Report relative to the question of humane slaughtering of animals / Sanitary Committee.
- City of London (England). Corporation. Public Health Department. Sanitary Committee.
- Date:
- 1925
Licence: In copyright
Credit: Report relative to the question of humane slaughtering of animals / Sanitary Committee. Source: Wellcome Collection.
15/20 (page 13)
![15 It will be noticed that, in the case of boars and sows, in certain instances the animal was not felled by one shot. On March 26th a boar was shot three times without success. It was then pole-axed three times with no decisive result, and unconsciousness was ultimately produced by the use of a maul, after which it was pole-axed and the cane used. On the same date a large sow was shot twice without producing unconsciousness, and the animal was finally dispatched with the second stroke of the pole-axe. On May 5th a similar set of circumstances has to be reported. A sow was shot twige without decisive result, and was afterwards killed by the second stroke of the pole-axe. In all these instances the animals were of the Middle White breed, which show a thick cushion of subcutaneous tissue in the frontal] area, and neither the bolt nor the end of the pole-axe was sufficiently long to pierce the tissue and penetrate the skull. The obvious recommendation was that the pistol should be lengthened, so as to enable a longer bolt to be used. Only a few experiments were subsequently carried out with this pistol, and these were quite satisfactory. At this point the Temple-Cox Pistol came under our observation, and a preliminary examination led us to the conclusion that the bolt in this case was too short also, and would result in difficulty in the type of pig referred to above. The bolt was therefore lengthened before observations were made, and a special cartridge was prepared in accordance with our recommendation. The following Table sets out the cases in which the Temple-Cox Pistol was used between five specified dates :— Number of Animals rendered unconscious by the use of the Temple-Cox Pistol. Temple-Cox Bis at May 15th to July 13th July 22nd to Aug. 27th Aug. 21st to Sept. 7th | Sept. 9th to Sept. eas | at 15th to Sept. 25th Class ae be Ns: E Arima ants | Ste | anh | S06, | anal, Sat, | aah Sat, Animals | Shot, Bulls 7 10 12 12 —- _ 3 3 24. 25 Steers 40 40 158 158 119 119 140 140 457 457 Cows ra | 4 4. 20 20 19. 19 18 18 61 61 Boars 8 8 14 14 | 2 2 18 18 49, 42 Sows . 76 77 23 23 28 | 28 88 88 215 216 Pigs 90 90 97 eae 121 | 121 147 147 455 457 ' Horses = _ 1 1 = | me Le — 1 1 | Totals 227 BOF e825 327 289 | 289 414 414 1,255 1,259 ee re ee a ee In the first group, May 15th to July 18th, two failures have to be recorded. In one instance, that of a bull, the cartridge was defective, and in the other the animal, a pig, moved its head just at the moment of firing, with the result that the shot was unsatisfactory. On July 22nd the Temple-Cox Company placed two pistols and a supply of cartridges at our disposal; one of the pistols had the wooden-handle attachment. From that date to August 7th both pistols were in constant use, and slaughtermen whose duty it is to kill animals at the abattoirs have been given an opportunity to use the gun. They have done so willingly, and have expressed satisfaction with the results obtained. In that period there were two failures, both in connection with pigs. In one instance the cartridge seemed to be faulty, as no explosion resulted when the trigger was pulled, and in the other the pig moved its head sharply just as the bolt was fired. After 327 shots had been fired the bolt in the instrument with the arm attached—which had been used in nearly all cases—became wedged, and could not be adjusted for use. The Company exchanged the barrel for a new one, and we were informed that the cartridges which had been used were of the strongest kind, and had caused the wad in the barrél to be disintegrated by continuous concussion. °](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b32175425_0015.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
