What the name of that law that requires cows/pigs be stunned before killed?

Question

Looking for some good resources for the law that is in place requiring cows and pigs to be stunned before being slaughtered.

Answer 1

It's called the Humane Slaughter Act of 1958
but from what i've read and seen it's usually not to enforced.
You should read the book Slaughterhouse by Gail Eisnitz.
it's really eye opening.

Answer 2

The Humane Slaughter Act but I have no idea why it's called this because in many cases the majority of animals go down the production line very much alive as they cut their arms and legs off - DISMEMBERING THEM WHILE FULLY CONSCIOUS!! God help them.

You may be able to find some helpful information at my website:

maketheconnection.co.nr

Answer 3

In the UK its defined by DEFRA and documented in thier guidelines and the "The BMPA standard".

Here are the words on slaughter ( this section is for pigs ) from the BMPA Standard from 3 March 2006, did you know its perfectly acceptable to gas them to death ??

4.0 Slaughter
4.1 Pigs shall be slaughtered humanely with minimum stress in conditions which reflect proper care and concern for their welfare and in compliance with all relevant Legislation and Codes of Practice including all subsequent amendments or replacements, (See Appendix 2).
4.2 Abattoirs shall have in place and provide details of process controls, maintenance, back-up systems and monitoring procedures. There shall be a plan for handling of pigs in the event of a breakdown. Stunning equipment shall be regularly checked and maintained in good working order.
4.3 An Animal Welfare Officer shall check regularly and record during production that pigs are rendered unconscious before slaughter. If it is found that animals are not being effectively stunned, the slaughter line shall be stopped and remedial action taken.
4.4 Minimum output current for head only electrical stunning equipment shall be 1.3 amps. Records of checks and maintenance carried out shall be kept.
4.5 Where pigs are electrically stunned using the floor stun method, the group size should be kept to a minimum in the stun pen to allow two operatives working in the pen (one stunning and one shackling) to minimise the stun-stick interval.
4.6 The maximum stun to stick interval shall not exceed 15 seconds for electrically stunned pigs. When carbon dioxide is used the maximum time from leaving the CO2 to sticking shall not exceed 60 seconds.
4.7 The gas concentration for gas stunned pigs shall meet the minimum legal requirements. The scheme recommends a minimum of 85 % Carbon Dioxide by volume in atmospheric air as best practice.
4.8 The minimum uninterrupted bleed time for pigs should be 1.5 minutes and seen to be effective.
4.9 It is recommended that abattoirs in the scheme participate in the British Pig
Industry’s Zoonosis Action Plan (ZAP scheme).

These 2 books may be of interest if you want the rules:

Captive-Bolt Stunning of Livestock Guidance Notes 2 and 4. 3rd Edition. © Humane Slaughter Association (HSA) 2001. IBSN 1 871561 07 8

Humane Killing of Livestock Using Firearms Guidance Notes 3. 2nd Edition.
© Humane Slaughter Association (HSA) 2005. IBSN 1 871561 11 6

Answer 4

It will vary between country to country.
Ask in the appropriate section and say what country you are talking about.
Start the question with the word Law and let Yahoo guide you to a site that is for legal questions.

Answer 5

It's called the Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act (HMLSA) and it doesn't appear to be enforced very well. More info:

http://www.goveg.com/government_hsa.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humane_Slaughter_Act

Answer 6

I think it's the Humane Slaughter Act.