La situazione attuale in Europa:dati del progetto DIALREL

Antonio Velarde IRTA Monells

CONTENT

• Introduction: Religious slaughter and welfare

• Survey:- Competent authority- Abattoir

• Conclusion

• Legislation in EU requires pre-slaughter stunning

INTRODUCTION

• Exemption for animals slaughtered by religious methods

Council Directive 93/119/EC on the protection of animals at the time of slaughter or killing (1993):

RELIGIOUS SLAUGHTER

Two types :

• Muslim method for the production of Halal.

• Jewish method (Shechita) for the production of Kosher.

It is a requirement that animals must be alive, healthy and have suffered no injury at the time of slaughter

To meet these requirements, slaughter without stunning is performed in licensed slaughterhouses or occasionally during religious festivals on communal grounds.

SLAUGHTER WITHOUT STUNNING

It impairs animal welfare:

1. Stressfulness of restraint method

2. Pain due to incision

3. Latency of onset of complete insensibility

Welfare

Action/behaviour Rotary casting pen

Upright

position

Mean time from entering the pen until ready for cut 103.8 s ± 18.4 11.1 s ± 11.6

Total time of struggling before cut

11.2 s ± 7 1.2 s ± 3.8

Number of vocalisations 4.6 ± 6.1 0.3 ± 0.75

(Dunn, 1990)

Restraining method

2. INCISION

• Neck cutting: severing skin, muscle, carotid artery,

jugular vein, trachea, oesophagus • The cut involves substantial tissue damage

• Pain system (nociceptors)

• Multiple cuts and large wounds usually elicit major

pain responses.

3. TIME TO LOSS CONSCIOUSNESS

• Severing major blood vessels

• Consciousness is gradually lost

• During consciousness, animals can feel anxiety, pain and distress

• The duration depends on the sticking method

• Any intervention until the animal is dead should be avoided

TÍTOL DEL POWER POINT. PRESENTACIÓ

8 s

(EFSA, 2004)

32 - 126 s

3. TIME TO LOSS CONSCIOUSNESS

Sticking methodNumber of sheep

Time to loss of brain responsiveness

(sec)

SD

Both carotid & both jugular veins 20 14 1

One carotid artery & both jugular veins

8 70 7

No carotid arteries both jugular veins

8 298 34

Gregory and Wotton (1984)

Time to death3. TIME TO LOSS CONSCIOUSNESS

Cutting both the common carotid arteries in the neck and jugular: 25 s

3. TIME TO LOSS CONSCIOUSNESS

RELIGIOUS SLAUGHTER

• Greater concern for animal welfare (Treaty of Amsterdam)

• Slaughter without stunning can impair welfare

Dilemma:

• Freedom of religious vs. Protection of animal welfare

• Increase of the demand for religious slaughter products

CURRENT PRACTICE

• Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland have banned any slaughter practice without prior stunning

• Voluntary agreements with Muslim and Jewish communities to stun after slaughter

• Some local Islamic authorities accept a stunning methods as long as it does not kill the animals

Religious slaughter with stunning

DIALREL

2.1 Incidence and scale of religious slaughter practices

2.2 Current methods of religious slaughter

2.3 Recommendations for optimum slaughter practices

Countries

• UK • Germany• Spain• France• The Netherlands• Italy

• Israel• Australia• Turkey• Egypt

Methodology

1.To competent authorities

Aim: To collect data about the number of animal slaughtered in each country according to the religious practice.

- Nr of animals slaughtered - Percentage of Halal and Shechita - Percentage of animal stunned (before and after)- Export of Halal and Kosher meat (inside and outside)- Abattoirs

Data collection: 2 types of questionnaires

Methodology

Data collection: 2 types of questionnaires

2. To abattoirs

Aim: To collect information of the methods of practices in the abattoirs.

• Nr of animals slaughtered for Halal and Shechita• Percentage of Halal/ shechita.• Percentage of animal stunned• When are they stunned• Stunning method• Time between neck cutting and other proceduce• Religious festival (no in Shechita)

Conclusions

• Little information about the number of animals slaughtered for Halal and Kosher.

• Some cattle, small ruminants and poultry slaughtered for Halal are stunned prior (or after) sticking.

• Non stunned cattle are turned on their back or sticking in upright position.

• Hoisted before sticking is carried out

• In stunned animals, the stunning system is the same.

• Time to any further intervention may be too short

Thank you for your attention

Antonio.Velarde@irta.es