More humane stunning.

Nitrogen due to its inert, tasteless, and odorless nature facilitates more humane stunning and utilizing it together with high expansion foam makes a robust and efficient method. The nitrogen-encapsulated foam builds from the floor and up, effectively pushing out the air through the air vents in the top of the container. As the foam covers the animals head, they are instantaneously transited from atmospheric air to an anoxic environment of less than 2% oxygen.

When the container is completely filled with foam, the foam is broken by a burst of nitrogen to eliminate the risk of air pockets, allowing for visibility of the procedure, and creating a homogeneous atmosphere for accurate oxygen measurements. Without reaction to the sudden changes in the atmosphere, the animal lose consciousness within a few breaths. The animal then remain in the controlled atmosphere of the closed container for 5 minutes to achieve irreversible stunning.

ANOXIA method.

Anoxia refers to an environment that has an oxygen level under 2%. When animals are exposed to this environment they will immediately lose consciousness without any additional stress or pain. For this reason, it is the preferred method for stunning animals.

Anoxia is not to be confused with hypoxia which refers to a partial lack of oxygen. When an animal is exposed to a hypoxic environment for stunning, it will notice a lack of oxygen and panic due to difficulty breathing. An example of a method that is based on hypoxia is carbon dioxide gassing, which is known for causing stress and pain to the animal.

Why high
expansion foam ?

Time effective procedure
No hypoxic environment
No occlusion of airways
Reduced gas consumption
Low water consumption

Key technical features.

Controlled atmosphere

To ensure an effective and consistent process, a closed atmosphere is necessary. Achieving an anoxic atmosphere depends on purging the atmospheric air and replacing it with nitrogen, while maintaining the atmosphere requires air-tight sealing of the container. Atmospheric air depletion is facilitated through closable air vents located at the top of the container.

Swift and adequate production of foam from below and up is an integral part of the process. The foam, produced from below and up, effectively functions as a blanket, pushing the air out through the air vents at the top of the container. This feature reduces the risk of air pockets by ensuring that for example places under the legs of the animals are covered.

The systems maintain a technical filling time of approximately 10 seconds, depending on the system’s design. Filling times with animals present may vary slightly depending on stocking density and movement. On average, filling times with animals present are up to twice the technical filling time, typically shorter.

The foam serves three main purposes: controlling the nitrogen, displacing the atmospheric air, and releasing the nitrogen. This requires a foam that is stable enough to adequately fill the container yet brittle enough to break and release the encapsulated nitrogen. However, a foam with only these characteristics may not be advisable for animal exposure. Therefore, significant focus has been directed towards developing a foam that minimizes its impact.

Once the container is entirely filled with foam, a burst of nitrogen is introduced to break the foam. This burst is delivered through a specially designed nozzle. The nozzle’s technical feature disperses the nitrogen widely, rather than producing a concentrated stream, resulting in minimal impact. Breaking the foam aims to enhance the process for both animals and operators by eliminating the risk of air pockets and ensuring a homogeneous atmosphere for accurate oxygen measurement. It also provides full visibility for the operator to easily monitor the animals’ responses throughout the process.

All systems are operated by an semi-automatic process with an emergency stop function. Visibility of the process is important and can always be monitored through a transparent lid or built-in window of the system. To prevent animals from slipping a anti-slip rubber carpet always follows the system.

Innovation made in Sweden.

HEFTs innovative solutions are all developed and manufactured with high quality to meet our standards as a Swedish product, but also to withstand tough surroundings at the farm. From the drawing board to the final product, each component is carefully selected based on functionality, origin and quality to create solutions with ease of use and respect for the animals.

Great benefits from
HEFT method.

  • Less pain

  • Less stress

  • No respiratory distress

  • Operator friendly

  • No restraining

  • Time effective

  • Consistent

  • Semi automatic system

  • Biosecure

  • No need of sticking

Other Current Methods

  • Less pain

  • Less stress

  • No respiratory distress

  • Operator friendly

  • No restraining

  • Time effective

  • Consistent

  • Semi automatic system

  • Biosecure

  • No need of sticking

Need more information?

View and download our full comparison table for On farm and Emergency response

Great benefits from
HEFT method.

Need more information?

View and download our full comparison table for On farm and Emergency response