The Foul Truth: Ducks

WANT TO KNOW THE FOUL TRUTH? YES!

I WANT TO HELP ANIMAL JUSTICE PROJECT END CRUELTY TO DUCKS NOW!

We rely on donations for campaigns, outreach, creative stunts, and undercover investigations like The Foul Truth. With your generosity, we can keep exposing the atrocities taking place on farms.

BECOME A MEMBER

By becoming a member we can plan our work more effectively to help animals. Start from as little at £5 a month and receive great benefits from us as well as a wonderful welcome pack! Join at: animaljusticeproject.com/membership

DONATE BY POST

Send a cheque made payable to “Animal Justice Project Limited” along with the donation slip to: Animal Justice Project 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX, UK

DONATION HOTLINE: +44 (0)203 2866380 Title

DONATE ONLINE Website: thefoultruth.org/donate Paypal: paypal.me/animaljustice Bank Transfer / Mobile Banking: Name: Animal Justice Project Ltd Account Number: 65751572 Sort Code: 08-92-99

GET ACTIVE! Take action for ducks today and help us end their exploitation! thefoultruth.org/gressinghamducks

First Name

Surname Address Postcode Email I ENCLOSE A DONATION OF:

£5

£10

£15

£20

Other: £

YES! I’d like to keep updated and involved with Animal Justice Project by receiving newsletters and campaigns via email!

PLEASE RETURN TO: Animal Justice Project, 27 Old Gloucester Street, London, WC1N 3AX, UK

FOR DUCK’S SAKE GO VEGAN.

THE FOUL TRUTH AN INDUSTRIAL-SIZED SECRET AN EXPOSÉ INTO THE BOOMING DUCK INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTING THE UK’S BIGGEST DUCK PRODUCER, GRESSINGHAM DUCKS! An industry that has fallen under the radar – despite killing the same number of ducks as turkeys each year in Britain – and one that has been rarely exposed. But we want to change that…

Animal Justice Project spent two months inside a Gressingham Duck farm – a company that dominates the British duck market, killing eight million ducks each year, and one that prides itself on prioritising “the health and welfare of our poultry”.

Ducklings often call to their mums for comfort and have a distress call for when they are lost and scared and can’t see her. The overpowering calls were of distress. They had no mums to come and comfort them.

DUCKS OUT OF WATER Gressingham ducks do not have access to water for bathing or swimming, only via small drinkers. An innate behaviour withheld from these ducks from day one; the psychological need for water goes unfulfilled. Open water is imperative for ducks to be able to clean and maintain a healthy body condition – they can even go blind without it. The ducks in these sheds were filthy and grew dirtier with age.

Their white feathers were stained brown from sodden bedding and faeces.

With each farm Red Tractor approves, this yet again highlights the worrying question: Does Red Tractor really mean anything for animals’ well-being?

The suffering we found was unfathomable.

The cries of the ducklings drowned out the churns of feeders and other machinery. The noise was overwhelming.

ived no red birds rece Lame and inju be killed ill soon they w

help;

Sick ducklings stumbled around calling for their mothers

Repeatedly we found lame birds struggling to walk or stuck on their backs. Paperwork

by Gressingham Ducks showed their ‘welfare checks’ were always completed by 3pm each day, leaving ducks alone and unchecked for up to 15 hours at a time. These lame ducks were incredibly distressed and crying out.

Their huge bodies – grown far faster than a wild duck – were unable to right themselves.

Out of water, they cannot cope. This was usually fatal.

Workers frequen tly held live birds by their necks

THROWN LIKE TRASH Lame birds who were found during staff checks would be handled by their fragile necks, which would then be snapped.

Their flapping bodies were then tossed like trash.

RSPCA guidelines state farmed ducks should not be carried by their necks at all as this can result in injury and distress.

Barns were overcrowded and lacked the basic needs for the ducks. In a shed of 6,500 ducks, there was only one drinker per 130 birds and only one feeder per 106 birds.

Each individual in these sheds had only 0.19m² of floor space. There is nowhere for them to escape to. Yet another luxury not afforded to them by Gressingham Ducks or Red Tractor.

One shed we visited had 12,000 individuals inside. A loud, crowded duck prison.

CROWDED, LOUD AND NOWHERE TO HIDE No peace. No quiet. No darkness. During our filming, we recorded artificial lighting being left on for as long as 47-hour periods. All standards state that a minimum of six hours of darkness should be provided to ducks.

These guidelines are often ignored – keeping lighting on stimulates ducks to eat more.

CHOOSE COMPASSION. CHOOSE VEGAN!

Ducks often got stuck on their backs due to their huge and disproportionate body size

Ultimately, they get heavier. Worse for their own health, but better for farmers who make money from their heavy bodies.

At the age of killing – just a mere six weeks old – ducks are rounded up using scare tactics. Workers shouted and waved their arms to gather the frantic birds. Once caught and thrown into crates, the ducks are transported to slaughterhouses. Here they are either hung upside down by their delicate legs and dunked into an electrified bath of water or they are put into gas chambers. It takes around twice as long for a duck to be gassed as it does a chicken as they can hold their breath for longer.

A heartbreaking adaptation to life in water that ultimately prolongs their painful deaths.

Gressingham Ducks is the industry leader in Britain, turning over £100 million annually. The ducks they kill and process are sold at many UK supermarkets and outlets: Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsburys, Coop, Asda, Morrisons and Ocado.

Another major outlet for their ducks is through Chinese take-aways.

Sheds were crowded, loud and frantic