Exsanguination is

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

caused by loss of blood. Depending upon the health of the individual, people usually die from losing half to two-thirds of their blood; a loss of roughly one-third of the blood volume is considered very serious. Even a single deep cut can warrant

suturing A surgical suture, also known as a stitch or stitches, is a medical device used to hold body tissues together and approximate wound edges after an injury or surgery. Application generally involves using a needle with an attached length of thre ...

and hospitalization, especially if

trauma Trauma most often refers to: *Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source *Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event *Traumatic inju ...

, a

vein Veins are blood vessels in humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated ...

artery An artery (plural arteries) () is a blood vessel in humans and most animals that takes blood away from the heart to one or more parts of the body (tissues, lungs, brain etc.). Most arteries carry oxygenated blood; the two exceptions are the pu ...

, or another

comorbidity In medicine, comorbidity - from Latin morbus ("sickness"), co ("together"), -ity (as if - several sicknesses together) - is the presence of one or more additional conditions often co-occurring (that is, concomitant or concurrent) with a primary ...

is involved. The word comes from the Latin 'sanguis', meaning blood.

Slaughtering of animals

Exsanguination is used as a method of slaughter. Before the fatal incision is made, the animal will be rendered insensible to pain by various methods, including captive bolt, electricity, or chemical. Electricity is used mostly to incapacitate swine,

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, qu ...

, and

domestic sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

, whereas a chemical is used for injured

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to ani ...

. Without prior sedation, stunning, or anesthetic, this method of slaughter may cause a high degree of

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

, depending on the process. The way animals are handled and restrained prior to slaughter likely has a greater impact on their welfare than whether or not they are stunned. If done badly, there can be a large element of cruelty involved, whereas being killed under the correct conditions gives the animal no pain or suffering.Schulze W, Schultze-Petzold H, Hazem AS, Gross R. ''Experiments for the objectification of pain and consciousness during conventional (captive bolt stunning) and religiously mandated ("ritual cutting") slaughter procedures for sheep and calves.'' Deutsche Tierärztliche Wochenschrift 1978 Feb 5;85(2):62–66
English translation by Dr Sahib M. Bleher
/ref> Continued pumping operation of the

heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as ca ...

during exsanguination increases the rate of depletion, and thus hastens

, by raising the fluid pressure of the blood. Because the heart operates like a

positive displacement pump A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic energy. Pumps can be classified into three major groups according to the method they ...

, reduction of blood volume will not affect efficiency of cardiac output. Deprivation of blood to the heart does gradually result in diminished function, but concurrently with similar death of other parts in the body. Quickly after the animal is incapacitated, it is put on the ground on top of an orange cloth, then a very sharp knife, in an orientation parallel to the ground, is inserted through the skin just in front of the point of the jaw and below the vertebrate. From this position, the knife is drawn forward away from the spine to sever the jugular veins, carotid arteries, and

trachea The trachea, also known as the windpipe, is a cartilaginous tube that connects the larynx to the bronchi of the lungs, allowing the passage of air, and so is present in almost all air- breathing animals with lungs. The trachea extends from t ...

. Properly performed, blood will flow freely and

will occur within seconds. Sheep and duck will reach heart and liver malfunction, leading to death, in under 10 seconds; larger animals, notably cattle may take up to 40 seconds to reach brain death. This period may extend to a couple of minutes if complications, such as arterial occlusion, occur. However, the animal's inverted position allows blood to flow more precipitously and thus makes an animal regaining consciousness before it is fully exsanguinated highly unlikely. In any case, animal welfare advisory councils clearly emphasize that the time from incapacitation to start of exsanguination should be prompt, recommending a time under 15 seconds. Beyond the initial cost of purchasing a captive bolt, continued usage of the method is very inexpensive. The animal is incapacitated for the duration of the procedure, so it is one of the safest methods for the slaughterer.

In Jewish and Islamic slaughter

Jewish

kashrut (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fr ...

(kosher) and Islamic dhabihah (halal) dietary laws mandate that slaughter is performed with a cut that immediately severs the esophagus, trachea, and the large blood vessels in the neck, causing loss of consciousness and death by exsanguination. The double-edged pointed knife is prohibited. Instead, a long knife with a squared off end is used that in Jewish law must be at least twice the width of the animal's neck. The operation of sticking or exsanguination is executed faster than when using the pointed knife, as four large blood vessels in the neck are severed simultaneously. In

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ma ...

and

Jewish law ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...

, captive bolts and other methods of pre-slaughter paralysis are not permissible, as consumption of animals found dead are regarded as

carrion Carrion () is the decaying flesh of dead animals, including human flesh. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures ...

and stunned animals that are later killed fall into this category. Various halal food authorities have more recently permitted the use of a recently developed

fail-safe In engineering, a fail-safe is a design feature or practice that in the event of a specific type of failure, inherently responds in a way that will cause minimal or no harm to other equipment, to the environment or to people. Unlike inherent safe ...

system of head-only stunning using a mushroom shaped hammer head that delivers a blow that is not fatal, proved by it being possible to reverse the procedure and revive the animal after the shock. Such methods, particularly involving unstunned animals, have been criticized by veterinarians and animal welfare organizations, among others. Prohibitions against unstunned slaughter have been enacted in several countries. See Animal welfare controversies in shechita for further information.

References

{{reflist Bleeding Causes of death

Slaughtering of animals

In Jewish and Islamic slaughter

See also

References