GB2194425A

GB2194425A - Humane dispatcher for birds

Info

Publication number: GB2194425A
Application number: GB08720074A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Harold Alec Payne
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-08-28
Filing date: 1987-08-26
Publication date: 1988-03-09
Anticipated expiration: 2007-08-26
Also published as: GB8620866D0; GB2194425B; GB8720074D0

Abstract

A humane dispatcher for breaking the spinal cord of a bird, comprises two blunt jaws 31, 32. The jaws 31, 32 are pivotally connected by a pivot pin 33 and are movable towards and away from each other by handles. The jaws have straight blunt edges 43 which are aligned with each other and which are close together in the closed position. At their free ends the jaws have projections 41 which prevent the edges 43 from touching and leave a gap between the jaws along most of their length in the closed position. Upstands 40 are secured to the free ends of the jaws to prevent sideways ejection of a bird's neck as the jaws are brought together. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Humane dispatcher This invention relates to humane dispatchers.

Killing of birds can be difficult. The normal method is to break a bird's neck. However, these is a risk that the next will become completely severed, which causes excessive bleeding and reduces the value of the bird.

The object of this invention is to provide a humane dispatcher for breaking a bird's neck without severing it.

According to the invention, a humane dispatcher comprising a pair of blunt jaws including stop means to prevent the jaws from abutting along the majority of their length when closed, whereby a small gap is left between the closed jaws.

According to another aspect of the invention, a humane dispatcher comprises a pair of blunt jaws relatively manually movable from an open position to a closed position, including stop means engageable in the closed position to limit the approach of the jaws, whereby a small gap is left between the majority of the length of the closed jaws.

This gap is important because, although closure of the jaws on a bird's neck is intended to break the spinal cord in the bird's neck and in the process is likely to break the bird's windpipe as well, it prevents the jaws from severing the skin on the neck. Thus the head is not severed from the body.

Preferably the stop means is such that the gap between the closed jaws is approximately one millimetre or less. In the described embodiments, the gaps are one quarter of a millimetre and one millimetre, respectively.

Conveniently, the jaws are pivotally connected. In this case, it is preferred, because closure of the jaws tends to displace a neck in the bight therebetween sideways, to provide restraining means for restaining the neck from moving sideways. on closure of the jaws.

Such restraining means may be formed by upstands at the free ends of the jaws. The upstands face each other, but are laterally displaced to pass alongside each other on closure.

The jaws and upstands may be conveniently made of heavy gauge wire bent to L shape, and welded to a pliers type body.

Alternatively, the jaws may be of relatively thin metal plate. In this case, the upstands may be keys of similar thickness.

The stop means may be provided by shaping the jaws so that they abut at one, the other or both ends. Alternatively, the stop means may be provided by abutment of one or both restraining means' upstand with a portion of the pliers type body.

To help understanding of the invention, specific embodiments thereof will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a view of a first embodiment of humane dispatcher according to the invention with its jaws open; Figure 2 is a view of the device of Fig. 1 with its jaws closed; Figure 3 is a scrap view in the direction of arrow A in Fig. 2; Figure 4 is a side elevational view of a second embodiment by humane dispatcher according to the invention in the closed position; Figure 5 is a similar view, partly broken away, of the device of Fig. 4 in the open position; Figure 6 is an end elevational view of the device of Fig. 4 looking in the direction of arrow C; and Figure 7 is a plan view, partly broken away, of the device of Fig. 4.

The humane dispatcher shown in Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings has a pair of pliers type levers 1, 2 with handle grips 3, 4, a pivot pin 5, an opening spring 6, a catch 7 and pin 8 for keeping the device closed against the spring 6, and a pair of operative ends 9, 10 closed together on closure of the handle grips 3, 4. On each operative end 9, 10 a boss 11, 12 is secured, with the two bosses 11, 12 facing towards each other. The bosses are secured to faces 13, 14 of the ends 9, 10.

L-shaped, in side view as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, jaw/upstand members 15, 16 are brazed to the bosses 9, 10 and faces 13, 14 respectively at points B on jaw parts 17-, 18.

The members 15, 16 are of 4mm steel wire.

They have neck-restraining upstands 19, 20 bent at right angles to the jaw parts 17, 18 and off-set with resect to the jaw parts so as to allow the jaw parts to come close together. The off-set is shown in Fig. 3. The upstands are of such length as to abut the free ends of the faces 13, 14 as shown in Fig. 2, leaving a gap 21 between the jaw parts 17, 18 of 0.25mm. These then form blunt jaws. The bosses 9, 10 are relieved at 45" on their ends 22.

In use, a bird's neck is placed on the bight of the jaws 17, 18. As the device is closed, the neck is restrained from being wedgely forced out of the jaws by the restraining upstands 19, 20. On final tightening closure, the spinal cord in the neck is severed, whereas the skin trapped in the gap 21 is not severed.

