Patent ID: 8506366

Claim:
An animal stunning apparatus for inducing substantially immediate unconsciousness and insensibility enabling processing or handling of a subject animal, the apparatus including: a stunning station to which a live subject animal to be processed or handled is introduced, the stunning station being arranged to locate a subject animal in a confined position, an applicator located so as to contact an application point on the live subject animal's head immediately overlying a frontal portion of the animal's brain, the applicator having a coupling conformation to couple microwave radiation therethrough to the head and to the frontal portion of the brain of the subject animal when in the confined position at the stunning station, a microwave generator for generating and radiating microwave energy of a suitable power level and frequency, and a waveguide coupled to the generator so as to receive and direct the microwave radiation to the applicator located at an operative end of the waveguide so as to thereby heat the frontal portion of the brain of the subject animal beneath the application point which the applicator contacts in use, and a switch operable so as to discontinue the application of microwave radiation effecting heating of the frontal portion of the brain after a period of time sufficient to have raised the temperature of the frontal portion of the brain of the subject animal to thereby induce the unconsciousness and insensibility, wherein the switch is operable to discontinue the application of microwave radiation immediately after a period which is sufficient only to rapidly induce insensibility, and insufficient (i) for the insensibility induced to be irreversible, and (ii) to cause significant heating of deeper brain tissues and including the brain stem.