September 9, 2009

Despite the EU making efforts to alleviate the suffering of animals sent to slaughter in recent years, animal welfare problems still exist.

 

Each year, more than 360 million pigs, sheep and calves, 330 million chickens and 25 million fur-bearing animals are slaughtered in the EU.

 

But almost each European country still has its own excessively cruel slaughtering rules.

 

For example, in Greece, the animals can be hammered to death by a hand hammer, in Spain the sheep is killed by breaking of the spinal column, while in France, the animals have their throat cut when they are still fully conscious.

 

In addition, many animals simply die during their transportation to the slaughterhouses, according to European analysts.

 

Amid the tightening of national legislations on regulating slaughtering, many European farmers prefer to export their live cattle to other countries where the slaughter is performed by methods that are banned in their own countries.

 

Many experts hope that the new European regulations in the area of slaughtering, which has already been developed by some European experts in the middle of last year.

 

The new directive specifies the conditions for slaughter for each breed of cattle and poultry. For example, the optimal current intensity and the duration of gas release.

 

According to new rules, each slaughterhouse should also appoint an animal welfare officer responsible for monitoring the handling and slaughter operations.