LIFE BLOOD:
A new photo essay exploring how people in Asia are connected with animals throughout the food chain, from birth till death, and the plate compared with their counterparts in western society.
There is no stigma with regard ethics and political correctness… just a pure life process of raising and killing an animal to survive.
This part of the series will be centred on a slaughterhouse and how it is integrated into a local community, rather than being some kind of taboo subject. Although trends are changing slowly, this particular slaughter house is not located on the outskirts of a city but integrated within it, social activities, sport and housing are all on site…church and schools nearby.
Children within the community are drawn into the process as they will form the next generation of full time workers.
Some of the methods used may appear cruel and outdated, but the animals are treated with a respect that maintains a bond between animal and executioner until the end. The animals are not killed en masse in an industrial setting, there is no panic or stress and the whole process – bleeding, skinning and quartering the animal – is completed in an extremely swift manner.