Livestock

Broiler Chicken Leg Disorder Welfare

Fast-growing broiler chicken breeds suffer high rates of leg disorders causing chronic pain, lameness, and difficulty accessing food and water — a major welfare challenge in global poultry production.

Key Facts

Up to 30% of commercial broilers show gait impairment at slaughter weight
Leg disorder prevalence increases with growth rate
Lame birds spend more time lying and have reduced access to drinkers
Slow-growing breeds have dramatically lower leg disorder rates
The EU is considering mandatory slow-growth breed requirements

Welfare Considerations

Lameness in broilers is a welfare emergency at scale. Lame birds cannot reach feed and water efficiently, causing chronic hunger and thirst stress. Pain from leg disorders is evidenced by birds' self-selection of analgesics when given the choice. The industry practice of selecting for rapid growth has prioritised production over welfare. Breed selection is the most impactful single welfare intervention.

What You Can Do

Choose slow-growth or higher-welfare poultry products
Support Better Chicken Commitment adoption by retailers
Advocate for EU mandatory welfare standards on growth rate
Reduce poultry consumption or shift to welfare-certified sources