Perdue advances its animal welfare program

Perdue Farms has followed its 2018 move to controlled atmosphere stunning (CAS) at its Milford, Del., plant with a system to further improve live bird handling, beginning at the farm. The company now uses CAS with a fully-integrated transportation system of higher-welfare modular containers and specially designed trailers. There are currently only eight other installations of these container systems in the world.

The second phase introduces covered trailers that feature a solid roof and breathable side curtains that better control environmental factors like temperature, humidity, oxygen levels, and ventilation. The specially designed trailer also carries the higher-welfare transportation containers that provide easier all-around access and increased headroom for chickens during transport. Utilizing these containers also leads to drastically less handling of chickens from the farm to the plant as they are able to remain in their container as they enter the CAS system.

Representing a more than $20 million investment in higher animal welfare, the completed CAS system is a milestone in Perdue’s commitment to convert 100% of its harvest plants to CAS instead of electrical stunning, which eliminates the process of shackling conscious birds upside down prior to being insensible to pain.

“When we took phase one of our CAS system live, we wanted to learn as much as we could and improve that process while we planned for this second and final phase. As a result, we’ve been able to fine tune this fully-integrated system that greatly reduces the stress on the birds from the farm to the harvest plant,” said Bruce Stewart-Brown, senior vice president of food safety, quality, and live production. “We’re proud to complete this project that raises the bar for the industry and continue on our animal welfare journey.”

Press release