ANIMAL WELFARE AND STUNNING

2. ANIMAL WELFARE AND STUNNING Prof. Dr. Javaid Aziz Awan Hala Research Council www.halalrc.org

3. SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE FOR MUSLIMS

4. THE HOLY QUR’AN • The Holy Book of Muslims   • Sixsuras (chapters) named after the animals • Over twohundredverses in the Holy Qur'an deal with animals • In Islam animals and all the creations believed to praise the Almighty Allah

5. SUNNAH AND AHADITH • Sunnah – Refers to the actions and practices of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) • Ahadith - Collection of accounts of suhaba karam on the sayings, practices and approvals of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and passed on to their followers • Muslims seek guidance and inspiration from the Holy Qur’an, Sunnah and Ahadith

6. REGULATIONS ON FOOD IN ISLAM • Holy Qura’n permits consumption of good and safe food (halal and tayyab) • Foods and drinks injurious to health prohibited in Islam • Major emphasis on prohibition, apart from other foods and drinks, is meat • Islam provides specific guidelines on consumption of meat

7. SLAUGHTERING

8. HOLY QURAN - Al-Maidah :4 • حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ الْمَيْتَةُ وَالدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ الْخِنزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ وَالْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَالْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَالْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَالنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَا أَكَلَ السَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى النُّصُبِ وَأَنْ تَسْتَقْسِمُوا بِالْأَزْلَامِ ذَلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ الْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ دِينِكُمْ فَلَا تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَاخْشَوْنِي الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمْ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا فَمَنْ اضْطُرَّ فِي مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍ لِإِثْمٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ

9. REQUIREMENTS FOR MEAT - HOLY QURAN • “Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than God; that which hath been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a head long fall, or by being gored to death; that which hath been partly eaten by a wild animal, unless ye are able to slaughter it (Al Maida - V:4)

10. HADITH ON SLAUGHTERING The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: • “Verily Allah has prescribed proficiency in all things. Thus, if you kill (an animal), kill well; and if you slaughter, slaughterwell. Let each one of you sharpen his blade and let him spare suffering to the animal he slaughters” (Sahih Muslim)

11. STEPS IN ISLMIC SLAUGHTERING • Lay animal preferably on left flank • Using very sharp knife give a cut on the neck • This should sever oesophagus, windpipe, carotid arteries and veins • Allow the animal to die • Do not cut any part while it is still alive

12. ISLAMIC METHOD - ADVANTAGES • When clean and large cut made properly with sharp knife, in one go, major blood vessels are cut • Application of sharp knife in dhabh ensures that no pain is felt • Wound inflicted is clean • This sudden and quick haemorrhage

13. ISLAMIC METHOD - ADVANTAGES • Animals lose between 40 and 60% of their total blood volume • A quick loss of bloodpressure results in rapid loss of blood supply to brain, causing severe hemorrhage • Brain instantaneously starved of blood and no time to start feeling any pain • Causes immediate anaesthetization

14. ISLAMIC METHOD - ADVANTAGES • When brain deprived of blood, whole body goes into contraction and convulsion to squeeze blood up to the brain • Blood comes out from the cut before reaching the brain • This contraction and convulsion normal physiological reactions and cause no pain to animal • Islamic slaughtering perfect, most humane and merciful to animal

15. ISLAMIC METHOD - ADVANTAGES • Produces good quality meat without any health hazards • Muslims believe that this method prescribed for Prophets Abraham, Moses, and Jesus - Hence no cruelty to animals • Allah is Rahman Rahim (Most Compassionate, Most Merciful) • The last Prophet, Muhammad (pbuh), is Rahmatul-Alamin (the mercy to all worlds, men, animals, etc)

16. PAIN DURING ISLAMIC SLAUGHTERING Study by Prof Wilhelm Schulze and his coworkers in Germany in 1978 concluded: • “The slaughter in the form of ritual cut is, if carried out properly, painless in sheep and calves according to the EEG recordings and the missing defensive actions” • This study cited by German Constitutional Court in its permitting of dhabiha and kosher slaughtering

17. WESTERN VIEW • Throat cut while animal still conscious • Animals die from excessive blood loss after minutes of struggling • Causes immense animal suffering • Considered unnecessarily very painful and cruel to animals being slaughtered consciously • Regarded as brutal and barbaric method

