Thanks for the info but I am fully aware of what happens in a slaughterhouse as one of my relatives owns one in Essex.Having seen an animal,a cow,killed by a captive bolt I know which method I would prefer.The old method,at least in my grandfathers day,involved tethering the animal to the bottom of a wall and then smashing a pole-axe into its brain.Same as the captive bolt but far less efficient if you have a large quantity of animals to kill.There is no perfect and humane way of killing an animal but the captive bolt is far quicker than cutting through the throat.Its a bit like comparing slow strangulation hanging to the long drop.Neither way is humane but the latter is quicker.
While mine own experience in killing animals with an edged implement has been limited to using machetes or axes/hatchets, throat slitting using knives for things such as pigs was the norm on all farms until the more recent decades. It's not like people on the farm had to undergo some sort of intensive training to be able to slit the throat correctly on a pig which was hanging upside down. Kids did it.
Most folks want a quick kill so they don't get bathed in blood by a convulsive animal anymore any more than they have to,especially when one may have many of them hanging at one's torso height.
I've known lots of people from previous generations who had killed livestock,lots of livestock, with knives. For most farmers doing such things efficiency in technique counted. But it's not a technique which requires years of honing,if you'll pardon the pun. Theory and practice aren't miles apart,or that difficult to actualize. Find some WWII generation farmers and ask them about it.
Now, it does help if the animal is immobilized and hanging up.Also,something the size of a pig,ok. A steer? Bullet or hammer first,please! Size counts.
I believe you have misinterpreted my stance on the subject, Putrid. You see I'm all for the humane treatment of any animal that is destined for slaughter. Admittedly, the kosher or halal methods may seem gruesome, but if done PROPERLY they're just as effective at doing the job. I do see them as being impossible to maintain for ever increasing needs, and ergo why *modern technology* has been resourced for the larger slaughterhouse industry.
I wonder if you're familiar with some of the most RECENT findings of how we can be more humane in the slaughtering process, to cattle in particular. You see, I also advocate the changes espoused by Temple Grandin as being a step in the direction that all abbatoirs ought to take, but I also don't see a need to get all ruffled just because few have adopted her methods (they've been known for decades yet less than half of all slaughterhouses engage them).
EDIT:
Just so we're clear, it's the killing of a fellow human being that has people arguing that such an act is inhumane. The "long drop" as you put it, is quite humane from my POV simply because it's so quick (assuming that it has already been decided by some *authority* that the person is to be executed). The "slow strangulation" (which isn't all THAT slow) is the back-up plan should the "long drop" fail to sever the spinal cord, and this fact coupled with the relative low cost of a hanging is why I favor it as the best method for executions.
I don't know how it is in England but in Muslim countries they have something called Eid in which animals are killed in the street to be given to the poor to eat.
Which "muslim countries" would those be? You do realize there is massive variation between muslim countries right? Having been to several of them I can tell you it's not as if the streets are running with blood from animal slaughter for the poor and needy. I'm sure this is something you've pulled off the internet but you'll really want to do some more research as there can be a huge amount of difference between muslim countries or countries with large muslim populations. Lebanon is vastly different than is Malaysia or Indonesia and both are decidedly different from Pakistan or really any of the 'stans' and all would be pretty different from Morocco or the Maldives.
If you're going to jump in on this subject you're going to have to your homework.
Not sure why the government is supposed to be held responsible. Go after the people who eat the meat. If there wasn't a demand for it then it wouldn't exist. If the government banned the product it would just go underground. Don't expect the government to solve all of our perceived problems.
I think Afghanistan has far bigger problems at the moment than how they slaughter their animals. Seriously. I think the slaughter of people is slightly higher up on their list of things to get under control.
I don't really get the point you're trying to make with all of this.
Yes,they celebrate Eid in England but we do have laws about slaughtering animals in the street.It isn't allowed unless done by the police,ie,the shooting of an animal that is out of control and a threat to the public.
What they do in their own country is their business.Do it in the UK and they only have themselves to blame for the increasing public hostility towards them.
That's funny because when I read post #51, I took "ritual slaughter in the streets" to mean exactly that (i.e. the killing of people as opposed to animals), especially once a first-hand report by a soldier stationed there was mentioned. Now I can't speak for vampyregirl so it's quite possible I misinterpreted that post as containing sarcasm where none was intended.
All the same, I've think we've managed to flog this horse to death.