Project
Improved assessment of unconsciousness and death
In the EU a large number of different species are kept or captured for production reasons. Almost all of these animals are killed for consumption (slaughter) or killed for other reasons (disease control, euthanasia, emergency situations). EU regulation 1099/2009 implies that (un)consciousness and/or death needs to be confirmed when stunning or killing animals. However, fish and crustaceans are excluded from EU regulation until now, although a general term of reference will be applied for fish and crustaceans. To assess (un)consciousness and/or death, assessment tools, methods or protocols need to be available for all people involved in stunning and killing of animals and for people responsible to safeguard effective procedures.
The available parameters to assess (un)consciousness and death differ strongly among the different animal species. Moreover, validated parameters for (un)consciousness are not available for all species, especially fish and crustaceans. Furthermore, increasing slaughter speed in European slaughterhouses makes it very difficult to assess all or a reliable number of animals. This project is called Set of Actions 14 (SOA14) in the Partnership. It aims to develop validated indicators and procedures, new or improved protocols and/or technologies for the objective assessment of (un)consciousness and death in different species and under different circumstances. It unites 12 European research organisations and involves 4.9 million euro in research funding in total. Wageningen Research is the coordinator of SOA14.
In the EU a large number of different species are kept or captured for production reasons. Almost all of these animals are killed for consumption (slaughter) or killed for other reasons (disease control, euthanasia, emergency situations). EU regulation 1099/2009 implies that (un)consciousness and/or death needs to be confirmed when stunning or killing animals.However, fish and crustaceans are excluded from EU regulation until now, although a general term of reference will be applied for fish and crustaceans. To assess (un)consciousness and/or death, assessment tools, methods or protocols need to be available for all people involved in stunning and killing of animals and for people responsible to safeguard effective procedures.
The available parameters to assess (un)consciousness and death differ strongly among the different animal species. Moreover, validated parameters for (un)consciousness are not available for all species, especially fish and crustaceans. Furthermore, increasing slaughter speed in European slaughterhouses makes it very difficult to assess all or a reliable number of animals. This project is called Set of Actions 14 (SOA14) in the Partnership. It aims to develop validated indicators and procedures, new or improved protocols and/or technologies for the objective assessment of (un)consciousness and death in different species and under different circumstances. It unites 12 European research organisations and involves 4.9 million euro in research funding in total. Wageningen Research is the coordinator of SOA14.