Hundreds of chickens have died after a transport truck overturned on a highway in Belgium.
The accident happened on the E313 motorway near Grobbendonk. The truck was carrying thousands of chickens in stacked crates when it crashed and fell onto its side.
Many of the animals did not survive. Emergency teams removed both the chickens on the road and those that died inside the transport crates.
Every year, billions of chickens are transported to slaughterhouses worldwide. In the European Union alone, millions are estimated to die during transport due to stress, injuries or extreme conditions.
How chickens are transported
Chickens raised for meat are transported in large numbers in plastic crates stacked inside trucks. They are caught on farms and placed into these crates before being driven to slaughterhouses.
EU rules set limits on space during transport. Chickens weighing between 1.6 and 3 kilograms may have around 160 cm² per kilogram of body weight, meaning many animals are kept close together in each crate.
A single crate can hold around 10 chickens, depending on their size, and one truck can carry thousands of animals.
The process can be stressful. Studies show that catching, loading and transport can lead to injuries and deaths. In the European Union, millions of chickens are estimated to die each year during transport due to stress, heat, crowding or lack of oxygen.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theanimalreader.com
