Transport losses in finisher pigs: impact of transport distance and season of the year

Abstract

ObjectiveThe death of animals during transport for slaughter is a major factor indicating the level of welfare in transported animals. The aim of this study was to assess mortality related to the commercial transport of finisher pigs for slaughter in the Czech Republic.MethodsThe inspectors of the State Veterinary Administration of the Czech Republic recorded the numbers of finisher pigs transported to processing plants in the Czech Republic for slaughter and the mortality in these pigs in relation to transport in the period from 2009 to 2014.ResultsOur results show that the likelihood of death losses in transported pigs increases with increasing transport distance. The transport-related mortality ranged from 0.049% in pigs transported for distances below 50 km to 0.145% in pigs transported for distances exceeding 300 km. The impact of external air temperature on the transport-related mortality found in our study clearly shows that current transport practices fail to ensure the welfare of pigs transported under other than moderate weather. Particularly cold temperatures below −2°C were associated with increased death losses in winter transport.ConclusionDespite a decreasing trend in the mortality of finisher pigs transported for slaughter in Europe, our study suggests that current transport conditions are not efficient at ensuring the welfare of pigs during transport for longer distances and the protection of pigs against the negative impact of extreme ambient temperatures. Further research should focus on developing practical guidelines to improve the welfare of pigs in transit accordingly.

Use of Temperature, Humidity, and Slaughter Condemnation Data to Predict Increases in Transport Losses in Three Classes of Swine and Resulting Foregone Revenue

“…An increase in market swine mortality with increasing transport distance was reported by both Voslarova et al (3) and Haley et al (4). Sutherland et al (2) reported the percentage of dead market pigs increased as the journey time increased from 30 min to 4 h, but decreased during journeys lasting more than 4 h.…”

Mortality in rabbits transported for slaughter

“…In fact, greater mortality rates (0.37%) were found only in broiler chickens (Vecerek, Voslarova, Conte, Vecerkova, & Bedanova, ). Otherwise, the preslaughter mortality of rabbits was greater than that recorded in swine (0.07%, Voslarova, Vecerek, Passantino, Chloupek, & Bedanova, ) and bovine animals (0.02%, Simova, Voslarova, Passantino, Bedanova, & Vecerek, ; Simova et al., ), as well as in poultry with the exception of broiler chickens, that is ducks (0.08%, Voslarova, Hytychova, Vecerek, Nenadovic, & Bedanova, ) and turkeys (0.15%, Machovcova et al., ). The overall high losses in rabbits found in our study are more likely to result from varying transport conditions than from rabbits' higher sensitivities to transport stress.…”

“…However, the seasonal impact differs in different species. In pigs (Voslarova et al., ) and broiler chickens (Vecerek et al., ), the greatest death losses were associated with journeys carried out in winter. In turkeys (Machovcova et al., ) and ducks (Voslarova et al., ), the greatest death losses were found in summer.…”

Importance of the knowledge of pathological processes for risk-based inspection in pig slaughterhouses (Study of 2002 to 2016)

“…In Italy, Vitali et al [ 18 ] indicated increase of mortality rates in pigs during transport and lair age at the abattoirs in summer. Opposite, Voslarova et al [ 19 ] in Czech Republic or García-Díez and Coelho [ 5 ] in Portugal showed greater rates of mortality in pigs during the winter. However, most of these reports do not mention the seasonal impact on the carcass condemnations.…”