Defra’s animal welfare advisors have advisable that CO2 is phased out as a technique for gorgeous pigs pre-slaughter and for limits to be positioned on throughputs at abattoirs to enhance welfare.
The impartial Animal Welfare Committee’s opinion on the ‘welfare impacts on pigs of excessive focus CO2 fuel gorgeous and of potential different gorgeous strategies’, printed at present, requires a transition to different strategies inside 5 years.
90% of pigs reared in England and Wales are surprised by being uncovered to excessive focus CO2 utilizing paternoster CAS programs, in response to a 2024 Meals Requirements Company Slaughter Sector Survey. The remaining 10% of pigs are surprised utilizing handbook head solely or head to physique electrical gorgeous or for a really small quantity, percussive gorgeous with a penetrative captive bolt machine.
The Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC), in 2003, and the European Meals Security Authority (EFSA), in 2004 and 2020, have beforehand advisable that gorgeous reside pigs with direct publicity to excessive focus CO2 fuel mixtures needs to be phased out as a result of publicity of acutely aware pigs to excessive concentrations of CO2 is ;recognized to be aversive to pigs’.
The report states that publicity of acutely aware pigs to excessive concentrations of CO2 is related to three main welfare considerations: ache, respiratory misery and worry.
“These manifest behaviourally as vocalisations, hyperventilation and escape makes an attempt. These are noticed earlier than lack of posture and therefore happen within the acutely aware part of the gorgeous course of,” it says.
The studies seems into the viability of different strategies of gorgeous, together with publicity to an inert fuel combination reminiscent of Argon or Nitrogen. It notes that there are ‘technical challenges’ to utilizing inert gases in present CO2 programs or with modification.
However it says immersion in argon ‘causes minimal fast seen response, since these gases can’t be sensed instantly by the pig’. “Nevertheless, the induction of unconsciousness stays gradual, and it needs to be famous that every one deadly CAS mixtures are related to a point of welfare compromise,” the report says.
It provides that there isn’t any welfare good thing about including CO2 to inert gases. The report additionally covers electrical gorgeous, captive bolt gadgets, pre-stun dealing with and considers points round meat high quality and prices and discusses the ethics of the completely different strategies.
Suggestions
It makes various suggestions to authorities and trade, together with:
- Using CO2, together with together with inert gases, as a technique of gorgeous for pigs needs to be prohibited to forestall pigs experiencing avoidable ache, misery or struggling at slaughter related to excessive focus.
- Any transition interval given to trade to allow the change to different strategies of slaughter needs to be as quick as attainable and in any case inside 5 years. Trade ought to search to implement the modifications as shortly as attainable.
- Slaughter traces needs to be authorized to slaughter not more than a specified variety of animals per hour, such that every animal has time to maneuver by way of the system with out the necessity for bodily coercion.
- Laws needs to be amended to require pigs to be stored in a small social group, ideally with animals from their rearing group, throughout lairaging and slaughter.
- Authorities and trade ought to encourage analysis into applied sciences, reminiscent of automated video monitoring programs, to evaluate animal welfare and to detect harms in animal dealing with, gorgeous and slaughter processes within the abattoir.
NPA response
The NPA stated the trade was dedicated to discovering options, however burdened that they need to commercially viable and keep away from unintended penalties.
NPA chief govt Lizzie Wilson stated: “The NPA acknowledges considerations that the slaughter of pigs might and needs to be extra humane, and we’re a part of a UK pig sector group which is dedicated to exploring options and discovering an answer that may ship on animal welfare on the time of gorgeous and slaughter.
“Any new strategy have to be commercially viable, to make sure uptake, to make sure high quality of meat, and to forestall any unintended penalties for welfare – for instance, throughput capability have to be ample to make sure that pigs will not be held on farm or in lairage for longer than needed.
“We have now awaited the outcomes of the AWC report with curiosity, and whereas it has delivered a complete investigation into the welfare facet of this problem, sadly there’s nonetheless no conclusive ‘finest’ different on account of points with throughput capability, meat high quality and value.
“The UK pig trade should now work collectively to resolve how we go ahead.”
