Stunning is a practice that aims to induce in the animal a state of unconsciousness and temporary insensitivity to pain and perceptions, so as to allow painless slaughter which, practiced after stunning, also allows to obtain better quality meat.
Today, cattle are mainly stunned with captive bolt guns (stunning by brain trauma), through electrified tongs (stunning by electronarcosis) and with exposure to carbon dioxide (stunning by asphyxiation).