Ducks Out of Water All the UK's supermarkets sell factory farmed ducks - the only exception is Waitrose which now only sells 'free-range' ducks that now have access to water for swimming (although flock sizes of up to 4,000 show that this is still intensive farming). Viva! has video footage from all the main suppliers the main British supermarkets showing appalling conditions. The following letter is only a suggestion - please feel free to adapt it and add your own comments (or phone instead). For a list of contact details for supermarkets click here. Name Address   Dear I’m appalled to discover that factory farmed duck meat is on sale at your supermarket and urge you to withdraw it from sale. Farmed ducks retain many of the biological characteristics of their wild ancestors and yet they are kept in their thousands in huge sheds. According to the Council of Europe legislation (European Convention for the Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purposes), ratified by the UK government in June 1999, selective breeding for meat production has meant that ducks ‘may be unable to fly, have difficulty in walking and are subject to leg disorders’. In crowded farm conditions, some birds are knocked over onto their backs and are unable to right themselves. One major producer boast that on their farms, only one person will look after as many as 85,000 ducks - an impossible task. Sick or injured birds may be left to die - as witnessed by Viva! on a visit to a UK duck unit. The Convention states that ducks are "largely aquatic" and that "all breeds retain many biological characteristics of their wild ancestors" - and that farmed ducks should be “allowed the fulfillment of essential biological requirements, in particular in respect of water...” Clearly, UK duck farms are breaking the law and your supermarket is supporting this breach by stocking the meat. For example, these aquatic birds will never have the opportunity to swim in water. This deprivation is morally reprehensible and I’m disgusted that you allow it. At slaughter, ducks are hung upside down on a conveyor belt before having their heads dipped in an electrical waterbath. The Scientific Veterinary Committee of the EU are concerned that many ducks are not properly stunned and are therefore knifed whilst fully conscious. Please do not be a part of this cruelty by selling duck meat. I look forward to your response. Yours sincerely