miss_thenorth
Frugal Homesteader
Exactly why we chose to stun. We decided against the gun due to the fact that the animal needs to be alive to pump the blood out.
Slaughtering meat goats
- Thread starter Buster
- Start date
patandchickens
Crazy Cat Lady
I doubt that there is any practical disadvantage to killing the animal with a bullet before bleeding out, since that is probably about the most common way of dispatching animals for home slaughter in North America as far as I know. The heart doesn't stop beating right away.
I can't comment on other peoples' reasons for wanting to stun/shoot/whatever before bleeding out, but Mackay I can tell you that my OWN reason for wanting a method of stunning the animal first is that based on my experience with chickens and turkeys, I expect there is going to be a real learning curve involved in learning how to handle and position 60-100 lb lamb and cut the veins in the right place. I want to do everything I can to minimize the chance of causing distress and suffering.
It would be different if there were someone *training me* to do halal-style slaughter. I wish there was, I'd really really like to learn all this from someone who knows what they're doing. But realistically that's not the way it is, and i think the animal will be best off as insensible as possible. (There have been a few chickens along the way whose deaths were not as pleasant as they should have been...)
FWIW, whacking big turkeys on the head real hard with a hammer seemed to work pretty well in terms of stunning them for long enough that I could hoist them up and slit the throat.
I am not especially looking forward to slaughtering lambs next year, but it seems silly to sell them and then BUY meat from animals who are raised and killed under more-stressful conditions, so I expect I'll do it. Uh, unless someone comes along who *really* wants to buy some sheep...
Pat
I can't comment on other peoples' reasons for wanting to stun/shoot/whatever before bleeding out, but Mackay I can tell you that my OWN reason for wanting a method of stunning the animal first is that based on my experience with chickens and turkeys, I expect there is going to be a real learning curve involved in learning how to handle and position 60-100 lb lamb and cut the veins in the right place. I want to do everything I can to minimize the chance of causing distress and suffering.
It would be different if there were someone *training me* to do halal-style slaughter. I wish there was, I'd really really like to learn all this from someone who knows what they're doing. But realistically that's not the way it is, and i think the animal will be best off as insensible as possible. (There have been a few chickens along the way whose deaths were not as pleasant as they should have been...)
FWIW, whacking big turkeys on the head real hard with a hammer seemed to work pretty well in terms of stunning them for long enough that I could hoist them up and slit the throat.
I am not especially looking forward to slaughtering lambs next year, but it seems silly to sell them and then BUY meat from animals who are raised and killed under more-stressful conditions, so I expect I'll do it. Uh, unless someone comes along who *really* wants to buy some sheep...
Pat
- Thread starter
- #23
Buster
Lovin' The Homestead
On my experience...
This was a very large goat, probably over 150 pounds. It took two of us to wrestle him to the ground. I stepped back because I didn't want to participate in the kill, but his son took my place and held him. My friend thanked the goat, said a prayer, repeated God is Great three times, and quietly slit. Don't know if that is how it usually done, but that is how he did it.
He is very skilled as I said, but I believe that is the key to humane Halaal slaughter. One reason he doesn't want others doing it (besides ensuring correct bleed out) is because he doesn't want the animal overly stressed by an improper slit, whether they are Muslim or not.
If I was going to slit something as large as this goat, I would stun, but if I had more confidence, I might not. I'm not going to pass judgment on others' choices either way.
BTW, if you are going to shoot a goat, don't shoot it between the eyes. That's about the thickest part of its skull and an invitation to a painful ordeal for both you and the goat. You shoot it behind the head at a somewhat downward slant, between the ears.
This was a very large goat, probably over 150 pounds. It took two of us to wrestle him to the ground. I stepped back because I didn't want to participate in the kill, but his son took my place and held him. My friend thanked the goat, said a prayer, repeated God is Great three times, and quietly slit. Don't know if that is how it usually done, but that is how he did it.
He is very skilled as I said, but I believe that is the key to humane Halaal slaughter. One reason he doesn't want others doing it (besides ensuring correct bleed out) is because he doesn't want the animal overly stressed by an improper slit, whether they are Muslim or not.
If I was going to slit something as large as this goat, I would stun, but if I had more confidence, I might not. I'm not going to pass judgment on others' choices either way.
BTW, if you are going to shoot a goat, don't shoot it between the eyes. That's about the thickest part of its skull and an invitation to a painful ordeal for both you and the goat. You shoot it behind the head at a somewhat downward slant, between the ears.
