Page 155 - The Welfare of Cattle

132 the WeLfare of CattLe

on ritual slaughter procedures. The conventional method requires that “All animals are rendered
insensible to pain by a single blow or gunshot or an electrical, chemical, or other means that is rapid
and effective before being shackled, cast, thrown, or cut.” Ritual slaughter procedures that omit
preslaughter stunning are allowed by the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act provided they are, “By
slaughtering in accordance with the Jewish faith or any other faith… where by the animal loses
consciousness by simultaneous and instantaneous severance of the carotid arteries.”
In other areas of the world, ritual slaughter without stunning has become a highly contentious
topic as it is a point of intersection between animal welfare and religious freedom. Animal welfare
advocates often view the allowance of slaughter without stunning as a substantial contributor to
animal suffering while members of the religious groups that utilize slaughter procedures without
stunning view opposition to slaughter without stunning as an affront to their right to practice their
religion. Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Sweden have banned the slaughter of animals without
stunning. Many large-scale slaughter facilities in the U.S. that produce Kosher meat apply captive
bolt stunning immediately after the ritual cut is complete. This approach helps to quickly render the
animal unconscious to prevent suffering and allows higher capacity slaughter facilities to keep their
production lines full and moving. Although the use of post-cut captive bolt stunning is one answer to
the question of controlling the potential for an animal to experience suffering during ritual slaughter
procedures, it does not directly address the potential for the animal to experience pain, distress, and
suffering as a result of the cut while the animal is still conscious. In addition, such an approach sug-
gests that the following of a religious prescription to kill animals for food without stunning prior to
bleeding is more important than the careful, logical, and data informed consideration of the welfare
of the animals that experience the procedure. There is a legitimate need for the religious groups that
prescribe slaughter procedures that do not begin with stunning to open-mindedly consider if meth-
ods are available today that can ensure a positive welfare state for animals in their final moments
of life. It is plausible that the severance of the carotid arteries and jugular veins with a very sharp
blade was—at one time—the most humane method of slaughtering animals. However, consistently
effective preslaughter stunning was not a viable option at that time. It is today.
The regulations that enforce the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act also prescribe standards
for facility condition and layout, handling tools, handling of nonambulatory animals, and feed and
water requirements in lairage. The facility layout and condition requirements are generally vague,
requiring that pens are maintained to prevent injury, nonslip flooring is provided in handling areas,
the provision of a roof over the suspect pen(s), and the minimization of sharp corners and direction
reversals.

assessment Standards

NAMI Standards

The North American Meat Institute (NAMI) released the first iteration of Recommended
Animal Handling Guidelines for Meat Packers in 1991. The document was written by Dr. Temple
Grandin and was the first of its kind in animal agriculture. The document was focused on pro-
viding practical guidance to slaughter establishments to reduce or prevent animal suffering. In
1997, a second document was developed by Dr. Grandin that included the general audit framework.
When the initial standards within the first iteration of the audit were established, virtually no sci-
entific data were available to help Dr. Grandin determine the appropriate performance standards
for audit criteria such as stunning efficacy, electric prod usage, and vocalization. As a result, the
initial standards were set by using survey data and practical intuition. The focus of the NAMI
animal handling guidelines has been on quantifying performance in a limited number of areas
within slaughter establishments that can provide maximum information on the overall performance
regarding humane animal handling and stunning.