Ostrich feathers are just as deadly as fur
Every year, tens of thousands of these sentient birds are confined to barren feedlots, often to be brutally live-plucked and then slaughtered at as young as nine months.
The truth behind ostrich feathers in fashion
Fashion is one of the worst-offending industries when it comes to exploiting wild animals.
Every year tens of millions of sentient beings are farmed, hunted and killed to supply the fashion industry. It’s truly horrific and totally unnecessary.
While many brands have moved away from fur, feathers have emerged as a cruel alternative. Decorative feathers used in clothing and accessories often come from ostriches. Many people believe these birds naturally shed their feathers, but the reality is very different.
Behind the glamour of feather-trimmed dresses, shoes and handbags lies an industry built on intensive farming, stressful handling and the painful removal of feathers for commercial gain. Despite being promoted by some brands as a more ethical choice, ostrich feathers come at a significant cost to animal welfare.
This guide explores how ostrich feathers are produced for fashion, the treatment of ostriches on commercial farms, and why a growing number of consumers and businesses are choosing wildlife-friendly alternatives instead.
What you need to know about ostrich feather farming
What is an ostrich feather farm?
In the wild, ostriches travel vast distances with their herd. Their long powerful legs can help them run up to 70 kilometres an hour. But on feather farms, ostriches are stuck in barren feedlots and forced into unnatural social structures. They spend their lives trapped behind fences while their feathers are often plucked or cut to sell to the fashion industry, before they are eventually killed.
Today, the industrial breeding and slaughter of ostriches for their feathers generates millions of dollars in profit. There are two main kinds of ostrich farms; those that primarily supply high-quality feathers for luxury fashion brands, and those that produce skins, meat and lower-quality feathers.
Though ostrich feathers are often assumed to be a by-product of the meat and skin trade, feathers are often the most profitable part of the industry, especially on farms focussed on producing feathers for the fashion industry. The farms we spoke to confirmed feathers drive the largest profit, even if they also produce skins and meat.
What are ostrich feathers used for?
Ostrich feathers are becoming increasingly common in fashion, across big name luxury brands and in fast fashion too. They are used for everything from feather dresses to handbags, shoes and hats.
As fur has fallen out of favour, feathers have taken its place. This material is wrongfully being marketed to us as ‘desirable’ and ‘sophisticated’. But though the material might have changed, the suffering of wild animals remains. The cruelty has just been transferred to a different, innocent wild animal.
Exposing the myth of ‘natural moulting’
Do ostriches lose their feathers naturally?
In the wild, ostriches keep their beautiful feathers all year to help protect themselves from harsh weather and cold. They do not go through a natural moulting season.
The fashion industry continues to rely on the myth that ostriches regularly shed their feathers, and that any feathers used for fashion have been collected after ostriches naturally lose them.
How are ostrich feathers harvested?
Ostrich farms use multiple cruel methods to extract feathers from an ostrich’s skin: live plucking, feather cutting and post-slaughter plucking.
LIVE PLUCKING:
- Live plucking means plucking feathers straight from a live ostrich’s skin. Most of the time, these feathers haven’t had a chance to fully grow and are still immature. There is evidence that this practice incredibly painful for ostriches.
- Feathers can also be plucked from an ostrich after they are slaughtered.
FEATHER CUTTING:
- Feather cutting involves cutting off an ostrich’s feathers above the bloodline.
- Sadly, there is often a second more painful step to feather cutting called ‘shaft removal’. When left alone, an ostrich’s feather shaft will fall out by itself. But to speed up the regrowth of new feathers, farms will prematurely rip out the shaft from an ostrich’s skin. This process can be just as painful as live plucking, meaning there is no real difference between plucking or cutting.
While many people assume ostriches are not killed for their feathers, there is no feather production system that does not ultimately end in the death of ostriches. Once an ostrich’s feather quality declines as they get older, or if they get sick, they are often sent to a slaughterhouse. Ostriches bred for lower quality feathers are killed at barely one year old. The devastating truth is ostriches are always eventually killed for their feathers.
Cruelty on ostrich feather farms
Ostrich feather production relies on intensive industrial farming, painful live feather removal and rough handling of the animals. This is deliberately designed to allow ostrich farms to make the most amount of money possible.
Ostriches are kept in barren feedlots much smaller than the range they would explore in the wild. These deeply social and emotional animals are forced into unnatural herd groups, resulting in aggression and fights. Many ostriches suffer wounds from pecking at each other’s eyes and feathers. They often don’t have access to plants or the food they would eat in the wild, instead being fed lucerne which doesn’t come close to meeting their nutritional needs.
If an ostrich gets sick or hurt, it’s not uncommon for them to not receive any kind of vet treatment. Instead they are sent off to slaughter as it’s cheaper than providing the care they need.
End fashion cruelty
Pledge to not purchase, wear or promote any wild animal skins, feathers, or wild animal fur products.
Feathers are the new fur - the rise of feathers in fashion
Feathers are increasing on red carpets and runways
Feathers are everywhere right now - from red carpets at the Met Gala and Oscars, to recent collections from Valentino, Chanel and Dior.
Most luxury fashion brands abandoned fur once customers saw the horrific cruelty animals endured on fur farms. But some still consider ostrich feathers to be cruelty-free despite the immense suffering of ostriches on feather farms. Luxury fashion houses are responsible for boosting this trend, with ostrich feathers trickling down to fast fashion giants like Shein.
As far as Fashion Weeks go, World Animal Protection has been engaging with New Zealand Fashion Week (NZFW), urging them to ban ostrich feathers and create and implement a wildlife friendly policy. Sadly, NZFW has refused to implement a policy that protects wildlife farmed for fashion.
Call on NZFW to go wildlife free
Please urgently help to send an email to New Zealand Fashion Week organisers asking them to go wildlife free.
What are some cruelty-free alternatives to feathers?
In good news, some in the industry are choosing kindness and abandoning feathers. Karen Walker, Glassons, The Iconic and ASOS have all put policies in place to ban ostrich feathers from their collections.
And Fashion Weeks are shifting too, across the ditch Melbourne Fashion Week, Australian Fashion Festival and Australian Fashion Week have all introduced wildlife-friendly policies that include a ban on ostrich feathers.
Some fashion pioneers are proving designers can still achieve the movement and lightness of feathers without the cruelty.
Stella McCartney launched her 2026 Spring/Summer collection featuring material innovation ‘FEVVERS’. This entirely plant-based material looks incredibly similar to ostrich feathers, achieving the same floaty, fluffy appearance without needless animal suffering.
Helping birds keep their feathers
A growing number of fashion brands and industry leaders choose to leave feathers off the runway and out of their collections.
You can help protect ostriches from fashion cruelty
Together, we can create a kinder future of fashion
Image credit: Collective Fashion Justice
The fashion industry must act now to leave animal exploitation in the past and instead choose wildlife-free materials.
With your help, together we’re calling on fashion giants to choose a wildlife friendly future.
We’re calling on brands, retailers and fashion week events to adopt clear, time-bound policies to phase out ostrich feathers - and all wild animal materials – for good.
Together we are showing the fashion industry that there is no ethical justification for the use of ostrich feathers.
Donate to protect animals
Magnificent ostriches farmed for their feathers are trapped inside barren yards, left hungry and exhausted.
Cruelty is out of Fashion
Read our 'Cruelty is out of Fashion' report and learn how millions of wild animals suffer every year for the profits of fashion brands.
Call on NZFW to go wildlife free
Please urgently help to send an email to New Zealand Fashion Week organisers asking them to go wildlife free.