The slaughter of cattle (cattle) presupposes correct training and accurate knowledge of the slaughter technique. Below are step-by-step instructions for each method, the necessary tools and recommendations for further processing of the mascara.
What kind of cattle should be slaughtered?
Sanitary regulations prohibit the slaughter of livestock without a veterinarian examination before the procedure. This ensures that diseases that are dangerous to humans and other animals do not spread. Home breeding of cattle does not exclude their infection with diseases on pastures, water from reservoirs or from other cows.
Slaughtering a cow for meat is strictly prohibited for the following diseases:
- tumors of a malignant nature;
- rabies;
- catarrhal fever;
- emkar;
- tetanus;
- anthrax;
- plague.
When symptoms of one of the listed diseases appear, medical measures are applied to the animal. If the disease is neglected, then forced slaughter becomes the only method of getting rid of it. The whole process takes place in a sanitary slaughterhouse under the supervision of a veterinarian; after slaughter, the carcass is completely disposed of.
The reasons why the slaughter is temporarily postponed:
- upon receipt of a foot and mouth disease vaccination - on day 21;
- with vaccination against anthrax - for a period of 14 days;
- after treatment with antibiotics - for a period until the drug is completely eliminated from the body;
- in case of illness with non-communicable diseases and increased body temperature - until the condition is stabilized;
- prevention and treatment of parasites - a month;
- newborn calves up to 14 days old.
Optimal time for slaughter
The optimal age of the animal for slaughter is from 1 year. This is due to the fact that up to a year, the individual is actively gaining weight, and after this period, an increase in the body weight of cattle is possible only as a result of fattening, i.e., a significant increase in the nutritional norm.
When purposefully raising a bull for meat, refuse to castrate it, because this leads to a slowdown in growth and development. The meat yield and its quality characteristics will be significantly lower.
Autumn is considered the most suitable season for slaughter. It is advisable to carry out the procedure in the morning, at a minimum ambient temperature.
Preparation for slaughter
Before slaughtering a cow, it is necessary to carry out preparatory measures, otherwise there is a risk of contamination of people and other animals with dangerous diseases. It is important to ensure the preparation of the animal itself and the place for slaughter.
Vet Approval
Before slaughtering a bull, the animal should be examined by a veterinarian. The specialist will determine if there are contraindications to the use of this beef, if necessary, prescribe treatment or extreme measures, characterized by forced slaughter and disposal of the carcass.
During the veterinary examination, the body temperature of the cow is necessarily measured.
At the end of the examination, the veterinarian issues a document on the basis of which further work is carried out.
Cow preparation
Upon receipt of permission to slaughter a cow from a veterinarian, all feed is removed from her diet, water is provided in abundance. This measure will cleanse the intestines of the animal, which during slaughter will greatly facilitate the procedure for cutting the carcass. You should not limit the nutrition of cattle for more than a day, otherwise the meat yield will decrease.
Immediately before slaughter, the cow is washed, cleaning wool and hooves so that dirt and pathogens do not get into the meat when cutting.
Do not scare or beat the animal. In a stressful situation, with a decrease in lactic acid in the body, the quality of meat, its color and storage ability change for the worse. Bruising interferes with the bleeding of the carcass; they have to be cleaned when cutting the carcass.
An important point in preparation for slaughter is the measurement of the animal to calculate the live weight or weighing.
What do you need?
Cattle are strong animals, it is unlikely that it will be possible to kill them every second, therefore it is necessary to use stun. When slaughtering, it is important that the dying cow does not feel pain.
For livestock slaughter you will need:
- sledgehammer;
- rope or cable;
- winch;
- downhole knives;
- ax;
- containers for blood, meat and organs;
- rags;
- pure water.
In industrial slaughter, the name and number of necessary tools depends on the method of slaughter and its scale. But fundamentally the list does not change.
