Injuries and Proportion of Animals Culled on Farm: Assessment at the Slaughterhouse (Animal-Based Measure)


There are several approaches to evaluate injuries/culls either ante- or post-mortem. This GP suggests: 1) Ante-mortem inspection (conducted upon arrival for all batches from each farm) that involves sampling from transport crates to assess: the percentage of animals that are suffocated during transport, those experiencing heat stress upon arrival or while waiting on the loading platform, and those improperly loaded or trapped. This includes evaluating the information sheet from the food chain covering the last 30 days, which must be submitted 24 to 48 hours before slaughter. The condition of the batch is also assessed, noting if the animals are soiled with dirty manure, etc. 2) Post-mortem inspection where trained personnel looks at carcasses from the processing line for bruises, pododermatitis, or other leg lesions, based on manual evaluation—this can vary from one slaughterhouse to another. When the slaughterhouse is equipped with a camera, 100% of the animals are monitored for pododermatitis. Tarsal burns and blisters that may indicate friction injuries can be also observed. Several criteria are evaluated for the majority of chickens in a batch, including the percentage of culls, automatic scoring for pododermatitis using integrated camera technology, and weight measurements for batch homogeneity. Salmonella data is also collected, which is mandatory testing for all poultry batches entering the slaughterhouse. Specifically, samples from two sets of 50 chickens per 8,000 chickens per batch are analysed, noting scratches, wing defects, scabby breasts, non-compliant legs, and tarsal burns. Finally, all data is communicated to the farmer to provide feedback and stimulate management changes for better results. The costs are covered by the downstream segment of the poultry production chain, not by the farmer.

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