The document discusses the reality of slaughter in the UK and whether it can truly be considered humane given the large scale of the industry. It notes that nearly 1 billion land animals were slaughtered in the UK in 2014 according to official statistics. While legislation and standards have improved welfare, undercover investigations have found continued abuse and failures to properly implement rules. The best scenario still involves stress, loss of natural behaviors and denial of positive experiences for animals. The document argues that truly ensuring welfare may require reducing meat consumption and developing alternative agricultural systems.
Currently, Europe’s high demand for feed protein is largely met through imported soya. Around 80 percent of crop proteins per year are imported, with 60 percent used for livestock feed.
Major Causes of Organ and Carcass Condemnation in Cattle Slaughtered at Bahir...Premier Publishers
A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2010 to March 2011 in Bahir Dar municipality abattoir, Northwest Ethiopia to identify the major causes of organ and carcass condemnations and to estimate the direct economic losses. A total of 413 cattle were taken for antemortem and postmortem examination. SPSS version 19 was used for chi-square test and p-values < 0.05 was taken as statistically significant. Postmortem examination revealed that 379 (91.7%) livers, 116(28%) lungs, 10(2.4%) hearts, 9(2.2%) kidneys, and 28 (6.7%) carcasses were rejected in both age categories due to various causes. Fasciolosis, (64%) Hydatidosis, (24.6%) pericarditis, (1.2%) hydronephrosis, (0.5%) Abscessation, (0.7%) and bruising, (2.9%) were found to be the major causes responsible for rejection. There was statically insignificant difference observed between the two age categories of cattle for all causes of liver (χ2 = 35.80; P> 0.05), Kidney and Carcass, (χ2= 16.9; p> 0.05) and heart (χ2 =19.1; P>0.05) condemnation. However, there was statistically significant difference observed (χ2=63.2; P<0.05) for all causes of lung condemnation between the two age categories. However, there were no statistically significant difference detected between body condition scoring categories and causes of liver, lung, heart, kidney and carcass condemnations (χ2 =76.1, 35.0, 10.7, 11.0; p>0.05) respectively. The average annual economic losses was calculated and found 170, 676 ETB. The current study revealed that Fasciolosis and Hydatidosis were the major causes for condemnation that lead to huge economic losses. Therefore, to alleviate these, further studies and preventive measures should be carried out to reduce unnecessary financial losses encountered in the industry.
RABIES IN TUNISIA:Evolution and result of « National Program of Rabies Control »Pasteur_Tunis
Présentation de Habib Kharmachi , responsable du laboratoire de la Rage à l'Institut Pasteur de Tunis durant le symposium organisé conjointement entre le Robert Koch Institute et l'Institut Pasteur de Tunis "Current challenges of Biological Risks and Heealth Security" (22-23 septembre 2016)
Causes of ovine’s mortality at the National ovine Center of Bétècoucou in Ben...Innspub Net
The management of animals in pasture at the National ovine Center in the breeding farm of Bétécoucou is confronted by some constraints that make the level of production remain low for several years. This study aims to identify the causes of animal’s mortality at the national ovine center of the Bétécoucou breeding farm in Benin. The biological material consisted of sheep from the National Ovine Center. It is a flock of pregnant ewes, lactating ewes, rams and lambs. The sampling unit is consisted of the small ruminants of the Bétècoucou breeding farm. The study included a population of 576 sheep of the center of which 41 rams, 21 male yearlings, 18 female yearlings, 301 pregnant and lactating ewes, 83 lambs and 112 ewes. The analyzed data relate to the feeding, livestock management, livestock buildings and watering animals at the National ovine Center. During the study, we recorded 38.46% mortality of lambs of the study sample and 15.46% mortality of the total study sample. Thus, we have shown that animal mortality at the center is not only related to pathologies but to feeding, livestock management, operations carried out on animals, consanguinity and livestock buildings.
Currently, Europe’s high demand for feed protein is largely met through imported soya. Around 80 percent of crop proteins per year are imported, with 60 percent used for livestock feed.
