The chicken industry in Australia

In 1997/8 there were over 368 million chickens slaughtered in Australia (1). The majority of this large industry is controlled by 2 companies, the largest being Inghams Enterprises Pty Ltd, followed by Bartter Pty Ltd, who now market Steggles. They supply day-old chicks to contract growers and collect them again when they are ready for slaughter. They plan how the chickens will be treated from birth to death.

Growers are responsible for vast numbers of individual animals. A typical family farm houses 60,000 chickens at any one time (2), with 5 or 6 batches per year. So an average family farm will send 300,000-400,000 animals to slaughter in a year. The birds are crowded into sheds, with 10,000 to 20,000 in each one. Chickens are referred to as "crops" rather than individual animals, and they are "harvested" rather than slaughtered.

Crowded and dark sheds

Chickens spend their lives in crowded sheds. The lighting is deliberately kept dim so that chickens move around less (use less food), and don't peck and kill each other in the crowded conditions. Lighting is only slightly brighter when the grower inspects the shed once a day to pick up the dead and dying.

By law, chickens may be kept at 40kg of birds per square metre. The average weight of chickens just before slaughter is 2kg, so 20 birds can be kept on each square metre. That gives each bird a living space smaller than a page in the phone book. As one observer has described chicken sheds:
" ... it looks as though there is white carpet in the sheds - when the birds are fully grown you couldn't put your hand between the birds, if a bird fell down it would be lucky to stand up again because of the crush of the others " (3).

Rapid growth cripples birds

The The chicken industry prides itself on how quickly birds grow to slaughter weight. Selective breeding has produced a very fast-growing animal. In 1945 it took 98 days for a chicken to grow to 1.6kg, while by 1986 it took only 37 days (4). The strain of this unnatural growth rate puts too much pressure on young bones, and chickens suffer from a variety of leg problems.

These problems include twisted legs, legs tilted outwards (valgus deformation), often with a slipped tendon, lameness caused by deformed vertebrae pinching the spinal cord (spondylolisthesis), and excess cartilage around the growth plates of the tibia (dyschondroplasia).

In a recent study of lame chickens, 20% had bacterial infection of the bone, 13.6% visible leg deformities, 11.4% spondololisthesis ("kinky back"), and 11.4% tibial dyschondroplasia, while smaller numbers had a bone abscess or purulent inflammation of the hock or hip joint (5).

The result is that many birds have difficulty walking. The problem may be so bad that birds can no longer reach food or water and are killed. Between 1% and 2% of all birds die or are culled prior to slaughter due to leg problems (6-8). Of course many more birds are affected, but not to the extent of dying. One estimate suggests that 5-15% of chickens suffer from tibial dyschondroplasia alone (9). A Victorian researcher has stated:
" Clinical outbreaks of leg problems with an incidence of up to 50% are a major source of frustration for both contract growers and poultry meat processors. Flocks with a clinical incidence of 5-10% are commonly overlooked by the industry. Conservative estimates suggest that at least 5% of Victoria's broiler flock of 60 million birds is affected annually with clinical leg weakness " (10).

All chickens become increasingly inactive and spend most of their time just sitting. As one researcher described 4 week old chickens:
" ... they spent considerable time squatting. They rarely moved more than 10 steps before squatting. By 42 days of age, 50% of the chickens on full feed had a slow, stilted gait " (11).

When the walking ability of 7 week old chickens was scored from 0 (can walk freely) to 5 (unable to walk), only 29% of these young birds scored 0. The largest group of 54% has moderate walking difficulties (score 1 or 2), while 17% had severe walking difficulties (score 3 or 4). And these are young birds that haven't even reached adulthood! (12).

In another study of normal 6-7 week old chickens, the results were even worse. The researchers concluded:
" Ninety per cent of broilers reared under intensive conditions had a detectable abnormality in their gait. Twenty-six per cent suffered an abnormality of sufficient severity that their welfare was compromised" (13).

In this study lame birds were below the average weight, either because their walking problems made it difficult to reach food and water, or because pain reduced their appetite.

Leg abnormalities are reduced when feed is restricted and birds grow more slowly (11), and when birds are forced to exercise regularly (14). Keeping chicken on free range reduces, but doesn't eliminate lameness (13). Probably the most important factor is breeding, and it is possible to genetically select birds that have fewer problems (13). However, chickens are selected for fast growth rate above all else, and one group of researchers has concluded:
" We consider that birds might have been bred to grow so fast that they are on the verge of structural collapse" (15).

