Industry rejects poultry killing by gas

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, January/February 2006:

Industry arguments against extending Humane Methods of
Slaughter Act coverage to poultry tend to center on a claimed lack of
acceptable alternatives to the present system of shackling birds
upside down, then dragging them headlong through an electrified
“stunning bath.”
An alternative, controlled atmosphere stunning, is already
widely used in Europe. Slaughterhouses using controlled atmosphere
stunning gas newly arrived birds in their transportation cages,
using either carbon dioxide or a mixture of nitrogen and argon.
McDonald’s Corporation in November 2004 agreed to study the
feasibility of requiring suppliers to shift to controlled atmosphere
stunning, in exchange for PETA withdrawing a shareholder resolution
that sought to require McDonald’s to do the study.
In June 2005 McDonalds concluded that “current standards for
animal welfare are appropriate for the company’s global supply chain
at this time.”
PETA pursued a similar resolution at the May 2005 Applebee’s
International Inc. shareholders meeting, but it drew less than 6%
support.