December 18, 2007

China to push for more humane ways of livestock slaughter

China's draft on more humane methods of animal slaughter is subject for expert appraisal today, the Administrative Office of Livestock Slaughtering (AOLS) said.

The draft, titled "Technological Requirements on Humane Methods of Slaughter", prepared by the Beijing Anhua Animal Product Safety Research Institute (APSRI), discussed humane tactics as herding pigs with plastic prods instead of electrical ones and to end an animal's life within 15 minutes of stunning them to reduce their suffering.

China launched the first "Project on Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter" programme in the central Henan Province last December 16, 2007. It presented the framework for livestock slaughter under humane conditions.

Chinese officials plan to implement the project nationwide on a gradual basis.

The draft emphasized a merciful consideration for animals feelings during the four steps of the slaughter process. These included details on the unloading of livestock from vehicles, keeping them in sties, driving them to slaughterhouses and the actual slaughter.

Last January, with the support of the AOLS, APSRI and the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), a memorandum for humane methods of animal slaughter in China was signed.