10. Premature culling of production animals; ethical questions related to killing animals in food production

Bruijnis, M.R.N.; Meijboom, F.L.B.; Stassen, E.N.

doi:10.3920/978-90-8686-808-7_10

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Knowing that the clinical condition of cull sows may deteriorate during transport to slaughter,19 this choice seems advantageous from an animal welfare point of view. However, if the condition of a given sow does live up to the legal requirements for fitness for transport, killing her on farm may be considered an ethical problem due to the human food wasted,25 as well as an economic problem for the farmer. Recently, the possibility for on-farm emergency slaughter26 or the use of smaller-scale mobile slaughter facilities27 have been suggested to be an alternative to transport to slaughter for compromised dairy cows, but to the best of our knowledge, no such development is taking place regarding the slaughter of cull sows.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Significant variation in the management of cull sows before transport for slaughter: results from a survey of Danish pig farmers

et al. 2020

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BackgroundApproximately 50% of sows are slaughtered each year, but management of cull sows is not well described.MethodsWe aimed to describe how cull sows are sent to slaughter using a questionnaire survey emailed to 885 Danish pig farmers, including questions about the use of pick-up facilities (either a designated pen used for reasons of biosecurity and practicality, in a special part of the barn, where pigs are kept in the last hours before being loaded onto a commercial truck, or a stationary vehicle kept outside the buildings and used for the same purpose) and evaluation of fitness for transport.ResultsA total of 360 farmers answered all questions, constituting a homogeneous group of middle-aged, experienced males. The management of the sows seemed rather variable, for example regarding choice of pick-up facility, its available resources, actions taken when sows were not fit for transport and sow conditions leading to doubt about fitness for transport. Special condition transport was only reported rarely, and rejection of sows due to lack of fitness for transport, by drivers or veterinarians at the slaughterhouse, was only rarely experienced.ConclusionThese findings may be used for formulation of hypotheses for future studies in this area characterised by welfare challenges, potentially leading to science-based recommendations relevant for animal welfare, productivity and biosecurity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Significant variation in the management of cull sows before transport for slaughter: results from a survey of Danish pig farmers

et al. 2020

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“…Still, to the pig, living in a shorter time frame, the modest afternoon plan could be half its world. That killing animals prematurely is a harm done to them is confirmed by Bruijnis et al ( 2016 ). My conclusion is that killing is a harm if done to a being that at the moment of death has an interest in fulfilling future preferences and enjoying welfare in the future.…”

Section: Animal Welfarementioning

confidence: 75%

Animal Business: an Ethical Exploration of Corporate Responsibility Towards Animals

Janssens

2021

Food ethics

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The aim of this paper is to take normative aspects of animal welfare in corporate practice from a blind spot into the spotlight, and thus connect the fields of business ethics and animal ethics. Using insights from business ethics and animal ethics, it argues that companies have a strong responsibility towards animals. Its rationale is that animals have a moral status, that moral actors have the moral obligation to take the interests of animals into account and thus, that as moral actors, companies should take the interests of animals into account, more specifically their current and future welfare. Based on this corporate responsibility, categories of corporate impact on animals in terms of welfare and longevity are offered, including normative implications for each of them. The article concludes with managerial implications for several business sectors, including the most animal-consuming and animal-welfare-threatening industry: the food sector. Welfare issues are discussed, including the issue of killing for food production.

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1. The end of animal life: a start for ethical debate

Meijboom

Stassen

2016

The End of Animal Life: A Start for Ethical Debate

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10. Premature culling of production animals; ethical questions related to killing animals in food production

Cited by 3 publications

References 25 publications

Significant variation in the management of cull sows before transport for slaughter: results from a survey of Danish pig farmers

Significant variation in the management of cull sows before transport for slaughter: results from a survey of Danish pig farmers

Animal Business: an Ethical Exploration of Corporate Responsibility Towards Animals

1. The end of animal life: a start for ethical debate

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