Meat in African context: From history to science

Abstract

The cultural proceedings of animal slaughter in Africa always give impression that portrays traditional slaughter method as cruel. So far, the knowledge gap on the meat quality traits from traditionally slaughtered animals has not been filled in the continent. No pre-slaughter welfare database has been generated or archived to characterize the severity of traumatic injury perceived to be inflicted on animals that were slaughtered for traditional purposes. The basis for condemning African perception on animal slaughter without stunning still remains subjective. As an alternative to the conventional stunning methods, this review recommends the use of biological stunners in African slaughter houses.

Key words: AASI, MNI, meat science, bio-stunners, welfare databases.