Major Causes of Organ and Carcass Condemnation in Cattle Slaughtered at Bahir...Premier Publishers
A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2010 to March 2011 in Bahir Dar municipality abattoir, Northwest Ethiopia to identify the major causes of organ and carcass condemnations and to estimate the direct economic losses. A total of 413 cattle were taken for antemortem and postmortem examination. SPSS version 19 was used for chi-square test and p-values < 0.05 was taken as statistically significant. Postmortem examination revealed that 379 (91.7%) livers, 116(28%) lungs, 10(2.4%) hearts, 9(2.2%) kidneys, and 28 (6.7%) carcasses were rejected in both age categories due to various causes. Fasciolosis, (64%) Hydatidosis, (24.6%) pericarditis, (1.2%) hydronephrosis, (0.5%) Abscessation, (0.7%) and bruising, (2.9%) were found to be the major causes responsible for rejection. There was statically insignificant difference observed between the two age categories of cattle for all causes of liver (χ2 = 35.80; P> 0.05), Kidney and Carcass, (χ2= 16.9; p> 0.05) and heart (χ2 =19.1; P>0.05) condemnation. However, there was statistically significant difference observed (χ2=63.2; P<0.05) for all causes of lung condemnation between the two age categories. However, there were no statistically significant difference detected between body condition scoring categories and causes of liver, lung, heart, kidney and carcass condemnations (χ2 =76.1, 35.0, 10.7, 11.0; p>0.05) respectively. The average annual economic losses was calculated and found 170, 676 ETB. The current study revealed that Fasciolosis and Hydatidosis were the major causes for condemnation that lead to huge economic losses. Therefore, to alleviate these, further studies and preventive measures should be carried out to reduce unnecessary financial losses encountered in the industry.
RABIES IN TUNISIA:Evolution and result of « National Program of Rabies Control »Pasteur_Tunis
Présentation de Habib Kharmachi , responsable du laboratoire de la Rage à l'Institut Pasteur de Tunis durant le symposium organisé conjointement entre le Robert Koch Institute et l'Institut Pasteur de Tunis "Current challenges of Biological Risks and Heealth Security" (22-23 septembre 2016)
Causes of ovine’s mortality at the National ovine Center of Bétècoucou in Ben...Innspub Net
The management of animals in pasture at the National ovine Center in the breeding farm of Bétécoucou is confronted by some constraints that make the level of production remain low for several years. This study aims to identify the causes of animal’s mortality at the national ovine center of the Bétécoucou breeding farm in Benin. The biological material consisted of sheep from the National Ovine Center. It is a flock of pregnant ewes, lactating ewes, rams and lambs. The sampling unit is consisted of the small ruminants of the Bétècoucou breeding farm. The study included a population of 576 sheep of the center of which 41 rams, 21 male yearlings, 18 female yearlings, 301 pregnant and lactating ewes, 83 lambs and 112 ewes. The analyzed data relate to the feeding, livestock management, livestock buildings and watering animals at the National ovine Center. During the study, we recorded 38.46% mortality of lambs of the study sample and 15.46% mortality of the total study sample. Thus, we have shown that animal mortality at the center is not only related to pathologies but to feeding, livestock management, operations carried out on animals, consanguinity and livestock buildings.
Participatory evaluation of chicken health and production constraints in Ethi...Emmanuel Sambo
Chicken production has a major role in the economy of developing countries and backyard production is particularly important to women. Several programmes, in Ethiopia and else-where, have attempted to improve chicken production as a means to reduce poverty. A key constraint to chicken production identified by farmers is disease. This study used participatory rural appraisal methods to work with chicken-keepers in order to prioritise chicken diseases, place these within the context of other production constraints, and to explore perceptions of disease risk factors and biosecurity measures.The study, focused on Debre Zeit, Ethiopia, included 71 poultry keepers (41 backyard and 30 semi-intensive chicken producers). Although women played an important role in backyard production systems, semi-intensive farms were more likely to be controlled by men. Participants identified 9 constraints to production: 7 of 8 groups of backyard producers and 15/31 semi-intensive producers ranked diseases as the most important constraint to chicken production. In contrast to previous reports, farmers in both groups had considerable knowledge of diseases and of factors affecting disease risk. Both groups, but particularly semi-intensive producers, highlighted access to feed as a constraint. Many of the challenges faced by both groups were associated with difficulty accessing agricultural and veterinary inputs and expertise. The low involvement of women in semi-intensive production needs to be recognised by poultry development schemes. Provision needs to be made to allow access to inputs for a wide range of business models, particularly for those, such as women, who have limited access to the capital to allow them to make the jump from backyard to semi-intensive producer, and require support to slowly build up a flock into a profitable venture.
