Humane slaughter of Animals

Dear Colleagues,

The literature on the humane slaughter of animals is commonly limited to the technical and physiological aspects of the immediate temporal period of the transition from live animal to carcass. In the 10,000 years of co-evolution of non-human livestock and humans, the meaning of humane slaughter and its conceptualization is much greater than the method of rendering dead the previously known and recognized individual life. The long-standing human practice of raising others for the purpose of killing and eating has recruited social, anthropological, and religious meanings that call for articulate identification and critical re-evaluation. For the purposes of this Special Issue, the practice of humane slaughter includes all those “normalizing” activities that allow for the perpetuation of the human practice of creating, caring for, and intentionally killing sentient beings not greatly dissimilar from the human self.

This Special Issue is interested in reviews, original reports, and academic position papers from all disciplines that have a focus on human conceptualization of right and good in relation to non-human animal use in the production of food for human and companion animal consumption. Reports of innovations in and examinations of the wellbeing of livestock and people within the geography of the slaughterhouse are encouraged. A preference will be given to manuscripts that clearly articulate new or under-studied areas of the multicultural traditions of livestock consumption for future research.

Dr. Emily Patterson-Kane,

 Dr. Terry L. Whiting

Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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