Abstract
Blood lost at exsanguination during the Halal slaughter of lambs was compared between the slaughter methods
of Traditional Religious Slaughter without stunning (TRS), Electric Head-Only Stunning (EHOS) and Post-Cut
Electric Head-Only Stunning (PCEHOS). Two protocols were examined, Experimental (80 lambs) and Commercial
(360 lambs), assessing varying periods of animal orientation during the 4 min bleeding process (upright
orientation before vertical hanging). Live-weight, blood weight (Experimental only), carcass weights and
by-product weights were recorded. The Experimental protocol highlighted an increase in blood loss at 60 s in
EHOS and PCEHOS compared to TRS (P b 0.001) but by 90 s there was no significant difference. A postslaughter
change in animal orientation from an upright to a vertical hanging position aided the amount
of blood loss. The bleeding of lambs is largely completed by 2 min. There were no significant differences
(P N 0.05) in final blood loss between treatments. This research was undertaken to inform discussion on the
merits of different slaughter methods compatible with Halal requirements.
of Traditional Religious Slaughter without stunning (TRS), Electric Head-Only Stunning (EHOS) and Post-Cut
Electric Head-Only Stunning (PCEHOS). Two protocols were examined, Experimental (80 lambs) and Commercial
(360 lambs), assessing varying periods of animal orientation during the 4 min bleeding process (upright
orientation before vertical hanging). Live-weight, blood weight (Experimental only), carcass weights and
by-product weights were recorded. The Experimental protocol highlighted an increase in blood loss at 60 s in
EHOS and PCEHOS compared to TRS (P b 0.001) but by 90 s there was no significant difference. A postslaughter
change in animal orientation from an upright to a vertical hanging position aided the amount
of blood loss. The bleeding of lambs is largely completed by 2 min. There were no significant differences
(P N 0.05) in final blood loss between treatments. This research was undertaken to inform discussion on the
merits of different slaughter methods compatible with Halal requirements.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 15-23 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Meat Science |
Volume | 110 |
Early online date | 10 Jul 2015 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 2015 |
Bibliographical note
Date of Acceptance: 16/06/2015Keywords
- Halal
- Blood
- Sheep
- Slaughter without stunning
- Slaughter with stunning
- Post-cut stunning