Farm Animal Welfare

Broiler Chicken Catching and Handling Welfare

The catching and handling of broiler chickens before transport is a significant welfare challenge affecting billions of birds annually.

Key Facts

Manual catching involves picking up birds by legs, causing acute pain and injury risk
Automated catching machines can reduce human handling but introduce different injury risks
Wing, leg, and hip joint injuries occur during catching, particularly at high throughput speeds
Training catchers in welfare-conscious technique reduces injury rates significantly
Pre-catch procedures including light dimming reduce bird agitation

Welfare Considerations

Catching is one of the most acute welfare stressors in broiler production. The combination of handling stress, physical injury risk, and social disruption creates genuine suffering for large numbers of birds in a short period. Improving catcher training, reducing throughput pressure, and investing in automation that genuinely reduces injury are all meaningful welfare improvements.

What You Can Do

Support welfare standards that include catching and handling requirements
Advocate for independent welfare monitoring at the catching and loading stage
Choose broiler products certified to standards that cover pre-slaughter handling