Slaughter methods
The method of slaughtering a cow depends on the weight of the animal, the professional skills of the carver and the chosen location. With insufficient experience, it is better to turn to the slaughterhouse so that the masters of their craft can cope with the task.
Slaughtering of livestock includes several stages:
- stun
- slaughter;
- exsanguination;
- skinning;
- extraction of entrails;
- carcass cutting;
- sanitization (toilet).
Bleeding Stun
This method is most often used in personal farmsteads. Its essence is to achieve the unconscious state of a cow, followed by bloodletting. For this:
- Throw the rope over the horns of the animal, and tie it tightly to the support, fixing the head.
- Hit the cow's forehead with a wooden hammer, stunning it.
- In case of loss of consciousness to the animals, dissect the skin on the neck, exposing the carotid artery and jugular veins.
- Cut off large blood vessels.
- Provide the carcass with a suspension for draining blood.
Stun with bleeding was used in ancient times. It is believed that if a cow is hit on the forehead several times, it will lose consciousness due to a concussion. The experiments showed that in this way these injuries for the brain can not be achieved. Consequently, this method of slaughter is considered particularly brutal.
A wooden mallet must be struck at the same place up to 15 times, so metal sledgehammers are often used.
Agony, which often occurs during slaughter, reduces the meat quality, exsanguination takes place at a minimum level, and blood residues lead to accelerated spoilage of meat during the warm period.
It is possible to understand whether the exsanguination was carried out correctly by collecting the blood in a container and measuring its final volume. In cattle, the blood level in the body is approximately 7-8% of the total weight. If its collected amount is at least half of this value, then the slaughter is performed correctly.
The behavior of an animal in agony is unpredictable. You should be extremely careful and careful so that the cow does not harm the butchers.
Slow bloodletting
The method of slow bleeding is used by the northern European nomadic peoples and Siberian nomads. One of the most cruel methods involves such actions:
- A calmly standing bull pierces a long knife in the neck area towards the heart. So dissected arteries and veins near the heart.
- The animal falls into an uncontrolled state, breaks out and twitches. Blood flows in a rapid stream from the wound.
- From the blood loss, the bull weakens and gradually calms down, and soon dies.
With the help of a buterol with a cutter
Butterol with a chisel is a special butcher's sledgehammer. It weighs 2300 g and has a handle length of 90 cm. One side of the hammer consists of a cone-shaped cutter, and on the other side there is a hook. The method consists of several actions:
- Hit the bull with the butler in the frontal part so that the incisor breaks through the skull, forming a hole.
- Insert the willow twig into the resulting tunnel.
- Destroy the medulla oblongata.
- Bleed the carcass.
The butcher must possess the skill of owning a buterol and be strong enough to organize a good shot at the target. Otherwise, the agony of the animal is possible, which causes additional problems during slaughter.
Slaughter with a mask
The overlay for putting on the head of a cow or a bull is made of copper and leather. It is called a killer muzzle or a sandwich with a mask.
- Secure the mask with straps so that the cylindrical hole in the metal plate is exactly in the middle of the animal's forehead.
- Insert a chisel into it, ending with a round flat tip.
- Hit the chisel hard with a wooden hammer. This will drive him to the head up to 25 cm deep.
- Insert a solid probe or willow rod into the resulting hole to completely kill the brain.
- Spend a bleeding.
It is impossible to recognize such a method of slaughtering cattle as rational, since more than one case is known when brain damage does not lead to loss of consciousness. In addition, brains become unsuitable for sale, and meat with incomplete bloodlessness loses its quality indicators.
Bruno's method took root only in France, although it was tested in Europe and in Russia. Petersburg slaughter workers praised him as slow and troublesome.
Skull crushing
The method can only be used at enterprises with automatic slaughterhouses. The process itself is represented by an algorithm of actions:
- Several animals are identified in a narrow passageway.
- The first bull stands on a movable platform, on which its movements are limited by the front and rear supports.
