NR ZEJF

AU Flight,W.G.F.; Verheijen,F.J.

TI The neck-cut (spinal transection): not a humane way to slaughter eel, Anguilla anguilla (L.)

QU Aquaculture and Fisheries Management 1993; 24: 523-528

PT article

AB Commercial slaughtering of eel sold fresh starts with the so-called neck cut. This transection of the spinal column separates the spinal cord from the brain. In due course the slaughtering process is completed by gutting, skinning and, finally, by decapitation. There is a widespread belief that the advantage of the neck-cut is that it causes immediate death. However, inspection of eels with a neck-cut revealed no visible injury to the brain. Repeating the method as a laboratory experiment and subsequent observation of the experimental eels resulted in spinal regeneration, as reflected by behavioural recovery through four stages in about 6 weeks. It seems that after the neck-cut the brain is still intact, both structurally and functionally, and remains so as long as the slaughtering has not been completed. Thus a prolonged state of suffering cannot be ruled out. Consequently, slaughtering of eel should include instant destruction of the brain.

SP englisch

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