Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek

Faculty of Agrobiotechnical Sciences Osijek

HUMANE SLAUGHTER IN ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

Ana Orešković
Master study of Organic Agriculture graduate

Osijek, 2022.
 Table of Contents

1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………….……………1
2. Handling Animals and Preslaughter Stress………………………………………………….2
3. The Importance of Meat for Human Health…………………………………………………3
4. Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter……………………………………….…………..5
5. Slaughter Practices of Different Faiths…………………………………………...…………6
5.1. Halal Slaughter……………………………………………………………...……..6
5.2. Kosher Slaughter…………………………………………………………………..8
5.3. The Jhatka Procedure……………………………………………………………...9
6. The Harm of Death………………………………………………………………………...10
7. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………13
8. References………………………………………………………………………………….14
1. Introduction

Animal farming brings up some big ethical issues globally, with one of the greatest ones
being the welfare of animals amid the process of slaughter. Over 65 billion land animals over
the glove are slaughtered for food each year, and that is a number that is only rising. In spite
of the fact that most work to date in animal welfare science has concetrated on improving the
living conditions of the animals, there is and expanding center of finding compassionate ways
to transport and butcher them, in arrange to limit the pain and harm done amid the process.

An example of a big change of this type has been

the introduction of using stunning techniques prior to the actual act of
killing, lowering the pain and suffering brought about in these very last moments, and for that
reason constituting a considerable improvement in welfare. The introduction of numerical
scoring structures for animal welfare in abattoirs, based totally on assessing the effectiveness
of stunning, is any other example of a huge-scale change leading to welfare development.
(Višak and Garner, „Introduction“ 2, 3, 5)

In this paper we will argue that slaughter will always be at least partly inhumane, as
though we are able to potentially take away the resources of ache and suffering accompanying
the slaughter procedure. Then we will discuss how harms inflicted at the end of existence—
such as those related to slaughter—can be worse than those for which the animal has
opportunity to outweigh with future positive experience. Ultimately we will conclude with an
examination of the results of our research into the practice of animal slaughter.

Despite the fact that humane slaughter is normally mentioned within the animal
welfare literature, the primary focus has been on the methods of slaughter and the way
to refine these to minimise welfare harm, instead of on the deeper topic of the humaneness of
slaughter itself. (Leary and Golab, Guidelines 1-2)
2. Handling Animals and Preslaughter Stress

Prior to slaughtering, farm animals usually experience additional stress from various different
handling practices, including fasting, loading and transport or even mixing and interaction
with people. All these factors can affect the welfare of livestock, carcass and meat quality,
both individually and collectively. Preslaughter stress is both an animal welfare and a meat
quality problem. Behavioral and physiological research have found out that poor handling
practices on the farm, during transport and at the slaughter house have an adverse effect on
the livestock and may result in pretty severe loss of income. Also, bad preslaughter managing
can also lead to losses in carcass value as a result of reduced yield, the presence of lesions,
bacterial infection, and meat quality defects (e.g., light, soft, exudative, and dark, firm meat).
Those monetary losses may be restricted by improving the design of the slaughter facilities,
controlling the environmental situations, and imposing education programs for the correct
animal handling at any stage of preslaughter. (Grandin, Animal Welfare and Humane
Slaughter, 4)

The animals' final day, the day of slaughter, consists of several stages, starting with the
animals leaving their pen and including the transport, lairage, stunning and exsanguination.
During every one of the stages, the livestock is exposed to different stressors, which include
on-farm feed withdrawal, loading and transporting, mixing and finally the facility layout (it
may have different ramps, alleys and docks) which both individually and/or additively may
contribute to animal losses and fatigued animals at slaughter. (Grandin, Animal Welfare and
Humane Slaughter, 5)

Preslaughter stress is likewise a carcass and meat quality problem as it can cause carcass
depreciation because of extreme skin lesions, weight loss and meat quality defects because of
abnormal postmortem muscle acidification.
 Fig. 1. „Antimicrobial resistance: What is the risk of spread through animal transport?“
European Food Safety Authority, https://tinyurl.com/2cvatx46

