Patent ID: 7794310

Claim:
A method for controlled atmosphere stunning an animal to bring it into a desired state selected from the group consisting of lethargy, unconsciousness, or death, comprising: (a) providing a batch of animals at a treatment location alive and confined in cages, in an atmosphere that does not bring the animals breathing it to a state of lethargy, unconsciousness or death, on a flatbed truck or trailer truck which has transported the confined animals to the treatment location from a location other than the treatment location, (b) moving the flatbed truck or trailer truck thru a stunning enclosure; (c) adding gas other than oxygen to said atmosphere while the animals are so confined in cages and stationary on the flatbed truck or trailer truck and within the stunning enclosure thereby reducing the oxygen content of the atmosphere in which the animals are so confined to bring the batch of animals breathing the atmosphere to said desired state, and recirculating said atmosphere through said stunning enclosure and truck at least until the batch of animals breathing the atmosphere are thereby brought into said desired state, and (d) removing the animal from said cages on said flatbed truck or trailer truck only after the animals have been brought to said desired state.