Farm Animal Welfare

Broiler Catching and Loading Welfare

Catching and loading broiler chickens for transport is a high-risk welfare period with potential for injury, fear and distress requiring careful management.

Key Facts

Manual catching by legs causes acute pain and can result in dislocations
Dark conditions reduce bird stress during catching operations
Broilers are caught in their final week when heaviest and most vulnerable
Journey to slaughter begins immediately after catching
Catching crews handle thousands of birds per hour making individual care challenging
Machine-assisted catching reduces some injuries but requires careful operation

Welfare Considerations

Catching represents an acute welfare insult combining handling by unfamiliar humans, inversion by the legs, darkness disruption and loading into crates in rapid succession. Even when performed skillfully the process causes fear and stress. Welfare-focused operations use trained crews with clear standards on bird density in crates, maximum journey duration and weather-appropriate timing of catching operations.

What You Can Do

Support auditing of catching crew welfare standards
Advocate for CCTV monitoring of catching operations
Choose higher welfare chicken from producers with catching standards
Support research into improved catching methods