Impact of stunning before slaughter on expression of skeletal muscles proteome in sheep.

The commercial production of halal and kosher meat and controversy surrounding the slaughter without stunning is rapidly growing across the globe. Huge global market for halal and kosher meat warrants conciliation of religious practices and animal welfare for the betterment of meat industry. In the present study, we investigated changes in muscle proteome of sheep () subjected to either electrical stunning and slaughtering or slaughter without any stunning (halal).

Traditional halal slaughter without stunning versus slaughter with electrical stunning of sheep (Ovis aries).

Thirty Nellore crossbred male sheep (Ovis aries) were divided into two groups of 15 animals each and subjected to either pre-slaughter electrical stunning followed by slaughter (ST) or traditional halal slaughter without stunning (NST) to investigate the changes in blood biochemical parameters, meat quality and proteomic profile. Higher (P < .05) pH, water holding capacity and Warner-Bratzler shear force were observed in meat from stunned sheep.