Seeking more humane methods
For those who are not ready to go vegetarian, there are still ways to slaughter animals in a more compassionate manner.
THE cow is unaware of the extensive preparations ahead of its slaughter. When the moment comes, it feels no fear.
Instead, just as on any other day on this farm in southern Germany, the cow wanders over to the feed box and tucks into its breakfast.
Today, though, once its head is in far enough, a metal bar comes down around its neck. Then Maximilian Sauter, the farmer, comes in and puts a bolt gun to the cow’s forehead and pulls the trigger, stunning the animal.
The cow collapses and is swiftly pulled into the catch box on rails, then pulled into a docked trailer. A roll-up gate descends.
Next, a cut is made and the animal starts bleeding and dies shortly afterwards. The process takes seconds.
Its death is far faster and calmer than the way most animals are butchered. The process usually starts with a stressful journey to the slaughterhouse, with a lot of pushing and shoving, not to mention stress and fear.
That is the idea of a whole movement known in Germany as “Schlachtung mit Achtung”, which means slaughtering with respect.
At the core are mobile slaughter units, launched in 2019 then steadily developed over the years by MST Mobile-schlachttechnik, a company based in Kandern near Lorrach in southwestern Germany.
The aim is to reduce what can be an agonisingly long process for livestock.
Animal rights activists, butchers, organic farmers and even state governments such as in Baden-wurttemberg, the state in which Sauter’s farm is located, are all campaigning for cattle and pigs to be slaughtered closer to the farms where they live.
Gradually, interest is growing in the mobile slaughter units that make this possible, says the Association of Farmers with Artisanal Meat Processing (VHLF).
The number of these slaughter units is growing, says VHLF chairwoman Andrea Fink-kebler, though no exact numbers are available.
Farmer Ernst Hermann Maier from Balingen, who developed the Mobile Slaughter Box (MSB) in 1995, is a pioneer in the field.
There are several German makers of these kinds of units nationwide, from the company ISS Innovative Schlachtsysteme based in the north, to another firm based in Hesse. The state of Baden-wurttemberg alone boasts three, says Sandra Kopf, who played a key role in driving the project forward.
The units cost around US$80,000 (RM370,400) to US$120,000 (RM555,600) depending on the equipment.
Normally, it takes four to six months to build them, says MST managing director Peter Brandmeier.
Baiersbronn, a town in the Black Forest, bought one, as has a butcher’s shop in Dotternhausen, a plant on farmer Sauter’s farm.
Sauter and his boss say they do not care whether or not the facility has covered its costs already.
The machine, which he bought together with his boss, is not about the price.
“We’re doing this for ethical reasons.”
The facilities come at a good time, with growing interest at federal level in expanding mobile slaughter facilities on farms, under Agriculture Minister Cem Ozdemir, of the Green Party.
Germany used to have regional networks for smaller-scale slaughter but these artisan structures are falling away, which is hampering greater use of the mobile units, says Fink-kebler of the VHLF.
After all, once an animal has died, a farmer needs to ensure it reaches a slaughterhouse within 90 minutes so its body can be further processed for meat.
It is not yet known whether large-scale industrial farms or entire regions could also use these facilities.
“Mobile slaughter is a niche for a few farms, for example those with cows in the pasture yearround or direct marketing,” says Ariane Amstutz, spokeswoman for the state farmers’ association in Baden-wurttemberg.
But she sees no way for this method of slaughtering animals to be scaled up sufficiently to meet the public’s demand for meat.
The large majority of animals will still need to be transported to the slaughterhouse, she says.
Meanwhile, Brandmeier is barely able to keep up with the level of interest, with plenty of inquiries coming in, he says. People have contacted him from Israel or the United States, he says.
“The slaughter industry has its back against the wall and hasn’t changed in the last 70 years,” he says.
Encouragingly, he notes that a major meat-processing company from North Rhine-westphalia even sent representatives to take a look at the plant.
Mobile slaughter is a niche for a few farms, for example those with cows in the pasture year-round or direct marketing.
Ariane Amstutz