CRIMES WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES - gpvec

Crimes Without ConsequenCes
Humane slaughter laws require that all animals, other than birds, be rendered insensible
with one stunning attempt. However, industry guidelines allow for less than 100 percent
stunning effectiveness. AMI guidelines consider a stunning effectiveness rating of 99
percent acceptable for pigs and 95 percent acceptable for cattle and sheep, while the NCC
has set an acceptable stunning standard of 98 percent for chickens. Even if 100 percent
of slaughter plants were able to meet these standards, it would mean that 185 million
chickens, 1.8 million cattle and sheep and 1 million pigs may be killed inhumanely each
year in the United States.
Table 25. Industry Audits of U.S. Cattle Slaughter Plants
Year Plants
Audited a
Stunning b Sensibility c Vocalizing d Prod Use e
1996 f 13 15 92 38 NA
1999 g 41 37 97 45 64
2000 h 49 41 98 51 45
2001 i 44 36 91 41 45
2002 j 57 38 95 42 29
2003 k 50 52 90 60 50
2004 l 51 71 94 53 75
2004 (veal) l 5 75 100 60 100
2005 m 43 55 100 60 74
2006 n 46 56 95 56 57
2006 (veal) n 3 67 100 100 100
Notes
a Not all plants were audited on all measures of animal welfare; therefore the sample sizes for each measure
(stunning, sensibility, vocalizing and prod use) are typically smaller than the total number of plants audited.
b Percent of plants stunning at least 99 percent of animals with one shot of captive bolt gun. A score of 99
percent is considered “excellent” by AMI; scores of 95 to 98 percent are “acceptable.”
c Percent of plants with 100 percent of animals insensible on the bleed rail.
d Percent of plants with less than 2 percent of animals vocalizing during handling and stunning.
e Percent of plants using electrical prods on 5 percent or less of animals.
f Grandin T, Survey of stunning and handling in federally inspected beef, veal, pork, and sheep slaughter plants.
(http://www.grandin.com/survey/usdarpt.html)
g Grandin T, 1999 audits of stunning and handling in federally inspected beef and pork plants.
(http://www.grandin.com/survey/99.audits.beef.pork.html)
h Grandin T, 2000 McDonald’s audits of stunning and handling in federally inspected beef and pork plants.
(http://www.grandin.com/survey/2000McDonalds.rpt.html)
i Grandin T, 2001 restaurant audits of stunning and handling in federally inspected beef and pork slaughter
plants. (http://www.grandin.com/survey/2001.restaurant.audits.html)
j Grandin T, 2002 restaurant audits of stunning and handling in federally inspected beef and pork slaughter
plants. (http://www.grandin.com/survey/2002.restaurant.audits.html)
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