18. WESTERN VIEW • Also claim significant economic loss: • bruising of meat - renders it unfit for human consumption • damage to hides causes loss of product • worker injuries result in decreased productivity

19. WESTERNER’S RECOMMEND • More humane transport, handling, and slaughter practices • Introduction of modern systems and equipment in slaughter process • Will help to decrease animal suffering • Also provide economicbenefits as amount of meat and hide wasted reduced • Worker and meat safety greatly increased

20. HUMANE SLAUGHTER MODERN METHODS FOR “PREVENTION OR REDUCTION OF PAIN” DURING SLAUGHRERING (stunning)

21. A standard method of stunning animals for slaughter at the dawn of the 20th century as illustrated in Oscar Black,''Construction, Installation and Operation of Public Slaughterhouses and Stockyards. A Manual for Medical and Administrative Officer'', Berlin, 1903.

22. STUNNING METHODS • Some methods used in technologically advanced countries: • The Captive Bolt Pistol • Pithing • Electrical Stunning • Water Bath Stunning • CO2 Gas Stunning • Cardiac Arrest Stunning

23. CAPITIVE BOLT STUNNING • “Captive bolt pistol,” penetrative and non-penetrative • Hit on the head of animal • Penetrative stunners drive bolt into the skull • Causes unconsciousness both through physical braindamage and concussive blow to skull

24. POSITION OF THE BOLT

25. CAPTIVE BOLT STUNNING • Bolt on non-penetrative stunner 'mushroom-headed' and impacts on brain without entering the skull • Process induces immediate unconsciousness caused by concussiveblow through brain trauma • Captive bolt considered a humane stunner and stunning • Method widely used for farmed animals

26. CAPITIVE BOLT STUNNING • Penetrating stunners preferred - induce unconsciousness immediately in the animal • Maximumeffect obtained when muzzle of stunner firmly held against head of the animal • Pistol placed on the centre of animal's forehead and either trigger-fired or fires automatically on contact with animal's head • Bolt flies out of barrel but remains attached to the pistol

27. CAPITIVE BOLT STUNNING Advantages claimed • Easy and simple technique as far as it’s working is concerned • Induces unconsciousness immediately

28. PITHING • Involves inserting a wire or rod through a hole in the head made by captive bolt • Rod slid up and down to destroy lower part of brain and spinal cord • The Farm Animal Welfare Council say: • From purely hygiene considerations, practice not favoured • On animal welfare grounds, provided animal has been effectively stunned, no evidence that the practice increases suffering by hastening brain death

29. Pithing • Double pithing destroys spinal cord • Kills the animal, and also may reduce reflex kicking which occurs at stunning • Contributes to safety of slaughterman • Currently, pithing not practiced because it may lead to spread of fragments of neural matter through the carcass

30. PITHING • USA regulations disallow importation of beef from cows killed by pithing, due to risk of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or "mad cow") disease • European Union also banned practice on animals intended for human consumption.

31. ELECTRICAL STUNNING • Electric head-only stunning used to stun cattle, calves, sheep, goats, pigs, rabbits and ostriches • A pair of electric tongs placed on either side of animal's head to ensure good electrical contact • An electric current passed through the brain - supposedly causing a temporary loss of consciousness • Animal remains un-conscious while throat is cut and dies from loss of blood • Animal may recover from a stun if throat not cut quickly

32. ELECTRICAL STUNNING • Amount of voltage varies according to: • type of animal • techniques used and • individual creature’s size and behavior • Animals to slaughter can regain consciousness and then face the knife that will kill them • Cattle normally stunned electrically by three sequential cycles

33. ELECTRICAL STUNNING The RSPCA say: • 'There is increasing scientific evidence that some animals stunned electrically using tongs regain consciousness before they die from loss of blood’ • Two reasons for this: • either insufficient electrical current passes through brain to stun animal, or • time interval between stunning and sticking exceeds 20 seconds and animal starts to regain consciousness

34. ELECTRICAL STUNNING The Scientific Veterinary Committee of EU says: • Under commercial conditions, a considerable proportion of animals are: • either inadequately stunned or • require a second stun • mainly because of: • poor electrode placements, • bad electrical contacts and • long stun-to-stick intervals

35. ELECTRICAL STUNNING • The Committee also expresses concern: • 'The strength of electric current used should be high enough for the species to induce a stun within one second of application • Otherwise, animals could suffer a potentially painfulelectricshock before being stunned

36. RESULTS OF A STUDY • Meat Science • Volume 90 (4):956–961; 2012, • A perspective on the electrical stunning of animals: Are there lessons to be learned from human electro-convulsive therapy (ECT)?

