Humane-Slaughter-Guidelines

mal is in poor condition prior to leaving the farm.
Weak, emaciated animals or severe lameness can make
humane handling difficult. A survey 25 of 10 cattle auction
markets found that 13.3% of cull dairy cows and
3.9% of cull beef cows were severely emaciated. Most
of the cows sold at these auctions go to slaughter. The
USDA does not permit the slaughter of nonambulatory
downed or emaciated cattle; however, pigs and sheep
that are not able to walk may be slaughtered. Fatigued
pigs, which are unable to walk, will recover if they are
rested. There are often big differences between producers
on the percentage of fatigued pigs arriving at the
plant. Pigs fed high doses (9 mg/ton) of the growth
promotant ractopamine were harder to handle and had
more hoof problems. 26,27
Another type of animal that is extremely difficult to
handle in a humane manner is the neonatal “bob veal”
dairy calf that is less than a week old. To make humane
handling possible, these calves should be properly cared
for and remain on the farm until they are old enough to
walk easily without assistance from a person.
D1.2.2 Corrective action for problems
Nonslip flooring in the unloading area is essential
for all species. 10–12 Quiet handling and good welfare are
impossible if animals slip and fall. For all species (with
the possible exception of birds), a rough broom finish
is not a satisfactory nonslip floor. A rough broom finish
quickly wears down and becomes smooth and slick.
For cattle, bison, and other large animals, an 8 X 8-inch
(20 X 20-cm) diamond pattern with 1-inch (2.5-cm)
or deeper V grooves is recommended. For the smaller
species, such as pigs, deer, or sheep, a good floor finish
is to stamp the pattern of a 1-inch-wide-opening expanded-metal
mesh pattern into the concrete. There are
other suitable finishes for stamping concrete, and all of
them are rougher than a broom finish. Epoxy or grit
finishes work well for smaller species, but they will not
provide sufficient traction for large animals that have
become agitated. For existing slick floors, there are
several options. In high-traffic areas, such as unloading
ramps and scales, rubber mats made from woven
tire treads can be used. Another option is to construct a
steel grating from 1-inch-diameter steel rods welded in
a 12 X 12-inch (30 X 30-cm) square pattern. 10 The rods
must not be crisscrossed over the top of each other.
They must be welded into a flat metal grid to prevent
the hooves from catching under the raised rods that can
cause hoof injury. Grooving tools can be rented from
a concrete supply firm for regrooving concrete. More
information on flooring and the design of unloading
ramps can be found in reports by Grandin and Deesing
28 and Grandin. 10,11
Meat packers should work with producers and
buyers to reduce the numbers of fatigued pigs and unfit
animals. Practical experience has shown that the percentage
of fatigued pigs can be drastically reduced by
three changes in farm production practices: 1) walking
regularly through finishing pens on the farm to make
pigs calmer and easier to handle, 5 2) changing genetic
selection criteria to breed pigs with good leg conformation,
and 3) using ractopamine responsibly. 29 Research
30 has shown that the number one welfare issue
with horses arriving at slaughter is owner neglect that
occurred on farm. Packers should clearly communicate
back to producers that the shipment of unfit animals is
unacceptable and implement a financial penalty for the
practice.
D1.3 Step 3—Receiving
For cattle, unloading areas for large trucks should
be designed with at least a 10-ft (3-m) level unloading
dock before the ramp starts. 31 For hogs and sheep, the
minimum acceptable level dock is 5 ft (1.5 m) long, 28
and for horses it is 7 ft (2.1 m). 9 After unloading, the
normal practice in most plants is to verify that the number
of animals on the vehicle matches the paperwork.
In some plants, there is an extra handling step of weighing
individual animals after unloading; however, many
plants have eliminated this by weighing the entire truck
before unloading. Weighing the entire truck has the advantage
of reducing bruising of cattle.
In many pork plants, pigs are tattooed with an
identification number as they walk off the truck. In
most other species, animal identification is maintained
by placing the animals from each trailer in their own
pen and placing their identification paperwork in a
holder on the fence.
D1.3.1 Detection of problems
The most likely problems that can occur during receiving
is pigs piling up and falling during tattooing. For
other species, falling, piling up, or hitting fences would
be an indicator that handling needs to be improved.
D1.3.2 Corrective actions for problems
Provide nonslip flooring for all species. For pigs,
redesign the tattoo area. A funnel-shaped chute will result
in jamming of animals. 32,33 Plants with the calmest,
quietest pig tattooing apply a slap tattoo as pigs exit the
30-inch (76-cm) truck door side by side.
D1.4 Step 4—Lairage
This may also be called the stockyards or antemortem
pens. In most plants, animals are held in the same
groups that they traveled with on the trucks, which is
the ideal. In large plants, a typical lairage pen holds either
one or two entire truckloads. It is important to design
the pens to hold a whole number of truckloads, as
a pen designed to hold one and a half truckloads will
invariably end up having two loads forced into it. When
new stockyards are being built, they should be laid out
so that there is one-way livestock movement through
the yards. Ideally, the unloading ramps are at one end of
the yards and the chutes to the stunner are at the other
end. One good design is to have all the animals enter the
pens from one alley and move to the stunner through
the opposite end of the pens. Designs for lairage pens
are in reports by Grandin and Deesing 28 and Grandin. 5
In smaller plants, there may be single or small groups of
animals arriving from many different owners. Animals
from each owner must either be held in their own small
pen or have physical identification (such as eartags,
electronic identification, or tattoo) to prevent their identification
from becoming mixed up with other animals.
The HMSA 9 CFR 313.2 (e) requires that all lai-
AVMA Guidelines for the Humane Slaughter of Animals: 2016 Edition 15