The final stages of broiler and laying hen lives - catching, cooping, transport and lairage - involve acute welfare challenges. Evidence-based improvements in handling technique and transport conditions reduce suffering at the end of life.
The final hours of a farm animal's life deserve the same welfare consideration as every other stage. Catching stress - the sudden capture by unfamiliar handlers, inversion, and confinement in crates - causes acute fear and physical injury. Transport exposes already stressed animals to temperature extremes, vibration, noise and unfamiliar social mixing. Lairage before slaughter prolongs stress without benefit if it exceeds minimum required periods. The welfare improvements achievable in this final stage are meaningful: reduced fracture rates, lower transport mortality, and faster pre-slaughter unconsciousness are measurable outcomes of investment in better catching techniques, temperature-controlled transport and improved pre-slaughter handling.