Chickens probably suffer due to their leg problems. In turkeys with joint problems, an anti-inflammatory drug significantly increased their activity, suggesting that it was pain that made them so inactive (16). Professor John Webster of the University of Bristol School of Veterinary Science has made a similar comment about chickens:
" Broilers are the only livestock that are in chronic pain for the last 20% of their lives. They don't move around, not because they are overstocked, but because it hurts their joints so much " (The Guardian, 14/10/1991).


A recent study has demonstrated convincingly that lame chickens are in pain.

The birds' ability to walk was graded at 4 weeks of age on a scale of 0-5, 0 being perfect and 5 unable to walk at all. Two groups were selected, one with a score of 0 and one with a score of 3, that is, moderate lameness with an obvious walking abnormality making them slow and clumsy. Up to one quarter of all chickens develop lameness of this severity before they are slaughtered at age 6-7 weeks of age.

Feed containing the anti-inflammatory drug carprofen was given one colour and undrugged feed was given another colour to allow chickens to recognise them. They were given one of these feeds on alternate days for 4 days of training. They were then given both feeds so that they could choose which one they preferred.

The healthy chickens ate nearly twice as much undrugged as drugged feed. However, the more lame the chickens were, the higher the percentage of drugged feed they ate. In other words, they adjusted the level of analgesic to their level of pain. The walking ability of lame birds improved as a result of the drug.

Clearly lame birds are in pain, and there are many lame birds in the chicken industry. Yet experiments continue, trying to make chickens grow even faster and bigger.

Dansbury T et al (2000), "Self-selection of the analgesic drug carprofen by lame broiler chickens", Veterinary Record , vol 146 (307-311)



Death and disease

In addition to the 368 million chickens that reached the slaughterhouse, some 6% of their siblings died before that time (17). In other words, somewhere between 17 and 23 million chicks a year can't survive the first 6 weeks of life.

Chickens suffer from a variety of diseases, as listed at a poultry conference: late respiratory disease, coccidiosis, inclusion body hepatitis, leg weakness, the acute death syndrome and big liver spleen disease (18).

A major cause of death is "acute death syndrome" (ADS). Apparently healthy, fast-growing chickens suddenly lose their balance, violently flap their wings, go into spasms and flip over onto their backs. Between 0.71% and 4.07% of birds in 51 flocks in Canada died of ADS (7). In a Queensland flock 1.8% of chickens died of this cause (19), and in a Western Australian flock it was 2.4% (8).

ADS is in fact acute heart failure, caused by fatal arrythmias. Arrythmias are quite common in meat chickens, and have been linked to their rapid growth rate (20).

Polluted air

The floor of poultry sheds is covered with litter such as sawdust or rice hulls, which becomes increasingly covered with chicken droppings during the 7 week growing season. As bacteria break down the litter and droppings, the air becomes polluted with ammonia, dust, bacteria and fungal spores. Several surveys have shown that this contaminated atmosphere produces health problems in farmers as well as the chickens. A survey in Victoria found the following problems among farmers:

sore eyes

70.2%

asthma

14.8%

regular coughing

28.8%

chronic bronchitis

13.7%


The writer concluded:
" The 70 per cent of growers reporting sore or itchy eyes is extremely high. Another study found 20 per cent of wood-workers and 6 per cent of people in the general community reported eye irritation. The almost 15 per cent prevalence of asthma compares with an estimated 6 to 8 per cent in the general population. And the more than 13 per cent having chronic bronchitis places chicken growers on a par with underground coal miners " (21).

Farmers were advised to spend as little time as possible in sheds and to wear a respirator, options unfortunately not available to the chickens.

Later surveys in Victoria and NSW showed similar problems (22):

Chronic bronchitis

Asthma

Eye irritation

Males

Vic

12.6%

9.7%

71.6%

NSW

16.2%

11.0%

58.4%

Females

Vic

8.5%

13.8%

66.0%

NSW

10.3%

12.1%

46.7%



Levels of chronic bronchitis are similar to those in the coal industry, namely, 8.4% for workers with brown coal, and 15.1% for workers with black coal (23).

