Dossier
Animal welfare at the slaughterhouse
The process during slaughter must be as comfortable as possible for the animals; with no signs of pain or fear that could have been avoided. Animals show how they are doing in all kinds of ways. By studying their behaviour, we can improve welfare in the last stage of the animal’s life. This is how Wageningen works on improving the quality of life.
The killing of farm animals is inseparable from animal husbandry. Wageningen University & Research (WUR) studies how this last stage of life can be passed with as little stress and suffering as possible. We focus on animals that are slaughtered for human consumption, including fish and other marine life. This dossier provides an overview of the available knowledge from research on slaughtering with and without stunning.
Stunning before slaughter
In Europe, animals must be unconscious before being slaughtered to avoid fear and unnecessary suffering. WUR researches indicators to measure animal welfare and awareness related to methods of stunning. We also develop protocols that are used to ensure animal welfare at the slaughterhouse.
Read more
Publications about stunning animals
Projects about stunning animals
-
Stunning captured wild sea fish for better animal welfare
- Due to societal developments, it is important that the fishing industry focuses on sustainable, socially acceptable and valued products and production methods. Attention to animal welfare also fits in with these developments. Injuries caused by killing and processing captured fish on board commercial fishing vessels can be minimised by stunning the animals, rendering them unconscious, prior to killing and processing. -
Operationalizing stunning of marine fish: ensuring and safeguarding better animal welfare
- Our goal is to: 1) operationalize stunning of captured plaice and turbot prior to killing them; 2) ensure that the product originates from a vessel that has put stunning of the fish species into practice by quality assurance of the supply chain; 3) assist consumers to make an informed choice with regard to fish that were stunned prior to killing on board and a regular sea fish product by the use of for instance the VISwijzer (Fish Guide) App on a mobile phone; 4) perform an inventory study to assess possibilities to valorize sea fish products that originate from a fishing vessel that stuns fish on board prior to killing them; and 5) contribute to support by stakeholders regarding fish welfare at slaughter and to disseminate our results for use in education and utilization on board of a fishing vessel. -
Stunning of captured fish
- Given the increasing concern about sustainability of fisheries , there is a need for the fishing industry to become more sustainable regarding technologies that are used on-board to process captured fish. Animal welfare is one of the themes of sustainability, and discomfort during processing on-board can be reduced by stunning fish prior to killing them.
Links about stunning animals
Articles in journals
Slaughter without stunning
Before animals are slaughtered, they must first be stunned so that they are unconscious. An exception applies to slaughter according to Jewish ritual (kosher meat) and Islamic ritual (halal meat). There are special rules for ritual slaughter without stunning.
In the covenant ‘onbedwelmd slachten volgens religieuze riten’ (i.e. slaughtering without stunning according to religious rituals’) of June 2012 the Dutch government, slaughterhouses and religious organisations agreed to improve slaughtering so that it is consistent with Islamic or Jewish traditions.
Wageningen University & Research carried out a number of studies into the possible consequences of the measures in the covenant. In 2017 an addendum to the convenant was added.
Read more
Publications about slaughter without stunning
Reports following the convenant:
In the convenant topics were pointed out that needed more research in order to ensure or improve animal welfare. As a result, the following reports by Wageningen Livestock Research were published:
- Final report: Research concerning slaughter without stunning of ruminants in The Netherlands (2015)
- Starting point (in Dutch): Vaststellen nul-situatie onverdoofd slachten van runderen en kleine herkauwers in Nederland (2014)
- Unconsciousness indicators 1: Progress report validation of parameters to examine unconsciousness (2014)
- Unconsciousness indicators 2: Progress report validation of parameters to determine unconsciousness during slaughter of veal calves (2015)
- Fixation of cows: Progress report restraining ruminants (2014)
EU project BOREST on the duration until unconsciousness:
- Final report BOREST: Restraining systems for bovine animals slaughtered without stunning (2015)
Other publications
Links about slaughter without stunning
Legislation
- EU Council Regulation: Protection of animals at the time of killing
- Dutch government: Resolution animal keeping (in Dutch)
- Convenant: Slaughtering without stunning according to religious rituals (2012, in Dutch)
- Addendum to the convenant (2017, in Dutch)