Significant progress in broiler chicken slaughter welfare has occurred through controlled-atmosphere stunning adoption, driven by corporate commitments and regulatory pressure.
The adoption of controlled-atmosphere stunning in broiler slaughter represents one of the most significant welfare improvements in the poultry industry over the past decade. Traditional water-bath stunning is inherently unreliable: variation in bird size, line speed, and equipment calibration means a significant proportion of birds are inadequately stunned and experience the pain and distress of neck cutting while conscious. CAS systems overcome this by rendering entire transport crates of birds insensible before live-hang and shackling — eliminating the pain of the live-hang process as well as the risk of inadequate stunning. Corporate commitments through the Better Chicken Commitment have driven significant CAS investment, particularly in European markets.