What's humane for dispatching an industrial meat bird???

[cjeanean]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid … &hl=en

I thought this video was sad because of how commericalized it was....they must have a large majority survive, so those little chicks have to be tougher than a lot of people give them credit for, but at the same time I don't think that's how God wanted it to be. I feel bad for them because they're cute and fuzzy and I love baby everythings, but at the same time I know that their purpose is for food, one way or another. I just don't think it's fair that people utilize their food production capabilities without giving a poop about the life God gave the creature. Same problem I have with abortion (only more so)....but that's a different horror. Question: I watched a vid showing a slaughterhouse slitting chicken throats, and I actually thought it was pretty humane. I know chickens can run around without heads at times, so a lot of it is reflex and such, but what is considered a humane way of dispatching a meat animal????

 

[Cara]

Humane in a slaughterhouse or humane raising meat birds at home?

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

My question is how do YOU know what God intended? I am a God fearing, church attending WASP that feels God gave us tools to use and to use them wisely, appropriately, and within the limits of His laws. I don't see any suffering, injury, or damage to any of the chicks in the video you are trying to link to.

Jim

 

[zippychickens]

Amen to that

 

[cjeanean]

I'm not talking about knowing God's will, I'm just giving my opinion that I don't think animals were intended to be commercially bred and whatever without regard to the fact that they are life forms created by God. I know they are food, nothing but, and I certainly do not agree with equating a food animal to a 'pet' or ESPECIALLY not a child, but I feel that despite the fact that they are here for our consumption God intended us as humans to respect the life He gave them. Not to treat life with disregard. Commerically bred, yes, that definately is a good thing, because it provides food for us, and we are God's greatest creation. But commercially disregarded as life is what I think is wrong. All life should be respected, and HUMAN life is sacred.....food animals are here to serve a purpose, to nourish the life God gave us. I just think life should be treated a bit better, even if it exists within a food animal.

 

[cjeanean]

Honestly, what I was really wondering about is what is considered humane by people who think slitting a chicken's throat is inhumane. How would those people prefer animals were dispatched??? The killing process is really different from the living process. How do people who fight for 'humane' killing methods think it should be done???

 

[zippychickens]

well, honestly, I think that sometimes people feel so extrememly passionate about something that they lose logical reasoning. An example would be your topic of slaughtering chickens. If we are going to eat a chicken than of course we have to kill it. So your right, slitting the throat is acceptable, as would cutting the head off. It's quick and more than likely painless. For a animal rights person they are so "passionate" about thier cause that they can't see that it is humane to have a quick death. Isn't that what we all want in the end anyway , a quick, painless death?

 

[Wolf-Kim]

I have thought about this matter quite a bit. I prefer to chop my chickens, it's just easier to know immediately that the chicken is dead. Chop, it's done, it's dead, it's is only a pile of meat now. I do not think throat-slitting is inhumane, as long as it is done right.

Bleeding isn't painful for us, why would it be for our feathered friends? They may feel a couple of minutes, if that, of sting from the actual cut, but surely no worse than being awkwardly jumped by a spurred roo or getting grabbed by an inexperienced predator or even by the other chickens of the flock. One of the most painful deaths, I can think of for a chicken is getting pecked to death by the rest of the flock.

The only reason I do not slit throats is because I prefer the animal not to realize it is dying. I think I prefer doing it really early in the morning, even before the birds are awake. I like to think I've made my birds live their lives to the fullest before going toward sustaining my life. Death is unavoidable for the birds and I try my best to make death as quick, painless, and meaningful(food) as possible.

Peace of mind, I suspect.

It's just my opinion, it is how I justify it and why I raise my own poultry. Don't fret over how the birds die, but rather how the birds live. I do not believe that commercial producers are intentionally cruel to the birds, you do the best you can with what you got and after you see thousands of birds come and go they loose a little meaning to you. You begin to look at them as objects and not individuals.

-Kim

 

[Cara]

I think in general the methods employed by slaughterhouses are in fact the most humane, as they are the most efficient. Obviously things go wrong, but when done correctly the most humane death must be the quickest.

At home my husband breaks the bird's neck. The first few times I did not want to see, but last time I had to. Once you get past the muscle spasms and involuntary movement, it is surprisingly quick and stress is as limited as it can be. There is no apprehension, one second the bird is alive, the next it is dead.

 

[cjeanean]

hmmmm....thanks for the replies....I was just wondering, since I hear a lot of accusations towards some seemingly 'humane' methods not really being humane, and I really wanted to know other people's opinions. Thanks a lot, and keep posting if you want to!!! I want to hear everyone's take on the matter!!!