ZBJO.htm

NR ZBJO

AU Schütt-Abraham,I.; Wormuth,H.-J.; Fessel,J.

TI Electrical stunning of poultry in view of animal welfare and meat production

QU In Eikelenboom, G: Stunning of Animals for Slaughter, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1983

PT proceedings article

AB Due to individual impedance, application time and contact intensity voltages frequently used in water bath stunners do not guarantee adequate stunning. Voltages required by animal welfare demands, however, trigger heart fibrillation and are therefore opposed by meat hygienists who claim heart action indispensable for proper bleeding. To investigate the effect of electrocution on bleeding 84 broilers weighing 2250 - 2400 g were bled 30 seconds after stunning for 4 seconds with 100 V, 55 - 100 mA, and processed alike. Stunning triggered heart fibrillation in 36 broilers while 48 survived. Initially both groups showed tonic-clonic spasms, followed by complete relaxation. Within 30 seconds, however, electrocuted chickens were obviously dead, marked by irreversible loss of corneal reflex and muscle tension ("raised" hackles due to the head down position) while "smooth" hackles, returning corneal reflex, and spasms during bleeding characterized survivors. Although bleeding was markedly slower in electrocuted than in live bled birds (2.08 % versus 2.48% of live weight after 90 seconds) total blood loss differed insignificantly (2.78% versus 2.98% of live weight). No differeneces were found in pH-values 15 minutes resp. 2 hours after slaughter. Electrocution as recommended by animal welfare aspects thus ssems to meet current meat hygiene standards.

AD Institut für Veterinärmedizin (Robert von Ostertag-Institut) des Bundesgesundheitsamtes, Diedersdorfer Weg 1, D-12277 Berlin

SP englisch

PO Deutschland

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