The welfare of cattle, pigs, sheep and goats was assessed by measuring trauma detected during veterinary postmortem inspection at slaughterhouses. The subject of this evaluation were all bovine, porcine, ovine and caprine animals slaughtered at Czech slaughterhouses in the monitored period, i.e., a total of 1,136,754 cows, 257,912 heifers, 1,015,541 bulls, 104,459 calves, 586,245 sows, 25,027,303 finisher pigs, 123,191 piglets, 22,815 ewes, 114,264 lambs, 1348 does and 5778 kids. The data on the numbers of traumatic findings were obtained retrospectively from a national veterinary database collecting data from slaughterhouse postmortem examinations. The results showed that findings of trauma were observed at a low frequency in the studied species. Injuries were detected most frequently in cows (1.71%). In contrast, no findings associated with the presence of trauma were recorded in does and kids. From the viewpoint of trauma localization, findings on the limbs were more frequent than findings on the body (p < 0.01). The only exceptions to this were lambs, does and kids, for which there was no statistically significant difference between findings on the limbs and the body (p = 1.00). The results show that housing system (bedding, the presence of slats, floor hardness), transport of animals to the slaughterhouse (moving animals to the vehicle, loading ramps, floors in transport vehicles and the transport of animals itself) and design of the slaughterhouse (unloading ramps, passageways and slaughterhouse floors) have a greater impact on the limbs than the bodies of animals in the majority of species. A difference was also demonstrated in the occurrence of findings of trauma in the limbs and body (p < 0.01) between culled adult animals and fattened animals, namely in cattle and pigs. A difference (p < 0.01) between ewes and lambs was found only in the occurrence of traumatic injury to the limbs. The results showed that fattened animals are affected by the risk of trauma to a lesser extent than both culled adult animals and young animals. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.01) were also found between the studied species and categories of animals. The category most affected from the viewpoint of injury both to the limbs and body was cows. In contrast to cows that are typically reared indoors, the low frequency of traumatic findings was found in small ruminants and in bulls, i.e., animals typically reared outdoors. Assumedly, access to pasture may be beneficial considering the risk of traumatic injury.

The findings of traumatic injuries during post-mortem inspection in slaughterhouses reflect the level of pre-slaughter handling of animals at the farm and during transport to the slaughterhouse. The prevalence of traumatic injuries was monitored in poultry (1,089,406,687 broiler chickens, 20,030,744 laying hens, 1,181,598 turkeys, 37,690 geese, 28,579,765 ducks) and rabbits (1,876,929) originating from farms in the Czech Republic and slaughtered in slaughterhouses in the Czech Republic between 2010 and 2019. The greatest incidence of traumatic injuries was found in laying hens (2.80%) and rabbits (1.52%); while the overall incidence of trauma was less than 0.5% in other species and categories. The results show that the current rearing conditions and/or pre-slaughter handling of poultry and rabbits particularly affect the limbs; traumatic findings were significantly (p < 0.01) more frequent on the limbs than on the trunk in all species studied. In poultry, traumatic findings on the trunk were orders of magnitude lower to negligible, so the focus should be on preventing injuries to the limbs. In rabbits, the difference was less pronounced, and many injuries were found on both limbs (0.83%) and trunk (0.69%). Our results emphasize the need to reconsider both housing and pre-slaughter handling methods to determine minimum standards for the protection of rabbits, which are still lacking in European legislation.

We monitored liver damage in cattle (cows, heifers, fattening bulls, and calves culled from the herd), pigs (sows, finishing pigs, and piglets culled from the farm), sheep (ewes and lambs), goats (does and kids), rabbits, and poultry (end-of-lay hens, broiler chickens, turkeys, domestic ducks, and domestic geese) in the period from 2010 to 2021. All animals (n = 1,425,710,143) reared on Czech farms and slaughtered at slaughterhouses in the Czech Republic were included in the analysis. We determined the total number of damaged livers for individual categories of animals and also analyzed separately the incidence of damage of acute, chronic, parasitic, and other origin. The overall incidence of liver damage was higher in adult animals compared to fattening animals in all species. In cattle and pigs, the incidence was also higher in young animals culled from the herd compared to fattening animals. When comparing adult animals by species, the incidence of liver damage was highest in cows (46.38%), followed by sows (17.51%), ewes (12.97%), and does (4.26%). When comparing fattening animals by species, the incidence was highest in heifers (14.17%) and fattening bulls (7.97 %), followed by finishing pigs (11.26%), lambs (4.73%), and kids (0.59%). When comparing young culled from the herd by species, it was higher in piglets (32.39%) than in calves (17.6 %), and when poultry and rabbits were compared, the incidence was highest in turkeys (3.38%), followed by ducks (2.20%), geese (1.09%), broiler chickens (0.08%), and rabbits (0.04%). The results indicate that fattening animals have a better liver condition than mature animals and that culled young have a worse liver condition than older fattening animals. Chronic lesions represented the dominant proportion of pathological findings. Parasitic lesions occurred, first and foremost, in animals grazed on meadows with likely parasitic invasion, i.e., in ewes (7.51%), lambs (3.51%), and heifers (1.31%), and in animals in which antiparasitic protection is limited in view of the protection of meat from antiparasitic residues, i.e., finishing pigs (3.68%). Parasitic damage to the liver was rarely detected in rabbits and poultry. The results obtained represent a body of knowledge for measures to improve the health and condition of the liver in food animals.

The performance of stunning in various abattoirs can differ. The aim of the study was to compare the stunning of cattle with a captive bolt in two abattoirs. We monitored the slaughtering skills by measuring the deviation of the location of the stunning shot hole on the skull from the ideal point and further by measuring the angle of inclination of the stunning shot on the skull from the ideal perpendicular angle. We observed the impact of different slaughter skills on the quality of stunning of animals based on the occurrence of failure to achieve motor paralysis after a stun shot. The failure to collapse occurred significantly more frequently (P < 0.05) in abattoir A than in abattoir B. In both abattoirs there was a higher (P < 0.05) number of bulls failing to collapse than in females (cows and heifers). However, the effect of slaughter skills on the occurrence of signs associated with insufficient stunning was not found. The signs occurred in abattoir A and abattoir B to the same extent. In bulls, the number of animals with signs was higher (P < 0.05) than in females in both abattoirs. The results show that insufficient proficiency of skills in stunning cattle with a captive bolt leads to a higher number of animals failing to collapse after a stun shot. The effect of slaughter skills on the occurrence of signs in bulls and females was not proven; however, in bulls a higher incidence of signs was demonstrated than in females.

The aim of the study was to assess post-mortem findings according to their localization and the nature of damage and to assess the standard of health and welfare of farmed rabbits on the basis of these findings. A total of 40,206 pathological findings were recorded in 1,876,929 rabbits slaughtered at slaughterhouses in the Czech Republic in the period from 2010 to 2019. Pathological findings on the limbs (0.84%), the trunk (0.71%), the kidneys (0.17%), and the liver (0.05%), along with generalized changes (0.37%), occurred most frequently. Findings of traumatic origin dominated among findings on the limbs and trunk, which indicates the inappropriate housing and handling rabbits on farms and during transport. Findings in the kidneys and liver were most often of a chronic nature having an evident correlation with the diet of intensively fed rabbits, with shortcomings in the diet having an impact on the parenchyma with chronic manifestations in the liver and kidneys. Among the generalized findings, multiple abscesses, which were probably associated with the infection of injuries occurring during fattening, and emaciation resulting from current husbandry practices, leading to insufficient feed intake or the development of disease in some individuals, predominated.