37. HIGHLIGHTS OF RESEARCH • ► Electrical stunning widespread method of commercial pre-slaughter stunning • ► Effective electrical stunning may be difficult to achieve in practical conditions • ► Effective stunning is particularly difficult to achieve with poultry • ► Electrical stunning parallels unmodified human electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) • ► Unmodified ECT is considered cruel in humans and is thus prohibited.

38. WATER BATH STUNNING • Electric waterbath widely used to stun chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese • Birds shackled upside down on a moving conveyor • Carried to an electrified waterbath • Heads immersed

39. WATER BATH STUNNING • Strength of electrical current to ensure birds suffer a cardiac arrest and die when they enter waterbath • Not all birds will suffer a cardiac arrest • Scientific data show serious flaws with waterbath system • Consumer eats dead birds

40. GAS STUNNING • Gas stunning being promoted because it results in less blood spots in meat and fewer hemorrhages on surface of carcass • Five gas stunning methods used - differ in gas composition and concentration • Use CO2, Argon and Nitrogen • Debate as to which gas mixtures most humane • Further work needed using larger numbers of birds, before concluding which method more humane

41. GAS STUNNING • ADVANTAGES CLAIMED • Efficient method for poultry birds • Different gas combinations can be used • Less blood spots on meat • Fewer hemorrhages produced on carcass

42. CARDIAC ARREST STUNNING • Cattle, sheep, pigs, rabbits and goats stunned and simultaneously given a cardiac arrest • Few abattoirs actually use these methods: • 1. Electric current sent through head and body at the same time to span the brain and heart or • 2. Electric current sent though head first to cause unconsciousness and then across chest to cause cardiac arrest

43. CARDIAC ARREST STUNNING • If administered correctly, these methods remove risk of animals regaining consciousness while bleeding to death as the heart attack should kill the animal outright • Scientific Veterinary Committee of EU say that when second method used, 'a considerable proportion of animals are either inadequately stunned or require a second stun’ • By using method 2, animals could suffer potentially painful cardiac arrest

44. METHODS GENERALLY AVOIDED • All stunning methods supposed to impact some kind of negative influence • Some methods, like pithing, specially avoided • After confirmation of first U.S. BSE case, FSIS issued regulations (January 12, 2004) prohibiting use of air-injection captive bolt stun gun • Compressed air forces pieces of brain and other central nervous system (CNS) tissue into bloodstream • Cattle blood could potentially transmit BSE if it contained

45. STUNNING - HISTORY • Stunning - process in which animals rendered immobile or unconscious before slaughtering for food • Pre-slaughter stunning originally introduced to protect personnel deputed to kill the animal • Idea - immobilize and keep animal motionless to facilitate killing procedures • Now stunning done to apparently prevent / reduce pain – hencecompulsory in many countries

46. STUNNING • Prior to “humane slaughter” animals simply struck with a hammer (poleax) while fully conscious • The Humane Slaughter Act of 1933 in Britain conceived to make: • stunning compulsory • such methods as captive bolt pistol and electric tongs, means by which to achieve • The 1933 Act specifically outlaws the poleax

47. STUNNING • Period marked by development of innovations in slaughterhouse technologies • Not all of them particularly long-lasting • Stunning not supposed to actually kill animal • heart needs to continue functioning to pump maximum blood out of animal • Animals die from loss of blood after their throats are cut

48. TREATMENT OF ANIMALS IN ISLAM • (ANIMAL RIGHTS)

49. ISLAM - MERCY FOR ALL CREATURES • Islam has laid down rights for humans regardless of race, colour, language and riches • Islam also laid down rights for animals • Muslims must treat animals with compassion and not to abuse them • Animals, like humans, creations of Allah (swt) • Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was sent as a mercy to mankind and a blessing to all creatures: • We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all creatures (21:107) وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ 49

50. ANIMAL RIGHTS/WELFARE • Islam recognized animal rights long before human rights recognized in Western World • Muslims have extensive rules relating to animal welfare and proper slaughter • These rules designed to respect and protect animals • Muhammad (pbuh) reported to have said: • "For charity shown to each creature which has a wet heart (i.e. is alive), there is a reward”