Temple Grandin, one of the most influential advocate
of humane livestock treatment, has spent her life
developing stress-free facility designs and standards of
humane management. In an environment of growing concern
regarding large factory farming practices, Grandin is a
voice of reason explaining the benefits of keeping
animals calm through every phase of their lives -
benefits that include safer working conditions, higher
yields of marketable meat, better-quality meat, and, of
course, more humane conditions for the animals.The first
half of ''Humane Livestock Handling'' reviews the
natural behaviour and temperament of cattle. Working
with the animals' natural instincts, Grandin describes
low-stress methods for moving cattle on pastures,
paddocks, and feedlot pens. Slow, controlled movement
reduces stress and fear, resulting in calmer, healthier
cattle. They eat better, are less likely to become sick,
and do not run into fences and gates, injuring
themselves and bruising the meat. Calm cattle are also
far less likely to injure the humans working with
them.The second half of the book is packed with
construction plans, diagrams and detailed designs for
putting Grandin's ideas into practice.Featuring plans
for everything from gate latches to chutes, corrals, and
sorting pens for full-scale facilities, there are
designs that can be used in both large and small
operations. In fact, half of the cattle in North America
are already handled in systems designed by Grandin, and
the demand for humanely processed meat continues to
grow. Temple Grandin's systems are quickly becoming the
industry-wide standard. |
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