The catching, cooping, and transport of poultry to slaughter is associated with high injury rates. Evidence-based improvements to these final welfare events reduce pain and distress at end of life.
Catching and loading represents a final welfare insult for poultry that often involves rough handling, injuries, and fear in the last hours of life. The welfare significance is amplified by scale - millions of birds are caught and transported daily - and by the fact that these welfare harms occur at the very end of life when birds are already stressed from the disruption of their farm routine. Welfare-positive catching requires trained handlers who minimize injury through correct technique, appropriate stocking density in transport containers, and attention to thermal comfort during transit. The welfare case for automation in catching is strongest where automated systems are demonstrably less injurious than manual catching.