Halal and kosher slaughter have given the utmost importance to the sharpness of knives during the slaughter of animals. A sharp knife of appropriate dimension (blade length) makes slaughter less painful during neck severance and facilitates desirable bleeding. The role of knife sharpness has not been given due credit from an animal welfare perspective and is likely ignored by the people involved in slaughterhouses. A neat, clean, and efficient neck cut by an extremely sharp knife reduces the pain. It improves the bleeding out, thus making animals unconscious early without undergoing unnecessary pain and stress. It also helps in improving meat quality and food safety. A slight incremental improvement in knife sharpness could significantly improve the animal welfare, productivity, efficiency, and safety of meat plant workers. The present review critically analyzed the significance of knife sharpness in religious slaughter by reducing stress and pain and improving meat quality and food safety. The objective quantification of knife sharpness, proper regular training of slaughterers, and slow slaughter rate are the challenges faced by the meat industry.

Recent advances in emotions and cognitive science make it imperative to assess the emotional stress in goats at the time of slaughter. The present study was envisaged to study the electroencephalogram and physiological responses as affected by slaughter empathy in goats. A total of 12 goats were divided into two groups viz., E-group (goats exposed to slaughter environment, n = 6) and S-group (goat slaughtered in front of E-group, n = 6). The electroencephalogram and physiological responses in male Boer cross goats (E-group) were recorded in a slaughterhouse in two stages viz., control (C) without exposure to the slaughter of conspecifics and treatment (T) while visualizing the slaughter of conspecifics (S—slaughter group). The exposure of the goat to the slaughter of a conspecific resulted in a heightened emotional state. It caused significant alterations in neurobiological activity as recorded with the significant changes in the EEG spectrum (beta waves (p = 0.000491), theta waves (p = 0.017), and median frequency MF or F50 (p = 0.002)). Emotional stress was also observed to significantly increase blood glucose (p = 0.031) and a non-significant (p = 0.225) increase in heart rate in goats. Thus, slaughter empathy was observed to exert a significant effect on the electric activity of neurons in the cerebrocortical area of the brain and an increase in blood glucose content.

Context: The amelioration of low-quality cheap feed for livestock production has become a huge challenge faced by the livestock producers coupled with the illicit disposal of the straw, which causes global environmental nuisance through burning and health impairment. Aims: The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of biological additives on nutrient profiles, silage quality, in vitro rumen fermentation in different varieties of rice straw silage; ML4, ML10, ML21, ML24, MR219 and Putra-1 were ensiled with water (control), enzyme (E) and a combination of bacteria and enzyme (BE) in a complete randomised design (CRD) experiment. Methodology: The rice straw varieties, obtained from the paddy research farm were chopped to ~2–3 cm, treated according to the above treatments to attain 70% moisture content and compressed in a 1 L jar and ensiled for 30 days. Key results: Crude protein (CP) in the treated rice straw silage was higher than in the control. The treatment with BE had a lower neutral detergent fibre (42.31%) and a lower acid detergent fibre (21.08%) concentration for Putra-1 than did other treatments (E and control) and varieties. For the silage extract, the lowest pH, NH3, butyric acid and propionic acid were obtained in the BE treatment in most of the rice straw varieties. In addition, straw treated with BE had the highest lactic acid content, in vitro gas production kinetics, digestibility, and rumen fermentation, compared with the E and control treatments. Conclusion: This study showed that a BE treatment effectively improved the quality of rice straw silage, with the Putra-1 variety giving the most outstanding result. Implication: Selection of the appropriate biological treatment and variety of rice straw is important to improve straw quality. However, the treated rice straw needs further evaluation for its in vivo efficacy.

Objective: The livestock handler attitude and their handling of animals is crucial for improving animal welfare standards, minimizing stress, improving productivity and meat quality. The present study was undertaken to assess the effect of training livestock handlers on behavioral, physiological, and hormonal responses during preslaughter handling in goats.Methods: A total of 6 handlers were divided into trained (trained in basic animal handling practices, animal behavior, and animal welfare), contact trained (not trained directly but interacted and saw the working of trained handlers), and untrained groups (no formal training). The handling experiment was conducted on 18 male goats by following a crossover design. The goats were moved from lairage to slaughter point by trained, contact-trained, and untrained handlers. Various behavioral, physiological, and hormonal parameters were recorded at the lairage before handling and at the slaughter point after handling the goats.Results: The training of livestock handlers had a significant effect on behavioral, physiological, and hormonal responses in goats. The goats handled by untrained and contacttrained handlers were recorded with intense vocalization, significant (p<0.05) increase in heart rate and blood glucose, and catecholamines (adrenaline and nor-adrenaline), thereby indicating stress and poor animal welfare. The trained handlers were observed to use visual interactions (waving of hands or objects, blocking, hand raising, etc), and lower stress responses were recorded in the goats handled by this group.Conclusion: The present study highlights the importance of training to livestock handlers in improving animal welfare and minimizing stress in goats during pre-slaughter stress.

The present study evaluated the effect of training to livestock handlers on electroencephalogram (EEG) and plasma enzymes levels during preslaughter handling in goats. Six handlers were divided into three groups viz., trained (T-trained in basic animal handling practices, animal behavior, and animal welfare principles), contact trained (CT-not trained directly but interacted and saw the working of trained handlers), and untrained (UT-no formal training). Eighteen Boer cross bucks were used in the study by following a cross-over design and electroencephalogram spectrum, creatine kinase (CK), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) concentrations were recorded before handling (in lairage) and after handling (at slaughter point). The training of livestock handlers had a significant (p0.05) change was recorded in the alpha, beta, delta, theta, and gamma bands activity. The goats handled by trained handlers exhibited significantly (p<0.05) lower CK and LDH concentrations than goats handled by CT and UT handlers, thereby indicating higher preslaughter stress in goats handled by CT and UT groups. Therefore, the current study emphasizes the significance of providing training to livestock handlers in order to mitigate preslaughter stress levels in goats.