Animal Welfare at Slaughter

Transcription

1 Animal Welfare at Slaughter The purpose of any method of stunning is to render the animal immediately unconscious until it is dead Haluk ANIL - The Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995) UK New WATOK Reg - European Community, COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1099/2009 (In Force January 2013) Electrical Captive bolt The purpose of any method of stunning is to render the animal immediately unconscious until it is dead Gas Gas used in poultry and pigs Primary aim of electrical stunning Electrical stunning is aimed at producing... EPILEPSY Good tong position The two leaf electrodes hang down positioned to contact the pig between the eyes and the ears for a head only stun. The whole electrode montage moves forward with the pig in the moving V restraint. The electrode positioning is crucial as is the condition of the electrodes.

2 The physiology of epilepsy + ve The electrical activity of a neuron Epileptic discharges 0 mv 0 mv 50 Hz stunning Tonic ( rigid ) Effects Clonic ( kicking ) Phases Quiescent ( relaxed ) - ve Above threshold stimulus I.P.S.P. 1) Breathing inhibited 2) Excessive salivation 3) Uncontrollable involuntary motor (physical) activity 4) Unconsciousness 50 Hz stunning Return of breathing Recovery / return of reflexes Pre-stun activity EPILEPSY Phase where head only would start to recover Then the feeling of pain - can respond to painful stimuli ( e.g. pin prick ) Lastly able to recognise own surroundings Able to a stand up Defensive behaviour Stun Because head-to-back stunning stops the heart ( cardiac arrest ), the chance of recovery is abolished and brain activity decays rapidly. Effect of cardiac arrest Stunning must be effective 'before' cardiac arrest Electrical stunning cattle Head only Head to body (cardiac arrest + Loss of brain responsiveness seconds

3 13 Examples of pneumatic and cartridge activated penetrating captive bolt guns Further examples of penetrating captive bolt guns Captive bolt stunning Aim : Disruption of brain activity by concussion Types of guns Penetrating : - blank cartridge, air injected bolt, air injected bolt with air injection - free bullet ( horses ) Non - penetrating ( blow to head ) : - Mushroom head gun, cash knocker ( religious slaughter )

4 Floor plan of large abattoir Shackle Ideal shooting position in sheep Stunning pen Sticking 19 Factors that determine captive bolt stunning (Kaegi, 1988) 1. Hitting the right target area 2. Bolt velocity 3. Impact 4. Amount of energy 5. Penetration 6. Bolt diameter 7. Tissue damage Energy - Kinetic energy Energy - 1 / 2 mv2 where m = mass, size of bolt & v = bolt velocity More important than penetration That is the reason why non penetrative stunning guns are as effective - Because impact imparts energy into head - hence effective stun. Captive bolt stunning Religious slaughter Signs of an effective captive bolt stun Animal collapses Eyes fixed No corneal reflex No rhythmic breathing, but heart does not stop for sometime Signs of an ineffective captive bolt stun Attempts to raise head and stand up Eyes rolled down Positive corneal reflex Rhythmic breathing 24

5 Questions and concerns: Handling cattle for muslim method 1) Is preslaughter handling stressful? 2) Is exsanguination cut painful during severance and /or afterwards? 3) How long does it take before brain function is lost? 25 Animal being hoisted into the sticking position 25 Cattle slaughtered by muslim method Restraining pen for religious slaughter of cattle Animal just after exsanguination 28 Page 28 Stunning restraining conveyor for cattle Facomia restraining pen for cattle View from front Neck restraint View from front Chin lift Chin lift Monorail Belly lift Rotating pen

6 Stunning restraining conveyor for cattle View from front Neck restraint Slaughter without stunning the cut A) How to measure loss of brain activity Chin lift Monorail 32 Slaughter without stunning post cut Range for loss of brain function in calves/ cattle Shechita -Visual evoked responses in cattle- Captive bolt TREATMENT Time following treatment (sec) 50µV 50ms Time after the cut in seconds (Fielding, 2009) Time following treatment (sec) Daly Daly et al (1988) Slaughter without stunning the cut Slaughter without stunning the cut Recent work by Gibson et al. 2007/2009 (EEG spectral analysis): B) How to measure pain brain electrical activity Spectral edge frequency

7 Slaughter without stunning the cut Carotid ballooning in cattle Delayed loss of consciousness: Blood pressure in calves Neck sticking 'normal arteries' Neck sticking 'ballooned arteries' Chest Stick Anil et al Time (s) Comparison of slaughter methods - blood loss in sheep - Checks during and after religious slaughter 39 Adjusted Blood Loss (kg) No stunning 0.25 Electrical stunning 0.00 Captive bolt stunning Time following sticking (s) 40 Business operators shall ensure that all animals that are killed in accordance with Article 4(4) without prior stunning are individually restrained Art. 15(2)ruminants shall be mechanically restrained 199/2009 regulation and religious slaughter Under Article 4(4), where animals are killed without prior stunning, persons responsible for slaughtering shall carry out systematic checks to ensure: No signs of consciousness or sensibility before released from restraint No sign of life before dressing or scalding 41 42

8 43 NEW Article 21 Annex 4 Certificate of competence: SOPs and Certificate of Competence Monitoring the absence of sings of life Use and maintenance of bleeding knives Animal behaviour, stress and suffering Consciousness and sensibility Handling and restraint Art. 15(3) Suspending or hoisting conscious animals (except shackling of poultry) Mechanical clamping or tying of the legs or feet of animals (except shackling of poultry) Severing the spinal cord e.g.punctilla or dagger The use of electric currents to immobilise the animal that do not stun or kill it under controlled circumstances, in particular, any electric current application that does 44 not span the brain. Religious slaughter-checks Cattle No unnecessary stress by restraint equipment on the animal and slaughterman must be ready to perform All vessels in the neck must be cut for rapid loss of blood. No other procedure must be used until the animal is dead. In some countries compulsory delay of 20 seconds for sheep and 30 seconds for cattle is required. As a guide animals following neck cutting must not be removed until loss of breathing and reflexes and these should not be present after a maximum of 1 minute. Retrograde checks would help to find cause if signs present Hoopoe bird Thank you