Hepatic and Rumenal Worms Infestations of Cattle in Vina Division (Adamawa – ...AI Publications
The main objective of this work is to describe a preliminary epidemiological account of major hepatic and rumenal distome worms of cattle in Vina Division, Adamawa Region of Cameroon. A total of 1361 cattle dung specimens and 450 blood samples were collected between April 2018 and March 2019 in 06 subdivisions within Vina Division. The dung and blood samples were placed in a cooler. The cooler was immediately transported to the medical and veterinary laboratory of Special Mission of tsetse fly Eradication where samples were kept cold at +4°C for at most 48 hours. The qualitative method of concentration of worm eggs by simple sedimentation was performed.Blood parameters were measured using a haematology automated system. Of the 1361 cattle dung specimens examined, 424 presented distome eggs giving a prevalence of 31.15 %.These were Fasciola gigantica, Paramphistomum daubneyi and Dicrocoelium hopes eggs.All cattle age groups were infected by worms. In terms of prevalence, medium cattle were found to be the most infected. In lean cattle the parasitic loads of F. gigantic and D. hopes were high and then decreased as the health of the animals improved. All cattle breeds were infected by at least one of the worm species. Bokolo and Djafoun were most infected by F. gigantica, while Holstein and Aku were more influence by P. daubneyi. Goudali breed is the one that has undergone the least parasitic pressure. Male cattle were more infected than females, but females exhibited higher mean intensity of infestation. Older cattle were more susceptible to F. gigantic and D. hopes infection while Adults were more infected by P. daubneyi. Whatever the parasite considered, parasitic load progressively increased with the age of the cattle. The number of cattle infected by P. daubneyi and D. hopeswas greater in the rainy season unlike F. gigantic infection which was more recurrent in the dry season. Mbe locality had a high prevalence of F. gigantica and P. daubneyi. However, Ngaoundere 1, 2 and 3 presented the highest mean intensities for all worm species. Prevalence and mean intensities of cattle have been more important in extensive livestock status. All the worms were encountered all year round, except for November and December 2018 where D. hopes was absent. Polyparasitic cases were observed. Nevertheless, bispecifics associations were most frequent. Mean Corpuscular Volume, Platelet Concentrations, Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin, Total Leucocytes Count and Granulocytes mean values were higher in cattle with significant parasitic loads while Total Erythrocyte Count and Packed Cell Volume were low. Today, it is well established that distomatoses represent one of the major parasitoses of cattle in Vina Division of Cameroon.
The Future of Food: Amazing Lab Grown And 3D Printed Meat And FishBernard Marr
As advances are made in the lab to create meat and seafood without an animal, companies are starting to drive innovations in the food industry to meet future demand. These innovators are trying to solve the complex problem of feeding a growing global population without doing further damage to the environment.
Prevalence of Abomasal Nematodes of Sheep’s in Jimma Municipal Abattoir, Ethi...Premier Publishers
A cross sectional study was conducted from November 2015 to April 2016 in Jimma zone of Oromiya region, to determine the prevalence of abomasal nematodes of sheep slaughtered at Jimma municipal abattoir. A systematic random sampling technique was applied to select the sheep. Abomasum of sheep was incised following the standard procedures. A total of 387 abomasums were incised and using standards of parasite identification methods two genera of nematodes were identified with an overall prevalence of 78.29%. The prevalence of Haemonchus contortus and Trichostrongylus axei was 66.67% and 53.5%, respectively. A statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) was not found between origins in prevalence of these parasites. However, a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05) was noticed between the level of the prevalence and different body conditioned animals. The highest prevalence was in poor body condition (97.26%). The overall mean worm count was 5334.97 and the mean worm count of specific nematode were 675.19 and 690.82 for Hemonchus and T. axei, respectively. The great majority of the infected sheep was with light, moderate and heavy degree of infestation. The current study epitomized that the prevalence of nematodiasis was high and consequently; sustainable control programs should warrant.
Hoy presenté una Iniciativa para incluir en la Ley General de Turismo las definiciones de “peregrino” y de “turismo religioso”, por sus particulares motivaciones espirituales, pero reconociendo su naturaleza económica y cultural.
In now days so many peoples are addicted to drugs and alcohol. This life-threatening disease affects all who come in content with the addicted person: friends, family, and co-workers. BLVD treatment center mission is to instill in our clients a deeply held sobriety, emotional wellness and unshakable joy of life.
Top Fit Dubai provide traditional & modern styles interiors services for Site plans, Architectural Drawings, MEP Drawings, 3d Modeling Visualization with concept proposals.
