Animal Slaughter

Animal slaughter is a necessary evil, but unfortunately with the way It Is carried out It Is repulsive. For as long as recorded history mankind has hunted animals for survival and that practice continues today. The main use for an animal is for food: this is the oldest and the most universal form of an animal. With advancements of the world's civilization, animals were traded at markets and the owner would receive a payment for the animal's value. This process continues today. Animals are sold for larger sums to corporations that will then send the animal to a slaughterhouse and sell the meat o a deliberate.

Here customers purchase the meat at inflated prices. Around the globe meat from livestock animals Is a popular Item to add to one's plate for any meal. One could have beef, lamb, pork, or even horse, but how does this animal get from a place it once thought was it's home to the customers table. The amount of stress the animal goes through before the slaughter process is astonishing. Horses that are slaughtered regularly come from the racetrack where they were administered drugs before running a race. These drugs are harmful to humans If consumed.

The health of an animal while It Is living In Its pen, cramped with many of its own breed is heartbreaking to see. The World Organization for Animal Health has helped established new regulations for slaughter, transportation and killing animals for disease control. The World Organization for Animal Health, also known as OWE, has developed basic standards that developed and developing countries now agree on. In addition to Oleo's standards, each country has specific laws and standards of their own. OWE designed the five basic standards. One, the percentage of animals stunned on the iris attempt. Two, percentage rendered insensible prior to hoisting. Three, percentage that vocalizes (moo, bellow, or squeal) during movement up the race and in the stunning box. Four, percentage that fall down, and five, percentage moved with an electric goad" (Grand 56). An animal welfare addling system that Is deemed "good" should have standards that prohibit bad practices, Like, dragging, dropping, throwing, punctilio, (which is a small knife or dagger used to cut the spinal cord. And hoisting live animals. Some examples of welfare misfortunes can be measured with the outcomes is the percentage of animals that are underfed, lame, have lesions, bruising, missed their stuns before being slaughtered or fell down during handling. The examples given are outcomes of bad practices or unacceptable conditions (Grand 57). The standards are based on conditions that are the results of poor management, neglect, abuse of the animals, or poorly designed equipment. N. G.

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Gregory did a review on pigs, lambs and cattle while in transport, at a livestock market and in the slaughterhouse (before being slaughtered). Many physical injuries can take place along with high stress levels. Gregory gives the world in his study an extensive amount of examples of the animal's welfare at the markets, during transport and at the time of slaughter. If animals have a high stress level, for pigs there is evidence that any type of strenuous exercise of CA stunning can contribute to old or stale tastes in pigs, poultry and fish.

One study was done in Australia and the second in New Zealand. Over time we have learned from other studies and experience certain breeds are more difficult to handle, for example, the Limousine, Red Borrow cattle and Text sheep (Gregory 3). It is now recommended that if working tit these breeds one is experienced and accustom to the handling procedures. This will make it easier for the animal and create less stress for the animal before the slaughter period. Unfortunately for any animal, as soon as it is loaded for transport it becomes stressed.

Sometimes it can even start earlier then this, during the study in Australia five out of thirteen lambs had pre-transport stress or were underfed (Gregory 2-11). A study was done on lambs in Spain during the transportation period by G. C. Miranda- De la Lama. This study that Miranda-De la Lama performed is also helpful to animals in the United States. Miranda-De la Lama helps explain the stress created on lambs and how it can bargain with the animal's welfare during transportation. When transporting animals it is usually a stressful process, especially for the animal.

A study was done in Spain with lambs during transportation. This study mainly consisted of the handling of the animal before and after transporting. Specific categories were focused on and surveyed, farmers, haulers, abattoirs (a slaughterhouse), and classification center (a temporary feedlot). A Journey of seventy- nine kilometers and average Journey time of seventy-four minutes was conducted. A questionnaire was created for all categories specified above. When preparing for transport lambs were normally separated from their first enclosure the day before being transported.

They were also kept off their feed for five or more hours before departing for slaughter. Many of the animals were maneuvered onto the transportation truck using plastic bags. Very few of the farms that the studies were done on did not usually have climate or environmental control or veterinarians present while the sheep were being loaded. Thankfully while lambs were being unloaded there is no reported application of sticks or electric rods. When lambs had arrived to the second farm for weight gain, they arrived weighing in at an average of 19. 6 keg, and departing at 25. 6 keg, with a stay period averaged at twenty-one days.

That is rather revolting that someone can beef up an animal in a short time p. The lambs would be transported again to the slaughterhouse once the slaughter weight was met (Miranda-De la Lama 175). Many important points on the farm where the lamb is coming from incorporate poor loading facilities including not having a veterinary on site while the lambs are being loaded. Transportation can have a combination of many different stresses that can eve harmful effects on the lambs. Miranda-De la Lama states that there should be some sort of installed payment plan that will be put into action.

This would help agree to terms on transportation quality of the lambs directly for the welfare of the lamb (Miranda-De la Lama 178). All attempts should be made to help decrease the level of stress on any animal heading to the slaughterhouse. Careful planning should abattoirs need to have better communication to help create a smoother traveling system. Miranda-De la Lama states in her study that a decision support system to assure animal welfare across the board for any animal should be implemented to help reduce and prevent the different welfare risks (Miranda-De la Lama 178).

All possibly ways to help reduce the amount of stress of an animal should be observed and rules set into place. Thankfully, some researchers have already put this to the test. Veronique Deeds performed a study on lambs to try to pinpoint where these animals become stressed. Today, public and consumers are concerned about the welfare of animals, mainly for the discomfort of the animals that are going to be slaughtered. To elf reduce the stress of the animals during the slaughter period it is imperative to comprehend the causes of stress for the animal. The slaughter process can represent different types of stress for every animal.

