Poultry Catching and Handling Welfare

Catching poultry for slaughter or transport is one of the most stressful and injury-causing procedures in the poultry industry. Both mechanical and manual catching cause significant welfare problems.

Key Facts

An estimated 800 million chickens are caught by hand for slaughter in the UK annually
Catching causes wing and leg fractures, dislocations, and haemorrhage
Mechanical chicken catchers reduce human labour but still cause significant injury
The catching process is typically carried out in darkness to reduce panic
Birds may be held upside down by the legs for extended periods before loading

Welfare Considerations

Catching is a welfare-critical point in the poultry supply chain that receives relatively little attention compared to rearing conditions. Rough handling causes fractures and bruising. Upright catching and transport in modules reduces injury compared to manual catching by the legs. The transition from lighting to darkness causes temporary blindness and disorientation. Well-trained catching crews using correct technique cause significantly less injury than poorly trained crews working under time pressure. Welfare at this stage is monitored by slaughterhouse post-mortem inspection data.

What You Can Do

Choose chicken from farms using catching cage enriched modules with lower injury rates
Support campaigns for mandatory catching injury monitoring in poultry supply chains
Advocate for RSPCA Assured and equivalent standards that include catching requirements
Ask retailers about their poultry catching welfare standards
Support research into lower-injury catching systems