Today, Eyes on Animals presented at the annual ATF Conference “Current Problems in Animal Welfare” in Hannover. This conference, organized by the Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover, brings together veterinarians from across Germany to discuss pressing animal welfare issues.
To an audience of veterinarians, we shared our observations and experiences regarding the catching and loading of laying hens and broiler chickens. We discussed, among other topics:
Risks and injuries caused by catching and loading chickens by their legs (the conventional method)
- Reducing stress and injury by catching and loading birds in an upright position
- The influence of crate and container design and condition
- Physical exhaustion and mental numbing (compassion fatigue) among catchers, caused by high workload, constant exposure to stressed animals, and ever-larger barns
Several interesting questions were raised by the audience. We hope our presentation provides inspiration and knowledge to strengthen enforcement of welfare standards during catching, loading and transport.
