| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Brownbear |
Despatch/destruction of livestockHumane Despatch of livestock is one of the services I offer, and I've done a certain amount of it in one form or another. it has crossed my mind to write some advice for DS, on how such things might be done, particularly in an emergency.Does anyone think that would be a useful thing for me to do? I don't want to waste my time if nobody's interested. |
||||||
| sean |
I think it would be. But I don't have livestock, so better to see what some of those who do say. | ||||||
| Chez |
Yes please. | ||||||
| Bebo |
I'd be interested but hope not to have to do it (apart from chickens) | ||||||
| Chez |
Exactly. Handy to know though - because if you need to do it, you don't want to have to mess around looking stuff up. | ||||||
| vegplot |
Yes, it would be very useful. I had thought about dispatching our pig but in the end chose an abattoir. | ||||||
| mihto |
I think it is a good idea, but people must use the information with common sense. It is a good topic for further discussion. | ||||||
| VSS |
Yes - it is the responsibility of stock owners to know how to humanely destroy stock if they need to quickly and with dignity. | ||||||
| mochyn |
Anbsolutely. |
||||||
| Bebo |
Is that the stuff you put on mouth ulcers? And before you say it, I know I'm a baggage. I presume this is going to be about shooting them is it? |
||||||
| Brownbear |
Partly. |
||||||
| Bebo |
If only partly then I'll be interested. Don't have access to a gun you see. | ||||||
| Jamanda |
I think it could be a very useful article - not only for livestock owners, but for people who find injured wild animals and don't know how to deal with them, if that could be included too? | ||||||
| Nick |
Part of this would certainly be knowing when you're out of your depth and being prepared to pick up the phone for someone else. |
||||||
| Shan |
As we do not have a shotgun, I would be interested in other humane and effective methods. | ||||||
| Oxford-Sandy-Man |
For those who dont have access to a shotgun, a captive bolt gun is worth considering. You dont need a license and dispatch is quick and clean.
Try this link if you want to read more http://www.msschippers.co.uk/GB00/ they do all farming equipment at prices to suit most pockets! |
||||||
| Rob R |
I'd like to know how to catch and humanely despatch the canine that leaves a steaming turd near by back door several mornings a week... 
|
||||||
| RichardW |
You might want to check the prices here
link £95 for the stunner & £25 for 100 blanks (£15.90 for 50). Free del over £125. (same site as above but straight to the right page & with prices) |
||||||
| Nick |
Dump her? |
||||||
| Tavascarow |
I certainly wouldn't use a shotgun on anything other than small animals even with a heavy load like SG I wouldn't risk it on anything larger than a goat or sheep. Definately not a bullock or large pig. I'm suprised you don't need a licence for a captive bolt!! 
|
||||||
| Piggyphile |
Slightly off topic but I once dispatched a dying frog with a brick. It haunted me for ages but I couldn't think of a quicker way. I covered it with a cloth so it couldn't see the brick coming.
One of my cats had eaten both of its back legs and I figured it wasn't going to survive. |
||||||
| Brownbear |
You did absolutely the right thing. It's hard to do something like that, and most people look away, drive off etc. Putting a creature out of its misery because it needs doing, even though one is distressed at performing the act, is an admirable thing. |
||||||
| Oxford-Sandy-Man |
quote]
I certainly wouldn't use a shotgun on anything other than small animals even with a heavy load like SG I wouldn't risk it on anything larger than a goat or sheep. Definately not a bullock or large pig. I'm suprised you don't need a licence for a captive bolt!! [/quote]
I'm not sure how true this is but the other week my brother and his friend we're talking about despatching animals and more specifically not being allowed to let an animal bleed anymore hence the use of a captive bolt gun as it leaves a plug over the wound? Anyone know how true that is? |
||||||
| Brownbear |
It's complete nonsense. |
||||||
| Gervase |
There is a debate on the possible dangers of getting brain tissue into the bloodstream of the animal post-BSE, which is why some slaughter of beef cattle is now done with non-penetrating bolts. Veal calves are also stunned with non-penetrating bolts so that the brains can be recovered intact.
Electrical stunning does no damage to the carcass. Even a .410 shotgun with a standard load of No6 shot at a range of two or three inches will instantly kill any British farm animal, from a sheep up to a bull - you've got nearly an ounce of lead entering the skull with far more energy than any captive bolt pistol. Smaller shot sizes are preferable because the shot is less likely to carry on through and damage the rest of the carcass (or anyone else); an SG ball is pretty much the same size as a .22 round, and will go through an awful lot before it stops. |
||||||
| VSS |
Absolutley right about the .410.
