Animal Welfare

FAQ

Animal Welfare

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Animal Welfare
Tierschutz

Is the feather bedding industry against animal welfare?

 
No, on the contrary: The feather bedding industry is rather benefiting from correct animal husbandry, even if the manufacturers neither keep animals nor produce meat and are not involved in the slaughtering process.
 
Birds that are kept in good condition and are well treated not only yield good meat, but good by-products as well in the form of high-quality filling material, which is very easy and cost-effective to process yet also saves resources as the processing of high-quality primary components may be organised, for instance, in a more energy-sav
 
No, on the contrary: The feather bedding industry is rather benefiting from correct animal husbandry, even if the manufacturers neither keep animals nor produce meat and are not involved in the slaughtering process.
 
Birds that are kept in good condition and are well treated not only yield good meat, but good by-products as well in the form of high-quality filling material, which is very easy and cost-effective to process yet also saves resources as the processing of high-quality primary components may be organised, for instance, in a more energy-saving way and is, thus, more cost-effective.
 
Tierschutz

Are there other ways of collecting feathers and down, for instance from live ducks and geese?

 
Duck feathers and down stem from dead animals: As far as we know, duck down and feathers are exclusively collected after the slaughtering.
 
In geese, the gathering of feathers from the live animal, the so-called harvesting of feathers during the moulting season, is permitted by law.
 
Duck feathers and down stem from dead animals: As far as we know, duck down and feathers are exclusively collected after the slaughtering.
 
In geese, the gathering of feathers from the live animal, the so-called harvesting of feathers during the moulting season, is permitted by law. There are clearly defined rules available in gathering feathers from live animals which are defined for instance in the European Convention for the Protection of Animals kept for Farming Purposes, the standard on the keeping of geese for the purpose of plucking and the national laws concerning animal welfare. According to that, feathers and down must not be plucked, only mature feathers and down which have already been shed from the animal body may be removed.
 
Tierschutz

Which criteria apply to the proper gathering of feathers in live geese (=the gathering of feathers in live geese during the moulting period)?

The proper performance has to conform to quite specific regulations. The most important criteria in this respect are:
  • await the exact moment of moulting (moulting = the natural process of shedding and regrowing of the plumage)
  • the plumage must not be removed completely, but only be “thinned out”.
 
The proper performance has to conform to quite specific regulations. The most important criteria in this respect are:
  • await the exact moment of moulting (moulting = the natural process of shedding and regrowing of the plumage)
  • the plumage must not be removed completely, but only be “thinned out”.