America's Chicken Slaughter: A Shocking Minute-By-Minute Reality

The number of chickens slaughtered each minute is a staggering figure. In the US alone, approximately 9 billion chickens are slaughtered every year, which equates to 25 million chickens per day, 1 million per hour, or 17,000 every minute. This means that in just 60 seconds, the US meat industry kills more chickens than many countries do in a year. With such a high demand for chicken meat, the treatment and living conditions of these birds has become a growing concern.

The US slaughters 17,000 chickens per minute

The United States slaughters an estimated 17,000 chickens per minute. This figure is based on an estimate of 9 billion chickens slaughtered per year in the US. To put this into perspective, this equates to about 25 million chickens killed every day, 1 million chickens killed per hour, or 300 chickens killed every second.

The US is a major player in the global poultry industry, which sees an estimated 75 billion chickens slaughtered for meat each year. The US accounts for a significant proportion of this figure, with an estimated 9.5 billion chickens slaughtered in the country annually. This makes the US one of the largest producers of chicken meat in the world.

The poultry industry in the US is largely factory-farmed, with the majority of domestic chickens living and dying on these farms. Chickens are exempt from The Humane Slaughter Act, which means that the standard for poultry slaughter is "good commercial practice" rather than specifying "humane". As a result, chicken slaughter can be gruesome and painful. Chickens are often shackled upside down, which can break their legs, before being passed through an electrocuted water bath meant to stun them. Unfortunately, some chickens are not sufficiently stunned and remain conscious while being boiled.

In addition to the routine slaughter of chickens for meat, the avian flu outbreak has resulted in even more poultry deaths. Since the outbreak began in late 2021, chicken farmers have been killing entire flocks to prevent the spread of the virus. While this strategy has been effective in the past, it has been notably unsuccessful during this wave of avian flu. The number of chickens dying from illness or being culled as a preventative measure is staggering, with over 300 million chickens lost over three years.

Chickens are exempt from the Humane Slaughter Act

Chickens are exempt from the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA), which was passed on 27 August 1958 and is enforced by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The HMSA requires the humane treatment and handling of food animals at slaughterhouses, while also providing for a quick and effective death. The Act specifically mentions cows, pigs, horses, mules, sheep, and swine, but chickens, turkeys, and ducks are omitted.

Around nine billion chickens are slaughtered each year in the US, compared to about 28 million head of cattle. Chickens are the most common animal killed for food in the United States, with approximately 202 million chickens slaughtered every day, or 140,000 chickens per minute. Despite this high figure, chickens are not protected under the HMSA. The USDA has many regulations regarding chicken production, but these focus on preventing contamination and food safety rather than animal welfare.

There have been attempts to include poultry under the HMSA. Mercy for Animals, an activist group promoting better welfare for livestock, has issued a petition to the USDA, arguing that there is a "major gap" in the federal law protecting the welfare of meat animals. They claim that the USDA has the power to declare poultry species "amenable" and thus covered under the HMSA. However, the USDA has stated that this would require an act of Congress to rewrite the bill.

While chickens are not specifically listed under the HMSA, there are some protections in place for their humane treatment. The Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) requires that live poultry be handled using good commercial practices and not die from anything other than slaughter after arriving at the slaughter facility. Additionally, local and state animal cruelty laws apply to chickens, although prosecution for animal cruelty against chickens has been infrequent.

Chick culling adds 6 billion to the yearly slaughter count

In the United States, approximately 9 billion "broiler" chickens are killed for their meat every year. This equates to about 25 million chickens killed daily, 1 million per hour, 17,000 per minute, or 300 per second. These numbers are staggering, and they do not include the number of male chicks killed in the egg industry, a practice known as chick culling.

Chick culling is the process of killing newborn male chicks at egg-laying facilities due to their lack of profitability. Male chickens of egg-laying breeds do not produce high-quality meat, so they have little value to poultry producers. As a result, it is more cost-effective for these producers to kill male chicks en masse right after they are born rather than incur the costs of housing, feeding, slaughtering, and selling them as meat. This practice adds significantly to the yearly slaughter count, with an estimated 6 billion male chicks killed annually worldwide.

In the United States alone, an average of 8.5 billion newly hatched male chicks are culled each year, primarily through maceration. This means that the US contributes significantly to the global total of 6 billion culled male chicks. While chick culling adds to the already staggering number of chicken slaughter, it is important to note that it is not the only factor driving the high death toll. The rise in avian flu has also led to the mass euthanization of entire flocks to prevent the spread of the virus.

The ethical implications of chick culling have sparked societal opposition and animal welfare concerns. Germany and France jointly banned chick culling beginning January 1, 2022, and other countries, including Italy and Austria, have followed suit with plans to prohibit the practice. In-ovo sexing, a technology that determines the sex of chicks while they are still in their eggs, has been adopted in some countries to reduce the need for chick culling. However, an EU-level agreement to ban chick culling altogether is still pending.

Avian flu has increased the number of chickens slaughtered

Avian flu, or bird flu, is a disease caused by viruses that primarily affects domestic poultry such as chickens, turkeys, and ducks. The US closely monitors avian flu with the most robust monitoring and surveillance programs in the world. Despite this, the US has not been immune to avian flu outbreaks.

In February 2022, an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was confirmed in a commercial flock in the United States. HPAI causes severe symptoms in birds such as lack of energy or appetite, lack of coordination, coughing, sneezing, and nasal secretions. It can also result in high mortality rates in chickens, sometimes as high as 90-100%. Since the outbreak, the USDA estimates that 166.38 million birds have been killed through depopulation efforts to contain the disease. This has included the slaughter of 150 million egg-laying chickens, ordered by the Biden administration, to follow the USDA's "stamping-out policy" which states that "the only way to stop the disease is to depopulate all affected and exposed poultry."

The US is not alone in this issue, as hundreds of millions of chickens are slaughtered every day worldwide. The US alone slaughters 9 billion "broiler" chickens a year, which equates to 25 million chickens a day, 1 million an hour, and 17,000 every minute. Avian flu has increased the number of chickens slaughtered, as the USDA and poultry industry work together to increase surveillance and biosecurity measures to keep flocks protected.

25 million chickens are killed in the US every day

In the United States, approximately 25 million chickens are slaughtered every day. This figure translates to roughly 1 million chickens killed every hour, 17,000 chickens killed every minute, or 300 chickens killed every second. The sheer volume of chicken slaughter is staggering, and it is important to consider the implications for animal welfare and the impact on the environment.

Chickens are often exempt from humane slaughter laws, and the standard for poultry slaughter is often based on "good commercial practices" rather than specific humane requirements. As a result, chickens may endure painful and inhumane deaths. They are shackled upside down, which can cause leg breakage, before being passed through an electrocuted water bath intended to stun them. Unfortunately, some chickens are not adequately stunned and remain conscious while undergoing subsequent processes, including having their throats slit and being placed in scalding water to remove their feathers.

The industrial farming system contributes to the high number of chicken slaughter. Almost all chickens raised for meat spend their entire lives in confinement. They are hatched in incubators, packed into crates, and sent to factory farms within days, never experiencing natural behaviours such as socializing, dust bathing, or roaming freely. This intensive farming method has negative consequences for the environment, wildlife, and human health.

Additionally, the poultry industry faces challenges with avian flu, which has led to even higher numbers of chicken deaths. While mass culling has been employed to prevent the spread of the virus, it has not been effective during the ongoing outbreak. The impact of avian flu adds to the already significant number of chickens slaughtered each day in the United States, highlighting the immense scale of chicken meat production and the associated welfare and environmental concerns.

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