Viva! 8 York Court Wilder Street Bristol BS2 8QH Tel: 0117 944 1000 Fax: 0117 924 4646 email: media@viva.org.uk	29 August 2000 ABATTOIR CRUELTY EXPOSED ON FILM Viva! launches new Sentenced to Death video and report Viva! today launches video footage shot in UK abattoirs this year showing animals being stunned for as little as 2 seconds and regaining consciousness as they bleed to death. Clearly conscious sheep and pigs are shown struggling violently as they hang from shackles on the slaughter line. The animal charity has reviewed the latest scientific literature for its Sentenced to Death report which reveals that stunning techniques cause suffering and that every year, tens of millions of animals regain consciousness before they die. Each year, 5 million electrically stunned sheep regain consciousness before they die from loss of blood. 1.6 million electrically stunned pigs a year regain consciousness before they die. 244,800 pigs a year are incorrectly stunned and do not lose consciousness at all. 4 million pigs a year are stunned with carbon dioxide gas. It takes pigs up to 30 seconds to lose consciousness and during that time they will squeal, hyperventilate and try to escape. Each year, up to 230,000 cattle are not correctly stunned with the captive bolt pistol. They will have to endure the pain of being shot in the head and will then have to be shot again or knifed whilst conscious. Each year, at least 62 million chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese regain consciousness before they die from loss of blood. At least 8.4 million are conscious when they enter the scalding tank. Sentenced to Death reveals a catalogue of other problems within the UK slaughter industry: Researchers at Bristol University found that after an electric stun, sheep are not able to feel pain but they have periods of being fully aware of their surroundings. Additionally, neurobiologist Dr Harold Hillman believes that when animals are electrically stunned, they suffer extreme pain which he describes as ‘torture’. They are unable to cry out or move because the massive electric current paralyses them. Worn out dairy cows may be subjected to a final, painful humiliation before they are killed. It is becoming increasingly common for novice artificial inseminators to ‘practise’ on cull cows in abattoirs. UK legislation states that turkeys can be shackled by their legs for up to six minutes and other birds for up to three minutes before they are killed - despite evidence showing that the procedure is extremely painful. Chickens and turkeys are bred to grow so fast that most suffer from painful leg deformities. 2.1 million turkeys a year suffer from painful electric shocks when they are dipped into the electric waterbath because their wings hang lower than their heads. 30% of red meat slaughterhouses are recorded as having little or no formal staff training in animal welfare. 50% of poultry slaughterhouses have no staff who have undergone formal training. Slaughterhouses are continuing to pay workers on a “piece rate” payment system - i.e. the more animals killed, the more a worker is paid. Viva!’s report contains an account from Gabriele Meurer MRCVS, who worked as an official veterinary surgeon in the UK. She saw animals regaining consciousness as they bled to death and had many other concerns. She says, “No animal likes to enter the lairage. So they were pushed, beaten and kicked. Electric goads were used practically all the time. A certain number of animals have to be slaughtered each day and so there is no time for animal welfare. Time is money.” Says Viva! Campaigner and report author Rebecca Smith, “The public is deceived into thinking that animals in the UK are ‘humanely killed’. Viva! has proved beyond doubt that this is not the case. Each year, tens of millions of animals are fully conscious as they hang upside down in shackles, bleeding to death. “Our findings challenge the complacency at the heart of much of Britain’s meat-eating culture.” Viva! is a charity that educates the public about vegetarian issues and researches animal cruelty. For further information contact: Viva!, 8 York Court, Wilder Street, Bristol BS2 8QH.