History
This process has been common for centuries in the case of cattle, which were poleaxed prior to being bled out. In the United Kingdom and Europe more widely the development of stunning technologies occurred largely in the first half of the twentieth century.
Prior to humane slaughter pistols and electric stunners, pigs, sheep and other animals (including cattle) were simply struck while fully conscious. The belief that this was unnecessarily cruel and painful to the animal being slaughtered led to the compulsory adoption of stunning methods in many countries. The Humane Slaughter Act of 1933 in Britain, for example, was specifically conceived not only to make stunning compulsory, but moreover to make modern methods, such as the captive bolt pistol and electric tongs, the means by which it was achieved. The wording of the 1933 act specifically outlaws the poleaxe. The period is marked by the development of various innovations in slaughterhouse technologies, not all of them particularly long-lasting.
Read more about this topic: Stunning
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