“…observing the hypocrites as they would mingle with the good ...
Pigs are usually slaughtered after 4-7 months. Pigs intended for pork are usually slaughtered 1-2 months younger than pigs for bacon. Over 9.5 million pigs (9,503,900) were slaughtered in the UK in 2009, (9,426,800 in 2008)(1). Pigs are stunned first then killed by being shackled and hoisted before having the blood vessels in their throat slit (sticking). The animal dies by being bled to death. Pigs are usually stunned electrically whereby an electric current is applied by means of two electrodes in the form of tongs. These are placed on either side of the brain, usually either side of the neck behind the ears so that sufficient current is passed through it. The current should induce a state of immediate epilepsy (electroplectic shock) in the brain, during which time the animal is unconscious(8).
A survey of pig slaughtering procedures was carried out in the UK by Anil and McKinstry in 1993, Bristol University (9). The factors affecting slaughter included the placement of tongs on the animal, the average current strength passed through the animal’s brain and also the length of time that the tongs are in place for. The survey showed that a significant percentage of the tong applications observed in the traditional stunning pen did not span the brain. This would result in animals not being stunned adequately and also lead to many pigs regaining consciousness during bleeding out or even before throat-slitting. Some pigs may be re-stunned due to the initial stunning failure and to suppress the spontaneous kicking to aid the hoisting and shackling of the animals. This also reduces the interval of the stunning-to-sticking and helps prevent the incidence of inadequate sticking as it is more difficult to stick a kicking/convulsing animal.