Today we hosted the animal welfare manager of a large German supermarket chain, together with a veterinarian from the Deutscher Tierschutzbund e.V., for a visit to a large pig slaughterhouse where pigs are automatically stunned using electricity instead of the highly aversive CO₂ gas.
Pigs exposed to CO₂ experience 15–30 seconds of intense panic and pain before losing consciousness. High concentrations of CO₂ cause a severe sensation of breathlessness and burn the airways, lungs, and eyes.
To provide a more humane alternative, Eyes on Animals worked together with this slaughterhouse to improve the automatic electrical stunning system for pigs, as electricity renders animals unconscious immediately. The raceways leading to the electrical stunners have been adapted to the natural behavior of pigs and handling procedures have been carefully defined. Pigs are moved in very small groups (maximum six animals), can enter the single-file entrances side by side, and the speed at which they are moved toward the stunning system has been reduced by 75% through the use of three additional stunning units. The system has now been operating successfully for several years.
Although it has been known for decades that CO₂ is an acidic and highly aversive gas, it is still widely used in industrial pig slaughterhouses. One of the main arguments against banning the method has been the claim that no realistic alternative exists. That situation has changed. In practice, we have demonstrated that a large-scale electrical stunning system is technically feasible and can prevent a great deal of suffering.
This is why we invite supermarkets, retailers, and animal welfare organizations to see the system for themselves. Only when decision-makers know that an alternative exists can they actively support and encourage its wider adoption.
During the visit, we also showed videos of smaller slaughterhouses where stress is kept to a minimum through thoughtful design and calm animal handling. Smaller slaughterhouses often offer better opportunities for low-stress handling because communication is easier and work pressure is often lower.
By sharing knowledge, practical experience, and successful examples, we hope to encourage improvements in slaughterhouses on a wider scale.
Whether we like it or not, hundreds of thousands of pigs are slaughtered every day in Europe alone. For these animals, it makes a significant difference whether they end up in a slaughterhouse where the stunning method causes extreme panic, or in one where loss of consciousness is immediate and animal-centered handling is a priority. For each individual animal, these improvements make a meaningful difference.
