Catching and loading broiler chickens for transport to slaughter is among the highest acute welfare risk periods in commercial poultry production. Injuries, fear, and mortality during this phase affect millions of birds.
Catching and loading is a welfare crisis compressed into a short, high-intensity period that occurs for every batch of commercially farmed poultry. The combination of sudden intense human contact, inversion, darkness, and confinement creates severe acute stress for birds that have had minimal handling throughout their lives. Mechanical harvesting systems can reduce injury rates when well-designed and operated, but require significant capital investment. Training programmes for catching crews and lighting protocols offer more immediately accessible welfare improvements across the industry.