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Farm Animal Programs: Asia
In 2002, The Meat and Livestock Council (UK) reported that more than 1.1 billion animals (excluding 130 million poultry) are slaughtered for human consumption each year and an estimated two-thirds (approximately 737 million) are slaughtered without pre-stunning. In developing countries, methods of slaughter are largely inhumane, with animals killed by clubbing, hammer blows to the head, repeated stabbing and drowning.
Apart from the economic loss to the local community due to the bruising of the meat and damage to by-products, and the health implications of distributing contaminated meat, the suffering these animals endure at the point of death is immense. Therefore the primary objective of HSI’s Farm Animal Program is to promote humane handling of animals destined for slaughter, with the economic and public health advantages this brings in developing countries. A further objective being to work with the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and local animal protection organizations seeking to address this issue in their communities.
Listed here are some of the past and present farm animal programs in Asia sponsored in wholly or in part by HSI. If you wish to look at HSI programs in the rest of the world, please click here.
In mid-2002, the Regional Ministry of Agriculture in Denpasar invited Humane Society International (HSI), in partnership with local organization Yudisthira, to introduce the economic benefits of humane transport, handling and slaughter of livestock intended for human consumption. HSI was asked to present this information not only to staff of the Ministry, but also the Indonesian Livestock Expo and the faculty of the University of Dyana.
The response was extremely positive, and it enabled HSI to develop a humane slaughter workshop (co-hosted by Yudisthira) which was held in October 2002 for 26 attendees. The attendees included Ministry of Agriculture staff, veterinarians, abattoir managers and workers. A booklet produced by HSI and the FAO was also translated into Bahasa for the event and experts from the United Kingdom’s Bristol University Department of Animal Science Animal Welfare Training Team were engaged as consultants and presenters.
HSI and Yudisthira are continuing to work on this initiative, using contacts at Bristol University to develop a second training workshop for the fall of 2003 and views this project as a way of expanding this program into all of Indonesia
In 2000, Nepal approved a Slaughterhouse and Meat Inspection Act. In order to support this new legislation, HSI organized training in 2001, and following the success of this initial training has run 5 day workshops in 2003 (and will again do so in 2004) for slaughterhouse workers, managers, and inspectors in each of the five major regions of Nepal.
The main purpose of the workshops is to upgrade the technical know-how in meat inspection and the hygienic aspects of meat marketing. This includes the whole chain of humane slaughtering, storing and selling of meat, and to help establish a slaughterhouse and inspection management committee in every municipality of the country. The program will involve both theory and practical guidelines developed by HSI and the FAO. The training will be conducted by the National Zoonoses and Food Hygiene Research Centre in Kathmandu.
Humane Slaughter in the Philippines
In order to distribute information on the economic advantages of humane treatment of slaughter animals throughout Asia and the Pacific, 60 individuals from 20 Asia-Pacific countries are trained in four week courses in Manila.
The main goal of the program is to demonstrate humane methods for slaughtering animals. This includes the treatment in holding pens, walkways to slaughter facilities, and humane stunning prior to slaughter.
It is expected that the trainees will act as trainers in their home countries and disseminate knowledge and experience acquired during the courses. This train-the-trainers program is multi-funded, and HSI’s funding in particular, provides support training in the humane slaughter of animals. The first session was held in April-May 2003, and further sessions will be held in 2004-2005.
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