For more than six years we have had a positive time training chicken-catching companies on the gentle upright method of catching poultry and, together with several egg and poultry producers, have been catching the birds upright instead of inverted by the legs. Gentle upright catching was not something that could be put into place at all poultry farms in the Netherlands, as there simply are far too many birds in the country for the current number of catchers to handle this way, but it was a first step at improving the welfare of birds and offering a new alternative for a small part of the market. Sadly, more and more chicken-catching company owners, under pressure from the Umbrella Dutch Chicken-Catching Organization, are now refusing to catch birds upright. They fear that upright catching will become mandatory at all poultry farms (due to our successful project in combination with a lawsuit organized by the NGO “Wakker Dier”, plus they do not want to admit that holding the birds upside down is bad for their welfare) and thus the head businessmen of the chicken-catching industry and lobby sector are protesting. There is currently a lot of bullying in this sector and few catchers are brave enough to stand up and continue with upright catching. For now, not all poultry and egg farmers wishing to have their birds caught upright can guarantee this, as they cannot always find willing chicken-catching companies. We will contact the responsible parties and officials in order to find a solution to this problem as soon as possible.
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