Quote Originally Posted by Passenger View Post
My Dad in his early teens for pocket money used to help a local farmer with the pig slaughtering among other jobs, relates how they'd pump piggys legs back and forth to help the blood fully drain...toughening gig at any age I'd imagine much less as a kid.
I did this myself P at a local farm, wouldn't say my early teens, more like 15-16. Shocking the first time the travelling butcher bangs the pig between the eyes with a lump hammer then slits its throat. I'd forgotten the leg pumping bit you mention, brings it all back. We could only kill one pig a day, the others knew what was up for the rest of the day and were unapproachable.
The sheep were different, with them being far less intelligent you could butcher a few of them in a day, the kill method was quite different but the butchering afterwards took a similar amount of time.
It taught me that when I eat meat I know where it comes from, and that if needed I can do the necessary myself.