“The future of livestock farming clearly depends on animal welfare”
Esteban Casado García, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Canard SAFrom its base in the province of Soria, the company is leading one of the most significant transformations in the Spanish duck sector. Through its Malvasía brand, the company has committed to a production model based on research, adaptation to an increasingly demanding market, and animal welfare as its central focus.
In this interview, Esteban Casado reviews Canard's journey and the work developed together with NEIKER to achieve certification. Welfair®, the main technical challenges faced and their vision for the future of livestock farming.
Origins of the company and generational change
Canard SA was founded in 1989, when Esteban Casado's father, a veterinarian and a well-known figure in Soria's livestock industry, began raising ducks in the province. At that time, it was a very uncommon activity in Spain, where ducks were almost exclusively associated with foie gras.
The project began in a former rabbit farm that was converted for duck farming, with the support of local partners and strong ties to the rural community. From its inception, the company maintained a close relationship with the area. Over time, operations grew steadily until, in 2006, a slaughterhouse and a new factory were built in the same municipality.
Esteban Casado fully joined the management in 2020 with a clear idea: to relaunch the project and give a definitive boost to a line of work that had been developing for years, especially in the field of animal welfare.
The commitment to animal welfare and working with Welfair®
Since around 2010, Canard had been developing various R&D projects with a very specific objective: “to obtain a quality product without resorting to force-feeding.” When Esteban joined the company, this line of research became one of its strategic pillars. “We were clear that, if we couldn't replicate traditional foie gras, we at least had to develop a viable alternative based on solid animal welfare criteria,” he explains.
Contact with NEIKER was made at a trade fair in Bilbao. Although the proposal initially generated skepticism—given the strong association of duck with traditional foie gras—the technical challenge sparked NEIKER's interest, as there was no specific animal welfare protocol for ducks. Intensive work began in 2021, culminating in 2022 with the certification from the farm under the protocol Welfair®, marking a milestone for both Canard and the sector itself.
The challenge of the slaughterhouse and the improvement of processes
The certification of the slaughterhouse was one of the project's most complex challenges. For a long time, the stunning system was the main obstacle to its validation, forcing the company to review and adapt its processes. After multiple audits and adjustments, they finally achieved certification for the slaughterhouse for ducks that are not force-fed. This process also allowed them to strengthen other aspects of the slaughterhouse's operation, contributing to an overall improvement and greater professionalization.
Changes and improvements to farms
The implementation of the protocol Welfair® has brought significant improvements to the farms. Special attention has been paid to the outdoor environment, with the planting of vineyards, trees, and shrubs that provide vegetation cover, as well as the creation of specific bathing areas for the ducks. Annual audits have facilitated a dynamic of continuous improvement, incorporating small changes that, together, “have a real impact on the animals’ lives,” he notes.
For Esteban, animal welfare is a key element from both an ethical and a productive point of view: “Production and welfare are perfectly compatible. Animals in better conditions result in fewer losses and a higher final product quality.”
Market, sector and future outlook
At the beginning of 2025, Canard stopped using ducks specifically bred for foie gras production, with the aim of progressively converting all its farms to animal welfare-based models. Although foie gras remains a significant part of the business, the market's evolution is clear, both in Europe and nationally.
This transformation process has not been without its difficulties and resistance within the sector, but Esteban's conviction is firm: "Animal welfare will shape the future of livestock farming." In his opinion, a point will be reached where, as is already happening in countries like Germany, the United Kingdom, and Denmark, products without animal welfare certification will no longer have a place in the market. Beyond certifications, the goal is to offer consumers the assurance that the animals have been well cared for.