Antoni Dalmau

Animal welfare assessment at slaughter in Europe: moving from inputs to outputs.

Producers, retailers and other food chain actors increasingly recognize that consumer concerns for good animal welfare represent a business opportunity that could be profitably incorporated into their commercial strategies. Therefore, during the last decade, numerous trade groups (producers, processors, retailers and restaurant chains) have developed certification systems with their suppliers which include elements of animal welfare. The Welfare Quality® project has developed an integrated and standardised welfare assessment system based on twelve welfare criteria grouped into four main principles (good feeding, good housing, good health and appropriate behaviour) according to how they are experienced by animals. One of the innovations of the Welfare Quality® assessment system is that it focuses more on outcome measures (e.g. directly related to animal body condition, health aspects, injuries, behaviour, etc.). This paper has the objective to discuss the rationale behind the welfare assessment and to describe the Welfare Quality® assessment of pigs and cattle at the slaughterhouse.

Seasonal Changes in Fecal Cortisol Metabolites in Pyrenean Chamois

Abstract We studied seasonal changes in fecal cortisol metabolites (FCM), which have been widely used as indicators of stress, in a population of Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica pyrenaica) in the Cadí Range of northeastern Spain. We collected fecal samples from 2001 to 2003 in 3 particular locations with different altitudes and male or female presence, and we analyzed them for FCM and fecal nitrogen as an indicator of diet quality. We observed a clear seasonal pattern, with the highest FCM in winter, and we obtained correlations between FCM and monthly mean minimum temperatures and fecal nitrogen. We observed no effects of tourism presence, trophy hunting, or rut season on FCM. Analysis of cortisol metabolites in feces can be a good measure of winter stress in Pyrenean chamois.

Effect of the duration of road transport on the physiology and meat quality of lambs

To assess the effect of transport duration on animal welfare and meat quality of lambs, two trials were performed: Forty Ile-de-France × Merino lambs were used in Trial 1 and 40 Comisana lambs in Trial 2. In both trials, the lambs, aged between 14 and 16 weeks, were divided into two groups of 20 animals. One group was subjected to a 1-h period of transportation (T1) and the other to a 24-h period of transportation (T24), both in the same truck and arriving to the same slaughterhouse at the same time. The effect of transport on serum biochemistry variables (cortisol, aspartate transaminase, lactate dehydrogenase, blood urea nitrogen, creatine kinase, creatinine and total proteins), salivary cortisol, metabolites of cortisol in faeces, intra-ruminal temperature and meat quality (pH, conductivity, expressible juice, colour and shear force) was assessed. In both studies, the duration of transport did not affect serum and salivary cortisol concentration (P > 0.05). However, in Trial 2, lambs exposed to 24-h transport had a higher concentration of faecal cortisol metabolites than did those transported for 1 h (P 0.05), with the exception of blood urea nitrogen which was higher in Trial 1 for the T24 group (P 0.05). Nevertheless, in Trial 2, lambs exposed to 24-h transport had higher values of colour attribute of a* (red trend) and less tenderness or higher values of shear force (P < 0.05). The present study showed that although there is little effect on meat quality, signs of stress are detectable in lambs transported for 24 h. Therefore, in the case of lambs, the effect of long transportation periods must be considered more in terms of animal welfare than in terms of product quality.

Development of welfare measures and protocols for the collection of data on farms or at slaughter

One of the main objectives of the Welfare Quality® project was to develop a standardised system for assessing the welfare of animals kept on farms or at slaughter and thus accommodate the main drivers underlying the vision (see Chapter 4). More specifically the need for such an assessment system arose because animal welfare is an important and growing concern for European citizens and of increasing relevance to supply chains and markets as well as policy making and regulatory bodies. It also addresses the fact that European consumers do not feel sufficiently informed about the welfare of farm animals and thereby struggle to take this issue into account when purchasing food or other animal-based products (European Commission, 2007a,b).

Slaughter of pigs

This chapter describes advances in pig welfare during lairage and slaughter. The main purpose of lairage is to have sufficient reserve of animal stock in the holding pen to avoid any interruption in the supply of livestock to the slaughter line. Furthermore, it permits animals to recover from the stress and activity resulting from transport and unloading, which can be beneficial to meat quality. However, lairage pigs in a novel environment with unfamiliar pigs might compromise animal welfare and the benefit of providing animals with a resting time can be lost. Moving animals forward to the stunning point can be a very important source of stress if not done properly. Pigs are usually bled by chest sticking. However, prior to the sticking, stunning is mandatory. The chapter covers the general principles of stunning and the main stunning methods, including the monitoring of welfare. The two main stunning systems used in pigs are electricity and gas and in both cases must ensure the animal not recovering the consciousness before death. The chapter also deals with killing for depopulation purposes and describes the available mechanical methods and lethal injections. Finally, the issue of training of the workers is addressed.

Integration of data collected on farms or at slaughter to generate an overall assessment of animal welfare

One objective of the WelfareQuality® project was to propose a standardised assessment method that could be used to provide transparent information on farm animal welfare to all relevant stakeholders. As described in earlier chapters, Welfare Quality® therefore built welfare assessment systems for cattle, pigs and poultry incorporating numerous measures based preferably on the animals but also to a lesser extent on resources and management of animal units (farms or slaughter plants). Of course, the substantial amount of data gathered during assessment needs to be meaningfully interpreted in terms of welfare and then integrated to provide an overall evaluation of the animal unit. Therefore, Welfare Quality® designed a scoring model to integrate the data and to translate value judgements into refined and easily understandable information that could serve various purposes and guide the decisions of stakeholders (including consumers) with regard to farm animal welfare.

