The catching and loading of poultry for transport to slaughter is a high-stress process associated with significant injury and mortality, with better training and equipment reducing harm.
The catching and loading stage of poultry processing represents a moment of acute welfare risk that affects billions of birds globally each year. The physical handling required to catch and crate birds, even when done carefully, causes stress that is visible in elevated heart rate, struggling, and vocalisation. Poorly trained or motivated catching teams cause significantly higher rates of wing fractures, dislocations, and bruising. The welfare case for investing in catcher training and supervision, implementing night-time catching, and exploring mechanical harvesting systems is strong, with co-benefits for product quality as well as animal welfare.