Humane slaughter of cattte

Main Article Content

Roberto de Oliveira Roça

Abstract

Humane slaughter can be defined as the set of technical and scientific procedures that assure the animals welfare from loading the trucks in the farm until the exsanguination in the slaughterhouse. Animals should be slaughtered without unnecessary suffering and humane conditions should prevail at all times during the pre-slaughter management. Animal stunning is considered to be the most critical operation during slaughter as animals should be unconscious until the end of exsanguination, preventing suffering and assuring an efficient blood loss. This article presents aspects related to ante-mortem processing such as transport, pen management, stunning and exsanguination methods and their effect on animal welfare and meat quality.

Article Details

How to Cite
ROÇA, R. DE O. Humane slaughter of cattte. Revista de Educação Continuada em Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, v. 4, n. 2, p. 73-85, 1 Jul. 2001.
Section
INSPECTION AND TECHNOLOGY