ANSC 2340 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Vascular Resistance, Adipose Tissue, Rancidification
3 Oct 2016
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Ante-mortem means before death - so this is the inspection of the live animal. The inspector will be looking for animals which are crippled and cannot walk properly or show signs of sickness and separate and treat them specially: stunning. The animal must be rendered unconscious before it can be killed (except under religious exemptions). The method of stunning varies, although concussion is widely used. Hand-operated captive-bolt pistols w . 22 blanks are used, but pneumatic concussion systems or electrical stunning may be used in very large abattoirs: exsanguination (sticking or bleeding). While unconscious, a sticking knife is used to open the thick hide at the base of the animal"s neck. A second knife is used to penetrate clean tissues and sever the major blood vessels from the heart to the head. Care is needed because bacteria may be carried into the animal and contaminate the meat deep in the carcass: skinning (removal of hide).
