Influence of C02 stunning on EEG, catecholamines and clinical reflexes of slaughter pigs

摘要

Approximately 240 million pigs are slaughtered in the EU countries per year. Slaughter is bleeding of an animal to induce death after stunning. This is a statutory requirement. The most common stunning methods use electricity or carbon dioxide (C02).Since C02 stunning requires less handling of the animals and usually allows stunning of more animals per hour than electrical stunning, it has become quite popular in many countries. The EU directive 93/119/EC permits stunning with an atmosphere containing at least 70% C02 by volume in air for a minimum of 70 s, in Germany the law requires at least 80% C02. However, there are observations that after stunning with 80%) C02 for 70 s some animals still show signs of consciousness before exsanguination. Therefore experiments were carried out to measure pig responses to C02 atmospheres of both 80% and 90%.