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
What is category 1 material?
- All cattle and sheep
- All body parts, including hides and skins, of animals suspected or confirmed as having a TSE/transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.
- Animal material (sludge) collected from waste water drain screenings in ruminant slaughterhouses and other premises in which SRM is removed
What measures are taken when animals are killed in the context of TSE eradication?
- Wild animals when suspected of being infected with diseases communicable to humans or animals
- Products derived from animals treated with substances prohibited under EC legislation or containing residues of environmental contaminants.
- Mixing of category 1 material with category 2 or 3
What are the bovine risk materials of all ages?
Tonsils, last 4 meters of the small intestine (peyers patches), the caecum and the mesentery
What are the bovine specified risk material over 12 months old?
Tonsils, last 4 meters of the small intestine (peyers patches), the caecum and the mesentery, skull excluding the mandible and including the brain and eyes, and spinal cord.
What is the bovine specified risk material over 30 months old?
Tonsils, last 4 meters of the small intestine (peyers patches), the caecum and the mesentery, vertebral column including the dorsal root ganglia (but excluding vertebrae of the tail, spinous and transverse process of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, median sacral crest and wings of the sacrum).
How can bovine be aged?
- Ear tag – if this does not match, carcass is rejected immediately
- Animal passport
- Teeth
How are bovine aged by teeth?
0 permanent incisors = birth to 2 weeks
2 permanent incisors = 18-24 months
4 permanent incisors = 24-30 months
6 permanent incisors = 36-42 months
What is the specified risk material for ovine?
Over 12 months = permanent incisor erupted = skull (including brain and eyes), spinal cord
How is category 1 treated and disposed of?
Stained with blue dye and incinerated under licence.
What is exempt from category 2 disposal?
Poultry intestinal contents
What is category 2 material?
- Not for human or animal consumption
- Sludge collected from 6mm waste water drain screenings in non-ruminant
- Residues of veterinary drugs and contaminants
- Material imported from 3rd countries
- Animals and parts of animals that die other than by being slaughtered for human consumption, including those killed for disease control purposes
- Manure and digestive tract contents
- Blood from any animal which has not passed AM inspection
How is category 2 material disposed of?
- Must be slashed – any red meat or chicken over 20Kg
- Stained Black and incinerated
Multiple deep incisions for red meat over 20kg and all poultry
What is category 3 material?
Parts of animals which were slaughtered for human consumption, and after Post Mortem examination either
How must ABPs be transported?
ABP must go into leakproof, labelled containers that must be covered during transport.
Where can category 1 material be sent to?
- Licenced intermediate plant licenced incineration
- Licenced rendering plant specially approved landfill
Where can category 2 material be sent to?
- Licenced intermediate plant Incinerator
- Licenced rendering plant
Where can manure and digestive tract contents be sent?
Composting
Biogas
Applied to land
Where can category 3 material be sent?
- Licenced intermediate plant licenced incineration
- Licenced rendering plant
- Licenced pet food
When is disposal not used?
- Diagnostic/educational/research purposes
- Taxidermy
- If category 2 and 3 are not infected, can feed to zoo/circus animals, reptiles, birds of prey, packs of hounds, and to farm maggots for fishing
- Burial of pet animals
Why do we do residue testing?
There is concern that the use of antibiotics in animals may compromise the effectiveness of related medicines in man. Sex hormones and growth promotors have been used in the past in meat animals.
Define maximum residue limit.
The maximum concentration of residue accepted by the European union in a food product obtained from an animal that has received a veterinary medicine.
Define no effect level.
The maximum dose of a substance that can be consumed over a stated period without producing detectable ill effects. The ‘no effect level’ is used to help calculate an appropriate ‘withdrawal period’ for the medicine.
What is withdrawal period in relation to residues?
The time which passes between the last dose given to the animal and the time when the level of residues in the tissues or products is lower than or equal to the MRL.
When can authorised officers detain animals for residue sampling?
- Can detain any animals for inspection before slaughter
- Can detain any part of an animals for further examination and taking samples for analysis after slaughter
- Detain animals/carcasses until the result of the analysis are known
Describe the process of residue sampling.
- VMD will decide how many samples and tests are required
- Will be sampled randomly by the AO
- Sealed in evidence bags and sent off. Anything positive found will result in a court case
- The FSA will be notified using a Monthly Sampling Schedule
- This will detail what tissue is required Only an AO of the FSA can take samples
- Everything is signed and witnessed
What are the signs of illegal hormone growth promotors in the live animal?
- Secondary sexual characteristics
- Crest development
- Teat development
- Restlessness – animals do not settle in the lairage, mill around
- Behavioural changes
- Mounting
- Aggression
- An even level of finish in a group of cattle of different breed/types
What are the signs that an authorised substance is above the MRL?
- Signs of recent illness, particularly mastitis, lameness/arthritis, and pleurisy/pneumonia
- Poor condition
- Metritis
- Emergency Slaughter animals
- Injection sites, particularly bruising/discoloration, smell and swellings
What is done upon discovering evidence of implants?
- If in the ear, they must detain the carcass and submit the whole ear containing the implant for analysis.
- In any other part of the carcass, the surrounding tissue should be excised with the implant and submitted for analysis.
- Do not attempt to dissect the implant out before dispatch.
