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Animal welfare must be considered at all stages of a broiler chicken’s life, even during slaughter. Slaughterhouses see three chickens slaughtered every second. Given the large scale and high speed of meat production, keeping a close eye on animal welfare is a challenge. Kacper Libera, a researcher in veterinary public health at Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ, is working on this. With his knowledge of veterinary medicine and technology, he is investigating whether AI can accurately monitor animal welfare.

Kacper Libera is researching whether AI models can assess the welfare of broiler chickens. CT scans identify bone fractures, while Libera is training AI models to classify these images as 'healthy' or 'not healthy'. Bone fractures point to poor animal welfare in the stages before slaughter, and are often sustained while the chickens are being caught. Libera wants to accurately map these bone fractures to monitor animal welfare. He proudly displays the past week's results. His programmed AI model recognises bone fractures on CT images with an accuracy of ninety per cent. "There’s still room for improvement, but I’m happy with these initial results", he says. "This is an important step."

Enforcement is challenging

Animal welfare in a slaughterhouse may sound counterintuitive but, here too, monitoring welfare is key. Better monitoring ultimately means better welfare for broiler chickens. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) checks animal welfare before and during the slaughter process. "It’s inevitable that chickens experience pain, stress or suffering during slaughter", says Rutger Visser, coordinating specialist animal welfare inspector at the NVWA. "Animal welfare is about reducing avoidable forms of pain, stress or suffering. The slaughterhouse itself is responsible for animal welfare and must intervene in good time where necessary. If they fail to do so or don’t do so sufficiently, we will take enforcement action."

Smart technologies allow for a more accurate assessment of animal welfare

An inspecting vet assesses chickens for injuries, condition and behaviour during a spot check. Enforcing that is quite a challenge. "It’s impossible for the vet to assess the welfare and needs of each individual animal", says Visser. "The NVWA is currently working on modernising its monitoring procedures, among other things using sensors and AI. The use of smart technologies can help ensure greater accuracy. That’s where Libera's research comes in. 100% accurate checks are more appropriate in today's society, where ever greater importance is placed on animal welfare."

Vision of the future

Libera: "My vision for the future is that all carcasses in the slaughterhouse go through a CT scan and our smart AI models accurately inspect everything during this one measurement. That way, we can combine animal welfare and food safety in a single 'chicken passport'. The technology is already there and slaughterhouse equipment manufacturers also see opportunities for integrating a CT scan into the slaughterhouse."

Chicken radiologist

In his career, Libera aims to bridge the gap between the veterinary research field and technological innovations. A unique combination, because you don't learn coding or programming while studying for a degree in veterinary medicine. Libera jokingly calls himself a 'chicken radiologist'; he understands both animals and technology.

As well as research into more accurate inspection in slaughterhouses, Libera says he also sees an opportunity for consumers to help improve animal welfare. "If we start seeing meat as a luxury product and paying more for it, animal welfare standards can improve", says Libera. He himself only eats meat occasionally and he stresses that everyone can make their own choice. "But it would be great if everyone treated animals and meat with respect."

This research is part of the UTOPIA project: Universal Three-dimensiOnal Passport for process Individualization in Agriculture.

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