Poultry Catching and Loading: Managing Acute Stress

Catching and loading of broiler chickens before transport is one of the highest-risk welfare events in poultry production. Understanding the science enables better practice and advocacy.

Key Facts

An estimated 150 million broiler chickens are caught and loaded for slaughter weekly in the UK alone
Manual catching involves grabbing birds by legs and carrying multiple birds per hand, causing acute pain and stress
Mechanical harvesters can catch birds with less physical handling stress but increase risk of injuries
Catching occurs typically in darkness to reduce flight responses but birds still experience significant stress
Bone fractures during catching affect up to 5% of conventionally caught broilers in some studies
Training catching teams in bird welfare significantly reduces injury rates in commercial settings
Pre-catch feed withdrawal is required to reduce gastrointestinal contamination during processing

Welfare Considerations

Catching and loading represents an acute welfare event affecting the entire global broiler chicken population. The combination of unfamiliar handling, inversion (being held upside down by the legs), crowding in crates and temperature stress during loading creates a high-intensity stress experience for birds that are already in compromised health from the welfare problems of intensive production. Fractures sustained during catching cause pain during the remaining hours of life. Catching team training that emphasises minimal physical stress, proper bird handling techniques and prompt loading significantly reduces injury rates and is a cost-effective welfare intervention. Mechanical harvesting systems, when well-designed and operated, can reduce injury rates compared to rushed manual catching teams.

What You Can Do

Advocate for mandatory training requirements for poultry catching teams in welfare standards
Support research and adoption of improved mechanical harvesting systems with lower injury rates
Engage with poultry certification schemes about catching and loading welfare requirements
Choose chicken from certified farms that include transport and loading welfare in their standards
Reduce poultry consumption to decrease demand for high-throughput catching that compromises welfare