The catching and loading of poultry for transport and slaughter is one of the highest-risk welfare events in the production cycle. Injury, bone fractures and mortality during this brief period represent preventable welfare failures.
Poultry catching welfare is a brief but intense welfare event at the end of every bird's production life. Manual catching — grabbing birds by the legs for loading into transport crates — causes acute handling stress and frequent wing fractures. Poor technique multiplies injury risk significantly. Mechanical catching machines that gently scoop birds onto conveyor belts reduce both fracture rates and handling stress in research comparisons. Night-time catching in dimmed lighting reduces bird activity and stress responses. Training catchers in humane technique — using both hands, minimising the number of birds caught simultaneously, avoiding dropping — reduces injury rates measurably. Pre-slaughter welfare regulations require that birds are caught without causing unnecessary suffering — a standard that is routinely violated in high-speed commercial catching operations.