Exsanguination and Islamic dhabihah (halal) dietary laws. The double edged pointed knife is prohibited. Instead, a long knife with a squared off end is used that in Jewish law must be at least twice the width of the animal's neck. The operation of sticking or exsanguination is executed faster than when using the pointed knife, as four large blood vessels in the neck are severed simultaneously. A 1978 study at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover indicates that these traditional methods, when executed as prescribed by the religious authorities, gave results which proved "...pain and suffering to the extent as has
Exsanguination since long been generally associated in public with this kind of slaughter cannot be registered..." and that "[a complete loss of consciousness] occurred generally within considerably less time than during the slaughter method after captive bolt stunning." In Islamic and Jewish law, captive bolts and other methods of pre-slaughter paralysis are generally not permissible, as consumption of animals found dead are regarded as carrion and stunned animals that are later killed will come into this category. Various halal food authorities have more recently permitted the use of a recently developed fail-safe system of head-only stunning using a mushroom shaped hammer