range.[2]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lameness affects ducks, and is associated with rapid growth and weight gain. Researchers have reported high incidences of \u2018splay leg\u2019 or \u2018spaddle leg\u2019 in farmed ducks: a condition where the ducks\u2019 legs splay outwards, leaving the birds unable to stand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the filthy and overcrowded sheds, diseases can spread rapidly. Psitticosis, for example, can cause trembling, conjunctivitis and diarrhoea, with up to one-third of affected birds dying. [3]<\/a><\/sup> Aspergillosis is a fatal condition associated with stressful and unhygienic living conditions, and avian influenza, originally a harmless infection of aquatic birds, has mutated and spread under farm conditions, and now threatens both birds and people. Between February 2013 and May 2017, there were 579 human deaths from one strain of avian flu. [4]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Duck
Photo credit: Viva!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Reared for their eggs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most birds used for eggs are kept indoors under intensive conditions, with producers keeping tens of thousands of birds who lay millions of eggs per year. [5] <\/a> <\/sup>When their productivity declines, they are sent to slaughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feathers and down<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Duck feathers and down (the soft fluffy under-feathers) are taken to insulate and pad items such as pillows, sleeping bags and jackets. They are highly profitable and are \u2018harvested\u2019 from birds in different ways. Most commonly, they are taken during the slaughter process but they may also be gathered during the birds\u2019 natural moulting cycle or live plucked. During this process, birds are restrained and have their feathers pulled out of them. It is a painful procedure, and incorrect handling also can cause injuries to necks, legs and wings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foie gras<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Foie gras<\/a> (French for \u2019fatty liver\u2019), is produced by force-feeding the birds. Up to three times a day, a tube is pushed down their throats and food is forced into their stomachs. This causes their livers to swell up to ten times their natural size. [6]<\/a><\/sup> The process is so cruel it is banned in the UK, Germany, Italy, Argentina, Australia and several other countries [7]<\/a><\/sup> but it remains legal to import the finished product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Photo courtesy of Animal Equality UK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since only the males who gain weight quickly are used for foie gras production, the females are considered a \u2018by-product\u2019 and are usually killed within a day or two of hatching. For the males, force-feeding is violent and traumatic, with rough handling often causing injury or death. Most ducks bred for foie gras are kept in cages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Animal Equality film shows how ducks are reared for foie gras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n