Halal Slaughter of Livestock: Animal Welfare Science, History and Politics of Religious Slaughter (Animal Welfare, 22)

This unique volume gives insight into the science of slaughter with in-depth discussion of neural communication and the welfare aspects of pre-slaughter handling and slaughter of livestock. The concepts of conscious perception, unconsciousness, stunning, slaughter and death are discussed to provide readers with an understanding of the different events that lead to the conversion of animals into carcasses and subsequently into meat. This accessible work is an excellent resource for learning about welfare issues of different techniques, as it includes historical aspects of religious and conventional slaughter with a focus on the developments around technologies. It comprises the advent of mechanical slaughter in the form of poleaxes to present day use of sophisticated stunning equipment. Moreover, the author covers key aspects of halal meat production and discusses the politics of religious slaughter with an emphasis on the increasing number of anti-halal movements across Europe, America and others. The slaughter of animals for consumption by people of faith is economically significant and has led to a race for market share by multinational retail enterprises. However, there are also ethical and political aspects of religious slaughter which have always divided opinion. The topic of this book provides an important link to the disciplines of animal welfare research, the meat industry and the food business. Scientists, students, as well as government agencies, veterinarians and professionals in food processing and slaughter technology manufacturing will find this an important account. Simplified summaries and practical notes make this reference highly readable. Foreword Animal Welfare Series Preface Preface Aims and Objectives of the Book Target Readership Outline of the Book Acknowledgements Disclaimer Contents About the Author 1: Introduction Bibliography 2: The Science of Conscious Perception and Death 2.1 Neural Communication 2.1.1 Neurons 2.1.2 Synaptic Transmission 2.2 Consciousness, Unconsciousness and Death 2.2.1 Consciousness 2.2.2 Unconsciousness 2.2.3 Death 2.2.4 Assessment of Unconsciousness 2.2.4.1 Behavioural Assessment 2.2.4.2 Brain and Spinal Reflexes 2.2.4.3 Electrical Activity of the Brain 2.2.4.4 Changes in Blood Parameters 2.2.5 Assessment of Death 2.3 Stunning of Animals 2.3.1 Commercially Available Stunning Methods 2.3.1.1 Mechanical Stunning 2.3.1.1.1 Mechanism of Induction of Unconsciousness 2.3.1.2 Electrical Stunning 2.3.1.3 Controlled Atmosphere (Gas) Stunning 2.4 Pain Perception in the Unconscious State 2.5 Conclusion Bibliography 3: Pre-slaughter Handling and Possible Impact on Animal Welfare and Meat Quality 3.1 Background 3.2 Poultry 3.2.1 Transport of Poultry 3.2.2 Removal of Birds from Transport Containers 3.2.3 Inversion and Shackling of Live Birds 3.2.4 Impact of Acute Stress on Poultry Quality 3.3 Sheep 3.3.1 Flocking and Following Instinct 3.3.2 Loading and Unloading 3.3.3 Restraint 3.4 Cattle 3.4.1 Movement of Cattle to the Point of Bleeding/Stunning 3.4.2 Race Design 3.4.2.1 Reducing Visual Distractions 3.4.2.2 The Use of Curved Races 3.4.2.3 Flooring 3.4.3 Restraint 3.4.3.1 Restraint of Cattle for Slaughter Without Stunning 3.4.3.2 Upright Restraint of Cattle 3.4.3.3 Use of Rotating Restraint to Invert Cattle on Their Backs 3.4.3.4 Restraining Cattle in Lateral Recumbency 3.4.3.5 Restraint for Post Neck-Cut Stunning 3.4.3.6 Restraint for Electrical Stunning 3.5 Conclusion Bibliography 4: Religious Slaughter 4.1 Slaughter Without Stunning: A Historical Account and the Current Situation 4.2 Historical Background on Slaughter Legislations and the Development of Stunning Technologies 4.2.1 Nape-Stab/Stab-Nape 4.2.2 Poleaxe 4.2.3 Kleinschmidt Apparatus 4.2.4 Slaughter Masks 4.2.5 Captive Bolt Guns 4.2.6 Behr Flash Cattle Killer 4.2.7 Free Bullet Firearms 4.2.8 Greener Humane Cattle Killer 4.2.9 Greener Safti Killer 4.2.10 RSPCA Humane Killer 4.2.11 Webley and Scott Speary Humane Killer 4.2.12 Shotguns 4.2.13 Other Stunning Methods 4.2.13.1 Carson ́s English Patent for Slaughter by Asphyxia 4.3 Halal Slaughter 4.3.1 Halal Slaughter: A Historical Background 4.3.2 Pre-Islamic Arabia 4.3.3 Islamic Arabia 4.3.4 Influence of Technological Advancement on Islamic Dietary Provisions 4.3.5 Halal Slaughter: Acceptable and Prohibited Practices 4.3.5.1 The Animal 4.3.5.2 The Slaughterer 4.3.5.3 The Knife 4.3.6 The Tayyib Concept of Halal Meat Production 4.3.7 The Welfare Debate and How It Fits into Halal Slaughter 4.4 Conclusion Bibliography 5: Socio-political Aspects of Religious Slaughter 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Growth of the Halal Market 5.3 Regulation and Certification of Halal Meat 5.4 The Rise of Anti-Halal Political Movements in the West 5.4.1 The Boycott Halal Movement 5.4.1.1 The Boycott Halal Movement in the UK 5.4.1.2 The Boycott Halal Movement in Australia 5.4.2 The Ban Non-stun Slaughter Movement Expert Opinion on BHM and Ban Non-stun Slaughter Movement 5.5 Ethical Considerations with Regard to Halal Meat Production 5.5.1 Animal Welfare 5.5.2 Environmental Sustainability 5.5.3 Over-Production and Consumption 5.5.4 Vegetarianism and Veganism 5.6 Conclusion Bibliography Glossary