In the second embodiment of humane dispatcher shown in Figs. 4 to 7 of the drawings, there are two blunt jaws 31, 32 pivotally connected by a pivot pin 33, the jaws being connected respectively to levers 34, 35 with hand grips 36, 37 by which the jaws are relatively movable from a closed position (Fig. 4) to an open position (Fig. 5). The jaws 31, 32 are similar in construction but fitted in opposite directions, so that similar parts have been given the same reference numerals for simplicity. The jaws 31, 32 have generally circular pivot ends 38 from which extend straight relatively thin blade portions. The pivot ends and blade portions are made of single pieces of relatively thin metal plate. Adjacent the pivot ends 38, the blade portions 39 are offset at 40 (Fig. 7) so that the pivot ends 38 are in face contact and the blade portions are aligned.The metal of which the jaws 31, 32 are made is approximately 3 mm in thickness and the blade portions 39 are approximately 15 mm in depth. At their ends remote from the pivot pin 33, the blade portions of the jaws have very small projections 41 of approximately 0.5 mm, formed by shaping the jaws, so that, in the closed position, the projections 41 engage to act as stop means to prevent the jaws abutting along the majority of their length, whereby a small gap of approximately 1 mm is left between facing edges 43 of the jaws. The effect of the projections 41 is to limit the approach of the jaws, whereby the small gap 42 is left between the majority of the length of the closed jaws. The distance from the pivot pin 33 to the free ends of the jaws is approximately 60 mm, and the edges 43 of the jaws separated by the gap 42 are approximately 40 mm long.

The pivot ends 38 of the jaws have two peripheral recesses; the first recess in the pivot end of one jaw is just large enough to receive a pin 44 in the corresponding lever 34 or 35, which pin 44 passes through the second recess in the pivot end of the other jaw, which second recess extends peripherally su fficiently to allow relative opening and closing movement of the jaws.

At the free ends of the jaws 31, 32, restraining means are mounted in the form of upstands 45 similar to square section metal cotter pins. The upstands 45 are approximately 23 mm in length and are secured to the one sides of the blade portions 39, so as to project about 10 mm at right angles to the edges 43 in the vicinity of the projections 41.

The upstands 45 are of the same gauge metal plate as the jaws.

The edges 43 are blunt and may be of semi-circular cross-section. The projections 41 may have flat engaging surfaces the better to define the gap 42 between the edges 43 in the closed position of the jaws.

In use, a bird's neck is placed in the bight of the jaws 31, 32 in the open position. The levers 34, 35 are pivoted by manually gripping the hand grips 36, 37 to move the jaws 31, 32 towards the closed position. As the device is closed, the neck is restrained from being -wedgedly forced out of the jaws sideways by the restraining upstands 45 which close off the bight before the jaws reach their closed position. On final tightening closure, the stop projections 41 engage to limit the approach of the edges 43 to the gap 42 which is small enough to ensure that the spinal cord in the neck is severed, but wide enough to ensure that the trapped skin is not severed.

Other forms of jaw closure means may be used, though pliers type gripping levers are preferred. Such may, for example, have parallelogram linkages to give parallel movement of the jaws to the closed position. Restraining means at both ends of the jaws might then be advantageous as well as stop means at both ends. It will be appreciated that the restraining means prevents the bird's neck interfering with the engagement of the stop means.

Claims

1. A humane dispatcher comprising a pair of blunt jaws including stop means to prevent the jaws from abutting along the majority of their length when closed, whereby a small gap is left between the closed jaws.

2. A humane dispatcher comprising a pair of blunt jaws relatively manually movable from an open position to a closed position, including stop means engageable in the closed position to limit the approach of the jaws, whereby a small gap is left between the majority of the length of the closed jaws.

3. A dispatcher according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which the jaws and handles are pivotally connected.

3. A dispatcher according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the gap between the closed jaws is approximately one millimetre or less.

4. A dispatcher according to claim 1, 2 or 3, in which the jaws are pivotally connected.

5. A dispatcher according to any preceding claim, including restraining means on the jaws for restraining sideways movement of objects placed between the open jaws upon closure of the jaws.

6. A dispatcher according to claim 5, in which the restraining means are formed by upstands at the free ends of the jaws.

7. A dispatcher according to claim 6, in which the upstands face each other and are laterally displaced to pass alongside each other upon closure.

8. A dispatcher according to any preceding claim, in which the stop means are provided by shaping the jaws so that they abut at their free ends.

9. A dispatcher according to claim 8, in which the blunt edges of the jaws are curved and the stop shapes engage along flat surfaces.

10. A humane dispatcher substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs.

1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.

11. A humane dispatcher substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs.

4 to 7 of the accompanying drawings.

CLAIMS Amendments to the claims have been filed, and have the following effect: Claims 1 to 3 above have been deleted or textually amended.

New or textually amended claims have been filed as follows: Claims 3 and 5 to 11 above have been renumbered as 2 and 4 to 10 and their appendancies corrected.

1. A humane dispatcher comprising a pair of blunt jaws, each jaw being connected to or integral with a handle, so that the jaws are relatively manually movable from an open position to a closed position, including stop means engageable in the closed position to limit the approach of the jaws, whereby a small gap is left between the majority of the length of the closed jaws.