A comparison of handling methods relevant to the religious slaughter of sheep

Legislation governing non-stun slaughter of sheep in England requires that they are individually and mechanically restrained for slaughter and not moved for at least 20 s post neck cut, until unconsciousness or insensibility occurs. Complying with the need for individual handling, in what is a flock animal, has the potential to adversely affect welfare, in […]

Effects of catching and transportation versus pre-slaughter handling at the abattoir on the prevalence of wing fractures in broilers

Fractures occurring in conscious broiler chickens are painful and severely compromise animal welfare. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of pre-slaughter handling procedures on the frequency of wing fractures. Wings were examined for fractures in 11,609 broilers, from 12 different flocks, slaughtered in two abattoirs: one using bi-phasic CO2 stunning (CS); […]