Subject: Slaughtering

The use of animal-based measures at slaughter for assessing the welfare of calves on farm: EFSA's AHAW Network exercise - 2021

EFSA

Published in 2021

Report on the Animal Health and Welfare Network meeting which produced a list of the animal-based measures used in abattoirs that are most relevant for the on-farm monitoring of the welfare of calves.

Document Types: Opinions

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Carcass quality, Welfare indicators

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The use of animal-based measures at slaughter for assessing the welfare of pigs on farm: EFSA's AHAW Network exercise

EFSA

Published in 2021

Report on the EFSA Animal Health and Animal Welfare (AHAW) Network meeting on an exercise using  animal-based measures at slaughter to assess the welfare of pigs on farm. The goal was to evaluate these measures and their ease of use, and to identify which were to be preferred. It resulted in a list of recommended animal-based measures for use in abattoirs.

Document Types: Opinions

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords: Animal-based measurements, Welfare indicators

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Literature Review on the Pre-Slaughter Welfare of Italian Heavy Pigs

Marika Vitali, Luca Sardi, Giovanna Martelli, Eleonora Nannoni

Published in 2021

Scientific review of the state of knowledge relating specifically to the welfare conditions immediately before slaughter of Italian heavy pigs, which are used for AOP products and therefore kept longer than is the average in other countries, a practice that generates particular physiological and behavioural needs.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Stress, Livestock farming system

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L’agriculture bio garantit-elle un meilleur « bien-être » des animaux d’élevage ?

Eugénie Duval, Benjamin Lecorps

Published in 2021

Article demonstrating that the French organic label guarantees higher animal welfare standards than conventional farming, providing access to outdoors, banning cage rearing and tethered systems, allowing only exceptional authorisation of non-medical surgical interventions, and requiring more frequent checks and compulsory stunning before slaughter. However, the legislation on transport and slaughter is still inadequate, even in the case of organic farming.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Ovines, Porcines, Poultry

Keywords: Housing, Living environment, Mutilation, Livestock farming system, Transport,Societal issues

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RSPCA welfare standards for farmed Atlantic salmon

RSPCA

Published in 2021

Good practice guidance developed by the RSPCA based on the 5 freedoms and current scientific knowledge of the needs of farmed salmon. It recognises the existence of knowledge gaps and therefore advises farmers to adopt an attitude of continuous improvement rather than relying strictly on these standards, developed at a particular moment in time.

Document Types: Good practice guide

Animal categories: Fish

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Pain, Societal issues, Enrichment, Housing, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Livestock farming system

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Welfare of sheep and goats at slaughter

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW), Søren Saxmose Nielsen, Julio Alvarez, Dominique Joseph Bicout, Paolo Calistri, Elisabetta Canali, Julian Ashley Drewe, Bruno Garin-Bastuji, Jose Luis Gonzales Rojas, Christian Gortazar Schmidt, Mette Herskin, Miguel Angel Miranda Chueca, Barbara Padalino, Paolo Pasquali, Helen Clare Roberts, Hans Spoolder, Karl Stahl, Antonio Velarde, Arvo Viltrop, Christoph Winckler, Denise Candiani, Cristina Rapagna, Yves Van der Stede, Virginie Michel

Published in 2021

Scientific Opinion on slaughter processes from a welfare perspective, covering three phases: pre-stunning (including arrival, unloading from the lorry, stalling, and the handling and movement of animals); stunning (including restraint); and bleeding.

Document Types: Opinions

Animal categories:Goats, Sheep

Keywords:Consciousness, Pain, Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Stress

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On-farm culling methods used for pigs

F. A. Dalla Costa, T. J. Gibson, S. E.O. Oliveira, N. G. Gregory, L. Faucitano, O. A. Dalla Costa

Published in 2021

Scientific review evaluating different on-farm slaughter methods in terms of the processes involved (mechanical and physiological), their efficiency and animal welfare

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords:Consciousness, Pain, Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Stress, Livestock farming system

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French Assemblée nationale: Written answer to question n°36537: Défendre le maintien et le développement des abattoirs de proximité

Question: Régis Juanico (Socialistes et apparentés - Loire). Answer: Ministry of Agriculture and Food

Published in 2021

Answer to a question on the Government's intentions regarding the retention of  local abattoirs, in which the economic, environmental and animal welfare benefits of such establishments are evoked. 

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Ovines, Porcines, Poultry

Keywords:Consciousness, Pain, Societal issues, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Transport

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European Parliament: Written answer to Question E-003809/2021 : Fight against the proliferation of illegal ritual slaughter

Question: Annika Bruna (ID), Sylvia Limmer (ID), Jean-Paul Garraud (ID), Gianna Gancia (ID), Virginie Joron (ID), Aurélia Beigneux (ID), Jean-Lin Lacapelle (ID), Gerolf Annemans (ID) Answer: Ms Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission

Published in 2021

Answer to a question on the infringement of the rules governing the slaughter of sheep, which the MEP considers to occur frequently during illegal ritual slaughter.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Ovines

Keywords:Consciousness, Pain, Societal issues, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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