Effective stunning before slaughter is essential for broiler welfare. Waterbath electrical stunning carries risks of pre-stun shocks and stunning failures that controlled atmosphere systems largely avoid.
The period from shackling to stunning is among the most acute welfare challenges in broiler slaughter. Birds are hung upside down by their legs — a stressful and sometimes painful position — before entering the waterbath stunner. Pre-stun electric shocks occur when the birds make contact with the water at the wrong angle or current flows through the rails before stunner entry. Controlled atmosphere stunning avoids all these problems by rendering birds unconscious before any handling, but requires significant capital investment and represents a smaller share of the industry. Regular monitoring of stunning effectiveness — including checks for conscious birds post-stun — is essential for maintaining welfare standards in any system.