INDIA | Monday, 14 January 2013 | Views [552] | View Smaller Image
The slaughterer.
Not all Hindus are vegetarians, and the most common source of meat in India is chicken. In the meat markets, the live birds are slaughtered after being sold by weight. Since the vast majority of workers in these markets are Muslim, they follow the requirements of their religion and make the meat Halal by cutting the chicken’s throat and leaving it to exsanguinate (bleed to death) in an adjacent barrel. Although this is often described as the most humane form of slaughter, causing a rapid loss of blood pressure in the brain and an immediate loss of consciousness, each bird goes through vigorous convulsions in the barrel for about two minutes following the fatal cut. This is probably just reflexive action of the spinal cord. In the photo: this slaughterer, a master of his craft, is very familiar with his fatal knife. Market place of Bhubaneswar, Orissa.
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