Welfare of sheep and goats during killing for purposes other than slaughter
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Author
EFSA AHAW Panel (EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare)
Nielsen, Søren Saxmose
Alvarez, Julio
Bicout, Dominique Joseph
Calistri, Paolo
Canali, Elisabetta
Drewe, Julian Ashley
Garin-Bastuj, Bruno
Gonzales Rojas, Jose Luis
Gortázar Schmidt, Christian
Herskin, Mette
Miranda Chueca, Miguel Ángel
Padalino, Barbara
Clare Roberts, Helen
Spoolder, Hans
Stahl, Karl
Viltrop, Arvo
Winckler, Christoph
Raj, Mohan
Candiani, Denise
Van der Stede, Yves
Michel, Virginie
Publication date
2024-06-26ISSN
1831-4732
Abstract
Sheep and goats of different ages may have to be killed on-farm for purposes other than slaughter (where slaughter is defined as killing for human consumption) either individually (i.e. on-farm killing of unproductive, injured or terminally ill animals) or on a large scale (i.e. depopulation for disease control purposes and for other situations, such as environmental contamination and disaster management) outside the slaughterhouses. The purpose of this opinion was to assess the hazards and welfare consequences associated with the on-farm killing of sheep and goats. The whole killing procedure was divided into Phase 1 (pre-killing) – that included the processes (i) handling and moving the animals to the killing place and (ii) restraint of the animals before application of the killing methods and Phase 2 – that included stunning and killing of the animals. The killing methods for sheep and goats were grouped into three categories: (1) mechanical, (2) electrical and (3) lethal injection. Welfare consequences that sheep and goats may experience during each process were identified (e.g. handling stress, restriction of movements and tissue lesions during restraint) and animal-based measures (ABMs) to assess them were proposed. During application of the killing method, sheep and goats will experience pain and fear if they are ineffectively stunned or if they recover consciousness. ABMs related to the state of consciousness can be used to indirectly assess pain and fear. Flowcharts including ABMs for consciousness specific to each killing method were included in the opinion. Possible welfare hazards were identified for each process, together with their origin and related preventive and corrective measures. Outcome tables linking hazards, welfare consequences, ABMs, origins, preventive and corrective measures were developed for each process. Mitigation measures to minimise welfare consequences were proposed.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
636 - Animal husbandry and breeding in general. Livestock rearing. Breeding of domestic animals
Pages
64
Publisher
Wiley Open Access
Is part of
EFSA Journal
Citation
Nielsen, Søren Saxmose, Julio Alvarez, Dominique Joseph Bicout, Paolo Calistri, Elisabetta Canali, Julian Ashley Drewe and Bruno Garin‐Bastuji et al. 2024. " Welfare of sheep and goats during killing for purposes other than slaughter”. EFSA Journal 22 (6). doi:10.2903/j.efsa. 2024.8835.
Program
Benestar Animal
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2661]
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