South African ostrich farms are using mechanical pluckers and other methods to remove feathers from live birds destined for major luxury fashion brands, in practices described as cruel and painful by animal welfare organisation World Animal Protection.
The organisation said on Monday that a new investigation conducted with Collective Fashion Justice documented workers cornering ostriches, covering their heads with bags and cutting or pulling out their feathers without administering pain relief.
The findings are contained in a report titled Blood Feathers, which examines conditions on commercial ostrich farms and feather-processing facilities in South Africa.
South Africa accounts for about 75 per cent of the global ostrich market, with the industry producing meat, leather and feathers.
According to the investigation, South African farms and feather-processing facilities have supplied feathers to luxury fashion brands including YSL, Louis Vuitton, Dior and Chanel, as well as fast-fashion retailer Shein.
World Animal Protection said some farms cut feathers above the bloodline while they were still growing and supplied with blood before pulling them from the birds’ skin with pliers. The organisation said the process was repeated on some ostriches approximately every six months.
The presence of blood in the shafts of such feathers has given rise to the term “blood feathers”, according to the report.
“While this may seem like an alternative to live plucking, this investigation uncovered evidence showing that the process is extremely distressing for the ostriches involved,” World Animal Protection said.
The investigation also reported finding injured birds, including ostriches that appeared unable to stand, as well as birds with wounds reportedly caused by other ostriches pecking at their eyes and feathers.
“Feathers are the new fur – it’s the same cruelty, just with a different animal,” Olivia Charlton, campaign manager at World Animal Protection, said.
“There’s nothing natural about pulling out a bird’s feathers with pliers. It’s time fashion took its head out of the sand.”
Emma Hakansson, founding director of Collective Fashion Justice, said it was “utterly inconsistent” for fashion brands to reject fur while continuing to use ostrich feathers, which she said were linked to a slaughtering industry involving animal suffering.
She argued that advances in textile production and bio-materials offered alternatives capable of reproducing the lightness, volume and movement associated with feathers.
World Animal Protection said the findings also challenged claims that ostrich feathers used in fashion were collected solely during the birds’ natural moulting process.
Citing data obtained from the South African government, the organisation said more than 150 tonnes of ostrich feathers were exported from South Africa during the 2024–25 season, while about 150,000 ostriches were slaughtered for the feather, meat and skin trades.
South Africa has a long history in the ostrich feather trade. In the early 20th century, ostrich feathers were reportedly the country’s fourth-largest export after gold, diamonds and wool, with strong demand from the fashion industry contributing to a major boom in the trade.
Leave a comment