Meanwhile the cruelty suffered by farm-reared ducks deprived of any access to water, around two-thirds of them currently, is also giving the RSPCA cause for concern.

There are no legal requirements for ducks , which are water fowl, to be given open water to bathe in, and neither the British Poultry Council nor the National Farmers Union have sensibly made this a stipulation for humanely rearing the birds.

In a recent YouGov survey of 2,212 people more than 80% said that they had never thought about how farmed ducks were reared, and 80% that they agreed with the statement “I am appalled that ducks farmed for their meat never get access to bathing water”.