An article in the series "Crying for Standards"

UK Myth of Slaughterhouse Paradise Debunked

In 1991, UK Environment Minister John Gummer, then agriculture minister, stated that he could never accept that animals in British slaughterhouses were dispatched without pain only seven times out of 10. The remark came as part of an attack on killing methods for whales in which he challenged the whalers to match British slaughterhouse standards. Yet several reports in recent years indicate Gummer had viewed his glorious slaughterhouses through rose-tinted spectacles.

In 1992, Simon Kestin of Bristol University reported to the IWC's Humane Killing Workshop (IWC 44/HKW) that 53% of young bulls killed in British slaughterhouses were improperly stunned and may have been conscious during the bleeding-out stage. A 1993 report by two other Bristol University researchers, M. Anil and J. McKinstry, looked at the slaughter of pigs in England and Wales. In the majority of slaughterhouses they found that pigs were not restrained during the stunning process, and that in part as a result, no less than 15.6% of animals had to be restunned, while 20.5% showed signs of regaining consciousness at the time of sticking (see "Stuck Pigs Still Squeal").

Though Gummer may find little consolation in the fact, British slaughterhouses are far from exceptional, as similar reports from many other European countries show. In Danish abattoirs, it is not uncommon for captive bolt pistols used for stunning to be incorrectly positioned, as a result of which the bolt misses the animal's brain. A German study from 1987 showed that electric tongs used to stun pigs were incorrectly positioned in 75% of cases, possibly resulting in extremely painful paralysis. Under normal operating conditions in slaughterhouses, it is not possible to distinguish between a pig that is unconscious and a pig that is simply paralysed, with the result that pigs may be hung up, bled and perhaps even submerged in the scalding vat before losing consciousness.

Human error is often a contributory factor to ineffective stunning, but ideals are also sacrificed for economic reasons, while all existing methods of stunning have their own inherent weaknesses.

For electric stunning to be fully effective requires a high voltage, but if the voltage is too high the animal will suffer violent cramps, often resulting in bleeding in the muscles, the cracking of bones and a consequent loss of meat quality. A high voltage may also result in frying of the skin at the point of contact, which lowers the efficiency with which the current is conducted to the brain.

In part because of these problems associated with electricity, many abattoirs now use carbon dioxide to render pigs unconscious before slaughter. But this method too has its problems, and is actually prohibited in the Netherlands in favour of electricity. For the first 10~15 seconds of exposure to the gas the pigs remain calm, but then they begin to show signs of stress and finally extreme excitation. Although some observers have suggested the animals are unconscious during the excitation stage, they nonetheless kick their legs so violently that they can cause damage to the conveyor belt carrying them through the gas chamber.

Last but not least, John Gummer failed to take into account ritual slaughter in British abattoirs when espousing his high standards to the whalers. In the UK, animals for consumption at Jewish or Muslim religious functions are slaughtered while they are fully conscious. In Norway, the ritual slaughter of animals is outlawed under the Welfare of Animals Act.

See also "Stuck pigs still squeal"

(For further information see "Animal Welfare Considerations in the Killing of Large Mammals in Europe", IWC/47/WK 10.