In July of last year (2016) the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) released ‘Guidelines for the Humane Slaughter of Animals: 2016 Edition’. The species covered are hoofed stock (cattle, bison, horses, mules, sheep, goats, swine, deer and elk), poultry (chickens, turkeys, pheasants, ratites, geese and ducks), fish (farmed and commercially caught wild fish), rabbits and alligators. The guidelines are provided specifically for animals which are reared and slaughtered for human food consumption (estimated by the Humane Society to be 4.6 billion animals annually), and do not include animals raised and killed for their fur, skins or any other product.