- The head is securely fixed between two vertical metal guides.
- The rail platform slides down the ramp, where an iron bar is installed at the end.
- The animal striking its head against it, crushes the skull.
- The carotid artery and jugular veins are cut through the dead bull.
- The platform goes back for the next animal.
This method renders the bull's head and brains unsuitable for sale. Animals get scared and stressed. From this bleeding does not pass completely, the color and taste of the meat changes.
Sigmund's Way (mask with shooting)
Sigmund's method of slaughtering cattle is very similar to Bruno's method. To implement it, do the following:
- Put a special mask on the animal's head and fasten it tightly. On the frontal part she has a large massive metal plate.
- Screw the pistol barrel into the metal part.
- Make a pistol shot.
- Cut large blood vessels around the neck to bleed.
The method is quick to execute, does not require special knowledge and extensive experience from the butcher. But a significant disadvantage is that the sounds made by the gunshot scare the livestock, which leads to stress and a decrease in the quality characteristics of the meat.
English way
The method is patented in England and is used to obtain meat filled with blood, which the British love very much.
- The cow is stunned with a strong blow to the forehead.
- They pierce the chest between the 4th and 5th ribs.
- Air is pumped through a hole with a special fur tool, squeezing the lungs with it. The animal is dying of asphyxiation.
The cattle slaughter method used in England is very cruel. The meat obtained during the English slaughter contains a lot of blood, which reduces the shelf life by many times.
Kalmyk method of slaughter
The slaughter method used by the Kalmyks is characterized by the following actions:
- The cow is fixed by tying the horns with a rope.
- One butcher holds the animal, and the second, with an accurate blow of the butt of a sledgehammer or an ax to the forehead, stuns the cow.
- When the animal has settled enough, one sits on its head, on the other the butcher cuts the sternum or under the shoulder blade between the 4th and 5th rib of the left side.
- The heart is taken out through the incision and the vessels on it are tied.
The meat turns out to be saturated with blood. Nomadic peoples value such a product very much, serving it raw warm immediately after the slaughter of the cow.
This method surpasses even the method of slaughtering cattle from England in cruelty. Requires special butcher skills throughout the entire slaughter process.
Russian way
To slaughter a cow in the Russian way, follow the algorithm:
- Tie a rope to the horns, and, passing it between the legs of the animal, pull its head to the floor. Thus, an oval ring covered by the skin and ligaments between the nape of the neck and the first vertebra becomes accessible.
- The butcher, standing in front of the animal, strikes with a long dagger from front to back to this place. The bull, losing consciousness, will fall on its side. Preferably on the left.
- With a second blow, the knife is thrust into the lower third of the neck to the side of the heart to reach and damage the circulatory blood vessels.
- Blood is collected in containers and disposed of.
The humanity of the method depends on the time interval between the first knife strike and the second. It is advisable to conduct them simultaneously. The method is quick, it does not require stunning, since the first damage with a knife is applied instead. In addition, the Russian way is considered safe. One man is able to cope with the slaughter of the most ferocious bull.
The meat is tasty and well stored due to the high-quality exsanguination of the carcass.
Jewish method
Since centuries, Jews have used their method of slaughtering cattle, and not only in their communities, but also in the territories of Christians, crushing the livestock industry. The Jewish method, commanded by religion, involves the following course of action when slaughtering a cow:
- The animal's legs are tied and thrown, dropping on its side so that it receives a strong blow from the ribs on the ground.
- The helper - always a Christian - throws the cow's head back so that the neck is taut. Most often, the horns are pulled back towards the back.
- The incisor, with one stroke of the sharpest long knife, cuts the skin and all the components of the neck to the spinal cord. An incision is made between the 1st and 2nd vertebra.
- The animal waves its head, scattering streams of blood, convulsive manifestations appear, wheezing is emitted, and death occurs.
