Our Stance on Stunning in Meat Processing
In the contemporary meat processing industry, stunning has become a widespread practice, utilized to render animals unconscious before the slaughter process. This technique ensures that the animal is not conscious during the critical moment of slaughter. Although stunning is a relatively recent development, at Halal Foundry, we remain steadfast in our commitment to preserving traditional methods. We consciously choose not to employ stunning before slaughter. In this discussion, we will explore the common stunning methods for chickens, beef, lamb, goat, and turkey while shedding light on the rationale behind our unwavering decision.
What is stunning in simple terms?
In simple terms, stunning involves making an animal unconscious before or after the slaughter. This can be done by
- shooting it with a captive bolt pistol in the head so as to damage the brain and cause unconsciousness (for cattle)
- submerging animal's head in an electric water bath (for poultry)
- hitting the head with an electric rod (for goats and sheep)
- placing it in a chamber to deprive it of oxygen (for poultry)
This is to ensure the animal is in an unconscious state before going through the slaughter process.
Stunning in Chicken
In common industry practice, chickens frequently experience stunning using either electrical or gas methods. In electrical water bath stunning, chickens are hung upside down on shackles and their heads are submerged into electrified water, inducing unconsciousness. Gas stunning, alternatively, employs gases like carbon dioxide to limit the chicken's ability to breathe, resulting in loss of consciousness. After stunning, the unconscious chicken is then processed for slaughter, either through machine cutting or hand cutting methods.
STUNNING IN CATTLE
In conventional cattle processing, stunning methods often involve captive bolt stunning, utilizing a captive bolt gun to deliver a bolt to the brain. This action induces a loss of consciousness, causing the animal to fall to the ground. Subsequently, the animal is hoisted with a shackle, and the slaughter is carried out using either a vertical, horizontal cut, or other methods.
Contrary to these practices, at Halal Foundry, we vehemently reject the use of stunning methods for animals, including bison, before slaughter. Our approach involves the animal hearing the tasmiyaah (name of the God) in a conscious state before its neck is precisely and cleanly severed by hand. Importantly, we strictly adhere to the horizontal cutting method when slaughtering animals such as beef or bison. This commitment ensures that our processes align seamlessly with our traditional Halal practices, emphasizing respect and precision in every step of the slaughter process.
Stunning in Lamb & Goats
The methods used for stunning lambs and goats often resemble those employed for cattle, involving practices like electric rod stunning and captive bolt stunning. In standard industry procedures, animals are loaded onto a conveyor belt and subjected to an electric rod striking their head, rendering them unconscious. Consequently, the animals may not be fully conscious to hear the Tasmiyyah (the name of God) during the slaughter process.
STUNNING in TURKEY
In conventional industry practices, turkeys commonly undergo gas stunning or water bath stunning. Gas stunning involves loading turkeys into a chamber where CO2 gas is released. Due to the lack of oxygen, turkeys gasps for the air and in turn they pass out and become unconscious.
Why No Prior Stunning at Halal Foundry?
USDA allows for non stunning of animals under religious exemption for the halal slaughter. Our decision to abstain from prior stunning is rooted in our dedication to uploading traditional halal practices. In our Halal slaughter, the swift and precise horizontal hand cut method is used to ensure the animal is treated with utmost respect. Animal is fully conscious to hear the Tasmiyyah (name of God) during the process.