The American Meat Institute considers a 95-percent stun rate acceptable, and research suggests that between 95 and 99 percent of animals are stunned with the first shot.18 But the fact that “only” 1 to 5 percent of cows are insufficiently stunned on the first try means that as many 345,000 to 1.7 million cows per year must be stunned more than once—or they remain conscious during at least part of the slaughter process.19
