Slaughterhouse

A slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (from the French word abattre meaning "to strike down"), is a facility where farm animals are killed and processed into meat products. The animals most commonly slaughtered for food are cattle (beef & veal), sheep (lamb & mutton), pigs (pork), poultry and horses (mostly in Europe).

Related Topics:
French - Animal - Kill - Meat - Cattle - Beef - Veal - Sheep - Lamb - Mutton - Pig - Pork - Poultry - Horse

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Many people find the subject of animal slaughter to be very unpleasant and prefer not to know the details of what goes on inside a slaughterhouse. In their turn, most slaughterhouses are secretive to avoid controversy. As such, in the West, the connection between packaged meat products in the supermarket and the live animals they are derived from is obscured.

Related Topics:
Slaughter - Controversy - Supermarket

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Nevertheless, the majority of people in the West eat meat every day, so slaughterhouses are required to efficiently provide meat products on an industrial scale. At the same time, most countries have laws and regulations that control the slaughter of animals, both for human consumption and for other purposes. Therefore, the operation of slaughterhouses is usually independently monitored by government agencies, most especially to ensure that standards of hygiene are maintained.

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Animal rights groups and some vegetarians prefer to highlight the practices inside a slaughterhouse - in part to expose and correct allegedly inhumane treatment of animals where it occurs, but also to encourage people to face the reality of meat production, which may lead to more people's choosing a meat-free or reduced-meat diet. Some animal-rights advocates regard the activities performed in slaughterhouses as cruel or unconscionable.

Related Topics:
Animal rights - Vegetarians - Diet

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