A century of progress in waterfowl production, and a history of the WPSA Waterfowl Working Group

Waterfowl production has been on an upward trend and has become increasingly important around the world over time. The production of ducks worldwide in 2010 was 6-fold greater that of 1961, and that of geese was 9.8-fold over the same period. The progress in waterfowl production represents not only an increase in the quantity of the product, but also in quality. Waterfowl performance progress, genetics and breeding, reproduction, nutrition, management and housing, and product quality and utilisation are discussed in this article, alongside a review of the history of the Waterfowl Working Group (WWG) which was established in 1969 as Working Group 8 under the European Federation (EF). After moving to the Asian Pacific Federation (APF) in 2011, it became Working Group 2.