factfile - Animal Aid

The Suffering Of
Farmed Poultry
Europe’s Agricultural ministers agreed in June 1999 to end the rearing
of egg-laying chickens in battery cages across the EU – but not until
2012, thereby guaranteeing another decade of unremitting misery for
the battery hen.
factfile
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The regulation will state that by 31 December 2012 farmers must
have phased out the use of battery cages in favour of “free-range”
farming, the housing of hens in large, barn-like aviaries, or the use of
so-called “enriched cages”. The latter will have to give at least 750
sq cm of space per chicken – twice the size of current cages, but
still less than the size of two sheets of A4 paper. In addition, it will
be compulsory to provide a nesting area with litter, a scratching pad
to sharpen claws and a perch.
Welfare optimists are predicting that the high cost
of providing “enhanced” and bigger cages means
that they are unlikely to be as popular with the
poultry trade as so called free-range or barn aviaries.
In fact the trade itself is convinced that the current
cage types will eventually be reprieved and
demonstrates its confidence by continuing to
feature the contraptions in trade fairs.
Egg Producing Machines
It is estimated that approximately 66 per cent of
the total UK egg-laying population of 30 million are
currently kept in battery cages. The average yield
per hen during 2003 was a staggering 290 eggs
(Defra, Agriculture in the UK 2003).
At the hatchery stage all male chicks are killed
(usually by gassing) because they can neither
produce eggs nor put on enough weight quickly
enough to be fattened for meat. Their female
counterparts begin their year-long ordeal in cages
at around 18 weeks.
Inside The Battery Houses
Battery cages are stacked in tiers in huge
windowless sheds that accommodate a laying flock
of thousands of hens. More than 70% of birds are
kept in flocks of more 20,000. Sheds with in excess
of 50,000 hens are fairly common.
A typical cage houses four or five birds and has wire
mesh on the sides and top. The minimum space
allowance, as set down in a European Directive, is
the equivalent of less than three-quarters of the
surface area of a standard sheet of A4 paper.
The battery system was designed to allow faeces to
drop through the bottom of the cage, separating the
hens from possible sources of diseases – especially
those caused by internal parasites. But the cage
system itself creates severe disease problems and
suffering. The duties of the stockperson amount to
little more than the upkeep of automated equipment
and removal of dead birds from their cages. While
no official statistics exist, the government have
estimated that over 2 million battery hens die in their
cages every year.
Feed and water supplies are automated. Egg-laying
apart, eating and drinking are the only activities
available to the birds.
Frustration of Natural Behaviour
Under natural conditions, hens instinctively display
complex behavioural patterns involving perching,
foraging, nesting and dust-bathing. Close
confinement in cages denies the opportunity to
perform any of these activities. Deprivation causes
chronic suffering and social conflict amongst cage
mates, including bullying, feather-pecking and, in
extreme cases, cannibalism.
The Trauma Of Laying
Egg laying is a natural physiological function for
hens, although not on anything approaching the
scale of the modern commercial bird. And with no
space or cover, the mere act of laying in a battery
house becomes an ordeal in itself. Battery hens
are also denied the opportunity to perform normal
pre-laying activity such as nest building. The stress
and frustration which can follow may result in
stereotypical (meaningless and repetitive) behaviour.
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De-beaking
The egg industry attempts to discourage such
aggression by amputating the upper part of the beak
in a routine mutilation known as “de-beaking” or
“beak-trimming”. Up to half of the upper and sometimes also the lower part of the beak is cut away
using a red-hot blade. This causes chronic pain
and hampers, yet further, any attempt at natural
behaviour.
No official figures exist for the levels of de-beaking,
although. leading welfare body, the Farm Animal
Welfare Network, has estimated that roughly 1520% of battery hens are de-beaked, with this figure
is rising due to increasing levels of mortality from
cannibalism.
Foot Deformities, Bone Weakness
And Fractures
Physical consequences of confinement include foot
deformities – caused mainly by the absence of
suitable perches – and severe bone weakness –
prompted by restrictions on movement and, thus,
normal development.
As a consequence, battery hens are prone to
multiple fractures during capture and transportation
to the killing plant. In a study performed by the
Institute of Food Research at Langford near Bristol,
researchers found that 29% of battery hens had
broken bones by the time they reached the
slaughterhouse. By the end of the slaughtering
process 98% had broken bones.
