Why are animals slaughtered

Sticking After stunning the animal is shackled by a hind leg and hoisted above the ground and the slaughter person sticks the animal. Killing of poultry There are two main methods used for the killing of poultry: Electrical stunning Birds are hung upside down by their legs on metal shackles along a moving conveyor belt.

They move along the production line to a stunning water bath; when the bird's head makes contact with the water, an electrical circuit between the water bath and shackle is completed, which stuns the bird. The conveyor belt then moves the birds to a mechanical neck cutter, which cuts the major blood vessels in the neck. Live bird shackling causes pain, and hanging birds by their legs is stressful for them. Gas killing The majority of poultry chickens, hens and turkeys in the UK s are now killed using gas.

There are a number of different types of gas killing systems and gas mixtures that may be used. Birds remain in their transport crates and are placed into a gas system where they are exposed to mixtures of air and gas, until dead. This method avoids the need to handle and 'shackle' live birds, so has some welfare advantages. UK law states that animals must be killed, not just stunned, using this method. Once unconscious, the neck is severed to allow bleeding out to cause death.

After slaughter, the meat safety inspector examines the carcass to determine whether it is suitable for human consumption or whether the carcass is best used for pet food, pharmaceutical material or should be condemned. Within hours of the animal being slaughtered, the carcass will have been placed in a refrigerator for chilling or freezing. The process of slaughtering and further processing is designed to either destroy pathogens or prevent pathogenic growth and produce meat that is safe for human consumption.

How can farmed fish be slaughtered humanely? How is animal welfare regulated at Australian knackeries? Is carbon dioxide stunning of pigs humane? Is home slaughter of farm animals humane? Is religious slaughter legal in Australia?

What are the animal welfare issues with poultry slaughter? Meatpacking plants often use high concentrations of gas to knock highly sensitive and intelligent animals like pigs unconscious. Herded into metal cages and lowered into sealed chambers , the pigs thrash against the cold bars, trying desperately to escape as toxic plumes of carbon dioxide fill the air.

Every gasp and heave draws the poisonous gas deeper into their bodies. As the acrid fumes sear their throat and lungs, they panic. With nowhere to hide, they writhe in agony for up to a full minute—and sometimes longer—until they lose consciousness and fall to the floor.

If the chamber is overloaded, or if the animals are left within long after the gas dissipates, the pigs sometimes regain consciousness and face slaughter in full possession of their senses.

As this heartrending video depicts, not all pigs will go to their deaths quietly. Stunning is only a prelude to the horrors of slaughter. Calves, cows, and bulls, whether raised for veal, dairy, or beef , are stunned and then hoisted mid-air. Suspended upside down by their legs, their major arteries and veins are severed by knife. While a seasoned operator might deal the fatal stroke on a first attempt, less experienced workers might make several haphazard gashes.

Once the throat is cut, blood gushes forth and steam rises from the wound. His head is skinned and promptly removed, leaving the rest of his body to be scraped, flayed, and eviscerated. Slaughterhouse workers and inspectors have recalled witnessing animals that, against all odds, stayed awake through this torture.

Killed using a cruel method called live-shackle slaughter , chickens, ducks, and turkeys fare no better than cattle. These frightened birds are held upside down and their legs forced into metal shackles. So secured, they endure electrocution before an automated blade tears their throats.

Many birds survive both the stunning and the slashing, and as the blood drains from their bodies, their final moments are filled with nothing but the extreme pain of drowning in tanks of scalding water. One percent of chickens in the US meet this fate each year—an unconscionable 1, birds every day.

Following their brutal round of carbon dioxide, pigs—like cattle—are slashed across the throat and left to bleed. Then—like chickens—they might be lowered into vats of hot water or resin to loosen their hair.

Alternatively, their hair might be scraped with a special knife or, in some cases, a gas torch. These pigs are then sawed and split down their backbones. Their organs are removed one at a time. If the animals are stunned correctly, they might suffer little pain afterwards—or even none at all.

When their throats are slashed. When their bodies are boiled. When their limbs are severed. And the physical anguish of this punishment is only exacerbated by the emotional trauma that begins as soon as the animals arrive at the slaughterhouse.