In Vitro Ruminal Fermentation Using Inoculum From Chamois and Cattle

Abstract Six dual-flow continuous culture fermenters were used over a 10-day experimental period to compare the digestibilities of dry matter (DM) and fiber, ruminal fermentation profile, and nitrogen metabolism of rumen microbial populations obtained from an inoculum of chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica pyrenaica) and cattle (Bos taurus). The aim of this work was to test the fermenters with inoculum from chamois and to compare the function of ruminal microbial population of chamois and cattle under the same conditions of diet and passage rate. Fermenters were fed 56 g DM daily of a diet consisting of 75% Italian ryegrass hay (Lolium multiflorum Lam. var. westerwoldicum) and 25% alfalfa hay (Medicago sativa L.). Both inocula were adapted to the in vitro conditions after 6 days. There were no differences in DM and fiber digestibilities, and total volatile fatty acids concentration (VFA) between cattle and chamois inocula. The proportion of propionate was higher (25.8 vs. 17.9 mol/100 mol), and that of butyrate was lower (9.9 vs. 13.8 mol/100 mol) in chamois inoculum than in cattle inoculum. Ammonia nitrogen concentration was greater (10.6 vs. 6.7 mg/100 ml), but microbial protein synthesis was lower (41.1 vs. 55.3% of total nitrogen flow) in chamois inoculum than in cattle inoculum. These results suggest that microbial populations from chamois and cattle inocula, maintained under the same conditions of diet and passage rate, have a similar degradation capacity, producing the same amounts of VFA, but with a different fermentation profile, and different microbial protein synthesis. The dual-flow continuous culture fermenters could be a useful tool to study ruminal fermentation in wild species such as Pyrenean chamois.

Slaughter without stunning

Abstract Slaughter without stunning is mainly carried out for religious slaughter purposes, but also during backyard slaughtering and by small-scale poultry producers in the United States. If animals are conscious during slaughter, the risk of suffering increases in three respects. First, robust restraint of conscious animals for neck cutting causes stress, especially if animals are turned on their side or back in rotary casting pens. Second, the incision made in the throat to sever blood vessels involves substantial tissue damage in areas well supplied with nociceptors. The activation of the protective nociceptive system induces the animal to experience pain. Third, death due to sticking is not immediate and there is a period during which the animal is still conscious and can feel anxiety, pain, distress, and other suffering. This chapter provides recommendations for improved practices to be adopted during slaughter without stunning, including systematic checks to ascertain when the animal begins to lose consciousness and when consciousness is finally lost.

Does the location of enrichment material affect behavior and dirtiness in growing female pigs

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to investigate if female growing pigs spend similar amounts of time exploring a wooden stick as they do exploring enrichment material regardless of its proximity to the feeder. Forty-eight pigs aged 18 to 26 weeks allocated to 16 pens with three pigs per pen were studied. Fifty percent of the pens had a wooden stick beside the feeder, and the rest had a similar stick opposite to the feeder. Two observers assessed the pigs by means of scan and focal sampling. The pigs spent more time (p < .0001) exploring the wood during the first week than during the rest of the study (10.9% vs 3.6%). The pigs with the wood close to the feeder spent less (p = .0001) time resting (29.9%) and more (p < .0001) time exploring (6.3%) the wood than did pigs with the wood opposite to the feeder (32.4% and 2.5%, respectively). In conclusion, a wooden stick placed close to the feeder was associated with more exploratory behaviorcompared with a similar stick placed opposite to the feeder.

Malignant infarction of the middle cerebral artery in a porcine model. A pilot study

Background and purpose Interspecies variability and poor clinical translation from rodent studies indicate that large gyrencephalic animal stroke models are urgently needed. We present a proof-of-principle study describing an alternative animal model of malignant infarction of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) in the common pig and illustrate some of its potential applications. We report on metabolic patterns, ionic profile, brain partial pressure of oxygen (PtiO2), expression of sulfonylurea receptor 1 (SUR1), and the transient receptor potential melastatin 4 (TRPM4). Methods A 5-hour ischemic infarct of the MCA territory was performed in 5 2.5-to-3-month-old female hybrid pigs (Large White x Landrace) using a frontotemporal approach. The core and penumbra areas were intraoperatively monitored to determine the metabolic and ionic profiles. To determine the infarct volume, 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining and immunohistochemistry analysis was performed to determine SUR1 and TRPM4 expression. Results PtiO2 monitoring showed an abrupt reduction in values close to 0 mmHg after MCA occlusion in the core area. Hourly cerebral microdialysis showed that the infarcted tissue was characterized by reduced concentrations of glucose (0.03 mM) and pyruvate (0.003 mM) and increases in lactate levels (8.87mM), lactate-pyruvate ratio (4202), glycerol levels (588 μM), and potassium concentration (27.9 mmol/L). Immunohistochemical analysis showed increased expression of SUR1-TRPM4 channels. Conclusions The aim of the present proof-of-principle study was to document the feasibility of a large animal model of malignant MCA infarction by performing transcranial occlusion of the MCA in the common pig, as an alternative to lisencephalic animals. This model may be useful for detailed studies of cerebral ischemia mechanisms and the development of neuroprotective strategies.