The catching and loading of poultry for transport to slaughter is one of the highest acute welfare risk points in the poultry supply chain, involving rapid manual handling of large numbers of birds.
Poultry catching represents a welfare crisis that occurs at the end of every broiler's life but receives relatively little attention compared to housing conditions. The speed of commercial operations means individual bird welfare is difficult to prioritise, and injury rates during catching are significant. The welfare solution involves a combination of catching training and supervision, better catching techniques, mechanical assistance where appropriate, and CCTV monitoring with genuine enforcement of welfare standards. The economic pressure to maximise catching speed conflicts with welfare, requiring either regulatory minimum standards or retailer audit requirements that specify acceptable injury rates. Consumer and industry awareness of this end-of-life welfare issue is an important first step.