Poultry Catching and Loading: Reducing Handling Stress

The catching and loading of broiler chickens for slaughter is one of the most stressful and injurious phases of their lives, with significant welfare implications.

Key Facts

Manual catching of broilers involves workers grabbing birds by one or two legs in darkness
Injuries during catching include dislocations, bruising, wing fractures, and cardiac arrest
Mechanical harvesting machines can reduce some handling injuries but have their own welfare risks
Pre-slaughter mortality can reach 0.5-1% during catching and transport in standard systems
Dimming lights before catching reduces panic and struggling in caught birds
Training catching crews in humane handling techniques significantly reduces injury rates

Welfare Considerations

Catching is a traumatic experience for chickens who have never experienced direct human contact. Fear, pain from rough handling, and disorientation in reversed lighting cause acute suffering. The economic pressure to catch quickly creates incentives that conflict with welfare. Better training, mechanical assistance, and welfare-focused catching protocols can meaningfully reduce suffering during this unavoidable phase of broiler production.

What You Can Do

Support welfare certifications that include catching and transport standards
Advocate for mandatory catching crew training requirements in poultry legislation
Choose chicken from producers with documented reduced catching injury rates
Support research into improved mechanical harvesting systems that reduce bird stress
Ask retailers about catching and transport welfare standards in their supply chains
Reduce chicken consumption to lower demand that drives high-throughput catching operations