Stunning box with head fixation
From 2013 onwards, all European slaughterhouses will be required to use a stunning box with head fixation for beef. Nawi (Borculo, The Netherlands) has developed a system that meets the newest requirements. It was already integrated into a number of slaughterhouses last year. Eyad Zaatreh, Account Manager at Nawi, says: “As of 2013, slaughterhouses are required to fixate beef in the stunning box to ensure that the animals are adequately anesthetized for slaughtering. We have thus developed a fully adjustable stunning box with head fixation that is suitable for beef regardless of their size or weight. This type of stunning box and the variable settings ensure not only that cattle anesthetization is humane but also that it can be carried out efficiently and ergonomically.”
The head of the animal is fixed using a manual control. This enables rapid, efficient work at the stunning box. The discharge and setup for introduction of the next animal is completely automated and done using a PLC control. Head fixation can also be set manually for any animal size.
The manufacturer lists various advantages of this robust stunning box: It is adjustable, features excellent head fixation, is available in stainless or galvanized steel, with hydraulic or pneumatic operation, has an automatic pusher, is suitable for different sizes of animals, can be adjusted in width for cattle and calves, has a movable floor and is suitable for low and high performance (90 beef cattle per hour). The floor is made of cement, not metal. While metal scares animals, cement instills their trust so that they move smoothly into the stunning box.
In addition, the manufacturer has developed a stunning box that can be used for both beef cattle as well as calves. This combination system achieves an output of 100 beef cattle or 140 calves per hour.