Recommended Animal Handling Guidelines and Audit Guide

Recommended Animal Handling Guidelines and Audit Guide 2007 Edition No vocalizations (moo, bellow or squeal). If an electrically stunned animal blinks within five seconds after stunning, this is asign that the amperage is too low. In electrically stunned animals, blinking shouldbe checked within 5 seconds and after 60 seconds. In most plants, blinking will notbe found immediately after stunning because the plant is using the correct amperage.After it has been verified that the amperage is set correctly, the most important pointto observe for signs of return to sensibility is 60 seconds after electrical stunning. Thisprovides time for the eyes to relax after the epileptic seizure. Checking for signs ofreturn to sensibility after bleeding ensures that the animal will not recover.Order of the events indicating Return to Sensibility in head only electrically stunned pigs(In CO 2stunned pigs, the order of the first two events is reversed):1. Corneal reflexes in response to touch (not recommended for electric stunning).2. Return of rhythmic breathing.3. Spontaneous natural blinking without touching.4. Response to a painful stimulus such as pricking the nose with a pin.5. Righting reflex and raising the head.6. Fully conscious and sensible. Complete return to sensibility can occur within 15 to 20seconds after eye reflexes appear if an electrically stunned animal is not bled.Stunning to Bleed IntervalCaptive Bolt—Both penetrating and non-penetrating captive bolts are effective. However,non-penetrating bolts will cause less damage to the brain (Finnie et al., 2000). Practical experiencehas shown that for non-penetrating captive bolts to be effective the aim must be moreprecise. Animals stunned with a non-penetrating captive bolt should be bledwithin 60 seconds.Electric Cardiac Arrest—Sixty seconds maximum. All large plants are already using lessthan this interval.Head Only Reversible Electric—Fifteen seconds is strongly recommended (Blackmoreand Newhook, 1981), 30 seconds maximum (Hoenderken, 1983). Scientific research clearlyshows that pigs will start returning to sensibility after 30 seconds when stunned by the headonly method. When frequencies of greater than 50 to 60 hz are used, these times may need tobe shortened. When head only electric stunning is used for cattle or sheep the animal shouldbe bled within 10 seconds.34AMIHandlingSlaughterGuidelines07.1AMIJune 11, 2007