Abstract: A humane slaughter tool for dispatch of animals has a captive bolt accommodated within and coaxially of a barrel of the tool. The bolt is held in a cocked position against the biasing of a spring and is driven lengthwise of the barrel by a force applied thereto by the spring when the bolt is released. The tool further includes a manually operable cocking lever for returning the bolt to the cocked position. The cocking lever is pivotally mounted on the tool such that pivotal movement of the cocking lever is converted into a linear force to move the bolt against the biasing of the spring to the cocked position.

Abstract: A method of and apparatus for testing the performance of a tool for use in the humane slaughtering of animals wherein a bolt accommodated within and coaxially of a barrel of the tool is adapted to be driven lengthwise of the barrel by a force applied thereto. The method and apparatus includes mounting the tool on a test rig, firing the tool, detecting the time for the captive bolt to travel a pre-determined distance, applying a calibration factor to the detected time to compensate for time delays and determining the actual time to travel the pre-determined distance, and generating a signal representative of the condition of the device based on the actual time.