Poultry Transport Welfare: Protecting Birds During the Journey to Slaughter

Transport to slaughter is one of the highest-risk welfare periods for poultry, involving capture, loading, vehicle transport, and lairage. Evidence-based improvements at each stage reduce suffering.

Key Facts

Transport mortality in commercial poultry in the UK averages 0.02-0.1% but represents millions of birds annually given the scale of production
Manual catching of broilers causes acute fear and injury from handling; mechanical catching reduces handling but increases different injury types
Journey duration significantly affects welfare: EU regulations limit poultry transport to 12 hours without water access
Thermal stress during transport — both heat in summer and cold in winter — is a primary cause of transport mortality
Lairage time at slaughter plants (waiting before slaughter) causes cumulative stress that combines with transport welfare impacts
Catching and loading operations typically occur at night to reduce heat stress and improve handling compliance

Welfare Considerations

The transport phase compresses multiple acute welfare insults into a period of hours. Birds that have never experienced human handling suddenly face capture, inversion (holding upside-down for loading), crating at high density, vehicle vibration and noise, temperature fluctuations, and unfamiliar environment — all without any ability to predict or control the experience. The acute fear responses this generates are observable in the behavior of captured birds and measurable in stress hormone levels. Each individual stage — catching, loading, transport, lairage — offers opportunities for welfare improvement through better practices. The cumulative welfare impact of the entire chain from farm to stun is a significant welfare concern deserving the same attention given to on-farm conditions.

What You Can Do

Support retailers who have adopted maximum journey time limits shorter than legal maximums for their poultry supply chains
Advocate for multi-phase controlled atmosphere systems that stun birds before catching, eliminating conscious handling
Ask poultry producers about their catching, loading, and transport protocols and whether welfare monitoring is in place
Support regulatory tightening of transport duration limits, minimum space allowances, and temperature monitoring requirements
Reduce poultry consumption and concentrate purchasing on certified higher-welfare products from producers with documented transport welfare standards