Effective stunning before slaughter is the cornerstone of poultry welfare at the point of death, but current methods and standards leave significant room for improvement.
The welfare of poultry at slaughter depends on the reliability of stunning and the speed of subsequent death. Water bath electrical stunning, while widely used, has documented failure rates and requires birds to be shackled while fully conscious before stunning — a significant stressor. Controlled atmosphere systems avoid shackling and can achieve effective unconsciousness for entire batches simultaneously. The scale of poultry slaughter means that even marginal improvements in stunning effectiveness or reductions in pre-stun stress translate to welfare benefits for enormous numbers of individuals. Mandatory auditing, CCTV, and clear performance standards are the most impactful immediate interventions.