Local rule on the humane slaughter of chicken took effect in east China’s Shandong Province on Monday， the first for poultry in China。
从本周一开始，山东开始对杀鸡施行人道主义屠宰条例，这是第一次在中国实施家禽人道主义屠宰办法。
Under Shandong’s standard for slaughter of chicken， stress relief measures should be taken in the processes of seizing， transporting， loading and unloading。
据山东的宰鸡标准条例显示，在对鸡实行抓捕、运输、装载、卸载的时候都要采取舒缓压力的措施。
Workers need to use special tools to seize chicken or both hands to grasp both wings instead of a single wing。 Pulling and dragging chickens are banned。 Stunning methods， such as the use of gas， should be adopted before slaughter。
在抓鸡的时候，工人们需要使用特殊工具，或者用两只手抓住鸡的两只翅膀，而不能只抓一边的翅膀。禁止拖拉、拽动鸡。屠宰前应该使用麻醉气体等一些方法将肉鸡麻醉。
Shandong is the country’s leading chicken producer and exporter。 Drafting of the standard was led by Qingdao Agricultural University and several food producers， including Nine-Alliance Group， a chicken raising and processing company。
山东是中国最大的鸡肉生产、出口省份。人道化屠宰标准是由青岛农业大学和其他几家食品生产公司领导起草的，其中包括一家肉鸡养殖加工公司九联集团。
“We began to study the requirements of animal welfare abroad in 2003。 As our clients from the European Union value animal welfare a lot， we adopted humane handling of chicken very early，” said Yang Shengren， a quality supervisor with the company。 The company exports 25 percent to the European Union， Japan， the Republic of Korea and the Middle East。
九联集团质量监督管理员杨胜任（音）说道：“我们从2003年开始在国外研究学习对动物福利的要求。因为我们的欧盟客户十分看重动物福利，我们很早就采用了人道化宰鸡办法。”九联集团生产的鸡肉有25%被出口到了欧盟、日本、韩国和中东等地区。
Measures taken include comfortable temperatures in summer and winter，avoiding harming birds when hanging them and using electric stunning before slaughter， he said。 Humane breeding and slaughter have increased the company’s costs by about 2 million yuan （300，000 US dollars） per year。
杨胜任指出，该公司采取的措施包括在冬夏两季为肉鸡创造舒适的温度、把肉鸡挂起来的时候要避免伤害到它们、在屠宰前还要对它们进行电子麻醉。人道化养殖和屠宰使得九联集团每年的成本上升了200万人民币（约合30万美元）。
“But it makes our products better and more acceptable to the foreigners and our goods can be exported to more countries，” said Yang。
杨胜任说道：“但是这样做让我们的产品更好、外国客户也更加愿意接受、还能够出口到更多的国家。”
Shandong’s rule is not the first in the country in terms of livestock。 In February 2009， pig slaughter criteria were introduced and most cities have adopted the standard。
山东的人道化宰鸡条例并不是中国第一次对家畜推行人道主义屠宰。2009年2月出台了生猪屠宰标准，大部分城市都采取了该标准。
The Chinese Veterinary Medical Association began to draft welfare criteria in November covering pigs， chicken， sheep and cattle。
中国兽医协会从十一月开始起草对猪、鸡、羊和牛的福利标准。
Humane breeding and slaughter will make products more competitive internationally。
人道化养殖和宰杀将会使得所生成出来的产品在国际上更有竞争力。