3. The Importance of Meat for Human Health

Meat products belong to one of the six primary food groups. Poultry, red meat, pork, game
and fish all provide the body with important vitamins, minerals and nutrients in order for it to
remain healthy. Lately, however, there has been public controversy regarding just how
healthy consuming meat on a every day basis actually is, especially red meat. It’s argued the
intake of red meat at once links to heart disease or even cancer. Meanwhile, fears have grown
about the amount of fats in all meats, especially saturated fat. (Welty, ''Introduction'' 176)

Fig. 2. „The Difference Between Saturated and Unsaturated Fats“

verywell health, https://tinyurl.com/4t7w7euy

Meat has a very high mineral content which includes body necessities like magnesium, zinc
and iron. Magnesium is essential for bone strength because it improves vitamin D synthesis as
well as assist decrease net acid production. It’s thought the consumption of magnesium via
diet could help in preventing osteoporosis. Zinc is crucial for the body’s immune system and
is crucial for muscle growth and repair. Most importantly, iron helps to maintain energy levels
in addition to maximize oxygen transport all throughout the body. If there isn’t sufficient iron
being consumed human beings run the danger of developing anemia and fatigue. Red meat
and turkey are particularly iron rich. Meat is also an incredible source of protein, that is
essential for any healthy diet. It enables build and repair muscle in addition to help maintain
healthy hair, bones, skin and blood. Because of its high biological value (HBV), protein
acquired from meat is without difficulty digested and therefore absorbed fast and efficiently
by the body. Red meat, chicken and turkey are extraordinarily rich in protein. (Welty,
''Introduction'' 177)

Vitamins are crucial in keeping a healthy body. Meat is a particularly desirable source of
vitamin E and B vitamins such as B2, B6 and B12. Vitamin E has very strong antioxidant
properties and allows reduce damage caused by oxygen to cells, therefore allowing quicker
muscle repair and recovery. B vitamins all work collectively to help convert food into energy
but additionally they have individual uses. B2 is crucial for the manufacture of red blood
cells, which then transport the oxygen around the body. B6 is crucial for protein synthesis and
B12 is vital for proper nerve functions. (Welty, ''Introduction'' 177)

Minerals, protein and vitamins aside, meats, especially fish, provide the body with vital
unsaturated fats like Omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids can without a doubt help
reduce levels of cholesterol, blood pressure and the chance of developing cardiovascular
diseases. (Welty, ''Introduction'' 178)
 Fig. 3. „The Facts on Omega-3 Fatty Acids“

Compass by WebMd, https://tinyurl.com/2p9ceapj

Sadly, meat can be high in saturated fat. Lamb, pork, beef and duck are considered the worst
culprits. Too many saturated fats can actually increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and
high cholesterol. While the benefits of meat appear to outweigh the negatives, it’s crucial to
moderate the daily intake, as an excessive amount of it could probably have dangerous
consequences.

4. Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter

In general, humane slaughter is taken to mean something like ‘minimising the harm inflicted’
or ‘avoiding unnecessary struggling’. The RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals) describes humane slaughter as an animal being “either killed immediately
or rendered insensible till death ensues, without pain, struggling or distress”. here, we take a
slightly stronger position and argue that for a practice to be genuinely humane, it must not
cause any (or minimum) harm to welfare, which incorporates harms of deprivation. and even
after all the discussions, some people will nevertheless say that slaughter can by no means be
truly considered humane, though different practices can still be better or worse on this
dimension. (Visak and Garner ''Introduction'' 2)
Euthanasia is defined as a humane death that occurs without pain and distress. Physical
methods of euthanasia are used in slaughter plants and in clinical practice. These methods are
unpleasant to watch, but humane when used properly. In some cases, the most humane
euthanasia method for an injured cow or horse is by gunshot, because fear and anxiety are
minimized. (Grandin, Animal Welfare and Humane Slaughter, 7)

