Ostrich feathers used in fashion cause animal suffering, investigation finds

The use of ostrich feathers in the fashion industry causes suffering among the birds, animal protection organization, World Animal Protection, says following an investigation conducted with Collective Fashion Justice, which campaigns against harmful practices in the fashion industry. Investigators from the two organizations gathered evidence at three commercial ostrich farms in South Africa.

The organizations say many people mistakenly believe ostrich feathers are collected after naturally falling out. That is not the case, according to their Blood Feathers investigation report.

It includes undercover footage showing feathers being forcibly pulled from live ostriches without anesthesia. “Ostrich feathers are the new fur,” says Wieke van der Kleij, program manager at World Animal Protection. She says the investigation shows that there is “no animal-friendly way” to collect the feathers.

Van der Kleij says many people wrongly regard ostrich feathers as harmless. “The undercover footage shows what is being done to ostriches out of sight of consumers,” she says. “We hope this investigation raises awareness among both consumers and the fashion industry.”