Pre-slaughter stunning of poultry is required in many jurisdictions to prevent suffering. Understanding the evidence base for different stunning methods guides welfare-centred advocacy.
Poultry stunning welfare is one of the highest-impact areas for animal welfare improvement per unit of regulatory change given the billions of birds processed annually. Water bath stunning, while widely used, has significant welfare limitations: the shackling procedure causes pain and distress before birds enter the stunner, and inadequate current can result in painful but non-lethal stunning. Controlled atmosphere systems that render birds insensible while still in their transport containers before any handling eliminate the welfare harms of live shackling. Multi-phase inert gas systems represent the current welfare gold standard for commercial poultry slaughter. Consumer pressure, regulatory requirements, and retailer certification standards can all drive transition toward higher-welfare stunning systems.