Exsanguination

Before the fatal incision is made, the animal will be rendered insensible to pain by various methods, including captive bolt, electricity, or chemical.

[citation needed] Without prior sedation, stunning, or anesthetic, this method of slaughter may cause a high degree of anxiety, depending on the process.

[2] If done badly, there can be a large element of cruelty involved,[3][4][5] whereas killing under the correct conditions minimizes the pain or suffering, if any, inflicted upon the animal.

[6][7][8] Continued pumping operation of the heart during exsanguination increases the rate of depletion and thus hastens death by raising the fluid pressure of the blood.

Quickly after the animal is incapacitated, a very sharp knife, in an orientation parallel to the ground, is inserted through the skin just in front of the point of the jaw and below the vertebrate.

Jewish kashrut (kosher) and Islamic dhabihah (halal) dietary laws mandate that slaughter is performed with a cut that immediately severs the esophagus, trachea, and the large blood vessels in the neck, causing loss of consciousness and death by exsanguination.

The operation of sticking or exsanguination is executed faster than when using the pointed knife, as four large blood vessels in the neck are severed simultaneously.