<P> The Humane Slaughter Act , or the Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act ( P.L. 85 - 765 ; 7 U.S.C. 1901 et seq . ) is a United States federal law designed to decrease suffering of livestock during slaughter . It was approved on August 27 , 1958 . The most notable of these requirements is the need to have an animal completely sedated and insensible to pain . This is to minimize the suffering to the point where the animal feels nothing at all , instead losing a consciousness from which they will never awaken . This differs from animal to animal as size increases and decreases . Larger animals such as bovines require a stronger method than chickens , for example . Bovines require electronarcosis or something equally potent , though electronarcosis remains a standard . The bovine would have a device placed on their head that , once activated , sends an electric charge that efficiently and safely stuns them . Chickens , on the other hand , require much less current to be efficiently sedated and are given a run under electrically charged water . To ensure that these guidelines are met , The Food Safety and Inspection Service inspectors at slaughtering plants are responsible for overseeing compliance , and have the authority to stop slaughter lines and order plant employees to take corrective actions . Although more than 168 million chickens ( excluding broilers ) and around 9 billion broiler chickens are killed for food in the United States yearly , the Humane Slaughter Act specifically mentions only cattle , calves , horses , mules , sheep and swine . </P>
<P> The Humane Slaughter Act , or the Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act ( P.L. 85 - 765 ; 7 U.S.C. 1901 et seq . ) is a United States federal law designed to decrease suffering of livestock during slaughter . It was approved on August 27 , 1958 . The most notable of these requirements is the need to have an animal completely sedated and insensible to pain . This is to minimize the suffering to the point where the animal feels nothing at all , instead losing a consciousness from which they will never awaken . This differs from animal to animal as size increases and decreases . Larger animals such as bovines require a stronger method than chickens , for example . Bovines require electronarcosis or something equally potent , though electronarcosis remains a standard . The bovine would have a device placed on their head that , once activated , sends an electric charge that efficiently and safely stuns them . Chickens , on the other hand , require much less current to be efficiently sedated and are given a run under electrically charged water . To ensure that these guidelines are met , The Food Safety and Inspection Service inspectors at slaughtering plants are responsible for overseeing compliance , and have the authority to stop slaughter lines and order plant employees to take corrective actions . Although more than 168 million chickens ( excluding broilers ) and around 9 billion broiler chickens are killed for food in the United States yearly , the Humane Slaughter Act specifically mentions only cattle , calves , horses , mules , sheep and swine . </P>
what year is the animal slaughter act that we follow
what year is the animal slaughter act that we follow
August 27 , 1958
August 27 , 1958