Minutes of evidence taken before the Committee appointed by the Admiralty to consider the humane slaughtering of animals.

  • Great Britain. Committee on Humane Slaughtering of Animals.
Date:
1904
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Minutes of evidence taken before the Committee appointed by the Admiralty to consider the humane slaughtering of animals. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    being in store so long they got out of condition and we _ applied for more, but we use them right through as often as we can. poll-axe ?—Most butchers prefer the poll-axe, but that is only on account of the trouble of putting the mask on. I think in regard to humanity the mask*is best. 134. And you do use the mask very largely at Aldershot now ?—Yes. 135. Do you find any great difficulty in putting it on ? —Sometimes on a very wild beast, but no very great difficulty. 136. What is the trouble —does the blindfolding frighten the animal ?—It draws back its head to use its horns and so it might injure a man. 137. Have you ever had any accidents from putting on the mask ?—No, it takes a little while longer but that is all. You pull the bullock right down first. 138. You pull him down to a ring in the same way as you would have to do if you were to poll-axe him, before you put on the mask ?—Yes 139. You do not put it on outside the slaughter-house?— No ; that is the best way, I consider, because the bullock cannot harm anybody so much; although it might dash about its head it cannot get at the men. 140. You do not think it would be a good thing to put it on outside 7—No. 141. Have you seen any cases of the mask failing to act effectively ?—I have seen sometimes now and then that a man would have to strike twice. 142. You mean because he made a bad shot ?—Yes, perhaps not enough force behind it ; it must be fair and square. 143. Do you see less mistakes made with the mask than with the poll-axe ?—Oh, yes. 144, After the animal has been struck effectively with the mask you find he is felled and is motionless ?—Yes. 145. Then you remove the mask at once ?—Yes. 146, And then stick him?—Then you put a cane through the perforation. You can do that without removing the mask most times ; you simply pull the bolt out and insert the cane. 147. Through the same hole ?—Yes. 148. Do you ever find the bolt sticks in the animal’s head so that you cannot withdraw it ?—No, it is quite loose, and there is no difficulty at all. 149. Do you poll-axe or slaughter the animal in the Same room that you cut him up in ?—We dress him and split him down in two halves, what are called sides of beef, and then these are run over a railway into the cooling room. 150. But you split him, and so forth, in the same room that you slaughter him in ?—Yes. 151. Do you notice that cattle when brought into the slaughter house show any signs of fear at the smell of blood ?—Oh yes. 152. Do you think it is the sight of the blood or the smell 7—The smell, I think. 153. How do they show their fear ?—They sniff about and perhaps run or are obstinate. 154. They try to avoid being dragged in ?—Yes. 155. When they are brought in they naturally see blood about and smell it ?—Yes. We close the doors and we rope them in a little pen close to the door in the slaughtering place. We rope them first, and there are five men and we knock down five at a time. Each man gets hold of the rope and they drive them up or push them up ; if a bullock is very obstinate we get all hands to Lush it up but not to knock it about. 156. And you think there is no doubt that the animal is frightened at the smell of blood ?—There is no doubt about that. 157. You or your assistant exercise proper supervision over the slaughterers ?—Yes. 158. Who actually do the slaughtering ?—We have. what we call, foremen—first-class butchers. 159. Belonging to the Army Service Gorps ?—Yes. 160. How is a man like that trained ?—Perhaps when second hands, first hands, foremen and masters, all those grades. slaughtering in the first place—to use the poll-axe ?— Supposing he is a second hand he is not looked upon as competent to knock a bullock down; when he wants to rise to the grade of first hand you put a poll-axe in his hand and he has to have practice before he is put up by the officer. 162. The result is that, probably, when he first begins, he is not very skilful, and he does not kill the animal straight off ?—No, that is where the mask comes in to make it all the better; if he had a poll-axe the bullock seeing a stranger would flinch and perhaps move his head a little, causing the poll-axe to go too much to the right or perhaps lower down on the nose so that it would not penetrate the brain, necessitating two or three blows. 163. But you have no method of training butchers to slaughter animals except on the animal himself ?—That is all. 164. (Colonel Clayton.) With regard to the use of the mask, you say that it is difficult to fix on an animal that is wild ?—Yes, it moves its head sometimes. 165. Where does the difficulty come in if the head is tied down? The first thing you do is to rope the animal ?— Yes. 166. And then you bring it in and tie it down to a ring ?—Yes. 167. Its head is fixed tight to the ring ?—Yes. 168. Then where is the difficulty of putting on the mask ?—It takes a little while longer. 169. That is it; is not that really the main objection to the use of a mask, because of the delay ; the butcher does not like it because it takes a little longer ?—That is my opinion. 170. And he says he cannot fix it on because the animal is wild, but if the head is fixed down tight to a ring the head cannot move ?—No. 171. And there ought to be no difficulty whatever in putting on the mask ?—No, if the head is pulled down close to the ring there should be no difficulty. 172. When you are training these men when they first come in, do you train them, first of all, to knock a bullock down with the mask on before you let them use the poll-axe ?—I have not had the mask in Aldershot except for the last two or three months; we have always had the poll-axe before that. 173. Do you let him practise on a live animal ?—Yes ; if he is rising from second to first grade and I find he is qualified, afterwards we must let him practice. 174. You put a poll-axe in his hand, and let him start straight away ?—Yes. 175. Without any preliminary instruction at all ?—He has instruction in the way of being shown where to strike the animal; that instruction is given to him, and he is told to be steady, and has the foreman standing at his side in case of an accident. 176. (Chairman.) Is thts the pattern of the mask you use ? (showing a mask to the Witness.)—Yes. 177. Colonel Clayton.) Before you let a man attempt to knock a bullock down how long would he be in the slaughter-house ?—A long time ; he would be quite three months right off before I would recommend him, and before he would come before the officer to pass out so that he would have confidence in himself. 178. Do you find these men get nervous at all when they first start ?—Yes, in some cases, but very rarely—perhaps one out of five. 179. Would you tell us what is your method of slaughter- ing sheep ?—I stick them at the back of the neck. 180. Can you tell us exactly how it is done? Just describe it. What does the man do ?—He ties the three legs first, and then puts the animal on its side; then he puts the head up against his knee, and penetrates the sheep’s neck with a knife just at the back of the windpipe at the joint. Then he breaks its neck afterwards to pith it; he gives it a jerk and breaks the neck. 181. After he has stuck it he breaks the neck ?—Yes. 182. Do you find them struggle much after that ?—They Major Fielder