Published date: 14 July 2017
Closed opportunity - This means that the contract is currently closed. The buying department may be considering suppliers that have already applied, or no suitable offers were made.
Contract summary
Industry
Agricultural, farming, fishing, forestry and related products - 03000000
Animal products and related products - 03140000
Pigs - 03323000
Location of contract
Any region
Value of contract
£0
Procurement reference
tender_145998/598686
Published date
14 July 2017
Closing date
21 August 2017
Contract start date
2 October 2017
Contract end date
1 October 2019
Contract type
Service contract
Procedure type
Open procedure
Any interested supplier may submit a tender in response to an opportunity notice.
Contract is suitable for SMEs?
Yes
Contract is suitable for VCSEs?
Yes
Description
The Authority is looking for a supplier for the development of an alternative method to high concentration CO2 for the commercial stunning of pigs.
The stunning of pigs by direct exposure to high concentrations of Carbon dioxide (30% and above) is commonly used for commercial slaughter of pigs. Research has shown that pigs find direct exposure to high concentrations of CO2 aversive. This has been acknowledged by both the Farm Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). FAWC in its 2003 Report on Animal Welfare recommended that this method should be phased out, whilst EFSA's 2004 report confirmed the efficacy of the method but noted that it resulted in respiratory distress in pigs. Similar concerns were expressed for poultry and alternative controlled atmosphere systems are now in use within the poultry industry. The use of CO2 in high concentration for the commercial stunning of pigs is permitted under EU and national Regulations, and this method continues to be used in the UK as well as other EU Member States
Following the FAWC and EFSA recommendations, in 2005 Defra commissioned research to look at alternative gases for killing pigs. The results of this research indicated that the use of direct exposure to high concentrations of inert gases is a more humane method as it does not cause aversion. However, despite efforts to encourage uptake by the industry there has been little progress made in using inert gas in commercial slaughterhouses, due to practical issues related to the time that it takes for pigs to become unconscious/death and the practicality of replacing CO2 systems with the new equipment. Defra and the Humane Slaughter Association would like to commission further research that identifies or develops, and validates an alternative and commercially viable method to the stunning of pigs via direct exposure to high concentrations of CO2 in a high-throughput setting
More information
Links
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- https://defra.bravosolution.co.uk
- Tender notice
- Bravo Link
Additional text
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Closing: 21 August 2017
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