September 16, 2008

Slaughterhouses across the EU may soon have to change the way they stun and kill livestock as EU regulators seek to tighten rules and improve animal protection.

The EU killed nearly 360 million pigs and cattle and several billion of poultry annually for meat. Hatcheries also kill about 330 million day-old-chicks.

The European Commission said it is time to give the 15-years-old welfare and safety regulations an overhaul.

"New technologies have been introduced, making some standards obsolete. Animal welfare concerns have grown in our society. Massive killings during animal epidemics have raised questions about the methods used to carry them out," the Commission said in a proposal, which refers only to farmed animals.

Poor conditions for animal welfare during slaughter also affected consumer attitudes, according to the Commission.

The proposal pushes to update stunning and killing criteria for slaughterhouses, defining the general parameters for using electricity or gas to knock out livestock. The proposal also seeks to limit the use of certain stunning techniques, but not the use of carbon dioxide and waterbath.

More responsibilities would be given to slaughterhouse operators, who need to regularly monitor the efficiency of stunning techniques to ensure animals do not awake.

Stricter rules would be applied to staff training, with staff to be certified for a maximum five years before undergoing a review. EU states also have to set up research centres to back up slaughterhouse inspectors.

Once implemented, the updated regulations would ensure better animal welfare, improve meat quality and work safety at slaughterhouses, according to the report.

EU ministers are expected to discuss the proposal later this year.