Activity financed through the 01.02.01 Technology Transfer Operation of the Rural Development Program of Catalonia 2014-2022
Application of standardized protocols to slaughter calves guaranteeing animal welfare
Although there is no reliable data on scorning practices in Catalonia, most farms in Catalonia use chemical scorning, and the use of anesthetics is erratic. Along these lines, according to a survey published in 2015 on the practices of scorning calves in the European Union, in the southern area (including Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Cyprus), 57% of farms carry out scorning chemical and only 22% use some type of medication around the procedure (sedation, local anesthesia, analgesia or a combination of these treatments).
This demonstrative activity aims to explain and demonstrate that the practice of scorning calves can be carried out with high standards of animal welfare, without this fact representing an animal welfare problem on farms in the Catalan cattle sector.