The death of a chicken

The modern laying hens and broilers trace their ancestry back to the Junglefowl, specifically the Red Junglefowl. These birds still live in Southeast Asia, typically in regions with low shrubs, dense jungles, or bamboo forests, where they can easily hide from predators. Since Junglefowl are quite shy, researchers have conducted only a limited number of investigations on their behavior in natural settings.

However, extensive research has been conducted on chickens in semi-natural conditions, such as the study by Collias (1996), who observed Junglefowl at the San Diego Zoo. Another notable study is by Dawkins (1989), who tracked the behavior of feral chickens over many generations. When domesticated chickens are released into the wild, they tend to display behavior that closely resembles that of the Red Junglefowl.^[4]

Under (semi-)natural conditions, chickens typically live in groups of 4 to 30 individuals. The size of a group's home range is influenced by the availability of food and natural vegetation that can provide roosting spots and shelter from predators. According to Collias, a group of jungle fowl occupies a home range of 5 hectares.^[5] Studies of feral chicken populations indicate home ranges of 0.5 hectares. For comparison, a laying hen in an enriched cage has slightly more space than an A4 sheet, while a free-range hen has just under two A4 sheets of space.

Within a flock of chickens, there is typically one dominant rooster that fertilizes the majority of the eggs. A strong hierarchy, known as the pecking order, exists among both roosters and hens. However, this hierarchy proves to be particularly stable among hens over successive years, unlike among roosters. Additionally, hens form friendships within the flock. These birds are capable of experiencing empathy towards one another. For instance, hens show significant reactions when their chicks are under stress. Researchers studying chicken behavior have noted physiological and behavioral changes in mother hens when their chicks were subjected to artificial gusts of wind.^[6]

To establish and maintain a hierarchy within the flock, chickens need to recognize each other. They can individually identify about 100 of their own kind. When new birds join a flock, they disrupt the pecking order, leading to fights as the hierarchy is redefined. In conventional and organic poultry farming, where chickens are often housed with thousands of others, a natural pecking order cannot form.

Chickens follow a consistent 24-hour routine: in the morning, they search for food; around noon, they take a dust bath and groom their feathers. Dust bathing helps eliminate excess fat and parasites (such as lice) and also aids in cooling them down on warmer days. Chickens are most comfortable in temperatures ranging from 12 to 25 degrees Celsius. When temperatures rise above this range, they become less active, hold their wings away from their bodies, breathe with their beaks open, and dust bathe to cool off. They also dislike cold temperatures, rain, and wind. Besides weather conditions, they actively seek shelter. Research has shown that chickens, even in outdoor housing systems with shelters, have a strong preference for sheltering among trees and natural vegetation.^[8]

After preening their feathers, chickens dive into a second, lengthy foraging session. Most of their day revolves around searching for and eating food. While foraging, chickens typically scrape the ground with their feet and then peck at edible items. Under natural and semi-natural conditions, chickens spend 60 to 90% of their time foraging. Like many other animal species, foraging also allows chickens to explore their environment. This behavior is crucial for their survival, so the drive to forage remains strong, even in chickens raised in livestock farming.

When evening falls, chickens go to sleep. In the wild, chickens roost on branches in trees, where they are safe from predators. This is why domesticated laying hens use high perches in barns for sleeping. (Broilers can no longer sleep on perches due to their unbalanced body structure, a result of years of genetic selection.) Chickens have a unique ability to sleep and wake at the same time. One eye is linked to one hemisphere of their brain, while the other eye connects to the opposite hemisphere, allowing them to sleep with one eye open. One hemisphere sleeps while the other stays alert, helping them watch for predators and other dangers.^[9]

Like most bird species, chickens have a specific breeding season. In natural conditions, a hen typically lays around ten eggs, which she then incubates. If the first clutch does not hatch, she may lay a second clutch. Each year, the hen lays a maximum of 20 eggs, which is significantly fewer than her counterparts in the egg industry, who are required to produce over 300 eggs annually.^[10]

After about twenty days, the chicks hatch. The hen teaches them how to find food, select a good roosting spot, and take dust baths. She also shows her chicks how to respond to danger from predators. In risky situations, the birds either run for cover or freeze in place. Freezing is a response where they become paralyzed with fear. If a predator catches a hen that has frozen and appears dead, the predator often loses interest and abandons the attack.

