Mobile and semi-mobile slaughter: Increasing the value chain in an animal-friendly way
The way we produce and consume food has changed significantly in recent decades. From the Sunday roast and the appreciation of seasonal foods in the post-war period to an affluent, throwaway society where food is available in abundance at all times. In recent years, however, several new technologies and ideas have been developed to improve the sustainability of food production and animal welfare standards in agriculture. An innovative approach to animal slaughter that has increasingly attracted attention in recent years, for example, is mobile or semi-mobile slaughter. – By Bjoern Terhorst
Sandra Kopf and Thomas Mayer
It is no secret that animals suffer from stress when the conventional slaughter process begins. This starts with loading and transport and continues once they arrive at the slaughterhouse. Here, the animals are among strange peers and must deal with an unfamiliar environment as well as different smells and sounds. These factors not only affect meat quality but also raise questions regarding animal welfare and ethics. The goal should be to enable animals to have a dignified and stress-free death.
The future of animal husbandry?
In general, a distinction is made between mobile and semi-mobile slaughter. With semi-mobile slaughter, the animal is stunned in its familiar environment directly on the farm using a captive bolt pistol within a mobile slaughter unit (a trailer) and killed by a thoracic stick followed by bleeding out. No more than 60 seconds may pass between the captive bolt stunning and the killing of the animal. Afterwards, the dead animal is transported to the nearest EU-certified slaughterhouse within two hours for evisceration.
With mobile slaughter, the evisceration and further processing also take place directly on-site in the slaughter unit. However, this is very difficult with cattle due to their size. The method works very well with poultry, where stunning is performed by electric shock rather than a captive bolt pistol.
Pioneers in this field are Sandra Kopf and Thomas Mayer, who founded the interest group "Schlachtung mit Achtung" (Slaughter with Respect) (www.schlachtung-mit-achtung.de) more than ten years ago. They are primarily dedicated to addressing the suffering caused to animals by conventional slaughter and want to enable slaughter animals to have the most dignified death possible. The result is a trailer that can be used for the semi-mobile slaughter of cattle and, meanwhile, pigs as well. Per slaughtering process, up to three cattle or six pigs can be stunned and killed using this unit. There are now twelve of these trailers operating in Germany, Switzerland, and South Tyrol. The entire slaughter process is kept transparent and recorded by camera. Animals may only be slaughtered if they enter the restraining crate voluntarily and are completely calm.
The use of the mobile slaughter unit (MSU) is particularly sensible in rural areas. Due to the disappearance of smaller slaughterhouses and the centralization through larger facilities, transport times have increased. Besides the obvious ethical and moral advantages of on-farm slaughter, there are, of course, other benefits.
As already mentioned, the stress that occurs during transport and at the slaughterhouse is eliminated. This has a major impact on the meat, i.e., the end product. Less stress means that less adrenaline is released, which would otherwise convert the glucose stored in the muscle cells into energy. Since the animals can no longer use this energy, the meat becomes acidified. Stress also affects the water-holding capacity and the shear force (tenderness). Furthermore, on-site slaughter significantly reduces the risk of injury for both humans and animals. While the costs of conventional slaughter are lower, semi-mobile slaughter strengthens regional value creation for the producer (and the consumer). And we must realize one thing: when we talk about animal welfare, it ultimately costs money.
Who uses the MSU?
Customers for the mobile slaughter unit include butchers who offer contract slaughtering for farmers. Municipalities also use this option and make the slaughter unit available for joint use by producers.
Conclusion:
Mobile slaughter is a promising concept with great potential. However, there are challenges that must be overcome, such as ensuring food safety and compliance with relevant regulations. The acceptance and dissemination of this concept also depend on consumers. If they recognize the benefits for animal welfare and the environment and are willing to pay a fair price for high-quality meat from mobile slaughter, this could sustainably influence the future of animal husbandry. That would be a step toward more sustainable and ethical meat production and therefore deserves our attention and support.
