Effects of applying preslaughter feed withdrawal at the abattoir on behaviour, blood parameters and meat quality in pigs

Abstract

To study the effects of starting time of feed withdrawal on behaviour during loading and lairage, and meat quality (pH, colour and drip loss) in pigs, a total of 700 pigs were distributed into two groups. One group (FARM) was fasted for 18 h at the farm before transport and for 6 h before slaughter (including 2 h transport and 4 h lairage), while for the other group (PLANT) fasting time started at the departure from the farm (2 h transport plus 22 h lairage). Total fasting time was 24 h before slaughter for both groups. Fasting treatments did not influence blood parameters. PLANT pigs had longer fights (P b 0.05) than FARM pigs during lairage and produced darker (P = 0.02) and drier (P = 0.03) loins. Based on the results of this study, it may be preferable to commence feed withdrawal at the farm.

Preslaughter handling practices and their effects on animal welfare and pork quality1

“…In an epidemiological study conducted in Canada, farm was identified as the major source (25%) of deadson-arrival (DOA) and nonambulatory pigs on arrival at the plant compared with the transporter and the packer (16% each; Sunstrum et al, 2006;Dewey et al, 2009). The main sources of variation of these effects between farms include: the housing system (Barton-Gade, 2008;Rocha et al, 2016), the preparation of pigs for transport (Faucitano et al, 2010;Dalla Costa et al, 2016), and the handling of pigs at loading (Johnson et al, 2013;Goumon and Faucitano, 2017).…”

“…Feed withdrawal is a recommended practice for on-farm preparation of pigs before slaughter in order to prevent animal losses and travel sickness during transport (Bradshaw et al, 1996;Averós et al, 2008;National Farm Animal Care Council, 2014), to reduce carcass contamination due to lower risk of gut contents spillage during carcass processing, and to improve pork quality (Faucitano et al, 2010). However, when compared with unfasted pigs, fasted groups of pigs (18 h prior to loading) appear to be more difficult to handle at loading, as they go backward, roundturn, and vocalize more (Dalla Costa et al, 2016). The increased frustration, fatigue, and excitement caused by hunger are the likely causes for these behaviors (Arnone and Dantzer, 1980;Lewis, 1999;Edwards et al, 2010b).…”

“…The reason for this choice is the lack of shipping facilities where the heaviest pigs can be moved to ahead of time before loading (see later section) and have their feed withdrawn separately from the group of origin (Faucitano et al, 2010).Therefore, starting fasting time at the departure from the farm may still prevent the risk of full stomachs at slaughter, provided the 16 to 24 h fasting time is respected by imposing longer lairage time at the abattoir; however, it may reduce the welfare of pigs during transport and in lairage (Guàrdia et al, 1996;Warriss, 1996;Stewart et al, 2008). Keeping mixed groups of pigs in lairage for a long time (overnight to >24 h) has, in fact, been associated with an increased number of fights, due to hunger-related irritability and excitement (Warriss et al, 1998;Guàrdia et al, 2009;Dalla Costa et al, 2016), greater risk of skin lesions on the carcass (Guàrdia et al, 2009), and pork with dark, firm, dry (DFD) characteristics (Dalla Costa et al, 2016).…”

Research Article A DdeI polymorphism in the growth hormone gene is associated with higher lean meat yield and pH 45 min in postmortem pigs

“…However, the LC muscle consists predominantly of red fibers, which are an indicator of dark, firm, and dry (DFD) meat. Variations of pH 45 have multifactorial causes such as the hottest season of the year, fights between animals that did not fast, and type of muscular fiber (Dalla Costa et al, 2016;Rey-Salgueiro et al, 2018). Due to these factors, the pH decline in the transformation of muscle into meat directly influences attributes such as color, WHC, softness, and flavor, according to Rübensam (2000), Gomide (2007), and Scheffler et al (2013); thus meat should not be classified using a single parameter.…”

Uso de seleção assistida por marcadores moleculares em melhoramento genético de suínos

“…However, the LC muscle consists predominantly of red fibers and is used as an indicator of dark, firm, and dry (DFD) meat. Variations of pH45 have multifactorial causes such as the hottest season of the year, fights between animals that did not fast, and type of muscular fiber(Dalla Costa et al, 2016;Rey-Salgueiro et al, 2018). Due to these factors, pH decline in the transformation of the muscle in meat directly influences attributes such as color, WHC, softness, and flavor, according toRübensam (2000); Ramos;…”