After the breeding season, as the days start to shorten, the molting period begins. During this time, chickens do not lay eggs. Molting is a natural process in birds where old feathers are replaced with new ones. Chickens lose feathers and may develop bald patches during this period. The baldness caused by molting is different from the baldness often seen in chickens raised in livestock farming due to feather pecking. Feather pecking, along with cannibalism and cloacal pecking, is a behavioral disorder that does not occur in chickens living in natural conditions. These behavioral issues are a common concern in poultry farming, including organic farms.^[11]

Chickens are remarkably intelligent animals. For instance, researchers have trained chickens to peck at a touchscreen for several minutes, allowing them to receive more food than if they pecked at it immediately.^[12] Chickens also possess the ability to understand object permanence. This means they recognize that an object continues to exist even when it is out of sight. Human infants typically do not develop this understanding until they are 6 to 7 months old.^[13] The brain regions in chickens that are responsible for cognitive functions like long-term memory and problem-solving are very similar to those in the human brain. In some ways, chickens' cognitive abilities are more advanced than those of dogs, cats, and even some primates.^[14]

Wild jungle fowl typically live for 2 to 3 years. With proper care in a suitable environment, domesticated laying hens can live up to 10 years. However, laying hens in the egg industry, whether from conventional or organic farms, are usually slaughtered at 19 to 21 months of age. Conventional broiler chickens, also known as meat chickens, are typically slaughtered at around 42 days old. Broilers with Beter Leven welfare certification from the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals (Dierenbescherming) (1, 2, and 3 stars) are slaughtered at 56 days, while organic broilers are slaughtered at 81 days.

Other sources: RDA Advisory Report 2006/06. Natural behaviors of laying hens and broiler chickens; pp. 14-24^[15]

