School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK.
Vet Rec. 2022 Sep;191(6):e1739. doi: 10.1002/vetr.1739. Epub 2022 Jul 2.
While most cattle and sheep in the United Kingdom are stunned before slaughter, non-stun methods are permitted to supply meat to specific consumers. This study aimed to identify the existing literature that compared animal welfare indicators during stun and non-stun slaughter, using a scoping review framework.
Following a structured search strategy, including the establishment of a PICO (population, intervention, comparator and outcomes) question, a comprehensive literature search of the CAB Abstracts, MEDLINE and PubMed databases, was conducted. A total of 962 papers were identified, of which 16 were selected for data extraction.
Fourteen papers concluded that welfare at slaughter was negatively impacted at non-stun slaughter in comparison to stun slaughter; two papers were inconclusive. Welfare indicators identified included biochemical parameters, brain activity and visual signs of consciousness. Limitations regarding inconsistent restraint method, neck cut position and non-standardised measures of welfare at slaughter are highlighted.
This study provides further evidence that stunning is an effective method to improve the welfare of sheep and cattle at slaughter. Animal welfare advisors, politicians, religious communities and others interested in animal welfare could use the findings to further discuss and establish new dialogues for producing updated guidance on animal welfare at slaughter.
尽管英国大多数牛和羊在屠宰前都会被致晕，但为了向特定消费者供应肉类，允许使用非致晕方法。本研究旨在使用范围综述框架，确定比较致晕和非致晕屠宰过程中动物福利指标的现有文献。
通过建立 PICO（人群、干预、对照和结果）问题，对 CAB 摘要、MEDLINE 和 PubMed 数据库进行了全面的文献检索。共确定了 962 篇论文，其中有 16 篇被选作数据提取。
14 篇论文的结论是，与致晕屠宰相比，非致晕屠宰对屠宰时的福利产生了负面影响；有 2 篇论文的结论并不明确。确定的福利指标包括生化参数、大脑活动和意识的视觉迹象。突出强调了在不一致的约束方法、颈部切割位置和屠宰时非标准化的福利措施方面存在的局限性。
本研究进一步证明，致晕是提高屠宰时羊和牛福利的有效方法。动物福利顾问、政治家、宗教团体和其他关心动物福利的人可以利用这些发现，进一步讨论并建立新的对话，以制定有关屠宰时动物福利的最新指导意见。
