Table of Contents
Is the slaughter of animals humane?
Though most work focusses on reducing the pain and suffering experienced during slaughter, we argue that to be humane, slaughter must not create any kind of harm to the animal. As death itself is harmful to welfare—due to depriving the animal of future positive experiences—slaughter can never be truly humane.
What animals are covered by the Humane Slaughter Act?
The Act requires all meat companies selling to the US government to provide stunning by mechanical, electrical, or chemical means prior to the killing of cattle, calves, horses, mules, sheep, swine, and other livestock, except in the case of slaughter for religious or ritual purposes.
Are pigs stunned before slaughter?
European and UK law stipulate that animals must be effectively stunned before slaughter, apart from exceptions for some religious circumstances. While sheep and cattle are still mostly stunned using a captive-bolt stun pistol, pigs and poultry are now more often stunned using carbon dioxide.
What is live shackle slaughter?
Live-shackle slaughter—the predominant slaughter method for chickens in the United States—is one of the cruelest practices in the meat industry today. In live-shackle slaughter, birds are shackled upside down by their legs, painfully shocked, slashed at the throat, and defeathered in scalding water.
Is there such a thing as humane slaughter?
Although the U.S. technically has “humane slaughter” laws, they provide very little protection to pigs, cows, sheep and goats, and do not provide any protection for chickens, turkeys, or other birds. Pigs being herded toward slaughter. Photo: Jo-Anne McArthur/ We Animals
How are animals killed in slaughterhouses?
Most slaughterhouses do not even attempt to kill the animals in a humane manner. They’re often beaten, kicked, and shocked with electric prods as they’re forced into the chutes. This is a clear example of cruelty to animals. And it’s not just the actual killing that disturbs me.
How are hogs slaughtered for meat?
Hogs are sometimes boiled alive. The slaughtering process is done so quickly that line workers and the meat butcher don’t always wait for the animals to be dead before they start hacking them up. Another method of slaughter is the captive-bolt pistol. With this method, a heavy metal rod is shot into the animal’s forehead to render it unconscious.
How many cows are shot in the head on a slaughter day?
On a typical slaughter day at this Certified Humane® farm, 2 out of 21 cows expressed distress vocalizations and two had to be shot in the head twice. This stress/suffering ratio fails to meet even the USDA’s notoriously lax criteria for “humane slaughter.”