Joe:

Everything that has been said is basically true. I worked in a packing house in the early '50's, making some money to start college. The "pig sticker" stood between two rows of live pigs hanging from a conveyor belt suspended head down by their hind legs, underside first. The sticker had a long, round "knife" that was about two inches thick near the handle, and tapered to a needle-like point. He would stick the pigs in the juggler as they came by, and the blood would run into a gutter, then collected in containers and sold. This, of course, was in the days before there was anything like an animal welfare league. The pigs would start squeeling when they were first hung up, but it became *much* worse when they were stuck. Ocassionally, the pig sticker would catch a cup of fresh, warm blood and drink it. Not the most pleasant memories in the world! LDB