Psycho-social stress in humans at mass slaughter of farm animals

Animal epidemics are part of everyday life in animal husbandry, as are the psychosocial effects of the killing/slaughter of animals on the animal keeper. So here we are talking about everyday life observations of concerned people and veterinarians. But now, after the mass slaughter of contaminated animals in conjunction with BSE and MKS, society and the church have taught us to take a much closer look and we now realise that pathological traumatic states are to be considered almost universal concomitant phenomena. Rural families as well as the veterinarians and slaughtering teams involved (Keulungsteams) have to bear the emotional consequences of the circumstances of the loss of these animal for a long time. For the sake of people and the vitalisation of the human-animal-relationship the pastoral service ("Kirchlicher Dienst") has initiated an oecumenically organised and specially trained pastoral care task force in Lower Saxony. Its intention is to support the initiation of trauma coverage regarding psycho-religious ways of connectivity at the entrance point of the crisis.