Before chickens are transported to the slaughterhouse, they are deprived of food to empty their stomachs and crops. This practice aims to minimize contamination of transport crates and carcasses on the slaughter line. Typically, the birds receive their last feed on the morning of the day they will be transported to the slaughterhouse (transport occurs in the evening). Occasionally, this feed is skipped, and the birds were last fed the evening before they are captured. Depending on the length of transport and waiting times for unloading at the slaughterhouses, the food deprivation period can be extended. Broilers are fasted for a maximum of 24 hours before slaughter, while laying hens typically experience an average deprivation period of 28 hours.^[16] Capturing in the barn occurs in the evening when the chickens are asleep. Emptying a chicken coop takes an average of 2.8 hours and is associated with significant stress and pain.^[17] The chickens are picked up by the legs and carried upside down, three to four at a time, before being crammed into a transport crate. This handling can lead to injuries for the chickens.^[18] Research conducted by WUR (Wageningen University Research) on capture injuries in broiler chickens found that 5% of the birds had wing hemorrhages, and 2.9% had wing dislocations (where the bones are no longer in their proper position). Additionally, wing fractures (0.1%) and leg dislocations (0.1%) were observed.^[19] When calculated over the 600 million broiler chickens slaughtered annually in the Netherlands, this translates to 30 million chickens with wing hemorrhages, over 17 million with wing dislocations, 600,000 with wing fractures, and 600,000 with leg dislocations. No figures are available regarding capture injuries in laying hens. According to the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), the risk of capture injuries (including injuries, dislocations, and fractures) is higher in laying hens due to their brittle bones (osteoporosis) resulting from the high calcium demand during laying.^[20] The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) conducts random checks for injuries sustained during capture in poultry slaughterhouses. If they find that more than 2% of a batch of animals has sustained injuries during capture, they can take enforcement action. However, injuries smaller than 3 centimeters are not included in NVWA inspections.^[21] During the journey to the slaughterhouse, chickens experience stress due to unfamiliar surroundings, climatic factors (such as cold, heat, and humidity), deprivation of feed and water, dehydration, vibrations, high stocking densities, and injuries. The level of stress experienced is partly influenced by the animal's condition (for instance, well-feathered chickens are better insulated against cold and heat) and the duration of the transport.^[22] According to data from the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), an average of 0.14% of broiler chickens and between 0.15% and 0.17% of laying hens die during transport, resulting in over 800,000 animals arriving dead at Dutch poultry slaughterhouses each year. This figure is even higher abroad due to longer distances. No data are available for laying hens, but the percentage for broiler chickens in slaughterhouses in Poland and Denmark is just over 0.3%, compared to 0.14% in the Netherlands, which is more than double.^[23] Upon arrival at the slaughterhouse, there are hours-long waiting times before the chickens are slaughtered. At broiler slaughterhouses, the containers with the animals are removed from the trucks upon arrival and placed in a waiting area. In laying hen slaughterhouses, trucks enter the receiving area, and the crates containing the animals remain on the truck for the entire waiting period.^[24] Research by WUR at the W. van der Meer laying hen slaughterhouse found that trucks carrying hens spent an average of 2 hours on the road, followed by 8 hours in the slaughterhouse's receiving area. Because the hens are crammed together in the crates (10 to 15 hens per crate), they struggle to dissipate heat. Although fans were provided in the reception area, it was found that the temperature in the crates exceeded 25 degrees Celsius for a quarter of the waiting period, which can lead to heat stress in laying hens. The investigation was conducted during winter. For animals transported to the slaughterhouse in summer, the risk of heat stress is significantly higher.^[25] Heat stress can be fatal for chickens. The animals pant, which alters their blood pH. This can lead to heart problems. Their body temperature also rises sharply. A chicken's normal body temperature is around 41.5°C; if it rises to 44°C, the chicken will not survive.^[26] The poultry sector refuses to participate in the official Dutch heat plan for animal transport. The sector continues to adhere to “its own heat protocol on a voluntary basis.”^[27] In the summer of 2019, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) noted poultry transports in which 30 to 40 percent of the animals appeared to have died. The EFSA also identifies heat stress as a serious issue during transport and waiting times in chicken slaughterhouses. In facilities like W. van der Meer, where crates containing chickens remain while they wait for the truck, there is no way to provide the animals with ventilation by spacing the stacks of crates over a larger area. In addition to heat stress, EFSA identifies the following welfare problems during the waiting period: hunger, thirst, lack of space to move, and stress caused by environmental noise (such as machines and noisy staff).^[29] Once the waiting period is over, the truck is unloaded, which takes another two hours. The stacks of crates are pulled off the truck and placed on a conveyor belt. According to EFSA, during the unloading and moving of crates, chickens sometimes extend their legs, wings, or heads, resulting in injuries or crushing of body parts.^[30] W. van der Meer's undercover footage also shows an employee cleaning the trucks with a high-pressure cleaner before all the chickens have been unloaded. The birds still on the truck are sprayed with water, which compromises their welfare. Laying hens are thin and often poorly feathered, leaving them without natural protection against the water. In principle, trucks may only be cleaned when they are empty, but for practical reasons (to save time and due to lack of space in the waiting area), the cleaning of half-empty trucks is tolerated.

In Dutch poultry slaughterhouses, workers use two methods to stun animals before slaughter: gassing and electrocution.

Gasification

Most large poultry slaughterhouses use the gas method. In some facilities, the containers holding the animals are placed directly on a conveyor belt that transports them into the gas chamber. The animals are only removed from the containers after they have been stunned. However, in many cases (two-thirds of all chickens slaughtered in the Netherlands), the containers are mechanically tipped before stunning, causing the conscious animals to fall onto a conveyor belt. Inspections by the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) have found that tipping the containers at several slaughterhouses is abusive: the animals fall and land on top of one another, which can lead to injuries. It is estimated that at least 13 million animals are subjected to this annually. An advisory report by BuRO (Bureau for Risk Assessment & Research) also concludes that even if the tipping is performed carefully, a significant number of animals can still experience stress and pain.^[31] The conveyor belt transports the chickens, whether in containers or not, through the gas chamber. Carbon dioxide gas is used for the gassing process. Inhaling high concentrations of carbon dioxide (over 40%) causes painful irritation of the mucous membranes and symptoms of suffocation, such as shortness of breath. The industry claims to have developed a humane gassing method using a two-phase system. In the first phase, a low concentration of carbon dioxide (18-38%) is administered, which is said to reduce stress and pain. During this phase, the chickens become reversibly stunned (meaning they can still regain consciousness). In the second phase, a high concentration of gas (65%) is administered, leading to irreversible stunning (a stunning that results in death). However, research has shown that even at low carbon dioxide concentrations, stress and suffering occur, evidenced by increased alertness, head shaking, and heavy breathing. The gradual increase in carbon dioxide levels and the duration of exposure also significantly affected the occurrence of stress signals. Within 30 seconds of exposure to 18-20% carbon dioxide, chickens began to lose their balance and become unconscious.^[32] Another study by Wageningen University & Research (WUR) demonstrated that chickens became more alert and reacted to carbon dioxide gas even at 2.4% concentration. From 5.6% onwards, their breathing was affected, and from 8.3% onwards, the chickens began shaking their heads, a clear sign of stress. From 9.2% onwards, the chickens started visibly gasping for air and breathing heavily. From 19% carbon dioxide onwards, they lost their balance and became unconscious.^[33]

