re: #5 marjoriemoon

Stunning isn’t an alternative to throat slitting. In modern slaughterhouses the order is stun, hang then slit.

The stunning has two purposes. First, it renders the animal unconscious faster than cutting the throat and waiting for the animal to faint from blood pressure drop, which makes it more humane (theoretically). Secondly, it means that you’re dealing with an unconscious 2,000 pound body rather than a panicked adrenalin filled 2000 lb cow in a bloody room. If you want a good example of the kind of damage a live cow can cause in a slaughter house, I suggest you read The Jungle. Europeans (the christian ones at least) have been stunning cattle for hundreds of years because it makes the slaughter safer for the butchers. That’s where the from phrase poleaxed-steer comes from.