RT Journal Article
T1 Welfare of sheep and goats during killing for purposes other than slaughter
A1 EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare, 
A1 Nielsen, Søren Saxmose
A1 Álvarez Sánchez, Julio
A1 Bicout, Dominique Joseph
A1 Calistri, Paolo
A1 Canali, Elisabetta
A1 Drewe, Julian Ashley
A1 Garin Bastuji, Bruno
A1 Gonzales Rojas, José Luis
A1 Gortázar, Christian
A1 Herskin, Mette S.
A1 Miranda Chueca, Miguel Ángel
A1 Paladino, Bárbara
A1 Roberts, Helen Clare
A1 Spoolder, Hans
A1 Stahl, Carl
A1 Velarde, Antonio
A1 Viltrop, Arvo
A1 Winckler, Christoph
A1 Raj, Mohan
A1 Candiani, Denise
A1 Van der Stede, Yves
A1 Michel, Virginie
AB Sheep and goats of different ages may have to be killed on-farm for purposes other than slaughter (where slaughter is defined as killing for human consumption) either individually (i.e. on-farm killing of unproductive, injured or terminally ill animals) or on a large scale (i.e. depopulation for disease control purposes and for other situations, such as environmental contamination and disaster management) outside the slaughterhouses. The purpose of this opinion was to assess the hazards and welfare consequences associated with the on-farm killing of sheep and goats. The whole killing procedure was divided into Phase 1 (pre-killing) – that included the processes (i) handling and moving the animals to the killing place and (ii) restraint of the animals before application of the killing methods and Phase 2 – that included stunning and killing of the animals. The killing methods for sheep and goats were grouped into three categories: (1) mechanical, (2) electrical and (3) lethal injection. Welfare consequences that sheep and goats may experience during each process were identified (e.g. handling stress, restriction of movements and tissue lesions during restraint) and animal-based measures (ABMs) to assess them were proposed. During application of the killing method, sheep and goats will experience pain and fear if they are ineffectively stunned or if they recover consciousness. ABMs related to the state of consciousness can be used to indirectly assess pain and fear. Flowcharts including ABMs for consciousness specific to each killing method were included in the opinion. Possible welfare hazards were identified for each process, together with their origin and related preventive and corrective measures. Outcome tables linking hazards, welfare consequences, ABMs, origins, preventive and corrective measures were developed for each process. Mitigation measures to minimise welfare consequences were proposed.
PB Wiley
YR 2024
FD 2024-06-26
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/106019
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/106019
LA eng
NO EFSA AHAW Panel (EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare), Nielsen, S. S., Alvarez, J., Bicout, D. J., Calistri, P., Canali, E., Drewe, J. A., Garin-Bastuji, B., Gonzales Rojas, J. L., Gortázar Schmidt, C., Herskin, M., Miranda Chueca, M. Á., Padalino, B., Roberts, H. C., Spoolder, H., Stahl, K., Velarde, A., Viltrop, A., … Michel, V. (2024). Welfare of sheep and goats during killing for purposes other than slaughter. EFSA Journal, 22(6), e8835. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2024.8835
DS Docta Complutense
RD 7 abr 2025