SUMMARY Day of hatch and pre-slaughter processing are stressful events (involving selection, handling and transport) for broiler chickens, putting pressure on welfare, which has economic consequences. This case-study documented common industry practices and evaluated poultry industry stakeholder perceptions related to broiler welfare during day-of-hatch processing and the pre-slaughter phase. Twenty-three individual in-depth interviews were conducted with representatives of key stakeholders in the Flemish poultry sector: hatchery personnel (five), farmers (six), poultry catchers (two), transporters (three) and slaughterhouse personnel (seven). The findings showed various factors influencing broiler welfare during day of hatch processing and the pre-slaughter phase, with some discrepancies between stakeholder views and the scientific evidence. While stakeholders perceived the day of hatch processing procedures of chicks to be relatively under control, with no major issues, literature points out several issues, including first-week mortality and time without feed and water as major welfare problems. For broilers at slaughter age, the industry stakeholders’ views aligned well with scientific evidence on major welfare issues, such as injuries, thermal stress, mortality during fasting, catching, loading, transportation and lairage. This study provides novel insights in stakeholder perceptions, and potential avenues for future research and actions to reduce animal welfare problems in the poultry sector.

中文翻译：

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利益相关者对首日加工和屠宰前阶段肉鸡福利的看法：比利时的案例研究

总结 孵化日和屠宰前加工是肉鸡的压力事件（包括选择、处理和运输），给福利带来压力，从而产生经济后果。该案例研究记录了常见的行业实践，并评估了家禽行业利益相关者在孵化日加工和屠宰前阶段对肉鸡福利的看法。对佛兰芒家禽行业的主要利益相关者的代表进行了 23 次深度访谈：孵化场人员（五名）、养殖户（六名）、家禽捕手（两名）、运输人员（三名）和屠宰场人员（七名）。研究结果表明，在孵化处理当天和屠宰前阶段，影响肉鸡福利的各种因素，利益相关者的观点与科学证据之间存在一些差异。虽然利益相关者认为雏鸡的孵化处理程序相对可控，没有重大问题，但文献指出了几个问题，包括第一周死亡率和没有饲料和水的时间是主要的福利问题。对于屠宰年龄的肉鸡，行业利益相关者的观点与主要福利问题的科学证据非常吻合，例如受伤、热应激、禁食、捕捉、装载、运输和围栏期间的死亡率。这项研究为利益相关者的看法提供了新的见解，并为未来的研究和行动提供了可能的途径，以减少家禽部门的动物福利问题。包括第一周死亡率和没有饲料和水的时间作为主要的福利问题。对于屠宰年龄的肉鸡，行业利益相关者的观点与主要福利问题的科学证据非常吻合，例如受伤、热应激、禁食、捕捉、装载、运输和围栏期间的死亡率。这项研究为利益相关者的看法提供了新的见解，并为未来的研究和行动提供了可能的途径，以减少家禽部门的动物福利问题。包括第一周死亡率和没有饲料和水的时间作为主要的福利问题。对于屠宰年龄的肉鸡，行业利益相关者的观点与主要福利问题的科学证据非常吻合，例如受伤、热应激、禁食、捕捉、装载、运输和围栏期间的死亡率。这项研究为利益相关者的看法提供了新的见解，并为未来的研究和行动提供了可能的途径，以减少家禽部门的动物福利问题。