The work focuses on an aspect related to Halal slaughter.

During the CTEC Halal event, Soha Chabrawi, technical quality manager at FAMBRAS Halal, presented a comparative study between the rotating box and the conventional box used during Halal slaughter. Both are devices that restrain the cattle in order to avoid risks to the slaughterer.

Soha Chabrawi holds a bachelor's degree and teaching certification in Biological Sciences from the University of Brasília, a master's degree in Neuropsychopharmacology from the University of Brasília, and a doctorate in Neuroscience and Cognition from the Federal University of ABC. She has worked at the certification company for seven years.

Dr. Soha, what led you to choose this topic for your work? What was your intention with it?

Currently, many plants use pneumatic stunning due to the risk of slaughtering live cattle. Since some of our markets do not authorize this type of stunning, the alternative would be to use a rotating box so that the animal does not have access to the slaughter device, reducing the risks. Furthermore, the benefits for the animal – it feels less pain when slaughtered alive than with a stunning device – and for the quality of the meat are scientifically proven.

Could you explain to us, in a clear and didactic way, what a conventional box is?

The conventional box is a device in which the animal enters and is restrained so that the throat can be cut. Some researchers call it a restraint box. In this conventional box, the animal is positioned in its usual way, with its paws on the ground, and its head rests on the chin rest so that the throat can be cut.

And the rotating box?

The rotating box is a restraint box that rotates 180 degrees, causing the animal's paws to be raised. Access to the neck is facilitated, ergonomically speaking, for the person performing the slaughter. Research shows that, in some situations, this position may even be less stressful for the animal. Other research has demonstrated an increase in corticosteroid levels. Therefore, there is no clear consensus on this topic. However, what is known is that it is very effective in attempting to replace the use of any type of stunning agent.

In your work, you demonstrated two concerns. The first was animal welfare. What does Halal slaughter dictate in this regard?

Halal slaughter and animal welfare go hand in hand. One cannot exist without the other, as the main premise of Halal slaughter is that it is a ritual that respects the animal and minimizes its suffering. All stages of Halal slaughter respect the principles of animal welfare: the resting time before slaughter, the way an animal is positioned in the box or on the conveyor belt, in the case of poultry, no water restriction before slaughter, care to ensure that the animal does not see or smell blood before being slaughtered, or that it does not see the slaughtering instrument to be used, i.e., the knife. All these precautions are mandatory requirements of Halal slaughter and contribute to minimizing the animal's suffering before slaughter.

What conclusion did you reach through your study? What needs to be done to ensure the animal's well-being?

The study itself was not focused on animal welfare, as this is already guaranteed with halal slaughter. However, the work compared the stress experienced by animals slaughtered in conventional boxes versus those slaughtered in rotating boxes. The statistics did not show that animals slaughtered in rotating boxes suffered less stress than those slaughtered in conventional boxes, but our sample size was too small to guarantee anything with certainty. However, there was a trend indicating that those slaughtered in rotating boxes might suffer less stress based on several analyzed stress parameters. Furthermore, the physical effort required by the slaughterer was noticeably lower in this apparatus.

In your work, you stated that "the rotary box used in Brazil, when compared to the conventional box, presents simple advantages in terms of ergonomics, being safer for the slaughterer, as it causes fewer back and wrist injuries." How can this information be conveyed to slaughterhouses to protect the health of these slaughterers? What are the expectations in this regard?

Through extensive training and awareness campaigns at the meat processing plants.

Finally, what is your assessment of CTec Halal?

Being the first one, I really consider it to have been very well organized, including the variety of topics presented. However, it was noticeable that many of the evaluators did not read the papers, and I believe this influenced the final questions. Another point is that the presentation time was also too short to allow for the explanation of such a complex work. I suggest re-evaluating these points.