Electrical stunning before poultry slaughter is widely practiced, but welfare assurance requires verification that parameters are adequate to induce insensibility before killing.
Electrical stunning is designed to render poultry insensible before they are killed, eliminating conscious experience during the killing process. However, the welfare assurance provided by stunning is entirely dependent on whether the electrical parameters used are adequate to achieve true insensibility, and whether equipment is maintained and calibrated to deliver those parameters consistently. Inadequate stunning — caused by equipment problems, incorrect settings, or birds missing the water bath — produces animals that are physically immobilised but may retain conscious experience. Controlled atmosphere stunning, which uses gas rather than electrical immobilisation, eliminates the shackling of live birds that itself causes welfare harm, but introduces the welfare question of the gas mixture used and induction experience. Welfare auditing of slaughter stunning should verify actual parameters and monitor for inadequate stunning indicators rather than simply checking equipment exists.