New ‘Uncounted’ report explores chicken death rates on factory farms; 500 million die before slaughter
A new report by Animal Equality—titled Uncounted—examines the chicken mortality rate on U.S. factory farms. The report, recently covered by VOX, analyzes data reported by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2021 to break down the death rates of chickens raised for meat at all stages of life—from hatchery to transportation trucks.
Key findings
Each year, over 500 million chickens die on farms without a reported cause– succumbing before slaughter from disease, organ failure, and neglect.
The remaining birds spend their lives in overcrowded sheds, unable to stand, feed, or walk due to genetic deformities in litter riddled with ammonia and feces that have never been changed. Stressed to exhaustion and unable to protect themselves against infection from the variety of bacteria they are exposed to, entire flocks become diseased, and individuals die on farms, are killed by workers, or die during transport.
Animal Equality’s investigations into hatcheries, farms, and slaughterhouses provide overwhelming evidence of the unsanitary conditions animals are raised in, making them vulnerable to the slew of harmful pathogens they must live amongst.
LIVE KINDLY
With rich emotional lives and unbreakable family bonds, farmed animals deserve to be protected.
You can build a kinder world by replacing animal food products with plant‑based ones.
