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- Animals used for Food
- Ducks
- Bill mutilation
Bill mutilation
Last updated 23 August 2025
It is legal in Australia for ducks to have their bills 'trimmed', which is the painful removal of the tip of their beaks. In Australia, farmed animals are exempt from animal protection laws afforded to companion animals like cats and dogs; as a result, it is legal for this procedure to be performed without the use of any pain relief. Further, this mutilation can cause ducks chronic, life-long pain.
Bill trimming is undertaken to reduce peck injuries and cannibalism among flocks, a behaviour strongly associated with stress and living in close confinement. Ducks are not naturally aggressive animals and seldom fight with one another in the wild; these behaviours are a direct result of factory farming.
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