Poultry Catching and Loading Welfare

The catching and loading of poultry before transport to slaughter is a high-risk welfare event affecting billions of birds annually. Injuries, fractures, and mortality during this phase are preventable with improved methods and training.

Key Facts

Manual catching of broiler chickens involves teams catching birds by their legs and loading them into transport modules, causing significant handling stress
Fracture rates during catching and transport have been estimated at 2-5% of birds, representing tens of millions of fractures in major producing countries annually
Automatic chicken catching machines (ACCMs) reduce per-bird handling time but can cause wing and leg injuries if not properly calibrated and maintained
Dim lighting during catching reduces fear responses and flight attempts, significantly reducing injury rates compared to catching in brighter conditions
Training catchers in appropriate handling techniques and monitoring post-slaughter wing and leg fracture rates provides feedback for welfare improvement

Welfare Considerations

Catching and loading represents a concentrated welfare event where large numbers of birds experience handling stress, fear, and physical injury within a short period. Birds are caught by their legs, inverted, and placed in transport modules in a process that is inherently stressful and carries fracture and dislocation risk. Post-mortem examination of wing and leg injuries at slaughter provides a measurable welfare outcome that can be traced back to catching quality. Welfare improvements in catching require investment in catcher training, appropriate lighting management, well-maintained equipment, and feedback systems that connect injury data to specific catching teams and operations. The scale of the welfare impact — across billions of birds annually — means that small percentage improvements in injury rates translate to enormous reductions in total suffering.

What You Can Do

Support poultry welfare standards that require catcher training and post-slaughter welfare outcome monitoring
Advocate for dim lighting requirements during poultry catching operations to reduce fear and injury
Choose poultry products from certified higher-welfare systems with documented low injury rates at slaughter
Support research into catching equipment design that minimises injury while maintaining operational efficiency
Reduce poultry consumption where possible and prioritise highest-welfare options when purchasing