Slaughter without stunning

By The Halal Journal Newsdesk (Source: MeatPoultry.com) published 3 months ago

Original Article Source: MeatPoultry.com

By Dr. Temple Grandin

Switching the position of the neck cut has the potential to greatly improve animal welfare

Two major welfare problems can occur during slaughter without stunning. They are a prolonged period where the bovine remains sensible and aspiration of blood into the trachea (windpipe) and respiratory tract. Blood entering the respiratory tract is a welfare concern because the sensation caused by blood entering the respiratory system is likely to be very distressful.

Observations and research done by Neville Gregory, Ph.D., from Bristol Univ. in the UK, and other researchers indicates that cutting cattle close to the jawbone will eliminate the transmission of “potentially unpleasant sensory signals associated with blood contaminating the upper and lower respiratory tract.” When the cut is made close to the jawbone in the C1 (Cervical 1) position, the sensory nerve to the respiratory tract is severed. However, most Halal and Kosher cuts are made further away from the jaw in the C2 to C4 position. In this position, the sensory nerve remains intact and distressful sensations could be transmitted to the brain before the animal loses sensibility. These research findings were presented by Gregory at the Centenary International Symposium held in Portsmouth, England. This conference was hosted by the Humane Slaughter Association.

Cutting in the C1 position close to the jaw will also help prevent prolonged periods of sensibility caused by sealing off of the artery ends. Approximately 3 percent to 5 percent of the cattle have delayed onset of insensibility, according to Gregory. This small percentage is similar to observations I have made in plants that have expert Kosher slaughter. Most cattle that have delayed onset of insensibility will have occluded arteries caused by false aneurysms. Cutting close to the jawbone in the C1 position greatly reduces the formation of false aneurysms. When cattle were cut in the C1 position, only 1 percent of the arteries were occluded. When they were cut in the C3 position, which is further away from the jaw, one-third of the cattle had false aneurysms. Switching the position of the cut to the C1 position has the potential to greatly improve animal welfare.

Some Halal slaughter is already being performed by cutting close to the jawbone. In Halal, cutting in the C1 position is strongly recommended. For Kosher slaughter, the knife is not permitted to touch the jawbone. Research is needed to determine if Kosher cuts that are ritually correct will reliably sever the nerve to prevent distressful sensations from aspirated blood from being perceived by the cattle. Gregory concluded, “changing to a cut at C1 could partly reduce the potential for suffering during slaughter without stunning.”

Differences in anatomy

The problems discussed in this article mainly occur in cattle. Due to differences in anatomy, sheep and goats bleed out more quickly than cattle. Gregory also found that sealing off of the artery ends does not occur in sheep and goats. Numerous researchers have documented that cattle lose sensibility within 17 to 85 seconds. Insensibility can be prolonged if the arteries get sealed off. Sheep become unconscious in two to 14 seconds. These new findings on the advantages of cutting in the C1 position have the potential to improve animal welfare when slaughter is performed without stunning.

ISLAMIC METHOD OF SLAUGHTERING AN ANIMAL

Research: Islamic Slaughtering and Western method of Slaughtering.

Let’s begin with a small introduction with the term HALAAL

What is Halaal ( ﻝﻼﺣ )?

Halal is an Arabic word meaning lawful or permitted. The opposite of halal is HARAAM (ﻡﺍﺮﺣ ), which means unlawful or prohibited. Halal and haram are universal terms that apply to allfacets of life. However, we will use these terms only in relation to food products, meat products, cosmetics, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, food ingredients, and food contact materials.

While many things are clearly halal or haram, there are some things which are not clear. Further information is needed to categorize them as halal or haram. Such items are often referred to asmashbooh, which means doubtful or questionable.

All foods are considered halal except the following (which are haram):
Swine/Pork and its by-products – Read more on WHY PORK IS PROHIBITED
Animals improperly slaughtered or dead before slaughtering
Alcoholic drinks and intoxicants Carnivorous animals, birds of prey and certain other animals Foods contaminated with any of the above products,

Foods containing ingredients such as gelatin, enzymes, emulsifiers, and flavors are questionable (mashbooh), because the origin of the seingredients is not known.

Let’s now move into the topic.

The Islamic practice of slaughtering animals by means of a sharp cut to the front of the neck has frequently come under attack by some animal rights activists as being a form of animal cruelty, the claim being that it is a painful in human method of killing animals. In the West, it is required by law to stun the animals with a shot to the head before the slaughter, supposedly to render the animal unconscious and to prevent it from reviving before it is killed so as not to slow down the movement of the processing line. It is also used toprevent the animal from feeling pain before it dies.

German Research Studies Pain,

It therefore may come as a surprise to those who have made such acclimations to learn of the results of a study carried out by Professor Wilhelm Schulzeand his colleague Dr. Hazim at the School of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover University in Germany. The study: ‘Attempts to Objectify Pain and Consciousness in Conventional (captive boltpistol stunning) and Ritual (halal, knife) Methods of Slaughtering Sheep and Calves’ concludes that Islamic slaughtering is the most humane method of slaughter and that captive bolt stunning, practiced in the West, causes severe pain to the animal.

In the study, several electrodes were surgicallyimplanted at various points of the skull of allanimals, touching the surface of the brain. Theanimals were allowed to recover for several weeks. Some animals were then slaughtered by making a swift, deep incision with a sharp knife on the neck cutting the jugular veins and thecarotid arteries as well as the trachea andesophagus (Islamic method). Other animals werestunned using a Captive Bolt Pistol (CBP). During the experiment, an electroencephal ograph (EEG) and anelectrocardiogram (ECG) recorded the condition of the brain and the heart of all animals during the course of slaughter and stunning.

The results were as follows:

I – Islamic Method When you slaughter in Islamic way the blood is drained from the flesh, where as other method ofkilling clots the blood and 45 percent of the blood remains in the flesh, hence eating such meat is highly dagerous to health, especially kids.

1. The first three seconds from the time of Islamic slaughter as recorded on the EEG did not show any change from the graph before slaughter, thus indicating that the animal did not feel any painduring or immediately after the incision.

2. For the following 3 seconds, the EEG recorded acondition of deep sleep – unconsciousness. This is due to the large quantity of blood gushing out from the body.

3. After the above-mentioned 6 seconds, the EEG recorded zero level, showing no feeling of pain atall.

4. As the brain message (EEG) dropped to zero level, the heart was still pounding and the body convulsing vigorously (A reflex action of the spinal cord) driving a maximum amount of blood from the body thus resulting in hygienic meat for the consumer.