As with humans, the polluted air has a bad effect on chickens. It causes visible lung damage, and makes them more susceptible to diseases (24).

The trauma of transport and slaughter

As one group of researchers has said: " Chickens find transport a fearful, stressful, injurious and even fatal procedure " (25). A number of studies have discovered high levels of stress hormones in the blood of chickens during transport (26-27).

Chickens are deprived of food for 8-12 hours before being caught, and water for 1 hour. Teams of catchers move through the chicken shed during the night, grabbing chickens by 1 leg and carrying bunches of 3 or 4 in each hand. The chickens are shoved into plastic crates, which are stacked onto trucks. Each catcher will grab 300-500 birds per hour, so speed rather than care is the priority (28).

Chickens who have spent their entire lives in darkened sheds are now exposed to vibration, traffic noise, bright lights, and varying temperatures. No wonder they are stressed.

Heat is a problem for chickens (29). With so many bodies packed onto a truck the temperature and humidity rise inside the crates. Good ventilation can reduce the problem, but not all parts of the load have good ventilation. Chickens pant and lose water when they are overheated. They can become dehydrated and die of heat stroke.

At the slaughterhouse, chickens are pulled from the crates and hung up by the feet on a conveyer belt that will carry them into the killing room. Some chickens are already dead on arrival. Two studies found a death rate of 0.19% (30-31), while in another 0.42% of birds arrived dead (32). Since 368 million chickens are slaughtered in a year in Australia, and if 0.19% die in transit, this means that 699,200 individuals die per year in the crates.

The main causes of death were heart failure and trauma, mainly haemorrhages due to dislocated hip joints (30). In about one-third of these cases the dislocated bone forced its way into the abdominal cavity, which must have been excruciatingly painful. The researchers link these horrible injuries with the way chickens are grabbed by 1 leg during loading.

In addition to the dead birds, 3% of live birds had broken bones, and 4.5% had dislocated hips. In the Australian context this would mean 11,040,000 live birds a year arriving at the slaughterhouse with broken bones, and 16,560,000 with dislocated hips (33).

Chickens are often not handled with great care when they are pulled from the crates. As one group of researchers observed:
" We have observed dropped birds being kicked and thrown about in British plants, although the management was unaware of these incidents. However, the major problem with manual procedures is not brutality, but difficult working conditions, overwhelming emphasis on speed of operation and lack of incentive to slow down and take more care " (34).

Even with more care, shackling (hanging upside down by the legs) is very stressful for chickens, especially since so many have bone and joint problems. Some researchers have concluded:
" ...90% of broilers had a detectable gait abnormality indicating leg weakness, and 26% suffered an abnormality so severe that their welfare was considered compromised. This level of leg abnormality, if representative of commercial flocks, provides evidence that, potentially, a large number of birds should not be shackled " (35).

Once shackled, the chickens are carried to an electrified water bath. If their head passes through the water they will be stunned and made unconscious. They then move along to an automatic knife which cuts their throat. They are supposed to be dead by the time they pass through the scalding tank to loosen the feathers for plucking.

Mistakes happen at each stage of this process. Small birds, or those who lift their heads miss the electrified water bath and so are fully conscious when their throat is cut. Some birds miss the automatic knife; a back-up person is supposed to cut the throat of these chickens. Some birds, referred to as "red skins" because they turn bright red, are still alive when they hit the scalding tank (36).

English researchers who examined such red skins found: " Nearly all had no cut, but a few had just a skin-deep nick in the neck. All but one of the heads were swollen... The typically swollen head was caused by subcutaneous, heavily blood-stained fluid ." (37)

The stress of unloading, shackling and inefficient stunning could be reduced if chickens, still in their crates, were made unconscious by gassing, either with a carbon dioxide mixture or argon (38). They would then be unloaded and shackled when unconscious.

Investigations by Animal Liberation SA

Animal Liberation began investigating poultry slaughterhouses in and around Adelaide during a particularly hot summer in 1997. Many welfare problems came to light, including breaches of the law as set out in the Australian Code of Practice for Poultry Processing.

Incidents were filmed by a channel 7 television crew, and a prosecution by the RSPCA was eventually mounted. Although found guilty of breaches of the Code of Practice (not providing shade and adequate ventilation to the chickens in crates), the Directors of the company were fined only $100. No action was taken against the individuals who could be seen on camera lifting chickens by the neck and throwing them.

