Eyes on Animals attended the final PigStun conference in Brussels. PigStun is an EU-funded project led by scientists to explore alternative stunning methods to high-concentration CO2 gas for rendering pigs unconscious before slaughter in high-throughput facilities. This study is important because CO2 gas is painful for pigs; it’s highly acidic, causing irritation to the mucous membranes and leading to breathlessness.
Eyes on Animals participated because one of the alternatives discussed was an improved automatic-electric stunning design we developed, with the help of Dr. Temple Grandin and Dr. Bert Lambooij, for a large pig abattoir in Western Europe. This more humane alternative to CO2 gas has been in use since 2022 by the large plant and has been very successful at reducing fear and pain. Other alternatives, such as using non-aversive gasses like argon and helium, were also looked at in the PigStun project. Helium appears to be unrealistic due to limited supply, but argon shows some promise. The main question now is when will it be commercially tested and whether its challenges—such as re-stunning rates, necessary longer exposure times, and cost—can be addressed to make this option realistic.
Eyes on Animals encourages the pork industry to consider the new electric stunning design, which is a significant improvement over the old system. We also urge the industry to invest asap in further research into argon gas to determine quickly if it too can become a real viable option in practice. The sooner the pig slaughter industry can move away from CO2 gas, the better.
