Cattle Slaughter Process

Cattle welfare ignored as meat body spends big on marketing

The peak body representing the meat and livestock industry, which gets a government subsidy for research and development, planned to spend $3.4 million on improving animal welfare in 2010-11 compared with $23m on marketing beef exports, out of total expected earnings of $173m.

Reports freely available on the MLA website show the industry first recognised the need to improve the treatment of exported livestock in 2000, after it emerged that Australian beef was being discounted by up to 30 per cent because of chemical changes associated with stress during the slaughter process.

The industry, which has a dollar-for-dollar matching arrangement with the federal government for research and development spending, commissioned a series of studies leading to the development of the restraining boxes that featured on the recent ABC Four Corners expose.

The program showed graphic images of cattle tripping and falling heavily, and reported instances of eye gouging and tendon-cutting.

Last week, MLA chairman Don Heatley said in a statement: "If this disgusting cruelty had been witnessed by any Australian industry representative before now, action would immediately have been triggered to bring it to a halt."

In a 2004 MLA report into the development of pre-slaughter restraining boxes for the Asian and Middle Eastern markets, the authors write that "on some occasions when an animal is released from the restraint box, and on tripping, it will crash its head to the concrete plinth".

In an MLA report from last year, author Garry Stark writes following a visit to Indonesia: "Animals are leaving the box, falling down hard on to a 45-degree concrete slab and in isolated instances breaking jaws."

Other reports have referred to "unacceptable methods" such as eye-gouging, tendon-cutting and the hoisting of live animals.

Mr Heatley told The Australian yesterday the abuses highlighted on Four Corners were "isolated occurrences by four rogue abattoirs".

He said investment by the meat and livestock industry had raised animal welfare standards in Indonesia substantially.

"We can't change hundreds and hundreds of years of customs overnight," he said.

Water and Wastewater.com Help Forums - Cattle Slaughtering House ...

2.  Process the water through a DAF or open tank for initial separation of free oil and grease (floating) and heavy solids such as dirt that accumulates on the hides.  Make sure you have a means of removing that dirt or heavy solids on a continuous basis.  Some facilities do this with an open rectangular tank with top and bottom scrapers.  Sometimes this process is enhanced with the addition of dissolved air to remove more of the oil and grease. 2. The use of a second DAF, (with chemical addition), after the EQ tank will no doubt reduce the organic load in the wastewater, but will generate significant quantities of sludge. This sludge will be very unstable and will need an outlet for proper treatment and disposal. You really need to be aware of this sludge element as it will be a significant element of the operating costs of the plant. 3. There is absolutely no chemical or biological reason why the feed from the EQ tank cannot be directed to an activated sludge plant where high quality treated effluent can be produced. Personal experience shows that, without tertiary treatment, such an activated sludge plant can achieve BOD < 20 mg/L, Ammonia as N < 5 mg/L, Nitrate as N < 5 mg/L, Suspended Solids < 25 mg/L. Hi , we are processing Newzealand Heavy Sheep Skins   from Pickled pelts and these pelts  very high FAT content , to remove the FAT from the pelts  we are useing degreasing chemical and water . in the process  we hv around 30 m3 pf FAT content  water and would like to remove the FAT  before  it goes to Effluent treatment plant.

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