The catching and transport of broiler chickens at the end of their lives involves handling that causes significant injury and distress, and represents a major but often overlooked welfare failure point.
The final hours of a broiler chicken's life are among the most welfare-compromising — catching in the dark, being carried upside down by the legs, loading into transport crates, and the abattoir process all cause acute fear and injury. Catching injuries — bruising, fractures, dislocations — cause pain in addition to the acute stress of capture and handling. The sheer scale of the operation (millions of birds processed per week nationally) means that even small percentages of injury represent enormous absolute welfare numbers. Training for catching teams, mechanical harvesting investment, and maximum transport time reductions all reduce welfare harm at this critical transition point.