It is Friday morning when a truck pulls into a rest area to take a 15-minute break. The temperature is 28°C, and the humidity is oppressive. Around 6,000 white chickens are inside the cages. The driver parks his vehicle in a way that allows air to flow through the crates. Shortly afterwards, however, another truck arrives and parks directly next to it, blocking the airflow.
We observe the chickens inside the cages and see them opening their beaks and panting. Chickens have no sweat glands and cannot release excess body heat through sweating. Instead, they regulate their body temperature mainly through breathing. Through panting, moisture evaporates from their respiratory tract, which in turn produces a cooling effect. We also see their throat sacs vibrating—another mechanism chickens use to increase air circulation and enhance cooling. Their behaviour clearly shows that they are suffering greatly from the heat.
We try to look into as many cages as possible to identify any injured animals, or those lying on their backs and unable to get up. In this position, they are completely at the mercy of the truck’s movements. We notice the bare belly of Gaia, moving rapidly up and down. She is unable to turn herself over. This is the fate of broiler chickens, bred for rapid growth and an excessively large breast in order to maximise meat yield.
The downside is that they have a weak skeletal system. As a result, their mobility is severely limited and often associated with pain. The driver returns, and we point Gaia out to him. He tells us that he is transporting thousands of chickens to the slaughterhouse and who knows how many others are in the same situation as Gaia. He opens the cage and turns Gaia back over. We feel a brief moment of relief. Her previously frightened expression softens slightly as she is able to stand again. But the transport continues, the heat will increase, and Gaia and the others will remain in these cages. Once they arrive at the slaughterhouse, they will be grabbed, hung upside down, and eventually slaughtered. The meat industry does not have time to lose. The few existing rules designed to limit the suffering of these animals are not enforced in a system where slaughterhouse profit takes precedence.
We know the horrific end that awaits these animals, and as long as this remains the case, we will continue to insist that even these few rules are enforced. For example, that animals must not be transported in extreme heat during summer days.
