Indicators of loss of consciousness in slaughter without stunning: a neuroanatomical reappraisal.

Résumé

Minimizing animal suffering during slaughter depends on appropriate pre-slaughter handling, technique, and post-slaughter assessment. The post-slaughter phase must include rapid determination of loss of consciousness (LOC) using scientifically based indicators. In religious slaughter, pre-slaughter stunning is prohibited by Jewish law and generally opposed under Islamic law. Consciousness and pain perception arise from complex interactions within the cerebral cortex. International standards governing assessment of LOC commonly rely on indicators of brainstem failure. This approach is appropriate in conventional slaughter with stunning, a technique designed to cause traumatic injury to the cerebral cortex and brainstem. In contrast, religious slaughter is intended to induce LOC through slaughter by exsanguination via ventral neck (SEVNI) where rapid cerebral hypoperfusion results in loss of cortical function. Accordingly, reliance on cortical rather than brainstem indicators is more consistent with the underlying neurobiology of LOC in religious slaughter. In this paper, we examine the neuroanatomical basis of commonly used indicators of (un)consciousness in cattle and assess their scientific and practical applicability to religious slaughter. Brainstem-based indicators have limited applicability in the context of SEVNI, as they do not account for the specific neurophysiological mechanisms underlying LOC in this setting. The current approach is also subject to substantial inter-observer variability and introduces avoidable occupational safety hazards. While not a behavioral indicator, visual confirmation of continuous, high-volume blood flow from the transected carotid arteries reflects rapid cerebral hypoperfusion and is physiologically consistent with irreversible, near-instantaneous LOC. This assessment can be performed reliably from a safe distance.