Livestock

Farmed Chicken Catching and Handling Welfare

Catching and handling of chickens for slaughter transport causes significant welfare problems.

Key Facts

Manual catching of broilers causes 90% feather damage rates
Broken wings and legs occur in 1-5% of manually caught birds
Mechanical harvesters reduce injury rates when properly operated
Birds are typically transported at night when calmer but heat stress remains a risk

Welfare Considerations

The catching process — typically by teams grabbing birds by the legs in dim lighting — causes acute fear and physical injury. Multiple joint dislocations and breaks occur during manual catching. Birds arriving at slaughter plants with catching injuries experience pain throughout the transport journey. Mechanical harvesting systems and improved manual catching training can substantially reduce this welfare burden.

What You Can Do

Support mandatory mechanical harvesting standards in high-density broiler systems
Advocate for catching injury rate monitoring and reporting
Choose higher welfare certified chicken that includes catching standards
Back research into low-stress catching methods for poultry