Summary
This code outlines the legally required methods and guidelines of slaughter. In summary, it opens with a special provision that grants the Secretary of Agriculture the power to set standards for the transport of horses and donkeys for slaughter. This section of the policy explicitly states that this authorization only applies to horses and donkeys and explicitly excludes chickens and turkeys. The statute goes on to require that nonhuman mammals must be rendered “insensible to pain” by some means (the methods offered are a gunshot, electrical charge, chemicals, or some other means that is swift and effective) prior to proceeding with any further acts. The policy closes with an outline for Kosher-compliant slaughter methods that are legally permitted. The policy also called upon the Secretary of Agriculture (as of 1 March 1959) to research further methods of humane slaughter and includes a continual requirement for the officeholder to research the health of farmed animals.