Electric water bath

For commercial reasons, some slaughterhouses continue to use the electric water bath, as gas stunning costs 1 euro cent more per slaughtered chicken.^[34] In this stunning method, chickens are manually removed from the crates and hung by their legs on the slaughter line.^[35] According to EFSA, manually taking chickens from the crates can lead to pain, bruising, and fractures, particularly when workers grip the chickens by the neck, or by one leg or wing.^[36] Blue light is employed when suspending the chickens, which usually has a calming effect on them. However, hanging them on the slaughter line remains a highly stressful experience. The hooks exert pressure on their legs, causing pain. For chickens with existing leg issues (such as joint problems or injuries from catching), this suspension is particularly agonizing. Hanging upside down is an unnatural position that induces fear. Ninety percent of birds flap their wings vigorously right after being hung, in response to the stress. This flapping can result in dislocations and broken wings. Chickens can also injure one another with their flapping since they hang closely together.^[37] While the chickens are suspended on the slaughter line, they are plunged headfirst into an electrically charged saltwater bath at a rate of 9,000 birds per hour.^[38] When a chicken flaps its wings just before submerging, the wings may touch the electrically charged water, delivering painful shocks before the animal is stunned. The animal only becomes unconscious once its head is submerged in the bath.^[39] According to researcher Gerritzen ( WUR ), electric water bath stunning is akin to an epileptic seizure. Initially, there is a muscle spasm, known as the tonic phase. Next, the clonic phase begins, during which the animals thrash violently. This phase again poses the risk of broken wings and bones.^[40] Another significant welfare issue with the water bath is that not every chicken is effectively stunned. Since multiple chickens enter the water bath simultaneously and the current follows the path of least resistance, some chickens receive inadequate power. Although the shock can physically paralyze the chickens, making them appear stunned, they remain conscious and can feel everything, often unnoticed by slaughterhouse staff or inspectors. Chickens sometimes raise their heads, preventing them from touching the water bath at all and thus not being stunned. According to the EFSA, 5% of chickens are not effectively stunned when using an electric water bath.^[41] In 2006, the electric water bath became a major topic of discussion in the Netherlands after the testimony of former inspector Breunis. He explained in a TV program how, during his 33-year career, he had "often seen animals, even though they should already be dead, raise their heads and look around for a moment." They have endured all the horrors and then they slowly bleed to death.” It was also revealed that slaughterhouses systematically supplied the water bath with insufficient power.^[42] Inspector Breunis's revelations sparked social and political debate and led to scientific research by Wageningen University & Research (WUR) on stunning methods in poultry slaughterhouses. In 2009, State Secretary H. Bleker and NEPLUVI (the Dutch poultry processing industry) announced that water bath stunning would be phased out in the Netherlands by January 2011, due to the serious animal welfare issues that had been scientifically proven. In 2010, Bleker and NEPLUVI stated that the phaseout would require some "additional time."^[43] As of 2019, the inexpensive but controversial water bath is still utilized in several Dutch poultry slaughterhouses, including W. van der Meer and Sons in Dronryp. This is notable, considering that Wytze van der Meer (director of the slaughterhouse) is a board member of NEPLUVI.^[44] At the European level, EFSA advised the European Union to phase out water bath stunning back in 2004. When drafting the European REGULATION (EC) No 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing, the Union tightened the regulations on water baths somewhat, but the recommendation to phase it out was not implemented due to economic interests.^[45] In many European countries, the water bath remains the most commonly used stunning method for poultry. This is also true in Belgium, where the method faced criticism in 2017 following an investigation by the newspaper "Het Laatste Nieuws." This investigation revealed that 10 million chickens in Belgium were poorly or not stunned when they emerged from the water bath each year.^[46]

