Interactive lesson

Humane slaughter, step by step

Interactive lesson: from the decision “at home or at the abattoir” to a chilled carcass — stunning without suffering, bleeding, scalding, chilling and the Trichinella test.

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The whole lesson as text

1. At home or at the abattoir

The first decision is where the killing happens, and it depends on the species, on what you do with the meat and on the rules where you live.

At home for the household only — A pig, sheep or goat for the family may usually be killed at home, with stunning, testing and notice where required.
Meat for sale goes to the abattoir — Meat for sale, gifts outside the household or restaurants must come from an approved or inspected abattoir, with inspection.
Cattle to the abattoir — Killing cattle at home is often not allowed or is tightly restricted (in the UK and Ireland also TSE rules). The usual route is the abattoir, then the meat back to the owner.
Ring the authority first — Ask the vet, APHA, DAFM, your local authority or, in the US, the state department of agriculture what must be notified, how a tagged animal's death is reported and whether you're in a disease control zone. Sick and medicated animals aren't killed at home.

Why: At home you control every step, but you're responsible for the animal's welfare, hygiene, the Trichinella test and the waste. The rules differ between countries, nations and states and they change, especially during notifiable disease outbreaks such as African swine fever.

Many abattoirs offer slaughter as a service: you bring the animal with its ear tag or passport and movement document, and take halves or quarters home. In the US, an inspected or custom-exempt processor does the same.
Don't kill your first pig alone: ask an experienced butcher or slaughterman and be their helper all day.

2. Preparing the animal and the place

Good slaughter starts the day before: a calm, clean animal with an empty gut gives a clean carcass.

No feed, water freely — A pig goes without feed for roughly 12–18 hours and drinks freely until slaughter. Fasting too long exhausts the animal.
Calm, no shouting — The pig must not see where the killing happens or another pig being killed. Bring it calmly, with a pig board, without beating or shouting.
Floor and water — A level, hard floor that can be washed down, plenty of clean water, a hose and buckets. The drain must not lead to a well.
Hanging and a cold space — A beam or tripod rated for at least 300 kg (660 lb), a table and troughs. A cold, shaded space for the carcass overnight.

Why: An empty stomach and gut mean less risk of soiling the carcass when the guts come out. A frightened animal gives dark, sticky meat that spoils faster and cures worse.

An animal that has had medication waits until the withdrawal period set by the vet is over.
Kill in cold, dry weather: around freezing at night, up to roughly 5–8 °C (41–46 °F) by day.