Poultry Transport: Pre-Slaughter Journey Welfare

Poultry transport to slaughter is associated with significant mortality and suffering, with improvements in crating, vehicle design, and journey management reducing welfare impacts.

Key Facts

UK research found on-farm catching and transport mortality exceeds slaughter mortality in some broiler flocks
Poultry transport typically involves catching, crating, loading, journey, unloading, and lairage - each a potential welfare challenge
Journey times of more than 4 hours significantly increase broiler mortality and stress responses
Thermal regulation is critical - birds in unventilated crates in warm weather show rapid heat stress and death
Journey mortality data collection is mandatory in the EU and forms part of welfare assessment schemes

Welfare Considerations

The journey to slaughter represents the final welfare experience for billions of poultry annually. Catching by leg causes bone fractures - a significant acute welfare harm that dedicated catcher training can reduce. Heat stress during transport causes distress and death. Pre-slaughter lairage holding periods without water increase dehydration stress. Systemic improvements require coordination across catchers, transporters, and slaughter facilities - fragmented responsibility allows welfare gaps to persist. Eliminating long-distance live transport through regional processing facilities would reduce the duration and frequency of transport welfare exposure.

What You Can Do

Support poultry welfare certifications that include transport and lairage standards
Advocate for mandatory journey time limits and thermal monitoring for poultry transport
Choose products from regional supply chains that minimize transport distances
Support research into improved catching equipment and crate design
Ask retailers about their poultry supplier transport welfare standards