Problems With Kosher Slaughter

Ritual slaughter to produce kosher meat is rooted in the teachings and writings of the Talmud. However, the preslaughter handling features of modern systems, particularly the shackling and hoisting of large steers, contravene the basic message of humaneness included in the teachings. The throat-cutting of a live, conscious animal is relatively pain-free, provided that certain precautions are followed, but U.S. kosher plants need to install newly developed conveyor-restrainer systems to eliminate the abuses of shackling and hoisting. Conveyor-restrainer systems for large and small animals are discussed

Spartan Daily, December 8, 1980

Volume 75, Issue 67https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/6702/thumbnail.jp

Meat Science and Applications (pp. 222-248)

The chapter discusses the following topics: Continuous Measurement and Monitoring, Meat Quality Correlations, How Stressful is Slaughter?, Causes of Poor Welfare Audit Scores, Animal Vision, Hearing and Smell, Basic Handling Principles, Handler Movement Patterns, Design of Handling Facilities, Design and Operation of Restraint Devices, Stunning, Stunning Method and Blood-Splash, Bruising and Meat Quality

Seismic Retrofitting Guidelines for Highway Bridges

DOT-FH-11-9295This document contains guidelines for the seismic retrofitting of highway bridges. The guidelines are the recommendations of a team of nationally recognized experts, which includes consulting engineers, academicians, state highway engineers, and federal agency representatives from throughout the United States. The guidelines are comprehensive in nature and embody several new concepts. An extensive commentary documenting the basis for the guidelines and a worked example problem illustrating their use are included. The guidelines include a preliminary screening procedure, methods for evaluating an existing bridge in detail, and potential retrofitting measures for the most common seismic deficiencies. The preliminary screening procedures are used to identify bridges that are the most likely candidates for retrofitting. The methods for evaluating an existing bridge in detail involve the calculation of seismic capacity/demand ratios for each potentially vulnerable bridge component, overall assessment of the consequences of a design earthquake at the bridge site, and selection of the most appropriate retrofitting scheme for the bridge. Retrofitting schemes may be selected from among those presented and discussed in the guidelines. These guidelines utilize many of the concepts presented in the "Seismic Design Guidelines for Highway Bridges" (Report No. FHWA/RD-81/081) and are intended to be used in conjunction with that document

J Toxicol Environ Health A

Repetitive exposure to hand-transmitted vibration is associated with development of peripheral vascular and sensorineural dysfunctions. These disorders and symptoms associated with it are referred to as hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). Although the symptoms of the disorder have been well characterized, the etiology and contribution of various exposure factors to development of the dysfunctions are not well understood. Previous studies performed using a rat-tail model of vibration demonstrated that vascular and peripheral nervous system adverse effects of vibration are frequency-dependent, with vibration frequencies at or near the resonant frequency producing the most severe injury. However, in these investigations, the amplitude of the exposed tissue was greater than amplitude typically noted in human fingers. To determine how contact with vibrating source and amplitude of the biodynamic response of the tissue affects the risk of injury occurring, this study compared the influence of frequency using different levels of restraint to assess how maintaining contact of the tail with vibrating source affects the transmission of vibration. Data demonstrated that for the most part, increasing the contact of the tail with the platform by restraining it with additional straps resulted in an enhancement in transmission of vibration signal and elevation in factors associated with vascular and peripheral nerve injury. In addition, there were also frequency-dependent effects, with exposure at 250\ua0Hz generating greater effects than vibration at 62.5\ua0Hz. These observations are consistent with studies in humans demonstrating that greater contact and exposure to frequencies near the resonant frequency pose the highest risk for generating peripheral vascular and sensorineural dysfunction.CC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States2019-02-18T00:00:00Z29173119PMC6379067vault:3150

Welfare of pigs at slaughter

Non peer reviewe

Welfare of pigs at slaughter

The killing of pigs for human consumption (slaughtering) can take place in a slaughterhouse or on farm. The processes of slaughtering that were assessed for welfare, from the arrival of pigs until their death, were grouped into three main phases: pre-stunning (including arrival, unloading from the truck, lairage, handling and moving of pigs); stunning (including restraint); and bleeding. Stunning methods were grouped into three categories: electrical, controlled atmosphere and mechanical. Twelve welfare consequences the pigs can be exposed to during slaughter were identified: heat stress, cold stress, fatigue, prolonged thirst, prolonged hunger, impeded movement, restriction of movements, resting problem, negative social behaviour, pain, fear and respiratory distress. Welfare consequences and relevant animal-based measures were described. In total, 30 welfare hazards that could occur during slaughter were identified and characterised, most of them related to stunning and bleeding. Staff were identified as the origin of 29 hazards, which were attributed to the lack of appropriate skill sets needed to perform tasks or to fatigue. Corrective and preventive measures for these hazards were assessed: measures to correct hazards were identified, and management was shown to have a crucial role in prevention. Outcome tables linking hazards, welfare consequences, animal-based measures, origins and preventive and corrective measures were developed for each process. Mitigation measures to minimise welfare consequences are proposed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The development and evaluation of a radio frequency identification based cattle handling system.

Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.Manual cattle handling systems are widely used in South Africa. A literature review and consultations were conducted with both producers and equipment manufactures, to assess the advantages and disadvantages of various cattle handling systems with the objective of developing a more efficient system that incorporates automation, electronics and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. In this study an automated, selective sorting (RFID) based cattle handling system was developed and assessed as an alternative to the widely adopted conventional manual management system practiced in South Africa. The system is still under research and not yet available on the market. This document describes the research and development process undertaken which included planning, literature review, consultation, design, fabrication, evaluation and discussions. The RFID based system developed consists of manual, semi- and fully automated components in the form of a neck-body clamp with through access, flow control double split gates and a weigh-identification-sort system. For the ease of comparison the system was developed with a manual by-pass as a control to compare the automated and manual systems in terms of establishment cost, handling duration including identification, weighing and sorting, and operator and animal stress levels which impact on business profitability and system efficiency. Both the manual by-pass and automated RFID-based systems were evaluated. The automated system resulted in reduced handling duration, operational costs and handling stress on both operator and the animal whilst enabling selective automated sorting. The infrastructure was designed to have a capacity to handle 500 animals per day with 5 handlers and a capital investment of R200 000 was required with an operational cost of R25 000 per month. After incorporating RFID, electronics and automation of the system it was established that, on average, cattle handling duration was reduced by 63%, incorrect sorting was reduced by 5.5%, man hours were reduced by 70% with 23% and 14% less fatigue and stress levels to the handler and the animals respectively, whilst achieving efficient selective sorting. A cost benefit analysis was undertaken for both systems with the aim of assessing and determining the most profitable system. An assumption was made that the cash flow pattern remains uniform for both systems over the entire evaluation period. This revealed that the introduction of RFID based technology as an alternative to a manual based system results in an increase in business profitability by 20% and shorten the payback period by 5 years. Although there is still need to further investigate the performance parameters under different environments, it can be concluded that the introduction of RFID, electronics and automation improves the overall system technical efficiency by 32% whilst enabling efficient selective handling