Poultry Catching Welfare | Animal Welfare Hub

The process of catching and loading broiler chickens for transport to slaughter causes injuries and stress that represent one of the highest acute welfare risk periods in poultry production.

Key Facts

Manual catching involves workers catching 4-6 birds simultaneously by their legs
Wing fractures, dislocations, and internal haemorrhages are documented catching injuries
Mechanical harvesting systems reduce catching injuries but have their own welfare implications
Pre-slaughter mortality in transport is a key indicator of catching and loading welfare
Night catching reduces stress compared to daylight catching when birds are active

Welfare Considerations

Poultry catching welfare reflects the concentrated risk of handling millions of animals rapidly in conditions designed for throughput rather than individual care. Even competent catchers cause some injury - the welfare question is minimisation rather than elimination. Night catching, automated harvesting where available, training and supervision of catching crews, and monitoring of dead-on-arrival rates all contribute to reducing the welfare cost of this unavoidable phase of production.

What You Can Do

Support poultry welfare standards requiring catching crew training and supervision
Advocate for dead-on-arrival rate monitoring in poultry welfare audits
Choose chicken from producers investing in improved catching systems
Ask retailers about catching welfare requirements in their poultry supply chains