This article outlines tools and standards used in animal welfare audits for broiler chickens. These audits assess whether farms, hatcheries, or processing plants meet animal welfare certification standards, which may be company-specific or part of nationally recognized certification programs. The audits are performed to evaluate resource-based inputs (housing, handling, veterinary care) and animal-based indicators (health, behavior, emotional states) to assess overall animal welfare. Here we show examples of prominent U.S. broiler welfare certification programs, their associated audit tools, animal welfare indicators used during audits, and compliance thresholds.

The pre-slaughter phase for broiler chickens is a period that contains many stressors and risks for animal welfare. These include feed and water withdrawal, which can lead to hunger, weight loss, thirst, dehydration, and distress; catching, which can lead to fractures, bruising, distress, fear, and mortality; transportation and lairage, which can lead to thermal stress, distress, dehydration, weight loss, and mortality. Understanding the factors that can lead to negative welfare outcomes is important to make improvements in broiler chicken welfare during the pre-slaughter phase. This article will focus on the animal welfare risk factors in this pre-slaughter phase. Good management of these risk factors can minimize animal welfare concerns.