Poultry Catching and Loading Welfare at Slaughter Transport

The catching and loading of broiler chickens prior to transport to slaughter is one of the highest-risk welfare periods, with wing, leg, and breast injuries common from manual catching and mechanical systems.

Key Facts

An estimated 1-5% of broilers are dead on arrival at slaughterhouses due to transport stress
Manual catching involves grabbing birds by legs and carrying multiple birds inverted simultaneously
Inversion causes blood pooling, wing flapping, and is associated with stress in caught birds
Mechanical catching machines reduce human labor but can cause bruising and bone fractures
Pre-catching feed withdrawal for transport is associated with hunger and metabolic stress
Catching at night reduces stress responses due to reduced bird activity and easier handling
Training and certification programs for catchers improve handling practices and reduce injury rates

Welfare Considerations

The period of catching, crating, and loading chickens is a welfare crisis point in broiler production affecting tens of billions of birds annually. The combination of physical handling stress, inversion, thermal challenge in transport crates, and feed withdrawal creates a sequence of welfare insults that many birds do not survive. Those that do arrive at slaughter in a compromised state. Improving catching welfare requires investment in catcher training, mechanical system design, reduced stocking densities that allow easier access, and reduced transport journey times. Night catching with dim lighting is one of the most accessible and effective welfare improvements available.

What You Can Do

Support certification schemes that require catcher training and limit transport journey times
Advocate for mandatory night catching during dark periods to reduce handling stress
Promote mechanical catching machine design standards that minimize bruising and fracture risk
Support reduction in stocking densities that allow easier and less traumatic access during catching
Choose poultry products from higher-welfare systems with shorter transport distances where possible