Participatory evaluation of chicken health and production constraints in Ethi...Emmanuel Sambo
Chicken production has a major role in the economy of developing countries and backyard production is particularly important to women. Several programmes, in Ethiopia and else-where, have attempted to improve chicken production as a means to reduce poverty. A key constraint to chicken production identified by farmers is disease. This study used participatory rural appraisal methods to work with chicken-keepers in order to prioritise chicken diseases, place these within the context of other production constraints, and to explore perceptions of disease risk factors and biosecurity measures.The study, focused on Debre Zeit, Ethiopia, included 71 poultry keepers (41 backyard and 30 semi-intensive chicken producers). Although women played an important role in backyard production systems, semi-intensive farms were more likely to be controlled by men. Participants identified 9 constraints to production: 7 of 8 groups of backyard producers and 15/31 semi-intensive producers ranked diseases as the most important constraint to chicken production. In contrast to previous reports, farmers in both groups had considerable knowledge of diseases and of factors affecting disease risk. Both groups, but particularly semi-intensive producers, highlighted access to feed as a constraint. Many of the challenges faced by both groups were associated with difficulty accessing agricultural and veterinary inputs and expertise. The low involvement of women in semi-intensive production needs to be recognised by poultry development schemes. Provision needs to be made to allow access to inputs for a wide range of business models, particularly for those, such as women, who have limited access to the capital to allow them to make the jump from backyard to semi-intensive producer, and require support to slowly build up a flock into a profitable venture.
Hepatic and Rumenal Worms Infestations of Cattle in Vina Division (Adamawa – ...AI Publications
The main objective of this work is to describe a preliminary epidemiological account of major hepatic and rumenal distome worms of cattle in Vina Division, Adamawa Region of Cameroon. A total of 1361 cattle dung specimens and 450 blood samples were collected between April 2018 and March 2019 in 06 subdivisions within Vina Division. The dung and blood samples were placed in a cooler. The cooler was immediately transported to the medical and veterinary laboratory of Special Mission of tsetse fly Eradication where samples were kept cold at +4°C for at most 48 hours. The qualitative method of concentration of worm eggs by simple sedimentation was performed.Blood parameters were measured using a haematology automated system. Of the 1361 cattle dung specimens examined, 424 presented distome eggs giving a prevalence of 31.15 %.These were Fasciola gigantica, Paramphistomum daubneyi and Dicrocoelium hopes eggs.All cattle age groups were infected by worms. In terms of prevalence, medium cattle were found to be the most infected. In lean cattle the parasitic loads of F. gigantic and D. hopes were high and then decreased as the health of the animals improved. All cattle breeds were infected by at least one of the worm species. Bokolo and Djafoun were most infected by F. gigantica, while Holstein and Aku were more influence by P. daubneyi. Goudali breed is the one that has undergone the least parasitic pressure. Male cattle were more infected than females, but females exhibited higher mean intensity of infestation. Older cattle were more susceptible to F. gigantic and D. hopes infection while Adults were more infected by P. daubneyi. Whatever the parasite considered, parasitic load progressively increased with the age of the cattle. The number of cattle infected by P. daubneyi and D. hopeswas greater in the rainy season unlike F. gigantic infection which was more recurrent in the dry season. Mbe locality had a high prevalence of F. gigantica and P. daubneyi. However, Ngaoundere 1, 2 and 3 presented the highest mean intensities for all worm species. Prevalence and mean intensities of cattle have been more important in extensive livestock status. All the worms were encountered all year round, except for November and December 2018 where D. hopes was absent. Polyparasitic cases were observed. Nevertheless, bispecifics associations were most frequent. Mean Corpuscular Volume, Platelet Concentrations, Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin, Total Leucocytes Count and Granulocytes mean values were higher in cattle with significant parasitic loads while Total Erythrocyte Count and Packed Cell Volume were low. Today, it is well established that distomatoses represent one of the major parasitoses of cattle in Vina Division of Cameroon.
The Future of Food: Amazing Lab Grown And 3D Printed Meat And FishBernard Marr
As advances are made in the lab to create meat and seafood without an animal, companies are starting to drive innovations in the food industry to meet future demand. These innovators are trying to solve the complex problem of feeding a growing global population without doing further damage to the environment.
Prevalence of Abomasal Nematodes of Sheep’s in Jimma Municipal Abattoir, Ethi...Premier Publishers
A cross sectional study was conducted from November 2015 to April 2016 in Jimma zone of Oromiya region, to determine the prevalence of abomasal nematodes of sheep slaughtered at Jimma municipal abattoir. A systematic random sampling technique was applied to select the sheep. Abomasum of sheep was incised following the standard procedures. A total of 387 abomasums were incised and using standards of parasite identification methods two genera of nematodes were identified with an overall prevalence of 78.29%. The prevalence of Haemonchus contortus and Trichostrongylus axei was 66.67% and 53.5%, respectively. A statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) was not found between origins in prevalence of these parasites. However, a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05) was noticed between the level of the prevalence and different body conditioned animals. The highest prevalence was in poor body condition (97.26%). The overall mean worm count was 5334.97 and the mean worm count of specific nematode were 675.19 and 690.82 for Hemonchus and T. axei, respectively. The great majority of the infected sheep was with light, moderate and heavy degree of infestation. The current study epitomized that the prevalence of nematodiasis was high and consequently; sustainable control programs should warrant.
