Avian influenza outbreaks trigger mass culling of poultry flocks. The welfare implications of culling methods and the alternatives to intensive farming that reduce outbreak risk are significant.
Avian flu culling welfare failures occur at enormous scale during outbreak responses. Ventilation shutdown plus heat — adding supplemental heat to cause heat stroke in sealed buildings — is criticized by welfare scientists as causing extreme suffering over extended periods. The scale of modern outbreaks means that millions of birds may be culled using whatever method is available rather than optimal welfare-compatible methods. The structural conditions of intensive poultry farming — thousands of birds in high-density housing — create the conditions for rapid disease spread that necessitates mass culling. Reducing stocking density and improving biosecurity reduces outbreak severity, while pre-position of welfare-compatible killing equipment reduces the welfare cost of culling when outbreaks occur.