Bone weakness is exacerbated by calcium deficiencies
caused by heavy egg-laying programmes. Bone
fractures are increased by the emphasis on speed
rather than care amongst the catching gangs who
clear end-of-lay birds from their cages for the
journey to the slaughterhouse.
Cancer And Genetic Selection
The genetic selection of birds on the basis of high
egg yields is also responsible for an increased
susceptibility to cancers.
Broiler Chickens
More than 800 million chickens were
slaughtered in the UK during 2003 to provide
poultry meat. In 1985 the total was “just”
447 million birds. This reflects a consumer
trend away from red meat to what is
erroneously perceived to be a healthier
alternative
The Broiler House
Chicks are artificially hatched and then housed in
huge, windowless sheds for the duration of their
six-week growing period. On average, a modern
“broiler” house holds around 45,000 birds, usually
kept on a litter bed of wood shavings or chopped
straw. But many units have populations exceeding
100,000.
As birds grow, space for each individual decreases.
By the end of the growing cycle each bird has only
0.5 square ft of floor and must push his/her way
through a solid mass of other chickens to reach
food and water points. Many die in the attempt. The
government has estimated that about 6% (or more
than 42 million birds annually) die before the end of
each growing cycle.
This condemnation of British abattoirs is one in a
long line of reports. In 1986, EEC inspectors found
a “frightening picture of poor hygiene, slapdash
organisation and blood and gore all over the floor”,
whilst at the beginning of the ‘90s, nine out of ten
of the nation’s 900 slaughterhouses fell below the
standard set down by EU inspectors.
Millions Of Monster Babies
The life span of an unconfined chicken can be up to
10 years, yet table fowls or broilers are usually
slaughtered at six weeks of age, before they reach
sexual maturity. They reach adult size so quickly
because of a combination of the following: ruthless
genetic selection, the use of a high protein diet and
the routine inclusion of antibiotic growth promoters
in feed. The latter are being phased out because
of human health concerns, under orders from
Brussels. But the trade is turning to other chemicals
to produce the same unnatural effect.
Crippled During Infancy
The combination of accelerated growth rates and
unhealthy living conditions account for the huge
number of birds who die prematurely. Broiler
chickens are vulnerable to fatty livers and kidneys,
heart attacks, septicaemia, and deformities caused
by arthritis together with the stress of carrying so
much weight on young bones.
Many broiler chickens also die from ascites: their
growth rate is so rapid that their heart, lungs and
circulatory system struggle to maintain sufficient
oxygen levels. This results in breathlessness and
distended abdomens caused by a build up of
yellow or blood-stained fluid.
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Visible Indicators Of Suffering
Broiler houses are not cleaned during the growing
cycle, which results in the accumulation of faeces in
the litter. This can often lead to blistering, ulcerated
feet and hock burns. The latter are caused by
exposure of the skin to high levels of ammonia. It is
not uncommon to find visible hock burns on chicken
carcases sold in supermarkets.
Broiler Breeders
Breeding birds are the poultry selected to produce
progeny who are then fattened for the table. Unlike
their offspring, these breeders are not required to
grow quickly: on the contrary, the emphasis is on
reducing their growth. To achieve this, they are fed
a restricted diet. A survey indicates that broiler
breeders are permitted to eat only a quarter of the
amount they would consume if food were freely
available. (C. J. Savory, K.Maros and S.M. Rutter,
Animal Welfare, 2:131-132, 1993). The conclusion
is that birds are “chronically hungry, frustrated
and stressed”.
Turkeys
Turkeys aren’t just for Christmas anymore –
more than 20 million are killed and eaten
throughout the year in the UK.
Consequences Of Intensification
Many of the same welfare problems associated with
broiler chicken production are found in the turkey
industry. Turkeys have been genetically selected for
high meat yields and to fatten in as short a time
as possible. They have a natural life span of
approximately 10 years, yet they are slaughtered at
between 12 - 26 weeks.
In this short period they may grow to nearly twice
the size of their predecessors of only 25 years ago.
As a consequence, their legs become unable to
support the huge weight of their breast muscle or to
sustain normal posture and limb movement.
Early Mortality – 2.7 Million
Annually
Unhealthy and overcrowded conditions mean that
disease amongst commercial turkeys is widespread,
resulting in approximately 2.7 million turkeys (or 7%
of the total) dying in their sheds every year. Foot and
leg deformities, heat stress and starvation caused by
the inability of immature birds to find the feed and
water troughs are commonplace. Ulcerated feet and
hock burns are common – caused by continual
contact with litter contaminated by urine and faeces.
