The G.A.P. Standards give you peace of mind about the final moments.
If you have been following our Program you know that the G.A.P. welfare standards cover how animals are raised on the farm, but often we get questions about what happens when they are slaughtered. So, in short – does G.A.P. have slaughter standards?
The answer is YES. We believe it is important to promote good welfare throughout the animal’s entire life, including its very last moments.
Though some prefer not to think about it, slaughter is an important topic and one that G.A.P. takes very seriously. Our priority is to make sure it is done right so you can have peace of mind.
How do we make sure it’s done right?
- Most importantly, we require that all animals are stunned before slaughter. Stunning is a method where an animal is made unconscious and is unable to feel pain. Ensuring that this happens before slaughter is carried out is crucial for good animal welfare.
- The G.A.P. slaughter standards apply to all animals that will be marketed as G.A.P. certified. Every slaughter facility that our G.A.P. farms use must also pass a third-party animal welfare audit (these are conducted annually rather than on a 15-month interval). G.A.P. farms can use an existing approved third party animal welfare audit provided the audit covers all of the areas listed in our standards.
- Lastly, if you’ve ever wondered how meat from a G.A.P. farm stays separate from meat from other farms, we also require the slaughter facility to have segregation protocols – to make sure G.A.P. animals are processed separately from non-G.A.P. animals throughout the entire process – and these segregation protocols are checked by the G.A.P. certifiers.
Where can I find out more information?
G.A.P. has slaughter standards for turkeys, chickens, pigs, bison, meat goats, and meat sheep and we are currently adding slaughter standards to our revised beef standards coming later this year. Check out our slaughter standards in more depth here. If you have questions about our slaughter standards, post them in the comments section below.
Help us spread the word!
G.A.P. strives for transparency and continuous improvement and we couldn’t do it without your support. We are proud to have such a comprehensive Program that covers all aspects of farm animal welfare, including slaughter. So, help us spread the word! Click on the links above to share this blog.
