The slaughtering of livestock is not a pleasant trade and yet it is necessary for food preparation.
But, as Temple Grandin reminded her audience Thursday evening, there are ways that it can be done humanely and with less stress on the cattle.
More than 300 people packed the D.A. Electric Barn to hear Grandin’s keynote address as part of the TiffIn Agriculture Conference.
Grandin, a professor at Colorado State University, is one of the foremost experts in livestock and agriculture. She is best known for her work on animal welfare in farming.
She has noticed that cattle are very prone to fear as they are led into slaughterhouses, showcasing several signs, such as “white eyes” that communicate fear.
“A cow that is not scared has soft, brown eyes, “ Grandin said. “We have to calm the animals down.”
The effects of agitated animals can be seen in the beef. On average, the weight of the agitated animal is less than that of a non-agitated one.
Grandin is also autistic – claiming her disorder has helped her develop her methods.
“I’m an extremely visual thinker,” she said. “I see things that others may not see.”
In the 1970s, when Grandin began her work with agriculture, she used to crawl into the pens used to herd cattle just to see what they would see.
Things like distractions in their environment, such as a low-hanging chain can cause fear in an animal.
“Be more observant,” she says. “I still see this happening. Remove the chains.”
Throughout her lecture, Grandin stressed the importance of the environment for cattle. She said to avoid reflections (cattle are scared of reflections), add lights at entrances (cattle do not like dark places), and block the sides of the chutes to avoid distractions.
She also advocates for minimizing the use of cattle prods and urges people avoid having dogs near the chutes, it causes them to kick, something Grandin knows first hand.
Most importantly, non-slip floors need to be mandatory. If a cow slips, it can become agitated and scared.
“You need to make an animal’s first experience in an environment the best experience. They remember bad experiences.”
Grandin’s methods are used in a number of slaughterhouses around the world, complete with results to back them up. The percentage of agitated animals in slaughterhouses using her methods are down to single digits. In some cases, the number of agitated is zero.
Grandin stresses that there is still work to be done.
“When I started, only about 20 per cent of slaughterhouses were running humanely.” Grandin said. “Now, I see at least 90 per cent.”
There are still bad slaughterhouses and these need to be fixed.
“We can’t let bad become normal,” she said.
For more information, you can visit www.grandin.com.