Quick end for cattle: University of Kassel investigates alternative to slaughterhouse

For many Germans, a good piece of beef is part of the quality of life; however, many also wish the cattle a quick death without fear and pain. Around 3.7 million cattle are slaughtered in Germany every year, the vast majority of which die in slaughterhouses - including cattle that have spent their lives in species-appropriate husbandry on pasture. However, the transport to the slaughterhouse and the waiting for the bolt shot cause great stress and anxiety, especially for grazing cattle, because these animals are neither used to being penned up nor to having sufficient contact with humans. In addition, it is assumed that a significant proportion of all cattle - estimated at around five percent on poor farms - are inadequately stunned by the usual bolt shot. Agricultural scientists at the University of Kassel are therefore investigating an alternative: in the so-called bullet-shot method, the cattle are killed in the pasture by shooting them in the head.

"According to our findings so far, this method is painless for the cattle," reports Dr. Stefanie Retz, a research associate in the university's Department of Agricultural Engineering. "With our investigations, we want to help establish criteria according to which the bullet-shot method should be used, and thereby create a basis for uniform approval practices." The project is funded by the German Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (BLE) with about 250,000 euros. It started last April and is scheduled to run for three years. For their investigations, Stefanie Retz and her colleague Katrin Schiffer are collaborating with a veterinarian and an organic farm in Schleswig-Holstein.

In the method under investigation, the grazing cattle remain in familiar surroundings. The specially trained shooter uses a hunting rifle. The killed animal is bled while still on the farm and then transported away. Immediately after the shot, the cattle's vital signs are checked. "So far, we have always found that the cattle was immediately stunned and died immediately after the shot," says Stefanie Retz. The bullet shot method is already permitted under certain conditions. So far, however, a uniform approval practice is missing as well as scientific data. The bullet-shot method will never fully replace slaughterhouse killing, says Stefanie Retz, but "we want to increase acceptance, especially among organic farmers and the authorities responsible for monitoring. Many organic farmers are concerned that their animals have a dignified death. It also gives them an additional marketing argument." Ultimately, the scientists wanted to work out a kind of driver's license for farmers: "How do they have to be trained, what do they need to know and be able to do? That's what we want to clarify," Stefanie Retz describes.

A second research result is to be the influence of the method on meat quality. During stress, as occurs in the slaughterhouse, especially with grazing cattle, the body emits certain substances. These lead to over-acidification of the muscles, prevent the meat from maturing and reduce its quality. "Our hypothesis is that the quality is improved by the bullet shot method," says Stefanie Retz. "However, this is where our investigations have just begun."

Image by Dr. Stefanie Retz:
http://www.uni-kassel.de/uni/fileadmin/datas/uni/presse/lokalpresse/Retz_Stefanie.jpg

Info    Dr. Stefanie Retz
University of Kassel
FB 11 - Ecological Agricultural Sciences
Department of Agricultural Engineering
Tel.: +49 5542 98 1255
E-mail: sretz[at]agrar.uni-kassel[dot]de