This study investigated the temperature of pigs’ blood as it flowed from the sticking wound at exsanguination using infra-red thermometry and how it might reflect changes in core body temperature. A total of 417 pigs were monitored over a three-day period, which included a subset of 206 pigs for which additional information concerning transport conditions and ambient temperature was also known. The range of blood temperatures recorded was large (35.6-43.2°C) with a significant number of the animals found to have blood temperatures above the pigs’ normal temperature (39 ± l°C). Within the subset of pigs, average blood temperature of all the pigs in a pen at slaughter appeared to be related to pen temperatures and position on the lorry and was sensitive enough to detect changes in environmental ambient conditions.

The effectiveness of electrical water bath stunning of 172 individual broilers for 1 s with a constant root mean square (RMS) current of 100, 150 or 200 mA, delivered using a variable voltage/constant current stunner with 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200 or 1400 Hz sine wave alternating current (AC), followed by slaughter using a unilateral or ventral neck-cutting procedure, was evaluated. A binary logistic regression of broilers showing epileptiform activity or not following stunning showed that both the electrical frequency (Hz) and RMS current (mA) had a significant effect on the probability of the electroencephalogram (EEG) manifestation. The univariate analysis of variance showed that the time to the onset of less than 10% of the pre-stun relative power contents was significantly affected only by the interaction between electrical frequency and slaughter method. A similar analysis of variance of the time to reach less than 10% of the pre-stun total power content showed slaughter method, RMS current, the slaughter method/frequency interaction and the RMS current/frequency interaction to be either significant or approaching significance. Based on these results it is recommended that effective water bath stunning of broilers with a minimum constant current of 100, 150 and 200 mA could be achieved with electrical frequencies of up to 200, 600 and 800 Hz, respectively. In addition, It is likely that electrical frequencies of above 800 Hz would have required a minimum current of greater than 200 mA to induce epileptiform activity in the EEGs of broilers.

Blindfolding is routinely used to aid the handling and loading of horses that are difficult to control. Fifteen relatively well-behaved horses of varying ages and disciplines were used to investigate the effects of blinkering and blindfolding on behaviour and heart rate in three situations: whilst stabled, when being led in a ménage, and during loading onto a lorry. Heart rate increased in all three situations when a blindfold was used, and when animals were handled by the least experienced of three handlers. The effects of blinkering on heart rate and behaviour were small compared with blindfolding. Overall, blindfolding appeared to make the horses more nervous and difficult to handle. However, the study does not discount the practical application that blindfolding may have for improving welfare and safety when handling certain individual horses. This work forms the basis for further studies involving animals less accustomed or disposed to being handled.

Broiler chickens are the most numerous terrestrial farmed animals on earth. These birds can suffer a range of pathologies which result in lameness, and one technique for assessing the impact of lameness on the individual bird, and on the flock has been gait scoring. This paper describes a study where the results of the same training programme for validated gait scoring are compared for groups of assessors in Thailand, Brazil and New Zealand. A uniform course of training carried out in the classroom, through video assessment and through on-farm training was carried out in the countries named; a total of 95 persons being trained overall. A measure of agreement with the reference scale for the assessors' numerical responses was carried out using a Cohen's Kappa test, and the results indicated significant differences in the ‘origin position’ ie the view taken by the assessors of the impact of lameness on the bird before training had taken place, but a high degree of consistency in the response to training. The study demonstrated that gait scoring can be learned by assessors from different geographical and social backgrounds, and that the ‘rate of learning’ – the improvement in performance in relation to a standard, was similar between the countries studied. The ‘origin’ and ‘final’ position of the assessors pre- and post-training, from the different countries in relation to the reference standard is discussed.

A large range of variables can affect the welfare of the dairy cow, making it difficult to assess the overall ‘level of welfare’ of the individual animal. Two groups of individuals completed a questionnaire based upon the ‘five freedoms’: 26 respondents had expertise either in the field of dairy cow welfare or as practicing veterinary surgeons, and 30 were veterinary students in their penultimate year of study. Conjoint analysis was used to calculate the average importance scores (AIS) for 34 variables presented to the respondents as 52 ‘model cows’ in the form of grouped questions, phrases and pictures. Conjoint analysis identified the most important factors for each ‘freedom’: access to forage, body condition score, foot conformation, hock lesions, and the encouragement required for a dairy cow to walk into the parlour. There was a significant difference between the expert and student groups for seven out of 34 factors, which may be attributed to individual variation of opinion, knowledge, experience and expectation. The factors were ranked within each ‘freedom’ using the experts' AIS but it was not assumed that each freedom had equal ‘weight’; therefore, the factors within each freedom were compared only with factors within the same freedom. These scores produced a weighting scale, which was applied on-farm, in a preliminary exercise comparing ‘model’ and ‘perceived’ welfare scores.

