The development of an alternative method to CO2 for the commercial stunning of pigs

Tender description

The Authority is looking for a supplier for the development of an alternative method to high concentration CO2 for the commercial stunning of pigs. The stunning of pigs by direct exposure to high concentrations of Carbon dioxide (30% and above) is commonly used for commercial slaughter of pigs. Research has shown that pigs find direct exposure to high concentrations of CO2 aversive. This has been acknowledged by both the Farm Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). FAWC in its 2003 Report on Animal Welfare recommended that this method should be phased out, whilst EFSA's 2004 report confirmed the efficacy of the method but noted that it resulted in respiratory distress in pigs. Similar concerns were expressed for poultry and alternative controlled atmosphere systems are now in use within the poultry industry. The use of CO2 in high concentration for the commercial stunning of pigs is permitted under EU and national Regulations, and this method continues to be used in the UK as well as other EU Member States Following the FAWC and EFSA recommendations, in 2005 Defra commissioned research to look at alternative gases for killing pigs. The results of this research indicated that the use of direct exposure to high concentrations of inert gases is a more humane method as it does not cause aversion. However, despite efforts to encourage uptake by the industry there has been little progress made in using inert gas in commercial slaughterhouses, due to practical issues related to the time that it takes for pigs to become unconscious/death and the practicality of replacing CO2 systems with the new equipment. Defra and the Humane Slaughter Association would like to commission further research that identifies or develops, and validates an alternative and commercially viable method to the stunning of pigs via direct exposure to high concentrations of CO2 in a high-throughput setting