Butchering – Slaughtering – Anesthetizing or gassing
Patent
1995-06-06
1997-07-01
Little, Willis
Butchering
Slaughtering
Anesthetizing or gassing
A22B 300
Patent
active
056430728
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This application claims priority to International Application No. PCT/NL93/00284 filed on Dec. 30, 1993 and published as International Publication No. WO 94/15469, which claims priority to Netherlands Application No. 9202289 filed on Dec. 30, 1992, and Netherlands Application No. 9300254 filed on Feb. 9, 1993.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a method and device for stunning poultry by means of a gas or gas mixture which, at the concentration in which it is present, has the effect of stunning the poultry .
From FR-A-2 334 296 a method and device are known for putting down small mammals, such as cats, puppies, mice, rats and the like. The method comprises placing the mammal to be killed in a first chamber which is open at the top and filled with a gas mixture of oxygen and carbon dioxide for a time which is sufficient to stun the animal. Subsequently, the animal is placed in a second chamber which is open at the top and filled with a high concentration of carbon dioxide for a time which is sufficient to end the life of the animal.
If poultry are to be stunned by means of a gas, one is not inclined to apply methods known for mammals, because of the fact that the respiratory system of poultry is structured differently from that of mammals and is connected to a number of air sacs which are located in the body of poultry and serve to provide buoyancy and body balance control. Said air sacs, which may either be filled with a considerable amount of air or may be empty, are the reason why stunning poultry by means of gas according to the state of the art sometimes takes a relatively long time and in some cases is effected relatively quickly. The resulting unreliability in stunning poultry by means of gas can, of course, be eliminated by continuing the stunning for such a long time that even poultry with a great deal of air in the air sacs can be guaranteed to have been stunned. However, the concomitant shortness of breath and fear reactions are accompanied by severe convulsions. Not only is this a very unpleasant situation for the poultry, but in general this also leads to contusions, fractures or the like, while the quality of the meat of the poultry is adversely affected by the concomitant biochemical immune responses in their body. Incidentally, electrocution, which is traditionally used for stunning poultry, has the same disadvantages.
Moreover, if such a method were to be used on an industrial scale for stunning poultry prior to their slaughter, a vast installation would be required to achieve the long residence time necessary for the poultry in a gas-filled chamber in view of the large numbers of poultry to be processed.
Surprisingly, it was found, however, that the method described above and known for mammals results in quick and reliable stunning when applied to poultry, without discomfort for the poultry, and thus without convulsions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is thus to provide a method with a high processing rate for stunning poultry, in which method according to the invention the poultry are taken into a chamber by means of mechanical conveying means, which chamber contains a first stunning gas or gas mixture which is mixed with oxygen, and are subsequently taken into a chamber which contains a second stunning gas or gas mixture. It may be just one chamber which contains the first and the second stunning gas or gas mixture and the oxygen in the indicated order, but preferably the first stunning gas or gas mixture which is mixed with oxygen is in a first chamber, and the second stunning gas or gas mixture is in a second chamber which is essentially separated from the first chamber as regards gas. Because in the chamber or first chamber a stunning gas or gas mixture in combination with oxygen is present, the poultry can be stunned quickly and virtually without noticing it, if desired in such a way that results in unconsciousness, in which case the tranquillizing action of the gas or gas mixture prevents the occurrence of undesirable uncontrolled muscle
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Lankhaar Jenneke A. C.
van den Nieuwelaar Adrianus J.
Little Willis
Pratt John S.
Stork PMT B.V.
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