We use a .410 for all our slaughtering, whether humane or for meat. We have done pigs, sheep, goats, and beef cattle (when we killed the beef, we used a 3" magnum cartridge although a standard cartridge would probably have done just as well- PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR GUN HAS 3" CHAMBERS BEFORE USING THESE). Also worth noting is that it is a good idea to have a double barrel .410 so you do have the option of a second barrel in the unlikely event of the animal moving at the critical moment or if the gun misfires. We have only ever had to use the second barrel once in 15 years. |
||||||
| Rob R |
I wouldn't bank on it, I've seen a standard one used on cattle (a 2 1/2 year old bull) and don't want to see it again. 
|
||||||
| VSS |
well, this beef was 18 month steer. I would think very hard about 30 month bulls. In that situation I would definitely go for the magnum option. | ||||||
| Nick |
What's a magnum? I'm torn between the Clint Eastwood Most powerful hand gun in the world, and a sickly choc ice, neither of which I suspect are the answer. Some kind of larger shot gun (load)? | ||||||
| mochyn |
Larger than ordinary bottle of Champagne. |
||||||
| VSS |
Along the lines of what Mochyn said - a larger than normal cartridge. | ||||||
| mochyn |
And with different contents! More bang, less fizz... |
||||||
| Rob R |
mochyn: 
Funny, I thought Nick would have gone Magnum PI, for some reason 
|
||||||
| mochyn |
|
||||||
| vegplot |
A magnum, in the firearm sense of the word, is a term often used to describe a larger more powerful variant of an existing cartridge. For instance the .357 Magnum is an uprated version of the .38 Special. Likewise the .44 Magnum is based on a lengthened .44 Special case. The term is used to describe pistol rather than rifle cartridges but sometimes used for other types such as shotgun. |
||||||
| Nick |
Degrees of seperation: Magnum PI was the nephew of my headmaster's wife. Therefore I almost knew him. Fact. |
||||||
| Nick |
All bottles of champagne are larger than ordinary. At least in this house! 
|
||||||
| Jamanda |
A magnum = 2 normal bottles
A Jeroboam - 4 bottles A Methuselah = 8 bottles There are others. Personally I think they are all too small. (Well, depending on the Champagne of course!) |
||||||
| Rob R |
|
||||||
| shadiya |
I think it's a great idea. Have had to spend a hideous half hour waiting for the farmer from down the hill to come and shoot one of my ewes that had been attacked by dogs and had half her back leg chewed off so she couldn't walk, vets were all out on call, longest half hour of my life. I don't have a gun either as living in a mobile home means you can't get a licence, unless I kept it somewhere else which slightly defeats the object.... | ||||||
| RichardW |
Does it
from HERE |
||||||
| dpack |
well started ,it is important to do the correct thing when the animal needs killing asap
i recon it may take us too long to get a vet or firearm delivered and when out and about folk meet suffering animals that need euthanasia and have minimal killing tools available where they are i have a fair bit of experiance of getting a critter to a kind death but how does barehand a rta cow for example ? most folk who are working around farm animals will have a knife but it may be a folding stanley rather than a big tanto i can improvise in most situations and im happy to get help but thinking what i would do if it was me ,limited equipment and say a disembowled cow as the victim im not sure what i would do i think an emergency kill article is a brilliant idea maybe a mobile captive bolt gun is a good thing in the medical cupboard on the farm but such events can happen anywhere |
||||||
| dpack |
ooh one hurdle jumped thanks |
||||||
| RichardW |
Your welcome. I guess speaking to your local person will be a good starting point. |
||||||
| bodger |
Magnums come in either white or brown chocolate. I prefer the white chocolate because if you're driving whilst eating one and a piece falls off, you reduce the risk of a rather embarressing brown stain on you're trousers. 
On a more serious note, I see that a captive bolt was mentioned earlier in the thread. I always thought that you had to have these on your certificate. |
||||||
| RichardW |
Not any more. Since about 2002 I think | ||||||
| SheepShed |
Captive bolt guns were declassified from section 1 firearms in 1998, see http://www.hsa.org.uk/Frequently%20Asked%20Questions.htm#Q16
Note that they are used to stun the animal before killing them, not kill them outright, and there is a legal requirement to kill the animal after stunning : The Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995 No person shall stun, or cause or permit to be stunned, any animal unless it is possible to— (a) bleed or pith it without delay and in accordance with Schedule 6; or (b) kill it without delay and in accordance with Part III of this Schedule. |
||||||
| dpack |
pithing is tidy if the meat is not an issue | ||||||
| RichardW |
98 not 02 ah well its only 4 years lol.
With captive bolt stunners you can only use then either if licenced or for non commercial reasons. Now they accept that "family" is non commercial you are ok. Yeh pithing has been stopped for food chain meat (I think there might be some age exemptions). |