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EP-4397184-B1 - METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STUNNING BIRDS

EP4397184B1EP 4397184 B1EP4397184 B1EP 4397184B1EP-4397184-B1

Inventors

  • HARTMANN, FLORIAN
  • HARTMANN, MARTIN
  • Serrano Velarde, Carola
  • Rakow, Rainer

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20231228

Claims (13)

  1. Method (100) for stunning a plurality of birds (213), the method (100) comprising: ▪ Positioning (101) a plurality of birds (213) on a movement device (203), wherein the movement device (203) is configured to transport the plurality of birds (213) along a predetermined path of movement, ▪ Transporting (103) the plurality of birds into a liquid bath (201) such that the plurality of birds (213) are in the liquid bath at the same time, ▪ applying (105) a predetermined electrical target current to a respective bird (213) of the plurality of birds (213), by adjusting a specific stunning voltage to the respective bird (213), wherein the stunning voltage is adjusted such that the respective bird (213) is stunned with the predetermined electrical target current during a predetermined period of time, and ▪ wherein the stunning voltage is continuously adjusted during the predetermined period of time, characterized in that the method (100) further comprises: ▪ validating whether the head of a respective bird (213) is securely covered with liquid located in the liquid bath (201) after transporting the plurality of birds (213) into the liquid bath (201) ▪ releasing the application of the stunning voltage to the respective bird (213) only if the validation yields a positive result, ▪ the validation results in a positive outcome when a position sensor detects that a fastening element connecting the respective bird (213) to the movement device (203) is in a predetermined position relative to the liquid bath (201).
  2. Method (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the method (100) further comprises: ▪ documenting (107) a stunning voltage applied to a respective bird (213).
  3. Method (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the method (100) further comprises: ▪ applying (109) a measurement voltage to a respective bird (213) of the plurality of birds (213), ▪ determining (111) a specific electrical resistance of the respective bird (213) on the basis of the measurement voltage applied to the respective bird (213), wherein the specific electrical resistance is continuously determined during a stunning process and used to adjust the stunning voltage.
  4. Method (100) according to claim 3, characterized in that the measurement voltage is between 2 volts and 12 volts, in particular 4 volts.
  5. Method (100) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the validation results in a positive outcome if a specific electrical resistance of a respective bird (213), which is determined on the basis of a predetermined measurement current applied to the respective bird (213) with the predetermined measurement voltage, is below or above a predetermined threshold level.
  6. Method (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a stunning current applied to a respective bird (213) is adjusted to a stunning frequency which is reduced during a stunning process on the basis of a start value.
  7. Method (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an electric current is applied to a respective bird (213) by applying electric current to the movement device (203) in a contact area with the bird (213).
  8. Method (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an electric current is first applied to a respective bird (213) and the respective bird (213) is then transported into the liquid bath (201) with the electric current applied.
  9. Method (100) according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that while a respective bird (213) is transported into the liquid bath (201), an electric current is applied to the respective bird (213).
  10. Method (100) according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that a respective bird (213) is first transported into the liquid bath (201) and then an electric current is applied to the respective bird (213).
  11. Method (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the movement device (203) for introducing electric current and a respective bird (213) or the liquid bath (201) are used to discharge the electric current or that the movement device (203) for discharging electric current and a respective bird (213) or the liquid bath (201) are used to introduce the electric current.
  12. Device (200) for stunning a plurality of birds, the device (200) comprising: ▪ a liquid bath (201), ▪ a movement device (203) configured to transport a plurality of birds (213) on a predetermined path of movement such that the head of a respective bird (213) of the plurality of birds (213) is surrounded by a liquid located in the liquid bath (201), ▪ an electrical contacting device (205) configured to apply an electric current to a respective bird (213), ▪ a computing unit (207) configured to execute a method (100) according to one of claims 1 to 11.
  13. Device (200) according to claim 12, characterized in that the device comprises an electrical contacting device (205) configured to simultaneously apply a specific stunning voltage intended for a respective bird (213) to respective birds (213) of the plurality of birds positioned in the liquid bath (201) so that an individual specific stunning voltage is applied to each individual bird (213) of the plurality of birds (213), and to document the specific stunning voltage for each individual bird.

