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Published (Version of record)CC BY-ND V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY-ND V4.0, Open
Journal article
Welfare of sheep and goats during killing for purposes other than slaughter
EFSA journal, Vol.22(6), pp.1-64
06/2024
PMCID: PMC11200094
PMID: 38933535
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Source: InCites
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.
Details
- Title
- Welfare of sheep and goats during killing for purposes other than slaughter
- Creators
- EFSA AHAW Panel EFSA Panel AnimSøren Saxmose NielsenJulio AlvarezDominique Joseph BicoutPaolo CalistriElisabetta CanaliJulian Ashley DreweBruno Garin-BastujiJose Luis Gonzales RojasChristian Gortázar SchmidtMette HerskinMiguel Ángel Miranda ChuecaBarbara PadalinoHelen Clare RobertsHans SpoolderKarl StahlAntonio VelardeArvo ViltropChristoph WincklerMohan RajYves Van der StedeDenise CandianiVirginie Michel
- Publication Details
- EFSA journal, Vol.22(6), pp.1-64
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Identifiers
- 991013293348702368
- Copyright
- © 2024 European Food Safety Authority. EFSA Journal published by Wiley-VCH GmbH on behalf of European Food Safety Authority. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and no modifications or adaptations are made.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Veterinary Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article