Guidelines for humane handling, transport and slaughter of

Guidelines for humane handling, transport and slaughter of livestock 19
General principles
CHAPTER 5
HANDLING OF LIVESTOCK
The first principle of animal handling is to avoid getting the
animal excited. It takes up to 30 minutes for an animal to calm down
and its heart rate to return to be normal after rough handling. Calm
animals move more easily and are less likely to bunch and be
difficult to remove from a pen. Handlers should move with slow,
deliberate movements and refrain from yelling.
Animals may become agitated when they are isolated from
others. If an isolated animal becomes agitated, other animals should
be put in with it. Electric prodders (prods) should be used as little as
possible or only on stubborn animals. However it is more humane
and causes less damage to give an animal a mild electric shock than
to hit it with a stick or twist its tail. Battery-operated prods (Fig. 6)
are preferred to mains-current operated ones (Fig. 7). The voltage
used should not exceed 32 V and never be used on sensitive parts
such as eyes, muzzle, anus and vulva.
Fig. 6: A batteryoperated
electric
prodder