Last
month, World Poultry Net reported on recent research by the
University of Bristol that examined
meat quality problems caused by the electrified stun bath–the means of stunning
most commonly used in chicken and turkey slaughterhouses in both the UK and
Canada.
At
the slaughterhouse, fully conscious birds are shackled upside down by their
legs to a moving conveyor belt. The birds’ heads are then dragged through an
electrified saltwater stun bath. Currents shoot through the birds’ skin, breasts,
hearts, and leg muscles causing spasms and tremors.
The
Bristol study
sought to examine the effects of “pre-stun shocks,” which occur when birds are
splashed with the electrified water before being submerged, or when the tips of
their wings dip into the water. The study found that pre-stun shocks
significantly affect meat quality by causing burns to the birds’ wing tips,
fractures to their breast bones, and bleeding in their wings, shoulders, and
breasts.
Additionally,
the study determined that pre-stun shocks contribute to the incidence of “mis-stuns,”
leading to live, conscious birds being dumped into the scalding-hot feather
removal tanks where they are burned and drowned.
Dr.
Ian Duncan, professor emeritus of
applied ethology in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science at the
University of Guelph, has stated that at least 1% of birds remain conscious
when dropped into the scalding tanks. Dr. Dan Weary, associate dean of graduate
studies and professor in the University of British Columbia’s Animal Welfare
Program, arrived at the same number after witnessing a portable chicken
slaughter unit in operation, which left 1% of the birds insufficiently
electrocuted to bring about stunning.
Over
650 million chickens and turkeys were killed in Canadian slaughterhouses in
2012.This means an unbearable
six and a half million birds were burned to death or drowned in scalding tanks
in Canada
last year alone.
Chickens
and turkeys possess intelligence, individual personalities, and emotional lives
just like dogs and cats. You can help bring an end to their needless suffering
by transitioning to a healthy and humane, plant-based diet. For information on
how to make the switch, visit ChooseVeg.ca.