Hoy presenté una Iniciativa para incluir en la Ley General de Turismo las definiciones de “peregrino” y de “turismo religioso”, por sus particulares motivaciones espirituales, pero reconociendo su naturaleza económica y cultural.
In now days so many peoples are addicted to drugs and alcohol. This life-threatening disease affects all who come in content with the addicted person: friends, family, and co-workers. BLVD treatment center mission is to instill in our clients a deeply held sobriety, emotional wellness and unshakable joy of life.
Top Fit Dubai provide traditional & modern styles interiors services for Site plans, Architectural Drawings, MEP Drawings, 3d Modeling Visualization with concept proposals.
ABSTRACT- The effect of Nicotine and Tobacco on cytoprotection in albino Wistar rats were studied. 18 albino Wistar
rats were randomly assigned to three groups of 6 rats each. Group I rats were given normal rat feed and water to serve as
control, while group II rats were fed with tobacco diets and group III rats were fed with nicotine diet and water, for 28
days respectively. After the 28 days, the animals were starved for 16 hours. After which they were anaesthetized with
6ml/kg of 25% of v/v solution of Urethane. The stomach of the animals were isolated, washed and rinsed with normal
saline for ulcer study. The total ulcer scores in rats fed with nicotine diet were significantly higher (p<0.05) compared to
control the same trend of result as in the total ulcer score were obtained in grade 2.0 ulcer in rats fed control, nicotine and
tobacco diet the result suggest that refined nicotine and nicotine present in tobacco can suppress the cytoprotection of the
gastrointestinal mucosa and hence ulceration of the gastrointestinal mucosa.
Key words- Cytoprotection, Nicotine, Tobacco, Wistar rats, Gastrointestinal tract
‘When Food Kills’: A socio-technical systems analysis of the UK Pennington 19...Rounaq Nayak
In 1996 and 2005, two of the largest E. coli O157 outbreaks occurred in the UK. Many people were infected after consuming meat resulting in a number of deaths. In the present study we applied a systems approach to both the outbreak reports to analyse and compare the accidents. Using the Accimap method of systems analysis, this study investigates the human errors and organisational issues involved in the outbreaks and why accidents such as these occur in the food production domain. The systems analysis carried out in this study on the two outbreaks indicates that there are both common as well as unique factors associated with the two outbreaks. The study concludes that it is necessary to address food safety from a systemic point of view and identify and solve the various problems that could arise in the system, in the pre-incubation period before the outbreak actually occurs.
To date, animal welfare measures have focused primarily on the avoidance of cruelty and the provision of basic needs. Christopher Wathes, chairman of the Farm Animal Welfare Council, argues that it is important to take animals’ positive experiences into account as well
“It is estimated that the majority of all new, emerging and re-emerging diseases affecting humans at the beginning of the twenty-first century have originated from animals.
Humans are at increased risk of contracting diseases of animal origin because of a wide range of interconnected variables, including mass urbanization, large-scale livestock production, increased travel and so on.” (OIE)
2. The reality of ‘humane’ slaughter in the UK
Nearly 1000 million land animals were slaughtered in the UK in 2014 (Eurostat,
2015). Over 200 thousand tonnes of farmed fish (CEFAS, 2015) and 700 thousand
tonnes of wild fish (Eurostat, 2016) were harvested by the UK in 2012 and 2015,
respectively. The on-going slaughter (the killing of animals for human food; OED,
n.d.) is governed by the EU Directive 1099/2009 (EU, 2009). Each nation of the UK
has developed similar regulations to adhere to this directive with their own method of
implementation (WATOK [Welfare of Animals at Time of Killing] Regulations; HM
Government, 2012-2015a). The term humane killing or humane slaughter is used
within the WATOK regulations and other key legislation across the globe such as the
USA’s commonly known Humane Slaughter Act (USDA, 1978). The phrase ‘humane
slaughter’ also returned 3530 Google Scholar results on 11 December 2016. Despite
such common use of the term, an official international or even EU-wide definition for
the term does not seem to exist.
The Humane Slaughter Association ([HSA] n.d.) and the RSPCA (n.d.) deem pre-
slaughter stunning that renders each animal unable to feel pain as an essential
component of humane slaughter. Compassion in World Farming (CIWF, n.d.)
elaborates on this, stating that: stunning and killing must be immediate; that the
stunning process should not induce stress or pain; and that transportation and
handling should be kept to a minimum and conducted in a way that minimises stress.
This essay examines whether large-scale UK slaughter merits the title humane and
what impact UK legislation has in reality on a day-to-day basis for animal welfare
during large-scale slaughter.
