Overview

Slaughter must be humane. The whole process from catching to the point of death must be performed in a controlled manner so that the birds are protected from any avoidable pain, distress or suffering. Approaching the task in a confident, patient, calm and quiet manner will produce the best outcome for both the bird and yourself.

The slaughter process has been divided into several stages in this guide:

- Preparation

- Catching And Handling

- Restraint

- Stunning And Slaughter

This guide includes images and video clips of poultry being slaughtered. Please read the Important Points About This Website And Its Use before viewing these.

In this guide the terms 'slaughter' and 'killing' are often used interchangeably. However, they can be defined as 'killing for consumption' and 'killing for a purpose other than consumption' respectively.

Certain aspects of the law do not apply when killing birds in an emergency; this is defined as a situation in which the animal has an injury or disease associated with severe pain or suffering and where there is no other practical possibility to alleviate this pain or suffering. The priority in such a situation is to avoid prolonging the bird's suffering.