Bleeding is a very important part of the slaughtering operation and
should be done not more than 2 minutes after the animal is down
because the increased blood pressure may break the capillaries and
cause an unattractive condition in the meat called “blood splash.”
The easiest and safest method for quick bleeding is to bleed the
animal while it is still on the ground. Standing behind the animal,
grasp the lower jaw (fig. 5), pull the head back slightly, and cut
across the throat from ear to ear as deeply as possible (fig. 6). If
the blood does not flow freely, cut deeper. A sharp skinning or boning
knife is appropriate for this part of the operation.
[Illustration: Man holding knife to side of cow’s neck]
Figure 5.—Sticking. Stand behind the animal and grasp the lower jaw.
[Illustration: Man slicing across cow’s neck using a knife]
Figure 6.—Cutting throat.
“Pumping” the animal will assure more complete bleeding. This can be
accomplished by lifting the hindquarter with the tail, pulling the
foreleg, and applying a pumping motion with a foot in the flank
(fig. 7).
[Illustration: Man lifting tail, hind leg, and front leg of cow]
Figure 7.—Pumping to assure complete bleeding.