This study investigated the effects of various stunning methods on the quality of French 'foie gras' in ducks and geese. The ducks (n = 30 per group) were stunned with one of the following techniques: electrical stunning in a water bath (50 Hz AC, 130 mA, 4 s), head-only electrical stunning (50 Hz AC, 600 mA, 4 s), mechanical stunning (captive bolt) and controlled atmosphere stunning (CAS: phas...

This study investigated the effects of various stunning methods on the quality of carcass and meat in ducks and geese force-fed for the production of French 'foie gras'. The ducks (n = 30 per group) were stunned with one of the following techniques: electrical stunning in a water bath (50 Hz AC, 130 mA, 4 s), head-only electrical stunning (50 Hz AC, 600 mA, 4 s), mechanical stunning (captive bo...

Stunning efficiency of broilers after electrical waterbath stunning with an alternating current was assessed using electroencephalograms (EEG) and physical reflexes. Four hundred eighty-nine broilers (246 males and 243 females) were stunned in an electrical waterbath with a rectangular alternating stunning current of 60, 80, 100, 120, and 150 mA and frequencies of 70, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1,...

Two pig abattoirs (A and B) equipped with an automated head-only and head-to-chest electrical stunning system, and two (C and D) equipped with a manual carbon dioxide stunning system, were evaluated to compare the effectiveness of stunning in a total of 10,454 pigs slaughtered under commercial conditions. In the abattoirs with the electrical stunning system, the percentage of animals that respo...

The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of electrical and gas stunning on the meat and liver quality characteristics of liver geese. Sixty birds were slaughtered at 12 wk of age, in groups of 20 at three different times. Thirty birds each were subjected to one of the two stunning methods. Deboned breast fillets and thigh muscles were evaluated for hemorrhaging, amount of b...

Many small slaughter facilities use head-only electrical stunning to render swine unconscious and insensible to pain before slaughter. Head-only electrical stunning is a reversible procedure that is optimally effective for approximately 15 s after stun completion. In many small North American slaughter plants, the authors have observed hoist speeds that are too slow to achieve a short enough st...

BACKGROUND Myocardial stunning may cause prolonged left ventricular dysfunction after exercise-induced ischemia that can be attenuated by calcium antagonists in animal models. To assess their effects in humans, we performed a randomized, double-blind crossover study comparing the calcium antagonist amlodipine (10 mg once daily) versus isosorbide mononitrate (ISMN, 50 mg once daily) on postexerc...

Stunning efficiency of a pulsed direct current was assessed regarding the effect on the electroencephalogram (EEG) and physical reflexes. Four hundred sixty-seven broilers (males and females) were stunned in an electrified waterbath with 60, 80, 100, 120, and 150 mA at frequencies of 70, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1,500 Hz. Stunning time was 10 s. The EEG recordings lasted for 120 s poststun and s...

The stunning quality of animals for slaughter remains under constant scrutiny. In response to previous research showing low stunning efficiency in poultry, the conventional water bath will be phased out in the Netherlands. Presently, the main practical alternative to water bath stunning of poultry is a 2-phased gas stunning method. Gas stunning methods are recognized by governments and animal w...

Texas waters provide one of the most important developmental and foraging habitats for juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the western Gulf of Mexico, but hypothermic stunning is a significant threat and was the largest cause of green turtle strandings in Texas from 1980 through 2015; of the 8,107 green turtles found stranded, 4,529 (55.9%) were victims of hypothermic stunning. Additiona...