Animals continue to be subjected to avoidable stress during the stages of slaughter for two reasons: either unsuccessful attempts are made to institute modern scientific slaughter, or no attempt at modernization is made and the traditional unscientific methods are allowed to continue.
Of the approximately 1,000 million animals slaughtered each year in the world, at least 500 million (and possibly 600 million) continue to be killed without effective steps being taken to render them insensitive prior to being cut and bled. Of the 597 million killed on which data are available, the situation is as follows: Europe (humanely 140 million, inhumanely 60 million); Asia (humanely 3 million, inhumanely 77 million); Latin America (humanely 4 million, inhumanely 70 million); North America (humanely 138 million, inhumanely 15 million); Australasia (humanely 14 million, inhumanely 76 million). Of the approximately 317 million slaughtered in other regions on which less adequate data is available, the situation is estimated to be as follows: USSR (humanely 60 million, inhumanely 40 million); China (humanely 50 million, inhumanely 50 million); eastern Europe (humanely 44 million, inhumanely 40 million); Africa (humanely 10 million, inhumanely 23 million).