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Ducks

Farmed duck welfare - what we're doing

We're working to raise welfare standards for farmed ducks in the UK and beyond. Here are some of the things we're doing.

Developing welfare standards for farmed ducks

We encourage all producers to rear their ducks according to our detailed RSPCA welfare standards for ducks. We've developed these to ensure higher standards of welfare are met, from hatching to slaughter. Along with many other requirements, the standards specify that ducks must have full-body access to water to carry out their natural water-related activities, such as preening.

Research on farmed duck welfare

We commissioned the University of Cambridge to conduct a three-year research project looking at the best open water facility design to enable ducks to carry out their important water-related behaviours.

We consulted with the duck industry, including producers, vets, researchers and other poultry experts, to discuss the results of the research and consider how best to strengthen our welfare standards for domestic/common ducks in this area.

Our farmed duck welfare standards take into account research published by other academic institutions too. The research was supported by The Tubney Charitable Trust.

Find out more