Technical manual tells how to kill chickens humanely for better meat

A new technical manual in Shandong province encourages the use of humane methods to slaughter chickens. The methods promote better meat quality, proponents said.

The manual, which sets standards to reduce the animals' suffering, was prepared by a research team at Qingdao Agricultural University and approved recently by the Shandong provincial government's quality watchdog.

"Complying with the humane slaughter manual is not only about showing human compassion for the animal but also could improve the quality of the meat," said Sun Jingxin, a professor of food science at the university's College of Food Science and Engineering.