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Animal slaughter

Animal slaughter is the killing of animals, usually referring to killing domestic livestock. It is estimated that each year, 80 billion land animals are slaughtered for food.[3] Most animals are slaughtered for food; however, they may also be slaughtered for other reasons such as for harvesting of pelts, being diseased and unsuitable for consumption, or being surplus for maintaining a breeding stock. Slaughter typically involves some initial cutting, opening the major body cavities to remove the entrails and offal but usually leaving the carcass in one piece. Such dressing can be done by hunters in the field (field dressing of game) or in a slaughterhouse. Later, the carcass is usually butchered into smaller cuts.

The animals most commonly slaughtered for food are cattle and water buffalo, sheep, goats, pigs, deers, horses, poultry (mainly chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese), insects (a commercial species is the house cricket), and increasingly, fish in the aquaculture industry (fish farming). In 2020, Faunalytics reported that the countries with the largest number of slaughtered cows and chickens are China, the United States, and Brazil. Concerning pigs, they are slaughtered by far the most in China, followed by the United States, Germany, Spain, Vietnam, and Brazil. For sheep, again China slaughtered the most, this time followed by Australia and New Zealand. Similarly, the amount (in tonnes) of fish used for production is highest in China, Indonesia, Peru, India, Russia, and the United States (in that order).[4]

Methods[edit]

Stunning[edit]

Various methods are used to kill or render an animal unconscious during animal slaughter.

Dehydration: Animals may not be provided with water at market or during their journey to the slaughterhouse and may arrive dehydrated. The effects of severe dehydration include severe thirst, nausea, a hot-dry body, dry tongue, loss of co-ordination and concentrated urine of a small volume.

Emotional stress during transport: The unfamiliarity of being on board a transport truck causes fear in animals, and if they are cooped up with others who they do not know, they may start fighting. The noise and jolting of the truck also causes stress and cows, pigs, horses and birds are at particular risk of suffering from motion sickness.

Temperature stress during transport: Some animals die because of the heat that develops in the closely confined conditions on board the transport truck. During transport, animals are not able to express all the behaviors which normally allow them to keep cool like seeking shade, wallowing, licking their fur or stretching their wings and legs. During transport the only useful way they can dissipate heat is by panting. In colder climates, the animals can be exposed to extreme low temperatures, resulting in hypothermia.

Torn skin, bruising and injury: Caused by rough handling of animals, such as beating the animals with sticks when they refuse to move forward or dragging them along the ground when they fall down. The insults which lead to bruising may be painful, and the swelling and inflammation associated with a bruise lead to a longer-lasting pain.

Sickness and disease: Farmers vary between countries in their attitude as to which sick and diseased animals can be sent for slaughter. Some take the view that the slaughterhouses are expert at salvaging what they can from carcasses and so most diseased animals are sent in, whereas in other countries farmers appreciate that diseased stock are low grade and their likely low return does not justify sending them in. Sickness and disease are two of the most serious forms of animal suffering and transporting seriously ill animals imposes an additional stress.

Fecal soiling: In some countries, especially where animals come off lush pasture, transport is the main period when they pick up body surface fecal contamination. The emotional stress associated with transport no doubt induces defecation and this compounds the problem.

Whether animals are stunned before slaughter or not, they suffer stress while waiting to be killed.[17] A 1996 veterinary review found that there are many ways in which animals suffer and die during the preslaughter period. They include:

guidelines and procedures for the proper unloading, holding and movement of animals in slaughter facilities

requirements for the segregation and handling of sick or injured animals

requirements for the humane slaughter of food animals

[18]

Public attitudes[edit]

Even though around 90% of US adults regularly consume meat,[51] almost half of them appear to support a ban on slaughterhouses: in Sentience Institute’s 2017 survey on attitudes towards animal farming with 1,094 US adults 49% of them "support a ban on factory farming, 47% support a ban on slaughterhouses, and 33% support a ban on animal farming”.[52][53][54] The 2017 survey was replicated by researchers at the Oklahoma State University, who found similar results. They also got 73% of respondents answering “yes” to the question “Were you aware that slaughterhouses are where livestock are killed and processed into meat, such that, without them, you would not be able to consume meat?”.[55][56]


In the United States, many public protest slaughters were held in the late 1960s and early 1970s by the National Farmers Organization. Protesting low prices for meat, farmers would kill their own animals in front of media representatives. The carcasses were wasted and not eaten. However, this effort backfired because it angered television audiences to see animals being needlessly and wastefully killed.[57]

Animal sacrifice

Carnism

Controlled-atmosphere killing

Fish slaughter

Horse slaughter

a Japanese method of slaughtering fish

Ike jime

Meat

Pig slaughter

the sacrifice of a livestock animal according to Islamic law

Udhiyyah or Qurbani

Archived 31 August 2005 at the Wayback Machine

Canada Agricultural Products Act R.S., 1985, c. 20 (4th Supp.)

Humane Slaughter of Livestock Regulations

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