3. Welfare Issues During Handling, Transport, & Slaughter Flashcards
What are the major handling issue in the cattle industry?
People not trained and supervised
Facility problems
Difficult to handle animals (producer problem)
What are important notes when training low stress animal handling?
Calm animals are easier to handle
Teach behavioral principles, flight zone, and point of balance
An electric prod should never be used as a person’s primary driving tool
Handlers who have a positive attitude towards animals will have more productive animals
What impacts flight zone?
Genetics
Amount of contact with people
Quality of contact
What tool can be used to turn an animal?
A flag can be used to turn an animal by blocking the animal’s vision on one side
Should electric prods be banned?
Electric prods should only be used on a stubborn animal that refuses to move and then put away
Handlers should never constantly carry an electric prod
If banned, handler may resort to abusive methods
What are handling tips to reduce electric prod use?
For cattle and pigs, fill crowd pen half full
Move separate small groups of cattle and pigs
Sheep continuous flow large groups
How do you fix facility problems that make animals difficult to move?
Remove distractions
Block vision of things that cause balking
Non-slip flooring
What are distractions that cause balking?
High contract (ex. bright green hose)
Rapid movement
Sharp shadows (more likely to stop moving)
Outdoors (shadows constantly change)
What changes caused cortisol levels to fall?
Block vision at squeeze shoot
No yelling
No dogs
No electric prods
Why is non-slip flooring essential? Where should it be found?
Animals get agitated when they slip
Squeeze chutes, stocks, scales, unloading ramps
How does light impact animals?
Animals are afraid of dark places
Adding a light at the restrainer entrance or making other lighting changes that eliminated shiny reflections will improve animal movement
Electric prod use on pigs was reduced by adding lighting at the restrainer entrance
What are causes of hand to handle cattle?
Lameness
Weak cull cows become non-ambulatory
Wild and excitable animals
Fed too much beta-agonist
Cattle handled exclusively on horseback are dangerous to move by a handler on foot
Constant kicking in some cattle worked by dogs
Congestive heart failure
How does holding producers accountable for handling problems reduce them?
Slaughter plants reduced downers by charging a handling fee
Lack of producer accountability for “at risk cattle”
Less bruises when producers pay for them
What are causes of hard to handle pigs?
Producer never walked the pens
Lameness (poor leg conformation)
Weak from too much beta-agonist
Excitable genetics
PSS stress gene
How do we maintain good handling practices?
Requires constant measurement
Requires regular training and retraining
Requires management commitment to good handling
What are measurement systems for monitoring handling faults?
Percentage of animals electric pordded
Percentage falling
Percentage moved faster than a walk or trot
Percentage vocalizing
Percentage hitting fences or gates
Percentage miscaught in squeeze
What measurements prevent bad from becoming normal?
Can monitor whether producers are improving or becoming worse
Set limits to determine passing score NAMI and OIE both 1% or less of the animals falling
High standards are possible, perfect is not possible
What ways dos auditing and oversight maintain higher standards?
Third party video auditing
Third party audited every year
EU and CA use video cameras to reward good handling
What are welfare issues at the slaughter plant?
Questions about plants with high chain speeds
Do animals know how they are getting slaughtered? No
Religious slaughter without stunning
Fear of blood? Depends
Stunner maintenance
Is kicking animal handing on the rail conscious? Yes
What are humane slaughter or livestock regulations?
The dragging of disabled animals and other animals unable to move while conscious is prohibited, stunned animals may be dragged
Conscious animals should not be dragged, dropped, or thrown
What are the typical stunners in beef plants? Pigs and sheep?
Pneumatic captive bolt
Cartridge fixed capture bolt
Electric stunner in pigs and sheep
What is the effect of chain speed on animal handling and stunning?
Exceeding the speed capacity of the equipment causes abuse in both large and small plants
Understaffing often causes abuse
High line speed plants can be very humane if designed properly
Does the steer know he is getting slaughtered?
No
Stress levels at slaughter plant compared to feed lots?
Stress levels at a well-run slaughter plant are similar to handling on a feedlot or ranch
There is more BQA and employee training in feedlots compared to ranches
What are the 2 issues in religious slaughter?
How the animal is held and handled
Slaughter without stunning
Biggest welfare issue is restraint method!!
What are methods of restraint that cause avoidable suffering and should be avoided?
Suspended of hoisting animals (other than poultry) by the feet or legs
Indiscriminate and inappropriate use of stunning equipment
Mechanical clamping of the legs or feet of the animals as the sole method of restraint
Breaking legs, cutting leg tendons, or blinding an animal to immobilize them
Severing the spinal cord
Breaking tails
Is stunning allowed for religious slaughter?
Glatt Kosher: No
Regular Kosher: Yes, after the cut
Halal: will often allow stunning before cut
What animals are afraid of blood?
Steers and heifers walk calmly into a box covered with blood
Blood, saliva, or urine from highly stressed animals is avoided in cattle, pigs, and rodents
What are causes of captive bolt stunner problems?
Lack of maintenance (most important)
Damp cartridges
Lack of operator training
How do we understand assessing insensibility?
Kicking occurs in unconscious, insensible animals
It will kick even if the head is removed
What are transport issues for cattle?
Fitness for travel (big #1)
Cold stress
Heat stress
Hauled long distances
Overloaded vehicles
Bruises, death losses
Tall holsteins bruised backed
What are characteristics of animals unfit for transport?
Weak cull animals and lactating dairy cows
Lameness
Weak from too much beta-agonist
Freshly weaned “bawling” weaned on truck is calves, Called “at-risk” cattle
Neonatal dairy calves unless transported to specialized calf raising facility
Non-ambulatory
Severe injury
Last 10% of pregnancy
Body Condition
Impacts of Wind Chill
Wind chill factors greatly lower temperature
Freezing rain is deadly
Winter close up truck
Dry cold
Impacts of Heat Stress
Heat builds up rapidly in a stationary vehicle
Keep trucks moving
If stationary, provide fans or sprinkles
Cattle that breathe with their mouths open have severe heat stress
What is the need for long distance transport?
Cull cows in some regions transported long distances
Lack of local slaughter plants
Calves raised in southeast travel 1k to 2k miles to feedlots
Spent hens: no local slaughter plants
Cull boars: only one slaughter plant in North America
Bruises, Death Losses, Broken Wings Reduction
Reduce damage with incentive pay for handlers and transporters
Bonuses and deductions from producer: pay reduces losses
Paying loaders and handlers on a “piece work” basis increases damage and it provides the wrong incentives
Rough handling doubles the amount of bruising
