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Geese raised for down do not have a painless life. They are raised for down are live-plucked numerous times in their life. Some places that practice this will pluck the geese the first time when they are ten weeks old and then every six weeks thereafter, sometimes up they are four years old.
Goose Down Called Animal Cruelty
Please watch video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqIL-7njHFY
This procedure is extremely painful for the animal. Birds, including ducks and geese, do have pain receptors in their skin from which the feathers are plucked. Studies indicate that the heart rate and behaviors of the animals clearly indicate that having their feathers plucked most likely causes both pain and distress.
Imagine having all the hair on your head plucked out, one by one. Only imagine your follicles are really thick so that it's more difficult to pull them out. Now imagine having this done every couple months for four years.
It's not like these animals are raised for food and the feathers are the end by product. There are actual farms which do nothing but raise geese solely to pluck their feather to sell to manufactures that produce down jackets, pillows, or comforters.
We ask IKEA to make sure the down products they sell do not come from these cruelty farms.