Description

The presented invention relates to a method and a device for stunning birds according to the attached claims. Automated slaughterhouses are well-known for the cost-effective slaughter of large quantities of poultry. In these systems, birds are suspended in a moving device, such as a conveyor belt, which moves continuously through various stations of a slaughtering machine to carry out the respective steps of the slaughtering and processing process. Such slaughterhouses achieve a high throughput of animals per unit of time and exhibit a high degree of automation. EP 3 066 931 B1 This describes a slaughtering device for small animals, in which a large number of small animals are stunned by applying a stunning voltage. A predetermined stunning voltage is used. In DE 692 15 690 T2 A device for passing electric current through a series of objects with varying electrical resistance is described, wherein each object closes its own circuit and is supplied with the same electric current. WO 97/01284 This describes a stunning device for poultry. The individual birds are pulled headfirst through a water bath and subjected to an electric current, which causes them to stun. In NL 2 002 318 C2 An apparatus for applying an electric current to a number of birds is described. A water bath and an electrically conductive rod are subjected to a voltage, with the circuit being completed by the bird. In EP 0 680 260 B1 A device for stunning poultry is described which determines the optimal stunning parameters for individual birds in an ensemble of birds to be stunned in a water stunning device and achieves these by means of current regulation. DE 20 2015 101 312 U1 defines an electronic slaughtering device in which the animals to be slaughtered complete an electrical circuit between a frame and a vertically movable basin. DE 40 02 266 A1 describes a stunning device for pigs, whereby a measurement of body resistance ensures that the individual stunning current is achieved in all slaughter animals. When using a predetermined stunning voltage, situations can arise in which a particular small animal becomes cramped and, as a result, cannot be consumed or ends up as reject. Furthermore, a predetermined or non-specific anesthetic voltage, especially in small animals or animals with low electrical resistance, results in an unnecessarily high energy consumption for providing the anesthetic voltage. Against this background, one of the tasks of the presented invention is to provide an energy-efficient, reliable and animal-friendly method for stunning a large number of birds. Thus, according to a first aspect of the presented invention, a method for stunning a large number of birds according to claim 1 is presented. The presented method involves arranging a large number of birds on a moving device, wherein the moving device is configured to move the large number of birds along a predetermined path. Furthermore, the presented method comprises moving the multitude of birds into a liquid bath such that each bird of the multitude is simultaneously in the liquid bath, applying a predetermined electrical current to each bird of the multitude by setting a specific stunning voltage on the respective bird, wherein the stunning voltage is set such that the respective bird is stunning with the predetermined electrical current within a predetermined period, and wherein the stunning voltage is continuously adjusted within the predetermined period. According to the invention, the method includes validating whether the head of each bird is safely covered with liquid in the liquid bath after moving the plurality of birds into the liquid bath, and releasing the application of the stunning voltage or the target current to the respective bird only if the validation leads to a positive result. The validation is designed to yield a positive result if a position sensor detects that a fastening element, to which the respective bird is connected to the movement device, is in a predetermined position relative to the liquid bath. The presented method is carried out fully automatically, in particular by means of one possible embodiment of the presented device. The presented invention is based on the principle that a large number of birds are stunned simultaneously, whereby a specific stunning voltage is set for each individual bird in order to regulate a predetermined stunning current, i.e. a target current, so that each individual bird is stunned individually and reliably without convulsing due to excessive voltage. The inventive adjustment of the stunning voltage is carried out continuously over a predetermined period, such as one second, so that, for example, starting from a predetermined lower starting voltage, the stunning voltage is successively increased until the predetermined target current is reached. Accordingly, the stunning voltage is used as a control variable for setting the target current at an electrical resistance determined by a particular bird. I