Source: PRESS RELEASE, 2/9/15

The USPOULTRY Board Research Initiative is requesting pre-proposals on the investigation of the efficiency of inducing insensibility in poultry using low voltage stunning. The European Union and the OIE have published standards for the electrical stunning of poultry that dictate much higher amperage and voltage levels than those routinely used in the United States. This “stun-tokill” method produces much higher levels of carcass damage than seen with the low voltage “stun-tostun” method used in the United States.  

The areas of focus for the research will include methods to accurately verify that poultry are rendered insensible by stunning in a commercial slaughter facility using typical low-voltage slaughter equipment/standards and possible modifications to the current low-voltage stunning system that will improve the efficiency of rendering birds insensible.  

The deadline for pre-proposal submission is April 24. For more information, click here. Or go to www.uspoultry.org, and click on “Research” for complete instructions and deadlines.  

The USPOULTRY Board Research Initiative was created by the Boards of USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation to address current issues facing the poultry industry. The USPOULTRY Board Research Initiative operates alongside the current USPOULTRY research program and augments the great success of the existing program by focusing additional resources toward defined areas of research.  

USPOULTRY and its Foundation operate a comprehensive research program incorporating all phases of poultry and egg production and processing. Since the inception of the research program, USPOULTRY has reinvested more than $26 million dollars into the industry in the form of research grants, with the International Poultry Expo as the primary source for the funding. More than 50 universities and federal and state facilities have received grants over the years.