Cutting and bleeding to death

In slaughterhouses that use gas stunning, chickens are hung on the slaughter line after being stunned. In contrast, those subjected to water bath stunning are hung before the stunning process. The animals are then guided to an electric circular knife along the slaughter line. This knife cuts into their necks, severing a carotid artery or vein (commonly referred to as "cutting"). Following this, the chickens are bled into a blood trough and subsequently immersed in a hot water bath (57°C) to loosen their feathers. Chickens that are not successfully stunned remain conscious when their throats are cut. It can also occur that the cutting fails because conscious chickens flap their wings violently or pull their heads back as they approach the knife.^[47] Consequently, they may end up alive and aware in the hot water bath, where they can drown.^[48] After the hot water bath, the chickens are automatically plucked by a machine. Laying hens often still have eggs in their vaginas or cloacas, which must be removed manually. European legislation permits laying hen slaughterhouses to sell the eggs extracted from the deceased animals to manufacturers of egg products for the food industry.^[49]

Alongside hens from conventional laying farms, W. van der Meer also processes organic laying hens that carry the EKO quality mark, as well as those with the Beter Leven Quality Mark from the Animal Protection Association (1, 2, and 3 stars).^[50][51] For instance, hens from Rondeel^[52] and Kipster (both rated 3-star Beter Leven) were processed at W. van der Meer, and the Kipster roosters (used for Lidl's rooster burgers) also met their end there.^[53][54]

Organic laying hens are raised in accordance with the standards established by organic legislation, which is overseen by Skal Biocontrole.^[55] There are no specific regulations governing the slaughter process for organic animals. They are slaughtered according to standard legislation (REGULATION (EC) No. 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing), which inevitably involves stress and pain.

To facilitate the sale of spent organic laying hens, slaughterhouse W. Van der Meer has partnered with the Organic Poultry Farmers Association (BPV) to establish the Biomeerwaardekip chain.^[56] The association aims to enhance the value of discarded organic laying hens: organic laying hen farmers receive about 1 euro per hen at the slaughterhouse, while a conventional laying hen fetches only 0.78 cents.^[57] After slaughter, the organic hens are marketed as organic soup chickens or transformed into a variety of organic chicken meat products, including schnitzels, burgers, nuggets, soups, ragout, barbecue sausages, frankfurters, and hot dogs.^[58]

The slaughter process for Beter Leven chickens is the same as for conventionally slaughtered chickens. Slaughterhouses that want to process Beter Leven chickens must sign a "slaughter before stunning" declaration. This declaration prohibits them from performing slaughter without stunning, which is required for producing kosher meat. The criteria for poultry slaughterhouses, published on the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals (Dierenbescherming)/Beter Leven website, state that "the animals are slaughtered as quickly as possible, but in any case within 4 hours." At W. Van der Meer, the average waiting time is 8 hours.

The criteria also specify that "staff handling live animals must have completed animal welfare training from the Butchers' Vocational Training (SVO) or equivalent training related to animal welfare for slaughterhouse personnel." Non-compliance with this rule can result in "exclusion." However, an additional document (‘Supplementary decisions and interpretations’) indicates that for practical reasons, new staff members may work with live animals for up to three months without the Certificate of Competence for Slaughterhouse Personnel.^[60]

The Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals (Dierenbescherming) states in its criteria that it "intends to eliminate the waterbath method by mid-2017." The supplementary document explains that "replacing the waterbath method with the two-phase CAS method (gasification) is a very significant investment that cannot be implemented overnight." The Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals is discussing this change with the participating slaughterhouses. They have indicated that they need more time to make this transition. The current plan is to eliminate the waterbath method by mid-2018. However, by the end of 2019, the waterbath method is still allowed for chickens slaughtered under Beter Leven certification.