D3: The collection of performance data from four systems in the PigStun project that provide alternatives to high CO2 stunning : Deliverable 3 PigStun

Samenvatting

In EU pig slaughterhouses two stunning methods are most commonly applied: electrical stunning and carbon dioxide stunning at high concentration. In 2004 and 2020, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that gas stunning of pigs at concentrations above 30% CO2 is aversive and causes hyperventilation and irritation of the mucous membranes. This is likely to be painful and elicits hyperventilation and gasping before loss of consciousness. For this reason, high concentration CO2 stunning has been criticized. The general objective of the PigStun project is to encourage EU pig slaughterhouses using high carbon dioxide concentration for stunning pigs to convert to systems with high animal welfare standards, by developing technical specifications for promising alternatives. This deliverable D3 presents four alternatives, describes how they have been tested for several aspects of sustainability and presents potential ways in which they could be implemented in practice.