Current science and legislation regarding slaughter in the UK
3. There is general scientific consensus that animals (at the very least mammals and
birds) are sentient; that is, they are conscious and aware, and they have the ability to
feel a range of affective states in addition to pain and pleasure (Proctor et al., 2013;
Broom, 2015). Evidence also suggests that fish feel pain (Braithwaite and Ebbesson,
2014; Balcombe, 2016). This has spurred the EU’s leadership in animal welfare
(Farm Animal Welfare Education Centre; FAWEC, 2015). A host of EU animal
welfare legislation has followed; for example, the statement that animals are sentient
beings in The Treaty of Lisbon (2007), the outlawing of unenriched cages for
chickens in 2012 (EU, 1999) and the aforementioned EU Directive (EU, 2009).
Relative to the preceding legislation (see HM Government, 1995), the main new
features of WATOK in respect to large-scale slaughter are as follows: pre-slaughter
stunning is compulsory for all animals in all instances except for fish and religious
slaughter; an Animal Welfare Officer is required in all abattoirs unless slaughtering
‘less than 1,000 livestock units of mammals or 150,000 birds or rabbits per year’
(European Commission, 2012; p.25); standard operating procedures are required for
slaughter and handling; and certificates of competence are required for all staff
handling animals in lairages and for all slaughterers (Food Standards Agency [FSA],
2015a).
Despite such progress, there is currently neither EU nor UK legislation governing the
slaughter of fish for human consumption. According to the British Veterinary
Association ([BVA] 2015), without stunning, fish can suffer for at least 15 minutes
before a state of insensibility is reached after being slaughtered. None of the
WATOK regulations in the UK refer to large-scale fish slaughter specifically, and the
EU Directive 1099/2009 simply states that fish should be ‘spared any avoidable pain,
4. distress or suffering during their killing and related operations’ (Article 3:1) with no
details on what is permissible (EU, 2009).
The reality of UK slaughter
In 2016, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) learnt through a Freedom of
Information request that 4455 animal welfare breaches in registered UK
slaughterhouses occurred between July 2014 and June 2016. The vast majority of
these breaches pertained to slaughter or pre-slaughter; for example, chickens being
boiled alive, production line breakdowns leading to animals suffering, truckloads of
animals suffocating or freezing to death, ineffective stunning, inhumane handling and
animal abuse. One breach relates to one incident, not to the number of animals
affected, meaning one breach could cause suffering for hundreds of animals.
Moreover, the aforementioned breaches concern severe breaches only; with minor
breaches included, the figure rises to 9511. Data were collected back to 2011 with
the animal welfare breaches between 2011 and 2014 totalling 6859. This means the
number of animal welfare legislation breaches increased significantly over these five
years. Undercover footage by Animal Aid (2015) from 10 UK slaughterhouses
revealed cruelty and breaches of animal welfare legislation in nine of them. If current
legislation is deemed as a humane approach to slaughter, evidently its
implementation and enforcement need to be drastically improved.
Animal suffering also poses costs to human welfare. So-called mirror neurons can be
activated in humans when they witness or even think of an experience of another,
even across different species. This can create empathy for and a vicarious
experience of farm animals’ pain in humans (Broom, 2014). In contrast, abattoir staff
are thought to desensitise themselves as much as possible in order to complete their
5. work and can be prone to post-traumatic stress syndrome (Victor and Barnard,
2016). Slaughter line speeds can be exceedingly high; for example, up to 35
chickens can be processed each minute (Harmse et al., 2016). The immense
pressure, monotonous movements and unpleasant environment are thought to be
responsible for the industry’s record of high staff turnover and absenteeism (Victor
and Barnard, 2016).
Defences of the current slaughter processes and legislation in the UK
The EU Animal Welfare and Health Audit of the UK in 2014 (European Enforcement
Network, 2014) provides good feedback regarding welfare at slaughter. No
infringements regarding welfare legislation at slaughter were listed in this report
apart from concern surrounding the electric water-bath for chickens; however, it is
noted that this was due to religious rites and because the EU Directive had not yet
been implemented. This is a dramatically different conclusion concerning welfare at
slaughter and the extent to which slaughter legislation is followed compared to the
BIJ findings and undercover footage gathered by Animal Aid. Information from these
three sources was gathered at a similar time, but the duration of time over which
information was collected and the body responsible for data collection differed. The
EU audit lasted one month and notice was given to slaughterhouse management.