Six commercial hatcheries were visited in the United Kingdom, three of which processed laying hen chicks and three of which processed broiler chicks. The accelerations experienced by the chicks passing through the handling systems were evaluated using miniature data logging accelerometers, which were sent through the systems. The lengths, speeds, and heights of drops of the pathways within each system were also measured. The response of the chicks to the handling was measured in terms of mortality, orientation, righting time (as a measure of disorientation) and tonic immobility. The study showed there to be a range in the physical severity of handling across the hatcheries that could also be seen in terms of differences in the measurements made on the chicks. Nonetheless, the welfare of the chicks passing through the automated systems appeared to be generally acceptable. However, given the velocities and accelerations within these handling systems, there is scope for considerable damage to the chicks, and for poor welfare, if systems are not properly set up or maintained.

Approximately 1500 Minke whales are killed annually under permit from the International Whaling Commission (IWC). This hunt supports a modest industry in Norway and in Japan; however, the welfare of whales during hunting and killing is such a cause of concern that in 1980 the IWC formed a sub-group entitled ‘Working Group on Whale Killing Methods and Associated Welfare Issues’ devoted to discussing the issue. This commentary suggests that, when using the Norwegian penthrite grenade-tipped harpoon (‘Whalegrenade-99‘), it is necessary to hit a relatively well-defined target area in order to effect an immediately immobile, and presumed unconscious state in the Minke whale.

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) currently uses imprecise indicators of death to evaluate the welfare consequences of whaling. A recent independent meeting of animal welfare scientists proposed a series of tests to determine the states of sensibility/insensibility/death of whales. As a precursor to assessing these tests in the field, conjoint analysis was used to evaluate expert opinion and to identify tests deemed most suitable for establishing insensibility and death. The results of this study indicated that experts considered measurement of breathing rate, cardiac activity, coordinated swimming and ocular temperature to be among the most useful for determining that animals were not dead. Furthermore, experts considered that judgements that an animal was dead should be made only after application of a series of different tests. The tests identified may be valuable for assessing stranded whales or animals taken as part of whaling operations.

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 turn contravening the general legislative requirement to reduce any avoidable distress at slaughter. This study investigated the effects of individually loading and restraining lambs compared with the normal practice of group loading and restraint of lambs prior to slaughter when using a V-shaped restrainer. Rotating and static design loading pens were also compared to represent the range of conditions and facilities found across English abattoirs. Plasma cortisol and lactate concentrations were significantly lower in group-loaded animals and significant reductions were observed in the time duration of a range of components of handling as well as the average total time to load each lamb. Loading pen type had a less marked impact upon results, however, individual loading and restraint of lambs within a V-shaped restrainer appears particularly stressful for sheep in comparison with group loading. The loading pen type had a mixed effect although the rotating crowding pen is likely to have minimised physical exertion in lambs during loading and restraint. Based on these findings, group loading in a V-shaped restrainer, whilst complying with the 20-s standstill, is likely to be preferable in religious, non-stun slaughter of sheep.

The slaughter of animals for the halal market is both ethically and economically significant. There are animal welfare and spiritual requirements that must be met for meat to be considered fit for Muslim consumption. These requirements are enshrined in Islamic law, known commonly as the Shariah law, derived from commandments in the Holy Quran and the Hadith (teachings or traditions of the Prophet of Islam, Mohammed, Peace Be Upon Him). Islamic jurists widely interpret the Shariah law differently, and this has led to debate as to whether pre-slaughter stunning is acceptable for halal slaughter. This paper reviews how these laws are interpreted and implemented and reviews the methods of stunning accepted by proponents of halal stunning. It also describes why some proponents of halal stunning do not accept irreversible stunning methods for producing halal beef within the EU, a situation which has meant that thousands of halal cattle are slaughtered without any form of stunning.

