Poultry Catching and Loading Welfare

The catching and loading of broiler chickens for transport to slaughter is among the most stressful and injury-prone events in their lives, caused by manual or mechanical handling of large flocks.

Key Facts

Up to 30% of broiler wing fractures occur during catching and loading operations
Manual catching involves catching birds by one or two legs causing bone stress
Mechanical harvesting machines have reduced labor requirements but injury rates vary
Catchers work at high speed in dark, ammonia-laden conditions creating fatigue and error risks
Birds processed at night when they are calmer experience lower stress than day catching

Welfare Considerations

Catching represents a welfare crisis compressed into minutes after weeks of farm life. The scale of the operation — catching thousands of birds per hour — creates conditions where individual animal welfare is nearly impossible to ensure. Birds are caught by their legs, causing fear and potential fracture, then transported in crates to the processing plant. Night catching reduces some stress but does not eliminate the physical handling challenge. Mechanical systems can be either better or worse than manual catching depending on design and operation speed. Improving catching welfare requires reduced speed targets, better equipment design, and training programs emphasizing careful handling.

What You Can Do

Support poultry welfare certifications that include catching and loading welfare standards
Advocate for maximum catching speed limits and injury rate monitoring requirements
Choose poultry from producers using welfare-conscious mechanical harvesting systems
Support research into lower-stress catching and loading methods for broiler chickens