Broiler Catching and Transport: A High-Risk Welfare Window

The catching and transport of broiler chickens to slaughter represents one of the highest-risk welfare events in poultry production, with injuries, stress, and mortality all common.

Key Facts

Around 1 billion broiler chickens are slaughtered in the UK annually, all requiring catching and transport
Mechanical catching machines are increasingly used but manual catching still predominates in many countries
Birds caught manually are grabbed by one or both legs and carried inverted, causing wing flapping and joint strain
Injury rates during catching include bruising, dislocations, and fractures - particularly to legs and wings
Journey times to slaughter in the UK are legally limited but can still reach several hours
Temperature extremes in transport vehicles cause heat stress in summer and cold stress in winter
Dead on arrival rates (DOA) typically range from 0.1-0.5% but spike during adverse conditions
Birds are not permitted to eat during transport, and water withdrawal begins hours before catching

Welfare Considerations

The catching and transport phase concentrates a large amount of suffering into a short period. Birds that have been raised in reasonably good conditions can arrive at the slaughterhouse injured, stressed, and exhausted. Investment in mechanical catching, better trained catching crews, improved vehicle ventilation, and shorter journey times would all reduce this suffering. Consumer pressure on retailers to demand higher transport standards from their supply chains is effective.

What You Can Do

Support chicken welfare campaigns that specifically address catching and transport standards
Choose chicken certified under schemes with transport time limits and handling standards
Ask retailers about their transport and catching standards for poultry supply chains
Advocate for mandatory CCTV in all poultry transport vehicles
Reduce chicken consumption or switch to higher-welfare alternatives to reduce overall demand