Shocking truth behind fashion's feathers revealed in new report
Ostriches are being cornered, restrained and having their feathers pulled out with pliers to supply some of the world’s biggest fashion brands, a shocking investigation has revealed.
Rare evidence captured on farms in South Africa shows a male ostrich being pursued by workers before a fabric bag is placed over his head to obscure his vision.
His feathers are then cut and pulled from his skin using pliers, without any pain relief.
The disturbing findings have been published in Blood Feathers, a new report by World Animal Protection and Collective Fashion Justice exposing the suffering behind feathers used by luxury designers and fast-fashion retailers.
Investigators focused on farms and processing facilities in South Africa, where 75 per cent of the world’s ostrich products, including feathers, meat and skin, are produced.
At one farm, ostriches were described as being live plucked every six months.
Blood is often found inside the shaft of feathers removed in this way, leading the industry to coin the term “blood feathers”.
Farms and feather-processing facilities in the region confirmed that they supply YSL, Louis Vuitton, Dior and Chanel, as well as fast-fashion giant Shein.
Investigators also witnessed injured birds, animals displaying aggression and ostriches unable to stand. Some had been wounded by other birds pecking at their eyes and feathers.
Former BBC Strictly Come Dancing professional Flavia Cacace, a World Animal Protection advocate, said: “Feathers are everywhere right now, from runways and red carpets to major fashion moments and elaborate costumes. They’re presented as dramatic, glamorous, and fun.
"But Blood Feathers, the new report from World Animal Protection and Collective Fashion Justice, reveals what happens behind the spectacle. Investigators witnessed ostriches being chased, restrained, and having fabric bags placed over their heads to obscure their vision, while their feathers were cut or forcibly plucked from their bodies. They saw evidence of distress, injury, and feathers with blood on them.
"These feathers are not simply ‘naturally moulted’. They come from a commercial industry that confines wild animals and ultimately sends them to slaughter. Fashion brands and designers have the creativity and means to stop supporting this cruelty - and I urge them to do so.”
The fashion industry frequently claims ostrich feathers are collected when the birds moult naturally.
But investigators found that relying on natural moulting would be impossible on the scale required to satisfy global demand.
During the 2024/25 season, 150,000 ostriches were slaughtered in South Africa for the feather, meat and skin trades. More than 150 tonnes of ostrich feathers were also exported from the country around the world.
Ostriches are social and emotionally aware animals which can live for between 30 and 40 years in the wild.
However, birds raised for high-quality wing feathers can endure years of cutting or plucking before being slaughtered.
Those bred for lower-quality feathers may be plucked once before being killed at just 10 to 14 months old.
Dr Charlotte Regan, Campaign Manager at World Animal Protection, said: “Fashion's current obsession with feathers comes at a high, but often hidden, cost.
“Ostriches spend their entire lifetimes in captivity, having their feathers painfully plucked out or cut off, all to supply the demand from the global fashion industry. As this report makes abundantly clear, ostrich feathers are not a harmless by-product - they are a direct cause of animal suffering.
“From the runways to high streets stores, the fashion industry needs to take action to end the exploitation of wild birds for their feathers and leave this trend where it belongs, in the past”
New polling commissioned for the report found almost half of people in the UK, 48 per cent, believe ostrich feathers are collected through natural shedding. Just 16 per cent know that living birds are plucked.
After learning the reality of the industry, 87 per cent agreed that farming and killing ostriches for fashion should be banned, while 84 per cent said they viewed brands using ostrich feathers as less ethical and sustainable.
Emma Håkansson, Founding Director at Collective Fashion Justice, said: “It is utterly inconsistent for the fashion industry to have largely banned fur, only to shift to ostrich feathers which also come from a slaughtering industry full of suffering. Many brands, fashion councils and runways have banned ostrich skins, yet permit the feathers that come from the very same supply chain.
“With so many innovative fabric manipulation techniques and bio-materials available to create the same lightness, volume and movement consumers admire in feathers, there is no justification for this cruelty. These birds are exploited while the public is led to believe it’s done in a ’natural’ and ‘responsible’ way.”
Ostrich feathers have recently appeared across fashion week runways and on the red carpets at the Met Gala and Oscars, with the trend spreading from luxury fashion houses to fast-fashion retailers.
However, a growing number of industry leaders are rejecting the material.
Copenhagen, Berlin, Amsterdam and Australian Fashion Weeks have introduced policies designed to protect ostriches from cruelty, while retailers Wolf & Badger, Debenhams and Selfridges have prohibited the material.
FEVVERS, which produces a plant-based alternative to feathers, is also working with luxury brands including Stella McCartney to bring feather-like materials to the runway.
World Animal Protection and Collective Fashion Justice are now calling on London Fashion Week, brands, retailers and fashion events to adopt clear, time-bound policies to phase out ostrich feathers permanently.