There are a number of typically used slaughter methods for agricultural animals. Those
commonly involve the use of a stunning method to render the animal unconscious, followed
by the actual killing method. There are 3 primary types of stunning used—captive bolt,
electrical and atmospheric. Captive bolt stunning is typically used for large animals, such as
farm animals. Here, an explosive force is used to drive a bolt into the skull and knock the
animal subconscious (many captive bolt stunners are also designed to force through the skull
into the brain and cause brain death). When carried out properly, that is an effective approach
of stunning (the latter more so than the former). Electrical stunning is regularly used for pigs,
as their skulls make captive bolt stunning difficult. It is also used for chickens, who're hung
upside-down by the legs and then passed down a line, in which their heads are passed through
an electrified tank of salt water which paralyses and possibly stuns them. Atmospheric
stunning involves using high atmospheric CO2 concentrations to induce insensibility through
asphyxiation. As soon as stunned, animals are then hoisted by a leg and bled out through a cut
to the throat. There are welfare issues about all stages of those processes, particularly in the
effectiveness of fast stunning to ensure insensibility throughout killing, and thus,
minimisation of pain and misery. (Grandin, Animal Welfare and Humane Slaughter, 8, 9)

5. Slaughter Practices of Different Faiths

There are numerous slaughter techniques used throughout the world and those are primarily
based on industrial, cultural and religious beliefs. Therefore, this paper reviews the relevant
factors of religious and industrial slaughter techniques in different countries around the world.

5.1. Halal Slaughter

Halal meat is an important part of the Muslim faith and advocates argue that the practices of
traditional Islamic slaughter are humane. “Halal” refers to any action or behaviour that is
permissible in Islam, including what sorts of meat and methods of preparation are appropriate.
(Regenstein and Grandin, ''Religious slaughter and animal welfare'', 150)
The Islamic method of killing an animal for meat is known as zabiha. After reciting the
blessing, the slaughterman uses a surgically sharp device to cut the animal's throat, windpipe
and the blood vessels around its neck. The blood is then allowed to drain from the body. only
one animal can be ritually slaughtered at a time and the other animals must not witness any
death. The religious law also says how the animal need to be treated for the duration of its
life, with the animal not allowed to have been mistreated or caused any ache. It must also be
supplied with enough space to roam, clean water, food and fresh air. It is forbidden to use
methods of stunning that can actually kill the animal, such as bolt weapons. Animals not
killed via ritual slaughter are considered carrion meat, that is haram. In both Muslim and
Jewish religious slaughter, the act of slitting the throat "stuns the animal", they add, and
“there is no delay among stun and subsequent death”. Many activist organizations, for
example Peta, calls halal slaughter “prolonged torment”, saying the animals “fight and gasp
for their last breath, struggling to stand while the blood drains from their necks”. The British
Veterinary association requires all animals to be efficiently stunned before slaughter, while
the Farm Animal Welfare Council says cutting an animal's throat is “such a large injury that it
would result in very significant pain and distress in the period before insensibility
supervenes”. (Regenstein and Grandin, ''Religious slaughter and animal welfare'', 150, 151)

Fig. 4. „Halal Goes Global“

Shia News Association, https://tinyurl.com/b446f8uw

5.2. Kosher Slaughter
Kosher slaughter is the approach of slaughtering animals for meat prescribed in Judaism.
Kosher slaughter involves cutting the throat in a manner that induces rapid, complete bleeding
and the fastest death as possible. There are different types of kosher slaughter: Glatt and non-
Glatt. (Regenstein and Grandin, ''Religious slaughter and animal welfare'', 152, 153)

The most vital requirements of kosher slaughter are:

a. The slaughter should be completed by a specially trained person called a ‘Shochet’

b. The knife should be long (sixteen inches for livestock and other huge animals and
twelve inches for sheep) and razor-sharp and must be used to slaughter the animal in a
single, unbroken move
c. The knife should be inspected by using the Shochet (the slaughter person) for
sharpness and damage before each animal is slaughtered

The blood should be totally drained (Regenstein and Grandin, ''Religious slaughter and
animal welfare'', 153, 154)

On a kosher diet, foods are grouped into 3 classes: meat (fleishig), dairy products (milchig),
and pareve, which refers to ingredients without meat or dairy. under kosher guidelines, any
foods categorized as meat can't be consumed at the same time as foods categorized as dairy.
furthermore, utensils and cooking equipment used to prepare meat and dairy have to be stored
separate. Halal diets, however, do not have any rules or guidelines regarding food
combinations. (Regenstein and Grandin, ''Religious slaughter and animal welfare'', 154, 155)
 Fig. 5. „Religious Slaughter and Animal Welfare: A Discussion for Meat Scientists“
Meat Focus International, https://tinyurl.com/2p9xv3j9

