山東首推宰雞規範 提倡人道關懷

In its finAl hours before being butchered, a chicken deserves to be reasonably comfortable and relatively stress-free. This is the message from China’s first official recommendations to the poultry industry, recently issued by Shandong Province, on how to slaughter the animals.
被宰殺前的最後幾個小時裏，一隻雞應當過得足夠舒適且相對輕鬆。這是中國第一份針對肉雞屠宰問題的官方指導規範所傳遞出的信息。該規範近期由山東省出臺，

The guidelines, which are not mandatory, are motivated at least as much by commercial considerations as by concerns for animal welfare. Shandong is China’s leading producer of chickens, but traces of damage to the birds, like broken limbs or blood clots in the meat, have hurt exports.
這些指導方針並不具有強制性，其背後的商業考慮至少和對動物福利的關注相當。山東是中國最大的雞肉生產地，但腿翅折斷或肉中有血塊等顯示雞受傷的跡象，已經影響了出口。

Still, animal welfare advocates are praising the standards.
倡導動物福利的人士依然對這些標準表示讚賞。

“Such specific guidelines,” said Jeff Zhou, China representative of Compassion in World Farming, a British organization that campaigns to end factory farming. “I’m very grateful that they did this in Shandong.”
世界農場動物福利協會的中國區代表周尊國說：“規定非常細化。我很感謝山東出臺了這樣的標準。”該協會是一家致力於終結工廠化飼養的英國機構。

The guidelines, according to People’s Daily, list the steps leading to slaughter and detail for each the recommended procedures to ensure that the chicken’s death is as painless as possible.
據《人民日報》報道，山東的屠宰規範列出了宰殺前的步驟，並詳細說明了每個步驟中推薦採取的處理方法，以確保雞在被宰殺時儘可能沒有痛苦。

For example, the guidelines advise against transporting a live chicken longer than three hours. A chicken should be held with both hands, not seized by a single leg or wing. Before being killed, the bird should be anesthetized by being gassed or having its head dipped into electrified water. The guidelines also recommend using a massaging pad to support the chicken’s breast as the birds are moved on an assembly line to be stunned.
比如，指導規範建議活雞的運輸時間不超過三小時；抓住雞時要用兩隻手，不能僅逮着一隻腿或翅膀；宰雞前，應當利用氣體或將其頭部浸入通電的水中，使其失去知覺。規範還建議雞經過流水線“致昏”時，要安裝撫摸板對其胸部進行支撐。

Humane slaughter alone does not remove all the cruelty that animals in intensive factory farming experience, Mr. Zhou said, but the guidelines address an important part of it. “It’s a step in the right direction,” he said.
周尊國表示，僅靠人道宰殺並不能消除工廠化集中飼養的動物要經歷的所有虐待，但指導方針應對了其中一個重要方面。他說：“這是正確的一步。”

The organization is working with its Chinese partners, including the International Cooperation Committee of Animal Welfare, a government-backed research institute, to push for more humane practices in China and has released similar recommendations for raising, shipping and slaughtering pigs, cattle and sheep.
世界農場動物福利協會正與中國機構進行合作，包括政府支持的研究機構——動物福利國際合作委員會，推動在中國採取更人道的做法。該組織還針對豬、牛、羊的飼養、運輸和宰殺發佈了類似的建議規範。

Although the Shandong guidelines are China’s first for the slaughter of chickens, procedures to reduce animal suffering as well as improve meat quality are being practiced elsewhere and for other farm animals. Major slaughterhouses in Beijing, for example, already stun chickens by dipping their heads into electrified water, according to The Beijing News.
儘管山東的指導規範是中國首次針對肉雞宰殺出臺相關建議，但在中國其他地方，面向其他家禽，已經實施了用以減少動物痛苦並改善肉質的規程。比如，據《新京報》報道，北京的主要屠宰場已經採取了將雞的頭部浸入通電的水中致暈的方式。

The city of Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of Henan, requires slaughterhouses to allow pigs to rest at least 12 hours after being transported to the slaughterhouse before they are killed, according to a 2010 report in Dahe, a local newspaper. Violations carry a penalty of up to 50,000 renminbi, or about $7,500.
地方報紙《大河報》2010年的一篇報道稱，河南省會鄭州要求豬被運到屠宰場後，在宰殺前至少能休息12個小時。違反規定者最高可面臨5萬人民幣罰款（約7500美元）。

As more slaughterhouses adopt procedures for the humane handling of livestock, Chinese meat may find greater acceptance in high-end markets at home and abroad, said Sun Jingxin, a food science professor at Qingdao Agricultural University and the author of the Shandong guidelines.
青島農業大學食品科學教授孫京新主持制定了山東這份指導規範。他表示，隨着更多屠宰場採用人道的牲畜處理方式，中國的肉類產品可能在國內外高端市場獲得更多認可。

With an eye to European consumers concerned about animal welfare, Mr. Sun said of preferred methods for stunning the chickens, “we adopted the high-voltage system used in the EU, instead of the US-style low-voltage treatment.”
針對關心動物福利的歐洲消費者，孫京新談及了首選的致暈方式：“我們推薦歐盟的高壓電致暈而不是美國的低壓處理方法。”

“The EU way is considered more humane, even though it may result in lower meat quality,” Mr. Sun said in an interview.
孫京新在採訪中說道：“歐盟的方式更爲人道，儘管可能肉質不如低壓致暈。”

China is the world’s second-leading producer of broiler meat, after the United States, producing 13.4 million tons last year, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. But it ranked only fifth in exports, with 401,000 tons that year.
美國農業部的數據顯示，中國是世界第二大雞肉生產國，僅排在美國之後。去年，中國的雞肉產量是1340萬噸，但出口量僅爲40.1萬噸，名列第五。