The province has been chosen to conduct the pilot phase of a plan to enhance animal welfare.

Under a new code of practice for the humane slaughter of animals, which for the trial period will be focussed mainly on pigs, the animals should be treated as painlessly as possible before they are despatched.

A source from the livestock and poultry slaughter administrative office affiliated to the Ministry of Commerce said that a new humane killing method is being studied. It said that it would be organising a professional panel to review it and the details of the standard will be officially released soon. As of year, training on humane killing methods will be carried out in more than 20,000 commercial slaughterhouses across the country.

The slaughtering of pigs is currently carried out under old guidelines that include showering and rendering the pigs unconscious before slaughter. The new standard includes shortening the interval between stunning the pigs and killing them to 15 seconds. It was previously 30 seconds. This will lessen the risk of pain felt by the animals during the process.

Detailed guidelines on the transportation and killing of animals will also be stipulated to minimize pain and suffering of the animals and the authorities have said that they will punish those who do not implement more humane practices.

Leader

Fan Rongcheng, an official with the Henan provincial commerce bureau, said Henan won the honor of carrying out the trial thanks to its leading position in raising and producing livestock products. < The province supplies 60 million pigs to the industry every year and is a major meat producer. br />
China processes 70 million tons of pork, beef and lamb annually. Its pork production, about 50 million tonnes each year, and accounts for almost half of the world's total output.