To determine if mechanical blunt force trauma using a non-penetrating captive bolt was a viable method of producing an immediate stun/kill in neonate piglets (Sus scrofa domesticus) as an alternative to manual blunt force trauma. Piglets (n = 60) were acquired from a local producer and allocated to one of five weight ranges: birth weight to 3 kg (n = 12); 3 to 5 kg (n = 11); 5 to 7 kg (n = 13); 7 to 9 kg (n = 13); and 9 to 11 kg (n = 11). These piglets with an average live-weight of 6.1 kg were anaesthetised and electroencephalogram (EEG) recording electrodes inserted sub-dermally over the right cranium to allow recording of Visual Evoked Potentials (VEPs). Following recording of baseline VEPs in the anaesthetised state, the piglet was shot once in the frontal-parietal position with a Bock Industries Zephyr EXL non-penetrating captive bolt powered by 120 psi air pressure. Movement scoring, behavioural indices of loss of brain function and VEPs were monitored throughout. VEPs were lost immediately in all piglets shot when the head was resting on a hard surface. This experiment demonstrates that mechanical blunt-force trauma, using a single-shot, non-penetrating captive bolt, such as the Zephyr EXL, provides for an immediate stun kill in neonate piglets up to 10.9 kg live-weight. This immediacy of action, combined with reproducible effects will improve the welfare of piglets to be subjected to on-farm euthanasia due to disease, ill-thrift or other commercial concerns.

In Great Britain, more than eleven million animals are transported to or from livestock markets annually. Time spent at markets is considered by Defra (Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) to be ‘neutral time’, ie potentially a rest period. However, sheep in markets are subject to many potential stressors, which may prevent them resting. Lying and ruminating behaviours were analysed from 1,638 behavioural scans of sheep in 279 pens in 23 markets across Great Britain. Likelihood of observing ≥ 1 animals lying down during a scan decreased as stocking density and activity outside the pen increased. Proportion of animals observed lying in a pen (when at least one animal was lying) increased as group size and stocking rate decreased. Likelihood of observing ≥ 1 animals ruminating increased when there was no activity around the pen, and as number of sheep in the pen increased. Proportion of animals observed ruminating in a pen (when at least one animal was ruminating) increased as stocking rate, number of sheep in the pen and activity outside the pen decreased. Proportion of sheep ruminating was greater where there was no activity, compared with where there was activity outside the pen. We suggest that in order to allow higher quality rest periods for sheep in markets, then markets should be organised so that activity around the pen is minimised, eg by filling the market from back to front so that, once penned, sheep are not passed repeatedly. Stocking densities should also be low enough to allow animals to lie if they wish, while groups sizes should not be so low as to increase fear responses.

A previous study demonstrated the effectiveness of the Bock Industries Zephyr EXL non-penetrating captive bolt, using the abolition of visual-evoked potentials as a determination of brain death, in piglets in a laboratory. A second trial, reported here, involved the field-testing of this device, on-farm, in a commercial setting. Two hundred and seven piglets (mean [± SEM] dead weight: 1.86 [± 0.74] kg) requiring dispatch under the farm's protocols were euthanased with the device and demonstrated immediate loss of consciousness, subjectively assessed by behavioural signs and no recovery. Post mortem examination of the heads was undertaken confirming massive traumatic damage to the cerebrum with associated haemorrhage and bone plate shards forced down to the level of the corpus callosum in the majority of cases. A further trial of 106 piglets demonstrated that under commercial production conditions it took less than 7 s to select, place and euthanase a piglet using the device. One hundred percent of animals in the study were immediately killed. Given this complete kill rate and the sample size of the study, a statistical 95% confidence interval provides a maximum percentage of animals that would not immediately be stunned/killed, by this mechanical non-penetrating captive-bolt system, to be at most 1.2% and at least 0%. The results here, combined with the previous study, allow recommendation of the Bock Industries Zephyr EXL as being suitable as a single application euthanasia device for piglets up to 10.9 kg liveweight.

The continuous expansion of the global halal meat market has attracted interest from governments, food business operators and the animal and meat science research fraternity. Despite this growing trend, and the enormous economic benefits associated with it, there is a lack of clarity regarding what is ‘authentic’ halal. Many Islamic jurists are reluctant to approve animal slaughter methods that were not practiced at the time of the Prophet of Islam, Mohammed. Others insist that since Islam holds animal welfare in high regard, any modern method of slaughter that is shown to improve animal welfare without compromising on the basic requirements of halal slaughter can be approved for halal production. This paper highlights the aspects of modern slaughter that continues to divide scholarly opinion among Islamic jurists. It also examines the arguments put forward by opponents and proponents regarding the acceptability of modern slaughter techniques for halal slaughter.

