Pre-slaughter stunning eliminates conscious perception of slaughter. Understanding the welfare implications of different stunning methods for poultry guides both regulatory advocacy and procurement decisions.
The moment of slaughter represents the most acute welfare event in a poultry animal's life. Water bath stunning systems require live birds to be shackled upside-down — a distressing position — before immersion in an electrically charged water bath. Birds who raise their heads avoid the bath and enter the slaughter line fully conscious. Controlled atmosphere systems render birds unconscious before any handling for shacking, eliminating these welfare flaws. The welfare case for transitioning the industry to CAS systems is compelling and has been acknowledged by the UK and EU regulatory bodies. The commercial cost of system transition creates resistance that regulatory requirements and consumer pressure can overcome.