In the McLibel case in the UK, where McDonalds took 2 of its critics to court, Chief Justice Bell stated in his judgement:
" Broiler chickens which are used to produce meat for [McDonalds] spend their whole lives in broiler houses without access to open air or sunshine, I do not find this in itself cruel. However, they spend the last few days of their lives with very little room to move. The severe restriction of movement of those last few days is cruel and [McDonalds] are culpably responsible for that cruel practice....

There are other cruel practices affecting chickens which are used to provide the Plaintiffs' food:... leg problems in broilers bred for weight, rough handling of broilers taken for slaughter and pre-stun electric shocks suffered by broilers on the way to slaughter. "

For more information about the McLibel case, go to McSpotlight .

Chicken as a health food?

Unfortunately the number of chickens slaughtered has increased as people have been led to believe that chicken is healthy.

However, as Dr Neal Barnard has said in his book "Food for Life":
" Roast chicken is 51 percent fat. Well, you may be asking, how about if I strip off the skin, throw away the dark meat, and use a non-fat cooking method? Even then, chicken is still 23 percent fat (plus 85mg cholesterol in a 3.5oz serving)... "

It is not surprising, therefore, that substituting chicken for other meat doesn't lower blood cholesterol. In one study people ate one of three meats for three months ((either beef or chicken or fish), while in another study people ate red meat or white meat (chicken and fish) for 6 weeks (39-40). In neither study did eating chicken rather than other meats lower blood cholesterol.

Chicken corpses also carry bacteria, some of which can cause food poisoning. In one study, 91% of frozen chickens bought in Brisbane contained coliform bacteria, mostly E.coli (41). In a similar study across all states by the consumer magazine "Choice", all chickens contained some bacteria, ranging from low in one state to gross contamination in another, with other states in between (42). While cooking destroys these bacteria, any meat that is not thoroughly cooked can cause food poisoning, as can bacteria transferred to the hands, or to chopping boards and uncooked foods.

It is hardly surprising that chicken corpses contain bacteria. The scalding tank they pass through to loosen the feathers for plucking has been called a "faecal soup" - the water is contaminated with faeces and blood. When they are gutted, bacteria from the intestines can contaminate the corpse, especially since the processing chain moves so fast (an average of 76 birds/minute in one study (36)), it is very easy to make a mistake with the knife.

What is especially worrying is that an increasing number of bacteria are antibiotic resistant. In the Queensland study, 97% of the E. coli from defrosted chickens were resistant to one or more antibiotics (41). In the Choice study, all the isolated bacteria were resistant to at least one antibiotic (42).

A recent US study of the increase in Salmonella bacteria resistant to 5 major antibiotics stated: (43)
" The emergence of antimicrobial-drug resistance in Salmonella isolates is associated with the therapeutic and nontherapeutic use of antimicrobial agents in food animals ."

Antibiotics are used, especially in the chicken and pig industries, to promote faster growth. As Choice magazine stated: (42)
" There is no doubt that the supply of antibiotics to agriculture is a multi-million dollar industry. One expert believes that anywhere from 10% to 50% of all antibiotics sold in Australia end up in animals... According to Dr Alan Frost, a senior pathologist of the University of Queensland, almost all commercially raised poultry in Australia is fed antibiotics at some stage in production and 85% of chickens carry bacteria resistant to at least one antibiotic used in human medicine ."

Chicken is NOT a health food, and anyone seriously interested in improving their health should turn to a vegetarian diet. You can avoid being part of this cruelty by becoming vegetarian. Go to Vegetarianism - the cruelty-free diet for suggestions.

If you want to read more about the health problems associated with eating chickens, go to Chicken for Dinner by United Poultry Concerns (UPC).

UPC also has good information on the turkey industry. Turkeys suffer all the same problems as chickens, only worse. They have been bred to grow to such a gross size that they can no longer mate naturally. All breeding hens are regularly artificially inseminated in a rough and disgusting production line. For more information on the turkey industry in general, go to the UPC document The Modern Turkey - in Need of Thanksgiving Deliverance . For a description of the gross artificial insemination production line by a former worker in the industry, go to In the Turkey Breeding Factory .

I would like to see References for this document on chickens.