The objective of this study was to identify the extent of pre-stun shocks in a commercial broiler processing plant and to collect any evidence of their effect on broiler carcase and meat quality. The results showed that the degree of bird movement on entry to the water-bath was related to the incidence of pre-stun shocks, with heavier male birds showing less movement and correspondingly lower levels of pre-stun shocks. In a separate trial, 500 birds identified as receiving a pre-stun shock were compared with 500 control birds (no pre-stun shock). They were assessed for carcase downgrading conditions, red wing tips, wing haemorrhages, shoulder haemorrhages, breast muscle haemorrhages, the incidence of broken pectoral bones and also for meat quality defects. All downgrading conditions were subjectively assessed using photographic standards. The results of this study have shown that the incidence of pre-stun shocks has a significant effect both on carcase downgrading conditions and on meat quality. Pre-stun shocks are preventable and the poultry processing industry can improve both bird welfare and carcase and meat quality by ensuring that they do not occur.

The response to a one-hour road journey was observed in 145 semi-feral ponies unused to handling. Ponies were transported singly or in groups of four or eight at a typical commercial ‘high’ stocking density or at a slightly reduced ‘low’ density (range 139 to 316 kg m−2). Blood samples were obtained for plasma biochemistry post transport. Behaviour during the journey of 40.2 miles was recorded using overhead video cameras. Analysis of these revealed that levels of aggression were lower in groups of four, as were the number of slips, falls, stumbles and collisions (SFSC). Within groups of four or eight, reduced stocking density was associated with lower levels of plasma cortisol and creatine kinase, reduced aggression and fewer SFSC. Levels of aggression pre-transit (observed over one hour the day before travel) were not predictive of aggression on the lorry. Single ponies were constrained to align at right angles to the direction of transport, whereas ponies transported in groups could also align forwards or backwards and were able to re-align themselves during transport especially at reduced stocking density. Of those transported singly, younger ponies showed separation anxiety, with highly-significantly greater levels of pawing and sniffing at the ground and increased packed cell volume. Thus, transporting young, untamed ponies singly is not recommended. A suitable maximum stocking density for ponies transported in groups would be approximately 200 kg m−2. However, minimum stocking density for grouped and single untamed ponies transported by road requires future investigation. Whilst stocking density was correlated with many of the variables measured during transport, stocking rate (animals per unit floor area) was not.

The maintenance of head-only minimum stunning currents for sheep to ≥ 1.0 Amp as per current legislation was examined in two trials in a commercial abattoir. In the first trial, a Jetco MS100 stunner failed to maintain the current to > 1.0 Amp in 118 of the 228 sheep. In a second trial, a Jetco MS105 delivered sufficient current in all sheep (n = 275) to meet the legislative requirement, apart from a single animal. Recorded electrocardiograms showed a regular heartbeat, with no evidence of ventricular fibrillation, in all animals in both trials following stunning and neck-cut. Only one of the two stun units may therefore be considered to meet the statutory requirements but both may meet the requirements for halal slaughter where pre-stun is considered acceptable.

Injurious pecking remains one of the biggest animal welfare and economic challenges for free-range egg producers. This prospective epidemiological study investigated the development of vent pecking (VP) and cannibalism on 62 free-range and organic UK farms (119 flocks). Flocks were visited at 25 (± 5) and 40 (± 5) weeks of age. Rates of VP were recorded and farmers were asked whether they had observed cannibalism in their flocks. Environmental and management data were collected for each flock. Risk factors associated with these behaviours were modelled using MLwiN. VP was observed in 19.5 and 29.9% of flocks, at mean rates of 0.35 and 0.21 bouts per bird per h, at 25 and 40 weeks, respectively. Cannibalism was reported at 22.6% of visits. The odds of flocks showing VP or cannibalism increased with rate of severe feather pecking (SFP). VP was more likely to be observed in laying houses with more and/or longer pop holes and where feed was scattered on the floor. Providing more aerial perch length, or perches > 0.5 m in height, was associated with increased risk of VP. When SFP was excluded from the model, likelihood of VP was higher in flocks fed pelleted feed. All of these may provide a useful basis from which to derive management strategies to reduce the risk of VP and thus improve the welfare of laying hens. However, it is important to remember that this study does not elucidate the causal relationships between these variables, and further work is needed to understand the mechanism behind these associations.

The most significant welfare problems associated with the current design of the shackle lines and water-bath stunners are the pain caused by compression of the birds’ legs in the shackles, the stress caused by being inverted and suspended by the legs, poor or inadequate stunning caused by the commercial need to minimise carcase damage, and poor water-bath entry. Research is described in which some practical solutions to these problems were investigated. The aim is to identify solutions that individually, or jointly, could be retro-fitted to existing plants, or incorporated into the design of new, small processing plants to improve poultry welfare. The development and commercial availability of such systems would enable small, local and niche market poultry processing lines to continue operating following the implementation of EC Council Regulation No 1099/2009.