Particular attention in this method of slaughter takes a knife. Its blade must be at least 50 mm wide and 350 mm long. A special sharpening is important, in which the hair is cut, barely touching the blade of the knife. Without fulfilling these conditions for a cutting object, the meat of a killed animal is prohibited for Jews to eat.
In favor of their method of slaughtering cattle, the Jews put forward the arguments that with such a rapid dissection of the neck, the brain dies instantly without hemorrhage into it. Vessels and capillaries do not have time to adapt to a sharp drop in blood pressure and death occurs instantly. This could give reason to consider the Jewish way the most humane of all.
Opponents of the method believe that when the animal crosses the neck with a knife, it experiences wild torment for at least 15-20 seconds. It is proved that this gives rise to shaking the head, and both the spinal cord and the central one remain intact.
Using electricity
The Americans began to use the method of slaughtering cattle using electricity. He took root in America, Italy and England. To implement the method, the following manipulations are performed:
- A pair of bare electrodes is brought to the head of the animal, closer to the ear. The electric current stuns the cow.
- In case of loss of consciousness, an incision is made in the neck, with dissection of the jugular veins and the carotid artery.
With this method, the main thing is to correctly set the current strength, because with excessively high rates, the death of the animal occurs and the blood coagulates inside the carcass. This makes the meat unsuitable for food use.
Approximate voltage levels and duration of exposure to livestock:
- animals up to a year - 70-90 V for 3-5 seconds;
- animals up to 3 years old - 90-100 V for 10-12 seconds;
- over 3 years old - 100-120 V for 17-20 seconds;
- for large bulls - up to 200 V for 25-30 seconds.
The current strength in each of the cases is kept at the level of 1 A. For safety, rubber mats under the feet of the fighters and rubber boots are needed.
The method relates to the humane, because the animal loses consciousness and no longer feels any action. When slaughtered in this way, meat has a specific taste that appears when the current is applied to the body.
Industrial face
In the industrial slaughter with the positive conclusion of the veterinarian, the animals are placed on a mobile platform with high sides. The movements of animals are limited by cramped space.
For slaughter, a pneumatic gun is used, powered by compressed air and a special cartridge. With one movement, the device makes a hole in the middle of the cow's forehead, where a steel hook is clogged to disconnect the brain.
The carcass is suspended by its hind legs and its head is cut off.
Bloodletting is possible after a complete cardiac arrest of the animal, until this moment the blood feeds the meat, deteriorating its quality criteria.
Veterinary slaughter option
The veterinary method of slaughtering cattle is similar to the Russian method. The only difference is that a second knife strike is applied without removing it from the hole, but changing the direction of the strike to the opposite. Thus, the first penetration of the blade is from front to back, and the second from back to front.
This method requires special skills, but it is better to perform it with the help of a specialist veterinarian.
More modern methods of slaughtering cattle
At present, the method of stunning animals with carbon dioxide is often used on an industrial scale. For this, a special expensive gas chamber is used. The time required for loss of consciousness varies from 3 to 7 minutes.
Meat with this method differs little in taste from that obtained by other methods, because animals in any case are frightened and stressed.
The advantages of this method are the purity of the stunning and the possibility of the simultaneous influence of gas on different age and weight categories of animals.
Mascara Processing
Mascara processing is important to ensure the suitability of meat for food, its sale, as well as the sale of hides and internal organs.
Bleeding can be carried out horizontally and by hanging the carcass, defining it in a vertical position with its head down. The second method is more successful and more convenient. The blood drains faster due to the force of gravity and the process is more efficient. Skinning and removing the entrails is also more convenient when the carcass of an animal is vertically placed.
To eliminate pollution, the place of slaughter is covered with tarpaulin, boards, and film. Provide access to clean water.
Skinning and dressing
Skinning a carcass is known as skinning. Skinning a carcass is not a difficult process, but it requires care and attention. When in a hurry, you can damage it, depriving it of its presentation, and contaminate the meat with microbes.
