Proper shackling starts with appropriate stunning. If the latter is a failure, the former will not be easy.
"Stunning is one of the biggest challenges during the shackling procedure," a supplier notes. "An animal has to be properly stunned, otherwise shackling will be difficult."
An inadequate stunning technique could cause an animal to be frantic and tense, which would result in a feeble shackling attempt. Such situations spell danger for workers.
"It's important to get an animal shackled as quickly as possible after stunning," the supplier says.
It's crucial for plant personnel to make sure their shackling operations are well-maintained or serious accidents could happen.
"Maintenance is important, but shackling takes place in the part of a plant where people tend to forget about maintenance," a source claims. "The tightening devices must be maintained."
Ins and outs
With hogs, it is important to have the height of the shackle at the proper point above the shackling table.
"The shackle has to be high enough so there is tension on it," a supplier notes. "But it can't be too high where a worker has to pick up a pig to get its foot in the shackle.
"Once a shackle is placed on a pig's leg, the conveyor will keep the tension on the shackle," the expert says. "The idea is to keep tension on the chain."
Shackles must also be slip-free, especially after an animal is scalded.
Shackles differ when adapted to line speeds. Captive shackles function best in high-speed situations; loose shackles are most successful in low-speed environments.
Captive shackles are hooked to the chain that operates above the shackling table.
In a hog plant, a worker's task should be simple and quick: open the shackle, place the pig's leg in it and close it.
"But a worker has to have enough time to get a shackle around the whole leg," a source points out. "If a worker misses and gets a shackle latched too high around the pig's foot, the shackle might slip off."
After the animal is shackled, the conveyor elevates away from the table. The pig stays in the same shackle throughout the system.
On low-speed lines, a pig is only in a shackle during the sticking and bleeding process. The pig is unshackled when it's released into the compartment scald tank.
Loose shackles are spring-loaded. When a tripping device is lifted on the shackle (it is held tight with a spring), it opens like a clamp and releases the chain. The chain opens and a pig's leg is freed.
Captive shackles are most common in plants, an expert says. That makes sense because captive shackles are more ergonomic.
"Captive shackles are the best option because they are fixed to a conveyor," the expert says. "All a worker has to do is stand by the shackling table, slip a pig's leg into the chain and tighten the chain on the leg. The shackle and the pig move away, and the worker moves onto the next animal."
Premium Standard Foods is utilizing a new shackling procedure at its Milan, Mo., pork plant. Animals are stunned, stuck and then shackled. The hogs have died before they are shackled.
"The hogs are lying down when they are shackled, and they are mechanically picked up," says Charlie Arnot, executive director of communications for Premium Standard Foods. "The process is much less labor-intensive and provides for more worker comfort and safety.
"This technology is being utilized in Europe. [Premium Standard Foods] is not the first company to do this, but it seems like the most appropriate technology to adopt now."
Humane way the only way
During the stunning and shackling procedure for cattle and hogs, it is important to focus on humane treatment of animals. The double-rail restrainer has helped improve the shackling method for beef cattle, according to Temple Grandin, industry consultant and professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University.
Shackling is simplified because the animal's hind legs are spread apart, Grandin points out. Also, the worker does not have to reach under the restrainer to shackle an animal's hind leg, she adds.
Despite improvements in shackling technology, human attitudes must also change in regard to humane treatment of animals. Grandin calls for the end of live shackling at kosher plants.
"Attitudes have not changed as much as equipment. We have a ways to go to improve attitude," she states.
For more information on shackling, write the appropriate number from the following list on the reader service card.
SELO: Write 323
Cincinnati Butchers Supply: Write 324
Koch Supplies: Write 325
Stork RMS: Write 326
Omeco Boss Co.: Write 327