In fact, according to recent data compiled by Faunalytics, more ducks are killed for food each year than cows, pigs, and sheep—combined.
Ducks need your voice! So, here are a few facts we bet you didn’t know—and how you can help ducks today.
Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Ducks
Macka and Milo
Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Ducks
Macka and Milo
Ducks may not come to mind first when you think of animal agriculture, but these intelligent and social birds are the second-most commonly slaughtered animals on earth.
1. Ducks have different accents depending on where they live
If you listen closely, you may notice that not all ducks sound the same. In the countryside, ducks make quieter or longer sounds, while those in cities are louder to make themselves heard.
2. Ducks can see UV light
Ducks see the world in a special way that humans cannot! Like cats, ducks can see ultraviolet light. Plus, they have a nearly 360-degree field of vision compared to humans’ 180 degrees.
3. Ducks prefer to live in large groups
As socially and emotionally complex animals, ducks prefer to live in large groups known as “flocks” or “waddlings.” This also helps to keep them safe from predators.
Rad, Dobie, Milo, Macka
4. Ducks have best friends
While there’s strength in numbers, ducks may form particularly strong bonds with certain other ducks—meaning they have best friends, just like we do!
5. Ducks can sleep with one eye open
Part of a duck’s brain can remain active while the bird is sleeping, which is known as experiencing “unihemispheric sleep.” They may keep one eye open to watch out for danger.
6. Ducks prefer the colors green and blue
Do you have a favorite color that you gravitate toward? Well, it seems ducks do, too! Researchers found that ducks preferred green or blue over red and white.
7. Ducks can live for up to 10 years
On average, ducks live for around 10 years. Sadly, in animal agriculture, ducks raised for meat are typically killed at just 7-8 weeks old—a tiny fraction of their natural lifespans.
8. More than 4 billion ducks are slaughtered for food
Each year, billions of ducks are raised and killed for food worldwide (and 26 million in the U.S. alone). When it comes to the most land animals slaughtered annually, they are behind only chickens.
9. Many countries and one U.S. state have banned cruel foie gras, made by force-feeding ducks and geese
To produce foie gras, a “luxury” dish, ducks and geese are force-fed through tubes forced down their throats until their livers swell to 10 times their natural size. Due to the cruelty of this practice, foie gras is banned in multiple places, including many European countries, the U.S. state of California, and New York City.
10. Live in Rhode Island or know someone else who does? YOU can help ban foie gras in the Ocean State!
The people of Rhode Island are opposed to one of the most extreme forms of animal cruelty: force-feeding ducks and geese for foie gras. In fact, 7-in-10 Rhode Islanders support a foie gras ban. Yet, the state Senate has not held a vote on SB 403—the bill that would finally ban the production and sale of foie gras in Rhode Island. Click here to read more and take action today!
Lemongrass