Flushing of the head goes through a separate stage of work. The ears are cut off and the skin is removed through an incision in the frontal part.
At home, work is carried out with the animal lying horizontally on a straw or wooden floor:
- The carcass is placed on the back, placing wooden blocks under the sides. The head is cut off and the esophagus remaining on the body is bandaged so that its contents do not stain the meat during cutting.
- A carving knife cuts the skin along from the throat to the anus.
- A ring cut is made on each leg around the hooves.
- On the inside of the limbs, from the top to the hooves, the skin is cut.
- Wielding a knife and prying the skin with his fingers, remove it from the carcass. They begin processing the front legs, after which they move to the neck and chest, moving towards the hind limbs.
- They remove the skin from the sides to the spine, and then pull it from the neck to the rear, trimming if necessary with a knife.
Watch the video below on how to skin cattle:
Removing the entrails
Removing the viscera after skinning is called gutting. It must be carried out no later than 1.5 hours after slaughter in order to prevent the spread of pathogenic microflora from the intestine through the meat. With a horizontal interior, the work proceeds according to the following algorithm:
- With careful movements, to avoid breaking through the intestines, remove the genitals of the bull and the udder of the cow.
- Dissect along the sternum, esophagus so as not to damage the insides with a careless movement.
- Cut the pubic and pelvic bones with a hatchet.
- Very carefully start extracting the insides from above, cutting off the diaphragm near the ribs.
- Take out the spleen and liver. Be careful not to damage the gallbladder.
- Remove the pancreas with the stomach, followed by the intestines.
- Rinse the hollow carcass with cold water to rinse off residual blood.
- Peel off bloody tops of the mascara and rinse with water.
Carcass cutting
Sawing is convenient on a large table or other flat, clean surface.
The carcass of a cow is sawn lengthwise into two parts. The muscles around the spine are dissected, and the cut is made slightly away from the spinal cord so that it remains intact. It is possible to divide the carcass into 4 parts. To do this, the longitudinal halves are cut lengthwise between the 12th and 13th ribs.
The inside is washed with water and dried with a cloth. From the outside, the water is removed by raking it with the blunt side of the knife blade down.
The finished carcass must be kept at a temperature of 0 to -4 degrees so that a dried crust forms, which prolongs the shelf life of the meat.
Veterinarian opinion
A veterinarian's pre-mortem approval does not guarantee that the meat will be safe to eat. Visual inspection of the animal cannot diagnose diseases in the initial stages and their hidden forms. Therefore, after slaughter, the meat must be submitted for examination.
At the end of the analysis and its favorable results, a veterinary and sanitary certificate is issued that permits the sale and sale of hides, carcasses and internal organs of a slaughtered animal, and the meat is branded.
Otherwise, in the presence of diseases, the animal is disposed of by burning or burial in a cattle cemetery, and the slaughter site and tools are sanitized.
Tips and Warnings
- Pay attention to the color and consistency of the meat and internal organs when trimming. There should not be any blotches, spots or formations. In case of doubt, a veterinarian must inspect the carcass and place.
- Do not tackle slaughter if you know little about the technique of work and do not have experience. Call a specialist for help, and stay as an assistant yourself.
- Use only high-quality ropes for tying and fixing the animal during slaughter. This is especially true for those methods where cow agony is possible. In this condition, it can cause injury and injury to a person.
- Pay particular attention to the sharpening of knives and their types. So, for slaughter, long blades are often needed, and when cutting carcasses, it is more convenient to use knives with a medium or short blade. For skinning, the blade should not be very sharp.
Downhole operations are always physically and emotionally challenging. If you doubt your abilities, entrust the job to professional fighters. So you will ease the fate of the animal and save your nerves. The specialist will tell you what method of slaughter is advisable to perform, and will execute it without any problems. At the same time, the quality of the meat will be preserved, and the correct processing and cutting of the carcass will preserve the implementation look.