Artificial Insemination Now
The Norm
The accelerated growth of modern turkeys mean
that the males (stags) are now too broad-breasted
and heavy (weighing as much as 60lbs) to reproduce
naturally. Instead, artificial insemination (AI) is
applied, whereby the birds are masturbated by hand
and their semen inserted into the females via tubes
and catheters. Government literature gives detailed
instructions on the correct way to masturbate, or
“milk” males.
Intensive Production
Loading And Transportation
Of Poultry
The majority of turkey production is intensive,
with up to 25,000 birds kept in large windowless
buildings similar to broiler chicken houses.
Battery hens, broiler chickens and turkeys endure
the same fate at the end of their productive lives.
All are subjected to the ordeal of catching,
Research Council (AFRC), Institute of Food
Research, Langford, Bristol. Twenty six per cent of
turkeys included in their survey received painful
pre-stun shocks (i.e. accidental electric shocks)
when birds' wings touched the electrically charged
waterbath before their heads did, or when the ramp
leading to the bath became electrically live. Worst
of all, studies indicated that nationally, every year,
around 35,000 turkeys may be entering the scalding
tank alive and perhaps conscious.
Deliberate Cruelty
transportation and slaughter. Only the further
processing is different: broilers become oven-ready
birds for the table, whilst end-of-lay battery hens are
made into lower grade poultry products such as
pies, soups, chicken stock and baby foods.
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The birds are typically grabbed by the feet and thrust
into crates, or “modules”, before being loaded onto
lorries. Many suffer additional injuries at this time and
hundreds of chickens can die from a panic-induced
crush each time the catching gang enters the shed.
Others die during the journey to the killing plants,
often from heart attacks. Injuries and wounds
account for the other fatalities. The most common
injury is dislocation of the femur (the bone between
the hip and the knee). This is almost certainly the
result of rough handling by catching teams.
Slaughter
Poultry slaughter methods are highly mechanised
and designed to maximise speed rather than to
minimise suffering. Chickens are removed from their
crates/modules and suspended upside down by
their legs on metal shackles. The most common
method is for a conveyer to take the birds’ heads
through an electrically charged water bath, with the
current designed to stun and leave them insensible
to pain when their throats are cut.
They are killed by severing the main blood vessels in
the neck. This is usually done with an automatic
knife, with a slaughterman employed as a back-up
to slit the throat manually of any birds missed by the
machine. Once dead, the birds are immersed in a
scalding tank to loosen the feathers before plucking.
Killed Whilst Fully Conscious
There is considerable evidence that the slaughter
process is inefficient. Inadequate stunning results
in some birds going to the knife and even to the
scalding tank alive and possibly fully conscious.
Turkey slaughter has been extensively investigated
by researchers at the Agricultural and Food
Evidence produced in court hearings indicate that
deliberate cruelty is sometimes inflicted upon poultry
in British slaughterhouses. For example, a 1993
industrial tribunal heard the case of a former
employee at a poultry processing plant in
Winchester in which 'bagpiping' was described.
Slaughterhouse staff squeezed live birds in a game
that involved squirting faeces over other employees.
Elsewhere, poultry catchers have told how some of
their colleagues kicked, punched, tied up and
force-fed chickens and turkeys to relieve the
boredom and frustration of their work. (Here's the
Catch, Animal Aid 1994.)
‘Free Range Birds’
The term “free range” suggests a handful of chickens
or turkeys scratching around a yard. But modern
free range units usually contain several thousand
selectively-bred birds crammed together in each
shed. Pop holes allow the inhabitants to exit and
re-enter when the weather is suitable. But because
of the special stresses associated with a system
that pretends to be what it isn't (the constantly
shifting struggle amongst the birds for territory; their
movement from heated interior to the bug-laden
outside world and back again), the genetically
enfeebled birds typically suffer high early
mortality rates.
‘Barn Birds’
The term ‘barn eggs’ is used deliberately to dupe
the public into thinking that the hens are kept in
bright, airy conditions with fresh straw on the
floor. Not true! Though uncaged, the hens are still
confined to dirty, overcrowded sheds. They will never
see daylight, breathe fresh air or be able to exercise
their natural instincts.