title: Electrical stunning effectiveness with current levels lower than 1 A in lambs and kid goats.
abstract: An experiment with 360 lambs grouped into three Spanish commercial categories, (Pascual, 13-16 kg; Recental, 9-13 kg and Lechal <7 kg carcass weight) and kid goats (7 kg) was performed to assess stunning effectiveness after head-only (HO) and head-to-body (HB) electrical stunning with intensity currents of 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7 Amperes (A) compared to 1.0 A. After stunning, all animals showed tonic-clonic muscular activity and epileptiform EEG, absence of rhythmic breathing, corneal reflex, spontaneous blinking and pain sensibility. The quiescent EEG occurred earlier (P < 0.05) in HB compared to HO in all categories. More animals recovered corneal reflex and rhythmic breathing before onset of the quiescent activity after HO (from 15 to 50%) compared to HB (from 0 to 15%) (P < 0.05). Concluding, HO and HB electrical stunning with 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7 A induce effective stunning similar to 1.0 A in lambs and kid goats. After stunning and sticking, brain failure occurs earlier in HB than HO system.
authors.affiliation: IRTA, Animal Welfare Subprogram, Veïnat de Síes, Monells, 17121, Spain. Electronic address: pol.llonch@sruc.ac.uk.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Llonch
authors.affiliation: IRTA, Animal Welfare Subprogram, Veïnat de Síes, Monells, 17121, Spain.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: IRTA, Animal Welfare Subprogram, Veïnat de Síes, Monells, 17121, Spain.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Casal
authors.affiliation: IRTA, Animal Welfare Subprogram, Veïnat de Síes, Monells, 17121, Spain.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Carreras
authors.affiliation: IRTA, Enginyeria Alimentària, Finca Camps i Armet, Monells, 17121, Spain.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Muñoz
authors.affiliation: IRTA, Animal Welfare Subprogram, Veïnat de Síes, Monells, 17121, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dalmau
authors.affiliation: IRTA, Animal Welfare Subprogram, Veïnat de Síes, Monells, 17121, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Velarde
mesh_terms: D000003:Abattoirs; D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000827:Animal Welfare; D000818:Animals; D004597:Electroshock / Q000592:standards / Q000662:veterinary*; D006041:Goats / Q000502:physiology*; D034561:Sheep, Domestic / Q000502:physiology*; D013030:Spain
keywords: Animal welfare; EEG; Kid goats; Lambs; Slaughter; Stunning