5.3. The Jhatka Procedure

Jhatka slaughter is the method of slaughtering animals for meat prescribed within the Sikh
religion. It is practiced on sheep and goats. The term Jhatka, in Hindi means swift. In this
method, the animal’s head is severed in one single blow and the animal dies immediately. The
head of the animal is held securely, or fastened to a rigid pole or other object. The legs are
held away by hand. The head is severed with a heavy, sharp cutlass in a single stroke. The
animal is beheaded from the backbone side with a single stroke of a sword or axe. This will
cause a sudden death of the animal because the spinal cord is cut, and the circulation of blood
to the brain has been immediately stopped, resulting in brain failure within seconds.
Therefore, the animal will not sense or realize any pain. For this reason, this procedure is
considered to cause the minimal pain and suffering to the animal compared to other
procedures. (Regenstein and Grandin, ''Religious slaughter and animal welfare'', 156)

Even though Jhatka meat is quite common in Hindu areas where it is in demand, halal and
kosher meat are far more familiar in the global marketplace. (Regenstein and Grandin,
''Religious slaughter and animal welfare'', 156)
 Fig. 6. „What is Jhatka Meat?“

Quora, https://tinyurl.com/4adnm6zr

6. The Harm of Death

Discussion of the welfare harms in slaughter typically covers the pain and struggling
experienced by animals for the duration of the methods of transport, handling and killing. By
contrast, in this chapter we argue that even if it had been possible to design a slaughter
method that caused none of those active harms to the animals, their welfare can still be
harmed via the loss of life. The ones within the welfare position have not generally considered
death to be a welfare issue. This may be because welfare has generally been considered at a
second in time, instead of over the lifetime, or because welfare is usually taken to be
experiential, such that those things which an animal can not experience (including death) can
not impact it. However, both these assumptions can be challenged. (Grandin, ''The effect of
previous experience on livestock behavior during handling'' 15, 16)

Welfare should no longer simply be considered at a moment in time, but over an entire life,
and therefore, consideration of future experience is important. additionally, animal welfare
does not include only the prevention of negative experiences such as struggling, but also the
promotion of positive experiences, such as pleasure. Welfare should not simply be considered
good while struggling is reduced or removed, but also when pleasurable states are promoted.
(Grandin, ''The effect of previous experience on livestock behavior during handling'' 15, 16)
Fig. 7. „Hog confinement facilities, like this one in the Canadian province of Manitoba, have
been exposed for animal abuse.“

WTWW, https://tinyurl.com/5n6jx9f5

The mixture of those perspectives leads us to an understanding of why death is a welfare

difficulty—because it eliminates the opportunity for future positive experiences. If we aim
(and we must) to maximize welfare, this means making sure a minimum of bad experiences,
and a maximum of positive experiences, over a lifetime. An animal that fails to meet those
standards may be considered to have reduced welfare, in comparison to what it could in any
other case have had. In this way, slaughter will always fail to be truly humane in the strong
sense we stated earlier, as it necessarily decreases lifetime welfare, and thus, is a comparative
harm. (Grandin, ''The effect of previous experience on livestock behavior during handling'' 16,
17)

There are two possible lines of response to this objection. The first is to deny that many
animals really experience lives that are so bad that they're not worth living, even inside the
worst intensive farming systems. There are, after all, still possible pleasures available in the
form of food intake or interaction with social companions. However, this is not mainly
convincing, when we look at the situations of the worst of such systems. Instead, we will take
a second line, and that is to emphasize that it is the reduction in possible future positive
experiences that we are worried with. Although these animals might no longer have good
lives in the future, this isn't a vital feature in their lives. It is not a feature in their intrinsic
properties—in the way that euthanasia of a sick or dying animal is—but instead of their
environment. There is the opportunity for a great life for these animals, as evidenced by the
positive experiences of ‘rescued’ ex-agricultural animals in sanctuaries, free to live out their
days in comfort. Indeed, were we to take this objection seriously, then it seems that our moral
obligations to these animals aren't to kill them as quick as possible as soon as they're brought
into a life of suffering, but to act to prevent them being brought into this life in the first place.
(Grandin, ''The effect of previous experience on livestock behavior during handling'' 17,18)

