High line speeds in slaughterhouses increase animal welfare risks through inadequate stunning and botched slaughter, while also creating serious occupational safety hazards for workers.
Line speed in slaughterhouses creates a direct welfare-workload tradeoff that industry consistently resolves in favor of throughput over animal and worker welfare. At very high speeds, stunning operators cannot ensure effective stunning for every animal, and the consequences of a miss — a conscious animal entering the killing line — are severe. The stress experienced by animals in the final stages before slaughter is amplified when lines move quickly and handling is rushed. Workers also suffer — the combination of speed, force, and repetitive motion in hostile conditions causes high rates of musculoskeletal injury and psychological trauma. Regulatory line speed limits enforced through independent monitoring represent one of the most achievable improvements in slaughter welfare.