A balanced perspective on animal welfare for improved meat and meat products

Abstract

Increased public concern for animal welfare in the logistics chain has led to a rise in the scrutiny of the treatment of food animals. Factors affecting the status of welfare of slaughter animals begin at the farm and occur during transportation and at the abattoir. The activities that animals pass through before slaughter are thought to have negative effects on both the animal and the product. Before or during this period, animals suffer pain, which compromises their physical, health and biochemical status, and meat quality and quantity; which leads to economic losses. Environmental impact plays a role in the behaviour, growth, development and welfare of animals, even though it is associated with the production of greenhouse gases and biodiversity. Food producers are also mindful of the challenges of feeding the ever-increasing human population. Although the issues of animal production, which range from the environment to human health, have been discussed, animal welfare-related factors that are at play in the production chain of farm animals must still be addressed. An understanding of the animal's environment, behaviour and the biochemical interactions that are at play in stressful conditions; and the implications of these for animal health and welfare are key to developing effective mitigation strategies. Therefore, the objective of this review is to highlight the literature on animal welfare, and suggest strategies that could be adopted for the improvement of meat animals, meat quality and meat products. ______________________________________________________________________________________

Effects of various pre-slaughter conditions on pig carcasses and meat quality in a low-input slaughter facility

“…Likewise, the frequency of carcasses with skin lesions and the prevalence of DFD meat increased progressively with longer lairage . Adverse weather conditions have an impact on ante-and post-mortem muscle glycogen stores, which leads to higher incidences of bruised carcasses and DFD meat in winter, while animal losses and the risk of PSE meat increase in summer (Guárdia et al, 2004, Guárdia et al, 2005, Chulayo & Muchenje, 2015. Several studies showed that an increase in the slaughter weight of fattening pigs diminishes carcass and meat quality characteristics (Cisneros et al, 1996, Latorre et al, 2004, Czyżak-Runowska et al, 2015.…”

Pre-slaughter effects on bleed-out times and some behavioural and physiological responses of Nguni and non-descript steers

“…The removal of slaughter animals from the farm habitat exposes them to various unfamiliar conditions and handling methods at all stages from the farm to the knocking box at the abattoir (Ferguson & Warner, 2008). Therefore, there is need to pay attention to animal welfare in all stages of production, in order to improve product quality (Chulayo & Muchenje, 2015). Steer transportation has been described as the key component joining the events involved in the preslaughter logistics chain (Miranda-de la Lama et al, 2014).…”

An outlook on livestock welfare conditions in African communities — A review

“…However, with the increasing consumer scrutiny of the conditions production animals are reared in, particularly regarding their wellbeing and health, producers ought to comply. Chulayo and Muchenje [54] reported that AW is generally associated with producers, retailers and the industry, with no consumer consideration, though it may affect their attitudes towards and purchase decision of certain products. Hence, the current status re garding awareness of AW matters disqualifies the region from import and export participation with the rest of the world, as reflected in a sluggish contribution towards economic growth [14,15,47,55].…”