Transport is one of the most stressful experiences in a farm animal life. Poultry transport in particular causes significant suffering with limited regulatory protection.
Poultry transport welfare is characterized by compression of multiple stressors into a brief but intense period. Catching and crating is highly stressful — the combination of novel handling, inversion, and contact with catchers causes acute fear responses. Transport in open vehicles exposes birds to temperature extremes, rain, and wind. Journey times without water access cause dehydration in already heat-stressed birds. Lairage at the slaughter facility adds additional waiting time. Birds arrive at slaughter in varying states of distress depending on weather, journey length, and handling quality. The welfare cost of transport is compressed but real — and occurs for every single animal slaughtered, regardless of how the earlier farm life was managed.