616,864 Chickens Boiled Alive – Conditions at Japanese Poultry Slaughterhouses

The statistical data for poultry processing in fiscal year 2022 has been released. Unfortunately, the figures show a shocking number of chickens that were not properly processed and instead boiled alive. This resulted in their skin turning red and the chickens being discarded. The total number of such incidents was a record high of 616,864 birds, making it the worst year in terms of casualties.

The extremely cruel act of boiling birds alive involves hanging chickens and ducks upside down by shackling their legs while they are conscious and attempting to cut their throats while they struggle and flail. This often fails to properly sever their necks, leaving them to suffer. This can be prevented by first rendering them unconscious with gas before proceeding to slaughter.

In the fiscal year 2022, 616,864 chickens suffered the agony of hanging upside down while witnessing other chickens around them bleed to death. They endured the pain of being partially decapitated and were then submerged while still hanging upside down in boiling water at a temperature of 62 degrees. In the boiling water, they suffered burns all over their bodies, unable to breathe, with the boiling water entering their mouths and eyes, essentially being slaughtered by torture.

Companies that handle “domestic” chicken meat are condoning this extreme violence. Food companies that procure chicken meat must immediately distance themselves from this extreme animal abuse as part of their responsibility.

Furthermore, the Ministry of the Environment, which oversees animal welfare, has a responsibility to take immediate corrective measures against this extreme animal abuse. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare must urge poultry processing plants to make improvements.

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, which continues to ignore this extreme situation, should issue a warning immediately. And it should be responsible for pushing poultry processing plants to transition to gas stunning.。

The worst s to practice animal welfare at slaughterhouses

In this era where animal welfare is increasingly emphasized, which prefectures have blatantly overlooked animal welfare, deteriorated slaughter practices, increased food loss, and caused suffering to animals?

Here’s a list of the worst prefectures for degraded laying hens:

1. Kagoshima (0.496% deterioration, 93,217 birds with improper bleeding)
2. Tokushima (0.24% deterioration, 1,619 birds with improper bleeding)
3. Aichi (0.121% deterioration, 30,205 birds with improper bleeding)
4. Kagawa (0.09% deterioration, 302 birds with improper bleeding)
5. Hyogo (0.078% deterioration, 16,084 birds with improper bleeding)）
6. Okayama (0.016% deterioration, 1,614 birds with improper bleeding)
7. Niigata (0.015% deterioration, 12,645 birds with improper bleeding)
8. Fukui (0.008% deterioration, 1,152 birds with improper bleeding)

Here’s a list of the worst prefectures for degraded broilers:

1. Nagasaki (0.007%deterioration, 4,952 birds with improper bleeding)）
2. Saga (0.006%deterioration, 2,490 birds with improper bleeding)
3. Ehime (0.201%deterioration, 8,423 birds with improper bleeding)
4. Tokushima (0.014%deterioration, 12,740 birds with improper bleeding)
5. Tottori 0.038%deterioration, 20,803 birds with improper bleeding)
6. Shizuoka (0.017%deterioration, 3,293 birds with improper bleeding)
7. Niigata (0.016%deterioration, 1,905 birds with improper bleeding)
8. Miyagi (0.007%deterioration, 4,717 birds with improper bleeding)
9. Aomori (0.021%deterioration, 51,666 birds with improper bleeding)

The above are the ones that have worsened the situation, but this doesn’t necessarily mean they have a high number of birds boiled alive. The following are the prefectures with a higher number of casualties:

Egg Laying Hens

Meat Chickens