Abattoir VPH Flashcards
Why do pigs and poultry react more to thermal stress than ruminants?
They are white meat so they have a lot of white muscle fibres so react differently to stunning and heat and are more susceptible to thermal stress.
Why are animals trasnported?
- Within the boundary of the production unit
- Breeding purposes
- Other production units following sale
- To auction markets for sale
- To centralised slaughter plants – less but bigger abattoirs now so need transport
Why is transportation an issue?
Animals removed from normal production unit and placed into unfamiliar surroundings. Physical, physiological and psychological stresses can result in trauma and mortality.
List 7 welfare issues of transportation.
- Confinement
- Isolation or mixing with strange animals
- Noise and vibration
- Extremes of heat and cold
- Hunger and thirst
- Fatigue and/or injury
- Mortality
What is the OV role concerning transport to abattoirs?
- Was the animal fit to transport?
- Was the vehicle fit to transport the animal?
- Report any issues to local authority
What does the welfare of animals (transport) order 2006 general guidance state?
No person shall transport animals in a way likely to cause injury or undue suffering to them.
What does annex 1 of the welfare of animals (transport) order 2006 state about fitness for transport?
- Conditions guaranteed not to cause them injury or unnecessary suffering.
- Unfit for transport if unable to move independent without pain/walk unassisted, severe open wound/prolapse, pregnant female, females who have given birth in the previous week or neonates.
- Sick/injured can be transported if transport would not cause additional suffering.
How should abattoir facilities be stated by welfare of animals (transport) order 2006 annex 1?
- Prevent injury and suffering and minimise excitement and distress during animal movements
- Surfaces shall not be slippery and lateral protections shall be provided so as to prevent animals from escaping
- Lifting platforms and upper floors shall have safety barriers
Which animals does the welfare of animals at the time of killing regulations 2015 state must be killed immediatley?
Animals which have experienced pain or suffering during transport or following arrival and animals which are too young to take solid feed.
What does the welfare of animals at the time of killing regulations 2015 state about lairage conditions?
- Protected from adverse weather conditions and provided with adequate ventilation
- If subjected to high temperatures in humid weather, cooled by appropriate means
- Pending the killing of a sick or disabled animal, it is kept apart from any animal which is not sick or disabled
State the required ramp steepness of species.
26.5° for sheep and cattle other than calves and 20° for pigs. Steeper than 10° = foot battens/similar system
Why is being calm at unloading important to animal welfare?
Studies show that animals do not like going down hill, would rather go up hill, so person doing unloading must be very calm so that there is not additional stress to this stress of unloading.
What increases mortality of transport?
Length of journey and stocking density increasing will increase mortality
Describe the thermal comfort zone of chickens.
Normal temperature is 41.5˚, raising this by 4 will kill them. Deal with hypothermia better than hyperthermia, can get to 30.
Why is there temperature variation on vehicles transporting chickens?
Close environmental control in the transport modules is difficult because on most vehicles the ventilation is passive. Results in wide temperature variation throughout the load
How does the chicken thermal comfort zone change when chickens are confined in crates?
In an open space where they can open wings and cool down is 8-30˚, in a confined crate packed with birds, this becomes 8-18˚.
Describe the airflow in lorries and trailers.
Via passive ventilation. Air goes in in the back and goes out at the top in a lorry. In a trailer it goes in at the front at the bottom and goes out in the middle.
In a lorry, how is temperature distributed?
Birds that die of cold stress tend to be at the back bottom and those that doe of heat stress are at the front top in a lorry. More abattoirs put more birds at the bottom than at the top now.
What is the national level of dead of arrival animals?
0.2-0.4%
What are the 4 main causes of birds arriving DOA?
- Congestive heart failure due to heat stress = 51%
- Physical damage trauma from catching = 35%
- Neck dislocation = 3%
- Unknown = 11%
Define Animal By-Product.
The entire body, part of an animal or a product of animal origin which is not intended for human consumption. Once designated as an ABP, is cannot be reversed.
What do the animal by-products regulations 2013 control?
- The staining of ABP
- The storage and labelling of ABP
- The restriction of the movement of ABP which requires staining
Why do we control animal by-products?
- Hygienic production of meat
- They are not inadvertently or fraudulently diverted away from the disposal route back into the food chain.
- Pathogens are not inadvertently spread.
What are the 3 categories of permitted disposal of ABPs?
Category 3 = low risk, aesthetics.
Category 2 = medium risk, pathogenic to humans or animals
Category 1 – entire bodies of dead animals/carcasses containing SRM
