Source:  Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 11/18/09

A comparison between controlled-atmosphere stunning (CAS) for poultry slaughter and U.S. poultry processors' conventional technique — low-voltage electrical stunning — found that CAS is not a more humane alternative, despite the claims of some animal welfare activists.

A report about the study in Feedstuffs describes the study as the first evaluation of CAS at the commercial level. The study was conducted by McDonald's Corp. and two of its poultry suppliers, Tyson Foods Inc. and Keystone Foods LLC.

The two-part test installed CAS equipment in a processing plant and monitored it for 16 days. The factors measured included animal welfare and handling, carcass yield and product quality, Todd Bacon, U.S. quality systems for McDonald's U.S. supply chain, said in the report.

Electrical stunning is by far the most commonly used technique, although CAS is more common in Europe than in the United States.
Some animal handling organizations, including PETA and HSUS, oppose the use of electrical stunning. The American Humane Association does not endorse one over the other, Feedstuffs said. While CAS supporters say it essentially puts the chickens to sleep, other humane handling experts believe there is a period of suffocation involved.

"There is not enough evidence to say CAS is the No. 1 option," Bob Langert, McDonald's vice president for corporate social responsibility, is quoted as saying in a report in the Chicago Tribune. "Whether [chickens] suffer or not is an open question."

McDonald's conclusion was that it should continue to support its poultry suppliers' use of both CAS and electrical stunning techniques.

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