Eyes on Animals gave a talk today to 36 veterinarians at the FVE (Federation of Veterinarians of Europe ). The international audience was made out of veterinarians working as official inspectors from governments across Europe.
We started off about the pain and panic pigs experience when CO2-gas is used to stun pigs at large pig slaughterhouses and the need for a more “humane” and viable alternative. CO2 gas sadly causes pigs to panic for 15-30 seconds from asphyxiation and a burning sensation of their respiratory membranes but the alternative- high speed automatic electric stunning also had major welfare problems. We presented the 3-year project we have been working on to drastically improve the automatic electric stunning design so that pig slaughterhouses can move towards a more humane new choice now. We were advised by Temple Grandin during this project. The speed (but not the capacity) of the automatic electric stunning was reduced by 4-times by installing 4 automatic electric stunners instead of just 1, and by placing the single-file raceways directly side by side so that pigs can remain in groups when moving forward simultaneously, and no longer are forced to get in single file (which they don’t like). Moving small groups of just 6 pigs at a time, instead of 15-20 as done previously, and installing a light signal system means no more bottle necks or pigs facing closed gates and getting anxious. We also got rid of all noise-making tools (rattling paddles are gone!) to finally reduce the noise in the plant. Loud noise causes fear in pigs and exhaustion/ headaches for the workers. We also decreased the shadows and colour contrasts within the system, and blocked all view of workers or other distractions, so that the pigs had a clear path forward without feeling fearful.
