Stunning and Slaughter 1 Flashcards
effectiveness of stunning
- exam question
- learn
Restraint methods
- shackes
- roping
- box with trap door
- carried along little conveyer belt
Things to consider with pre-slaughter in other countires
- costs
- electricity supply
Is restraint good for welfare?
- yes allows more effective stunning
- can overrestrain (esp halal etc.)
Considerations for stunning boxes
- no holes at bottom of doors (encourages heads to be put down, more difficult to stun)
- flooring
- chains
- screws and hinges on side of race
- distractions
- reflections
Stun to bleeding period - aims?
Short as poss
- to minimise risk of coming round
Stunning methods
- electrical
- penetrative captive bolt (will kill)
- non-penetrative captive bolt
- gas stunning
Slaughter methods
- sticking or neck cutting
- cardiac arrest
- decpactiation
- neck dislocation (careful)
- free bullet
- maceration (male DOC)
- free bullet
- gas stunning (poultry)
Euhanasia methods
- lethal injection
- free bullet
- penetrative captive bolt AND PITHING (‘fiddling’)
- anaesthetic inhalation
- cardion dioxide
- carbon monoxide
- neck dislocation
4 main forms of stunning
- head only electric stunning
- percussive stunning
- electrical waterbath stunning
- gas stunning
captive bolt used for… species?
- cattle mainly
- sometimes sheep, claves, horses
- casues severe convulsions in pigs (not used)
- instantaneous enconciousness and usually irreversible if done correctly (but legally need a killing method aswell as slightly different aim wont kill)
Sources of energy in captive bolt guns?
- cartidges
- compressed air
do you need a fire arms license to use a captive bolt?
NO! (as a vet)
- other people need slaughtermans licence
- unless welfare case emergency then can use anything
are touch powered (ie non trigger) captive guns easy to use?
- NO high margin for error
- more powerful than trigger powered
- slaughter men get good at using
are non-penetrative captive bolt used for cattle?
- no
- even halal now don’t really use
- can cause damage to animal
- less effective at stunning
Signs of effective captive bolt stun
- immediate collapse with HL flexed
- tonic
- immediate loss rhythmic breathing
- immediate loss corneal and palpebral reflex
- no eyeball rotation (but eyeball rotation wanted for slaughter without stunning)
- relaxed jaw and musecle tone
- no righting reflex (cf. just muscle spasm of head) coordinated limb movement too
- convulsive kicking (clonic phase)
Where should cows and pigs be shot?
- cows cross between eyes and cows
- pigs between eyes
> towards tail (aim brainstem)
What weight of pig may need a shotgun?
> 60-80kg
Where should sheep and horses be shot?
- sheep behind horns back of head aim slightly forward
- non horned slightly more rostral (highest point of the head) aim down
- horses cross between eyes and ears 2cm above
Where should you stand when shooting an animal?
Not in front
- side
- touching head
What can go wrong with captive bolt?
- clogged up
- don’t clean with water
- not too much gun oil
- bolt can split -> projectile
RIsks of shooting back of head
may miss brain and hit SC -> paralysed but not unconscious
Where should head only electrical stunning be directly? What other kind of stunning is available?
- between eyes and ears to go across brain
- head to body inducing cardiac arrest as a kill method available
What does electrical stunning cause to induce unconsciousness?
- rapid depolarisation of the membrane -> synchronous activity
- EEG waveform == grand mal seizure (though they don’t always physciallly seizure)
- progress to quiet phase of EEG where minimal electrical activity seen
- may come round again after this phase
Duration of unconsciousness induced by head only electrical stunning
60-70s, in some cases 30s
- BLEED QUICK takes 14s to stun from when the neck is cut
Which vessels need to be severed in the neck cut?
carotids needed to be cut
+ vertebral arteries in cattle
* not just jugular takes 5mins to die from this!!!*
sheep go quicker
