Farming - transport

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When the birds reach their required market weight, they are moved from the farms to the processing plant. Unlike other livestock, poultry are not taken to live auction markets to be sold to different slaughterhouses around the country.

They are reared on farms which are either owned by or under contract to a particular processing plant which is located only a short distance away, keeping journey times short.

British poultry farmers adhere to strict legislation and codes of practice on the catching and transport of chickens and turkeys. The proper handling of birds requires skill, and catching is undertaken by trained and experienced staff. It is carried out quietly and with care to avoid unnecessary stress and to prevent injury to the birds.

Modules, which are wide, open 'drawers', used by most of the industry, are brought inside the house close to the birds. The birds are caught by their legs and carried upside down for the very short distance to be placed in the modules. The full module is then taken out of the house to the lorry by a forklift truck
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The birds are protected from extreme weather conditions by roofs on each module and side curtains on the lorry or on the modules themselves.

On arrival at the processing plant, the birds are rested and inspected under the supervision of the independent Official Veterinary Surgeon (OVS). Birds are delivered to the processing plant on a 'just in time' basis to ensure they are held for the minimum time.

Out of the 850 million birds transported each year there are inevitably some birds which die. The incidence of these deaths has continued to reduce and is now very low, at less than 0.19 percent.

The industry is not complacent and has been collaborating with scientists on ways to reduce the incidence of dead-on-arrivals still further. This is in both the welfare interest of the bird and the commercial interest of the farmer and processor, because these birds are not able to be processed.

Transportation of birds is carefully controlled with every precaution taken to ensure the welfare is not compromised at any point.