Effective animal stunning

An animal stunning apparatus for inducing unconsciousness and insensibility of a live subject animal includes an applicator for contacting an application point on the live subject animal's head and couples microwave radiation to the head. A microwave generator generates microwave energy of a suitable power level and frequency, and a waveguide directs the microwave radiation to the applicator. An auto-tuner in the waveguide uses a directional coupler to detect forward and reflected power and to tune in real time the impedance for matching the load and optimize effective power transfer. A switch discontinues the application of microwave radiation that is heating the frontal portion of the brain after a period of time sufficient to induce the unconsciousness and insensibility. Methods for inducing rapid unconsciousness and insensibility in an animal include application of microwave radiation.