The BIJ findings originated from veterinarians and hygiene inspectors working on
behalf of the FSA (the government body responsible for food safety and hygiene
across the UK, including legislation enforcement) over a two-year period. The
undercover footage was secretly filmed by individuals not perceived as an authority
by slaughterhouse staff. Perhaps with sufficient notice and for a limited period of
6. time, it is possible for slaughterhouse management to maintain conduct in line with
legislation.
The FSA (2015b) conducted unannounced inspections in February and March 2015.
The results of these inspections showed that legislation was generally being
followed; for example, 96% of FSA officials and 87% of business operators were
considered ‘good’ (p.3); however, Rotherham et al. (2016) suggest that these
‘unannounced inspections’ may have been leaked by the media. Arguably, the
method of data collection and the individuals or body collecting the data can impact
the findings.
The FSA (n.d.) notes that some structural layout legislation changes are not due until
2019. There is also hope that legislation concerning fish slaughter will soon be in
place (FAWEC, 2015). Whilst these future steps are welcome, considering the
aforementioned problems associated with the enforcement of other animal welfare
legislation, it is clear that legislation alone will not ensure a humane death for
animals.
HM Government (2015b) refers to the UK’s position amongst ‘the top four countries
in the world for animal welfare’ (p.6) as recorded in the Animal Protection Index (API;
World Animal Protection, 2016). However, the API does not look beyond legislation
into how the UK and other countries fare regarding implementation and enforcement.
According to the Centre for Animals and Social Justice ([CASJ] 2015), Defra’s 25-
year plan for food and farming excludes animal welfare goals on account of the UK’s
supposed leading position in animal welfare. CASJ (2016) claims that ‘one major
factor sustaining the “animal use” policy paradigm is the dubious narrative claiming
that the UK has the world’s highest animal welfare standards’ (p.1).
7. Anil (2014) describes the religious reasons for non-stun slaughter methods. There is
consensus that non-stun slaughter inflicts unnecessary pain (BVA, 2015).
Exceptions should not be made in the law for religious slaughter, especially if
stunning does not kill the animals, meaning it would arguably not be in conflict with
religious beliefs (Gross, 2016). The argument also appears inconsistent and
selective in its approach; for example, the Jewish faith acknowledges the moral
problem of eating meat, detailing that only individuals of a high moral standard
should be slaughterers so they can resist ‘the callousness that killing animals may
engender’ (Gross, 2016; p.4), but there is an absence of campaigns to ensure this.
Across the world, animal sacrifices are being increasingly banned due to the cruelty
involved despite some religious-based protest (e.g., see Cid, 2016). The same
cultural evolution could occur concerning religious slaughter methods.
The best-case scenario for slaughter in the UK
Even assuming the perfect implementation of legislation, substantial animal welfare
problems will remain. As Stanescu (2013) remarks, ‘humane farming, even if animals
are given a name or a little more room, can never truly exist’ (p.106). Animals have
been taken from the location and people they have known for much of their lives and
placed into unfamiliar surroundings that continue to change for what remains of their
lives. Pre-slaughter, animals are fasted, so lack the comfort of their normal food. One
reason for this is to protect public health in case any faeces contaminate the animal
produce. However, this is also practiced for the convenience of slaughterhouse staff
so there is less faeces to deal with before slaughter and less mess during slaughter.
Achieving the excessive slaughter line speed necessitates the movement of animals
at unnatural speeds down the race (the route between the lairage and slaughter
8. pen). This can result in the need for coercion by staff. Good human-animal
relationships are conceivably unlikely at this final stage of the animals’ lives as the
animals are in unfamiliar and unnatural surrounds with unfamiliar people (Velarde
and Dalmau, 2012).
The EU’s Welfare Quality project (Welfare Quality, 2009a) is perceived as superior in
its approach to animal welfare; for example, because of the size of the project and
use of animal-based indicators rather than environmental indicators to assess animal
welfare (Blokhuis et al., 2010). Yet, its animal welfare assessments do not appear to
measure the expression of social or normal behaviours during animals’ time at a
slaughterhouse (Welfare Quality, 2009b). This suggests that conditions are such that
natural behaviours are not expected to be exhibited at all. Moreover, the extent of
kicking, struggling or vocalisations in animals appears to be considered indicative of
animals’ ‘positive mental state’ (p.59). This is arguably misleading as the absence of
such behaviour does not necessarily signify a positive state. It may not even indicate
a neutral emotional state. Perhaps the animals’ emotional state is merely
insufficiently negative to merit a physical or vocal expression of any discomfort being
experienced. Fear can also provoke different reactions in different individuals. Fear
may even inhibit such behaviour in some individuals (Forkman et al., 2007).
