The hours before slaughter are among the most stressful in a poultry bird's life, and improvements in handling during this period deliver significant welfare benefits.
The pre-slaughter period concentrates multiple welfare insults for poultry: food withdrawal, rough catching, crating, transport, and lairage. Each stage has documented welfare costs that accumulate before the animal reaches the point of slaughter. Improvements at each stage - gentler catching methods, better transport conditions, shorter journey times, and effective lairage management - reduce these cumulative welfare costs. The alternative of on-farm slaughter eliminates transport-related welfare harms entirely and represents the most welfare-positive option for poultry where it is logistically feasible.