When Deeds conducted this study, it was done on lambs on to determine profiles measured during rearing, plasma cortical levels in blood collected at assassinations (draining blood of the animal), and metabolic activity in the dead bodies muscle. Tests showed many differences in lamb's muscles with lower pH levels produced in their meat. Even lambs that produced a high- pitched bleating had a higher muscle temperature. The more alert lambs had a higher pH after death compared to others. Any animal that has a higher pH level in the muscles before dying will not taste as good.

These different tests of post mortem muscle metabolism and expressions of social distress predict stress during the slaughter period. Also social disturbances and the environment of the slaughterhouse contain major causes of stress (Deeds 193-202). Deeds concluded in her study that lambs showed coherence in emotional reactivity to different stressful conditions. In her current study, lambs slaughtered in a commercial abattoir, the lactating cortical levels at assassinations and post-mortem measurements of stress reactions had been related to the day of slaughter.

Now, seeing how the lambs reacted on the day of slaughter, another study has been done on cows to see if it is possible to identify how the cows react to the slaughter procedure. A study on thirty-two Norman cows was done to see if it is possible to identify if cows reacted to the slaughter procedure. Along with which factors contributed to stress during the pre-slaughter period. Many different tests proceeded with the cows to test behavioral and physiological activity. These tests consisted of but were not limited too, social separations, and human exposure.

Tests showed that when cows saw other cows compared to having a human presence there was a stronger reaction. The cow's heart rate elevated and spent more time in the exit zone. A stress-inducing atmosphere can have very negative repercussions for animal welfare and meat quality. The slaughter duration begins at the animal's farm with the preparation of transport, and then ends at the moment of slaughtering the animals. Many of the cows might not become stressed to the same things as their fellow cows. All cows differ in their evaluation of stressful to the reactivity tests. Two slaughter situations were used. Limited Stress" situation and an "Added Stress" situation were used on the cows (Burette 11). Each day two cows were put to slaughter from the same pen, one for each stress environment. A cow brought down the added stress situation had to maneuver through different hallways inside and outside, consistently hear banging from metals objects and was immediately slaughtered. A cow that was led through the limited stress situation was handled with a human and another cow was also being led. This cow heard no banging of any kind, did not need to maneuver through different hallways, and was able to be calmer with another cow by its side.

The cow with a limited stress evaluation was slaughter with a lower heart rate and a lower pH level in the muscles (Burette 11-12). Since Burette concluded his study many advancements have been made, but challenges do still exist. Temple Grand helps the U. S. Get an idea of the progress and challenges in handling the animals during the slaughter process. In many slaughterhouses around the world serious animal abuse exists. Other than we re actually killing them for us to eat. Many restaurants have started auditing the U. S. Beef and pork slaughter plants.

Surprisingly McDonald's has played a huge part in this. McDonald's made large improvements in the way people handle and stun the animal. McDonald's used five different measurements to start helping the way they handled and stunned the animal. "One, the percentage of animals stunned on the first attempt. Two, percentage rendered insensible prior to hoisting. Three, percentage that vocalizes (moo, bellow, or squeal) during movement up the race and in the stunning box. Four, percentage that fall down, and five, percentage moved with an electric goad" (Grand 129).

Since 1996, before McDonald's began their audits, each average percentage grew. The most impressive developments were in beef. In 1996 the average first attempt to stun a cow was rated at eighty-nine point five percent. By 2003 it was ninety-eight point six percent. Even visualization has improved during stunning from 1996 was ten percent, in 2003 it was two percent (Grand 129). In 1996 and on a total of fifty plants were audited. Many of the plants were able to significantly improve welfare of the animal y improving stunner maintenance, installing non-slip floors and better training of the staff (Grand 131).

Since we have created better standards for the animal's well being in a slaughterhouse, we now have another challenge to face, drugs used on different animals. Nicholas Adman has helped the world understand more on the slaughter of race horses that were given medication known as Phenylalanine. Horse slaughter has had many attempts from animal rights activists to see the end of it. Last year alone there was about sixty seven million pounds sent across seas from the United States. Many drugs are used for horses while they are at work. The most common is known in the horse world as 'butt', Phenolphthalein by the vet.

This is the most common used drug in the horse world. It is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. The most common slaughter horse in the U. S. Is the Thoroughbred, most commonly known as racehorses. 'Butt' is banned for any type of human consumption. It can cause serious and lethal unique harmful effects in humans. Tests have been done during race day to horses that were given 'butt' and then sent U. S. Horses. In this case, it can create a serious health risk for the people who ingest reseat (Adman 1270-1284). Horses should not have to be slaughtered for any reason other then it is seriously injured.

Sadly they are slaughtered for many other reasons. The American Association of Equine Practitioners helps the United States get a glimpse of what its all about. The Unwanted Horse in the U. S. Is an ongoing issue for many people. Tom Lend helps give the U. S. A glance of the issue. To many people horses are seen for their beauty, poise, and the Old West and are a cultural icon. This has made it very difficult for the unwanted horse issue and the decision of ending the life of a horse. Including in this debate the horse business will usually categorize a horse as livestock, where the public tends to categorize the horse as a companion.

The 'unwanted horse' came about in 2005, from the American Association of Equine Practitioners (APE) at a meeting in Washington D. C. These unwanted horses are defined as, "those no longer wanted by their current owner because they are old, injured, sick, unmanageable, or fail to meet their owners expectations" (Lend 253). This has become a very large issue in the U. S. Many horse rescue, adoption and retirement organizations have made a dedicated and vigorous effort to provide care, funding or suitable accommodations for unwanted horses over the years.

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