Many unacceptable factors on a farm in terms of animal welfare seem to become
acceptable in the slaughterhouse (e.g., ignoring positive affective states and animals’
need to practice natural behaviour and be in a natural environment). Thus, it is
difficult to see how such end-of-life conditions can be seen as humane. Death itself
is also increasingly treated as a welfare issue, regardless of the conditions under
9. which it occurs. This is due to the potential positive affective states being denied an
animal if it is killed (Yeates, 2010).
Solutions to current welfare issues with UK slaughter
Mobile slaughterhouses can seem an attractive alternative to long journey times and
the need for animals to part from the farmer and farm they know well. Several
studies indicate that mobile slaughterhouses may offer greater welfare for animals
than conventional facilities (e.g., Eriksen et al., 2013; McCorkell et al., 2012).
However, they also appear to pose additional economic, logistic and legal issues to
such an extent that the HSA (n.d.[b]) does not recommend them and the Farm
Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC, 2003) questions their current feasibility. These
additional challenges may account for any studies suggesting lower welfare
provisions when using mobile slaughterhouses (e.g., the study discussed by Knight,
2016). Even if a welfare issue appears to have a technical cause, it may be a side
effect of root economic, logistic and legal issues. This area requires more research
and investment.
Switching to farming insects is another option. This could diminish the environmental
problems associated with animal agriculture and remove the health problems
associated with the consumption of animal products (Hanboonsong et al., 2013).
Moreover, at least some of the welfare issues associated with animal agriculture
could be removed as it would be far simpler to breed and process such tiny
creatures whose level of consciousness is thought to be quite limited (Tiffin, 2016).
Nonetheless, it is unknown whether insects feel pain or not (Tiffin, 2016), so it seems
unwise to shift from current animal farming to insect farming as it could result in
similar problems in the future. The mass destruction of animal life is debatably never
10. respectful to life, especially when humans do not need to consume meat and dairy to
thrive (Tuso et al., 2013). Slaughter is not an evil that has to be borne by society.
The guidelines from animal welfare specialist bodies including the BVA (2016) and
OIE (2016) are a step in the right direction. Their recommendations should definitely
be ratified into law and will help with forming an international definition of humane
slaughter. But this alone seems insufficient as highlighted in the best-case scenario
section of this essay.
Shriver (2009) argues that animal welfare advocates should support the creation of
animals that are genetically modified to not feel pain. Whilst this would be preferable
to the current situation, it is doubtful whether the public would accept this given the
current controversy surrounding genetically modified crops (Dunwell, 2014; Frewer
et al., 2014). This option would also lack the other benefits possible (for humans and
animals) in the alternative outlined below.
Assuming animal slaughter is to continue in some way, arguably the only way to
ensure care for each animal as an individual and to devote the time and energy
required to give each individual a truly peaceful death is if humans significantly
reduce their animal product intake. CIWF (2016) outlines different agroecology
options in their Fair Food and Farming report. Humans are known for their advanced
cognition and altruistic capabilities (Mannings and Dawkins, 2012). Perhaps we
should use these qualities to move away from intensive animal agriculture.
Mandatory CCTV could be installed in the remaining facilities as supported by FAWC
(2015) and deemed financially feasible by Rotherham et al. (2016). Whilst it is true
that roughly 57% of slaughterhouses already voluntarily have CCTV, this is not all
slaughterhouses, the CCTV is not in all areas and some slaughterhouses are
11. resisting sharing their footage with the FSA (2015b). The FSA (n.d.) notes that there
is often insufficient space in the pens to observe slaughter, which highlights another
reason for the need of CCTV. Moreover, Animal Aid’s undercover footage included
slaughterhouses with CCTV. This emphasises the need for independent and
effective monitoring of the CCTV once installed (Rotherham et al., 2016). As the
majority of welfare breaches occur before arrival at the slaughterhouse, CCTV in
vehicles used to transport animals to abattoirs could also help to ensure animal
welfare (BIJ, 2016).
Conclusion
It is highly questionable whether slaughtering at such high numbers can ever be
humane even with the best legislation and legislation enforcement. It is encouraging
that the number of animals slaughtered in the UK seems to be decreasing (e.g., see
AHDB Dairy, 2016). This highlights that people’s efforts to reduce or eradicate meat
and dairy from their diet is helping some animals. However, humans find behaviour
change immensely difficult (Kelly, 2016), thus such initiatives need to be supported
by government and business so that a culture is created whereby eating significantly
less (or no) meat and dairy is respected, encouraged, desired and admired. CASJ
(2016) notes that ‘[a] fundamental factor blocking animal protection is the
persistence of an “animal use” paradigm across Whitehall’ (p.4). Such an outlook will
only foster efforts to minimise animal suffering where it is convenient, regardless of
what the field of animal welfare science brings to light.
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