Grist Andrew, Wotton Stephen B
Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Bristol BS40 5DU, UK.
Animals (Basel). 2021 Jan 8;11(1):116. doi: 10.3390/ani11010116.
The preslaughter stunning of bovine animals is a legal requirement in the European Union, unless the animal is being slaughtered according to religious rite. The legislation also requires the investigation and review of stunning methods in cases of failure to stun. This paper presents the results of one investigation into the possible reasons for multiple stun attempts on an animal that received five shot applications. The head was hard frozen to prevent the deformation of brain structures during splitting along the sagittal plane, and then underwent macroscopic examination to assess the likely causes of the repeated stun attempts. In this case, a pre-existing chronic disease process produced anatomical variations of the cranial cavity, increasing the thickness of the sinuses of the frontal bone to a depth of 9 cm and filling the sinuses with a fibrinous pus deposit. It was therefore concluded that the anatomical variation produced by the chronic disease process, in addition to the energy absorption provided by the thicker hide and fibrinous pus, led to the failure of the stunning equipment to achieve the desired stunned state in the animal. As the animal displayed cranial variation before slaughter, a review of the stunning systems should include a requirement that animals displaying any abnormalities should be stunned with the highest-powered cartridge available or a free bullet.
在欧盟，对牛进行屠宰前致晕是一项法律要求，除非该动物按照宗教仪式进行屠宰。该立法还要求在致晕失败的情况下对致晕方法进行调查和审查。本文介绍了一项调查的结果，该调查旨在探究对一头接受了五次枪击的动物进行多次致晕尝试的可能原因。将头部进行深度冷冻，以防止在沿矢状面劈开时脑结构变形，然后进行宏观检查，以评估重复致晕尝试的可能原因。在这个案例中，一种先前存在的慢性疾病过程导致颅腔出现解剖学变异，使额骨鼻窦的厚度增加到9厘米，并使鼻窦充满纤维蛋白脓性沉积物。因此得出结论，慢性疾病过程产生的解剖学变异，加上较厚的兽皮和纤维蛋白脓性沉积物所提供的能量吸收，导致致晕设备未能使动物达到所需的昏迷状态。由于该动物在屠宰前就显示出颅骨变异，对致晕系统的审查应包括一项要求，即对显示任何异常的动物，应使用可用的最高功率弹药筒或空包弹进行致晕。
