Electrical head-only stunning is a widely used method in sheep (Ovis aries) slaughter. To investigate the influence of current level on stun and meat quality in practice, two studies were carried out at a commercial slaughterhouse. In trial one, 200 lambs were randomly assigned to four groups with a current level of 0.6, 0.8, 1.0 and 1.25 A, respectively, using 50-Hz sine wave supply voltage and a stun duration of 10.5 s. In trial two, 135 lambs were randomly assigned to two groups, with electrical current of 1.25 A applied for 14 and 3 s. For each lamb, the position of the tongs was observed and classified as correct or incorrect. The stun quality was evaluated based on observations of the corneal reflex, eye movements, rhythmic breathing, head-righting reflex and kicking during the tonic phase. Blood splash (haemorrhages in Longissimus dorsi muscle) was evaluated four days after slaughter. Incorrect tongs’ positioning was seen commonly, and positively correlated with poor stun quality. The lowest current level tested produced an unsatisfactory stun in the majority of animals observed. Short stun duration increased the risk of a poor stun quality. There was no significant effect of current level, stun duration or tongs’ position on the risk of blood splash. These data underline the importance of a correct technique, including choice of tongs’ positioning, sufficient current levels and sufficient stun duration, for electrical stunning of lambs to achieve unconsciousness before sticking and thereby avoiding unnecessary suffering at commercial slaughter.

Moving the slaughter process from the abattoir to the animals’ familiar environment has the potential to reduce pre-mortal stressors to a minimum and contribute considerably to improved animal welfare at slaughter. On-farm stunning and killing of free-range cattle via gunshot became legal in Germany in November 2011, including for commercial sale of the meat. As an effective stun is essential for maintaining animal welfare until the animal dies, the goal of this study was to assess the feasibility of delivering an instantaneous and deep stun by an accurate frontal gunshot at cattle. Thirty free-range cattle (Galloway, German Angus) were shot with five different combinations of rifles and bullets. A stun-quality protocol was developed to assess musculoskeletal, optical and respiratory signs displayed after the shot. Key signs, such as failure to collapse, corneal reflex, spontaneous blinking, eyeball rotation or eyeball movement, distinct vocalisation and rhythmic breathing were not evident in 29 of the 30 cattle. Dissections of the heads were used to detect penetration depth of the projectile as well as evaluate brain tissue damage and brain haemorrhage caused by the shot. Tissue damage was marginal and not related to the ascertained level of stun quality. Brain haemorrhages assumed to be sufficient for causing a deep stun were detected in 25 out of 30 cattle. Accurate shot placement turned out to be more important than the application of a certain calibre. However, it was considered crucial for safety reasons that the projectile should remain within the cranial cavity. As long as there are high levels of accuracy, gunshot was considered to be an effective stunning method with the potential of maintaining high standards of animal welfare until death occurs.