Eletrocussion and eletronarcosis at the slaughter of broilers.

Abstract

The most common method of stunning birds prior to slaughter in Brazil is the electronarcosis, a system in which the birds head is immersed in a water bath containing the electrode. This method allows the stunning runs in a continuous flow, giving speed to the process, however presents failures related to the difficulty of standardizing the parameters of electric current application, that reduce the animal welfare. The electrocution is a procedure in which the birds are killed by aplication of electric current. Brazilian legislation doesn't allow to kill the animals before bleeding, but it has been practiced in other countries and recommended by animal protection organizations. In this project, an alternative method of electric current application, envolving direct contact between electrode and broilers' head will be studied, both to promote electronarcosis and electrocution. Forty 42-day-old Cobb 500 broilers will be used, divided in four groups, following a completely randomized design with 2x2 factorial arrangement (2 methods to apply electric current - water bath or direct contact -and two procedures - electronarcosis and electrocution). As a result, it is expected to generate information to reduce the birds suffering at slaughter without sacrificing the process speed and the product quality.