Preslaughter risk factors associated with mortality and bruising in rabbits

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The aim of this study was to identify and quantify risk factors associated with the mortality and bruising rate prevalence in 975 commercial batches of growing rabbits delivered for slaughter. The effects of environmental temperature, batch size (number of rabbits delivered per batch), journey and lairage duration on dead on arrival (DOA) and bruising prevalence were investigated and expressed as an odds ratio (OR). This value is equivalent to the relative risk, assessing each specifi c factor relative to its reference category (OR=1). The overall mortality rate of 0.09% was affected by environmental temperature, batch size, journey and lairage duration. A signifi cantly increased DOA risk was associated with very low (<7.3°C; OR=1.28) and very high (≥22.6°C; OR=1.85) environmental temperatures. In addition, a signifi cantly higher odds ratio (OR=1.70) was observed in the largest batches (≥3681 rabbits). Both increasing journey and lairage duration dramatically increased the risk of death during the preslaughter period. Rabbits belonging to batches either transported or laired for a long time had a roughly threefold higher risk of death. The overall prevalence of bruise percentage was 2.13% and was affected by environmental temperature, batch size and journey duration. Environmental temperatures ranging from 7.3 to 12.4°C decreased the risk of bruising (OR=0.90), whereas temperatures from 17.5 to 22.6°C and higher than 22.6°C exhibited signifi cantly higher OR values (1.22 and 1.34, respectively). Moreover OR values were higher for small (734 to 1716 rabbits; OR=1.21) and very small (<734 rabbits; OR=1.36) batches, but also for very large ones (≥3681; OR=1.10). As for journey time, transport duration from 308 to 411 min and longer than 411 min duration increased bruising risk (OR= 1.15 and 1.19, respectively), while this risk was slightly decreased (OR=0.96) for medium journey duration (205 to 308 min). In conclusion, even though average DOA and bruising rates were quite low compared with chickens and turkeys, further logistics and planning improvements should be made in batch harvesting to reduce transport and lairage duration as far as possible in conjunction with extremely low and high environmental temperatures.

Mortality in rabbits transported for slaughter

“…It has been shown by Petracci et al. (), as well as by the data on the majority of loads monitored in our study, that losses in transit can be comparatively low. More than 90% of the loads recorded in our study did not exceed 0.5% mortality.…”

“…The only attempt to identify and quantify risk factors associated with the mortality and injury rate occurring between the catching and slaughter of rabbits was made by Petracci et al. (). They analyzed 975 batches shipped for slaughter from 79 farms in Italy throughout 2006 and found a mean transport‐related mortality of 0.09%, ranging from 0% to 1.3%.…”

“…During transport rabbits may be exposed to various stressors which can compromise both their welfare and meat quality. Several key factors have been identified, including deprivation of feed and water (Jolley, ; Verga et al., ), the loading method (Buil et al., ; Mazzone, Vignola, Giammarco, Manetta, & Lambertini, ; Verga et al., ), journey distance and duration (Lambertini, Vignola, Badiani, Zaghini, & Formigoni, ; Liste et al., , ; Maria et al., , ; Petracci, Bianchi, Biguzzi, & Cavani, ), stocking density (De la Fuente, Salazar, Ibanez, & de Chavarri, ), crate position on vehicle (Buil et al., ; Liste et al., , ), noise (De la Fuente, Diaz, Ibanez, & de Chavarri, ), social disruption and an unfamiliar environment (De la Fuente et al., ; Sabuncuoglu et al., ), lairage duration (Buil et al., ; Liste et al., ; Petracci et al., ; Verga et al., ), and environmental conditions (Buil et al., ; De la Fuente et al., , ; Liste et al., , ; Maria et al., , ; Petracci et al., ).…”

“…In Italy, Petracci et al. () reported mean transport‐related mortality of 0.09%, ranging from 0% to 1.3%, in 2006. When compared with findings recorded in Italy in other species, preslaughter mortality of rabbits was slightly higher than that recorded in swine and bovine, while it was much lower compared to mortality rates reported in poultry which are transported using similar procedures and equipment.…”

Stunning methods and slaughter of rabbits for human consumption

“…When the effective temperature is too low, the thermoregulatory capacity of the rabbits for homoeothermy is exceeded. Rabbits can die from hypothermia if the conditions are too cold or the rabbits are wet and cold (Petracci et al, 2010). Growing rabbits (early weaned rabbits)* Progressive fall in ambient temperature induces bradycardia in rabbits and abnormalities induced by hypothermia are detectable in electrocardiograms (ECGs) at À12°C and they become more pronounced at À15°C (Kour et al, 2015).…”