The slaughter of cattle at abattoir is the final welfare event in their lives, with 2025 seeing significant advances in welfare monitoring technology, stun verification, and regulatory oversight.
Abattoir welfare represents the last opportunity to protect animal welfare and the culmination of all welfare efforts through the production cycle. Effective stunning that renders animals instantly unconscious before slaughter is the critical welfare safeguard. Monitoring evidence suggests that stunning failures are more common than previously thought, with some animals recovering consciousness before they are bled. Technology advances in 2025 including automated stunning verification using EEG monitoring and computer vision create opportunities for real-time identification of inadequate stunning and immediate intervention.