Ninety-nine U.S. farms produced ducks for the American market, along with several dozen in Canada. But other abuses, Ornelas noted, are not. Although the duck barns are beside Brome Lake, in Knowlton, Quebec, the ducks reared there never even see the water.
Ducks are aquatic birds.
Denied this fundamental requirement, they can't preen properly and find it difficult to keep warm. Without water, they also often develop eye problems that can result in blindness. About one duck in two dozen is still conscious when killed, Ornelas said. At one abattoir in Wales, they saw two pigs regain consciousness as they hung by a hind leg, being bled. The animals struggled so violently that they fell out of the shackles.