Non-invasive EEG measurement during electrical stunning of sheep

Abstract

Monitoring of animal consciousness during slaughter in the meat industry is an essential requirement of legislation and animal welfare good practice. It is not a trivial task however, with traditional physical observations of reflex and behaviour not always proving conclusive. In this paper, physical observation is combined with 3-channel non-invasive electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring during the use of a modified head-to-body electrical stunning method that attempts to interrupt the heart and brain function simultaneously. Comparison of the two methods demonstrated agreement in 90% of cases, when tested using 10 adult sheep. However, comparison with other works leads to the conclusion that the measurements undertaken in this paper are indicative of significant muscular movement, which masks the intended measurement of brain activity. Suggestions for improvement to the methodology are therefore discussed.