This leads us to a similar possible objection that we would like to discuss, that is the argument
that those animals are only bred for agricultural purposes, and therefore, it is necessary that
they are killed as part of this life cycle. The claim here is that without the slaughter, they
might not otherwise exist; therefore, they could not truly be considered to be harmed by being
slaughtered, because the alternative is nonexistence. At least they were able to live however
many months or years they would not in any other case have had. This is a novel version of
the non-identity problem, introduced by Schwartz and famously discussed by Parfit. (Grandin,
''The effect of previous experience on livestock behavior during handling'' 18)

As concluded in this chapter, slaughter necessarily shortens life, therefore harms overall
welfare due to deprivation of opportunity for future positive experiences, so it can never truly
be humane.
7. Conclusion

One of the biggest ethical issues in animal agriculture is that of the welfare of animals at the
end of their lives, during the process of slaughter. Much work in animal welfare science is
focussed on finding humane ways to transport and slaughter animals, to minimise the harm
done during this process. In this paper, we took a philosophical look at what it means to
perform slaughter humanely, beyond simply reducing pain and suffering during the slaughter
process. We also examined the issue of the harms of deprivation inflicted in ending life
prematurely, as well as shape of life concerns and the ethical implications of inflicting these
harms at the end of life, without the potential for future offsetting through positive
experiences. Lastly, we argued that though these considerations may mean that no slaughter is
in a deep sense truly ‘humane’, this should not undermine the importance of further research
and development to ensure that while the practice continues, animal welfare harms are
minimised as far as possible.
8. References

1. Cockram Michael, and Corley Kevin. ''Effect of pre—slaughter handling on the

behavior and blood composition of beef cattle.'' British Veterinary Journal. 1992, pp.
444-454.
2. Daly, Celine, and Peter Whittington. ''Investigation into the principle determinants of
effective captive bolt stunning of sheep.'' Research in Veterinary Science. 1989, pp.
406-408.
3. Grandin, Temple. Animal welfare and humane slaughter., 1994, pp. 3-15. (article)
4. Grandin, Temple. The effect of previous experience on livestock behavior dunng
handling., 1993, pp. 14-20. (article)
5. Leary, Steven and Gail C. Golab. AVMA Guidelines for the euthanasia of animals.
(2013. ed.) (article)
6. Regenstein, Joe M., and Temple Grandin. ''Religious slaughter and animal welfare.''.
An Introduction for Animal Scientists. (2019. ed.), pp.155—l60.
7. Višak, Tatjana, and Robert Garner, editors. „Introduction.“ The Ethics of Killing
Animals. Oxford UP, 2016, pp. 1-15.
8. Welty, Jeff. ''Introduction.'' Humane slaughter laws. 2007, pp. 175–206.

Images

1. „Antimicrobial resistance: What is the risk of spread through animal transport?“

European Food Safety Authority, digital image, accessed January 2022,
https://tinyurl.com/2cvatx46
2. „The Difference Between Saturated and Unsaturated Fats“ verywell health, digital
image, accessed January 2022, https://tinyurl.com/4t7w7euy
3. „The Facts on Omega-3 Fatty Acids“ Compass by WebMd, digital image, accessed
January 2022, https://tinyurl.com/2p9ceapj
4. „Halal Goes Global“ Shia News Association, digital image, accessed January 2022,,
https://tinyurl.com/b446f8uw
5. „Religious Slaughter and Animal Welfare: A Discussion for Meat Scientists “Meat
Focus International, digital image, accessed January 2022,
 https://tinyurl.com/2p9xv3j9
6. „What is Jhatka Meat?“ Quora, digital image, accessed January 2022,
https://tinyurl.com/4adnm6zr
7. „Hog confinement facilities, like this one in the Canadian province of Manitoba, have
been exposed for animal abuse.“ WTWW, digital image, accessed January 2022,
https://tinyurl.com/5n6jx9f5