Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T06:39:14.235Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Characteristics of bruises in carcasses of cows sourced from farms or from livestock markets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 September 2011

A. C. Strappini ,
K. Frankena ,
J. H. M. Metz ,
C. Gallo  and
B. Kemp
A. C. Strappini*
Affiliation:
Adaptation Physiology Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University, PO Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Instituto de Ciencia Animal, Universidad Austral de Chile, Casilla 567, Isla Teja, Valdivia, Chile
K. Frankena
Affiliation:
Quantitative Veterinary Epidemiology Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University, PO Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands
J. H. M. Metz
Affiliation:
Farm Technology Group, Department of Agrotechnology & Food Sciences, Wageningen University, PO Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
C. Gallo
Affiliation:
Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Instituto de Ciencia Animal, Universidad Austral de Chile, Casilla 567, Isla Teja, Valdivia, Chile
B. Kemp
Affiliation:
Adaptation Physiology Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University, PO Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands
Get access

Abstract

Bruises in cattle develop after the application of force, and they provide evidence for sub-optimal animal welfare. The aim of this study was to describe the gross characteristics of bruises in cows arriving at the slaughterhouse directly from farms or through the livestock market. The number of bruises and their distribution on the carcass as well as their severity, shape, size and colour were assessed post mortem in a slaughterhouse in Chile. A total of 258 cow carcasses were evaluated, and a total of 846 bruises were found on 243 of the carcasses. Cows that had passed through a livestock market (M-carcasses) had in total 563 bruises (mean 3.8 bruises/carcass, s.d. 2.0), whereas cows transported directly from farms (F-carcasses) had in total 283 bruises (mean 2.5 bruises/carcass, s.d. 1.8). The backs of F-carcasses had twice as many bruises as M-carcasses (32.9% and 16.2%, respectively), whereas bruises in the rib area were more frequently observed in M-carcasses (13.1%) than in F-carcasses (8.1%). Superficial bruises (grade 1) were the most frequently observed (66.2% of all bruises). Regarding the size of the bruises, 64 (7.6%) were classified as large, 271 (32.0%) as medium and 511 (60.4%) as small. Irregularly shaped bruises were the most frequent (91.1%, n = 771), followed by linear (3.8%, n = 32), circular (3.1%, n = 26) and tramline-shaped bruises (1.9%, n = 16). The latter were noticed only in M-carcasses, which may indicate that these animals were beaten more frequently with sticks or other rod-shaped objects. Fresh, bright red-coloured bruises were found more frequently on all the animals (69.5% from farms and 70.5% from market) compared with bluish (29.7% and 29.3%, respectively) and yellow bruises (0.4% and 0.2%, respectively). The method of selling was significantly associated with the number of bruises on the carcass (P < 0.001) and the anatomical site (P < 0.05), but not with the severity, shape and colour of the bruises. Increased fat coverage reduced the severity of bruises (P < 0.001). This study shows that, in Chile, market animals have more bruises than those sourced directly from farms, and their distribution is different. More information about the causes of infliction may help reduce bruises and it may also improve their welfare. Further studies are required to elucidate whether the causes of the high bruising in the case of animals passing through markets are related only to extra handling (repeated loading, unloading, transportation, eventual mixing) or to the way of handling by personnel and inadequate design.

Keywords

bruisesmarketsfarmscattlewelfare
Type
Full Paper
Information
animal , Volume 6 , Issue 3: 61th EAAP Annual Meeting, 2010, Heraklion, Greece: 10th International Workshop on Biology of Lactation in Farm Animals (BOLFA) and Session “Evolution of mammary gland and milk secretion: consequences for lactation in farm animals” , 27 January 2012 , pp. 502 - 509
Copyright
Copyright © The Animal Consortium 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, B, Horder, JC 1979. The Australian carcass bruises scoring system. Queensland Agricultural Journal 105, 281–287.Google Scholar
Blackshaw, JK, Blackshaw, AW, Kusano, T 1987. Cattle behaviour in a saleyard and its potential to cause bruising. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 27, 753–757.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Broom, DM, Reefmann, N 2005. Chicken welfare as indicated by lesions on carcasses in supermarkets. British Poultry Science 46, 407–414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cockram, MS, Lee, RA 1991. Some preslaughter factors affecting the occurrence of bruising in sheep. British Veterinary Journal 147, 120–125.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eldridge, GA, Barnett, JL, McCausland, IP, Millar, HWC, Vowles, WJ 1984. Bruising and method of marketing cattle. Proceedings of the Australian Society of Animal Production 15, 675.Google Scholar
Faucitano, L, Marquardt, L, Oliveira, MS, Sebastiany Coelho, BH, Terra, NN 1998. The effect of two handling and slaughter systems on skin damage, meat acidification and colour in pigs. Meat Science 50, 13–19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gallo, C 2005. Factores previos al faenamiento que afectan la calidad de las canales y la carne en los bovinos. In Producción y manejo de carne bovina en Chile (ed. A Catrileo), pp. 577–599. Colección Libros INIA No. 16, Chile.Google Scholar
Gallo, C 2009. Bienestar animal y buenas prácticas de manejo animal relacionadas con la calidad de la carne. In Introducción a la ciencia de la carne (ed. G Bianchi and O Feed), pp. 455–494. Editorial Hemisferio Sur, Montevideo, Uruguay.Google Scholar
Gallo, C, Caro, M, Villarroel, C, Araya, P 1999. Características de los bovinos faenados en la X Región (Chile) según las pautas indicadas en las normas oficiales de clasificación y tipificación. Archivos de Medicina Veterinaria 31, 81–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gracey, JF, Collins, DS 1992. Meat hygiene, 9th edition. Bailliere Tindall, London, UK.Google Scholar
Grandin, T 2000. Livestock handling and transport, 2nd edition. CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon, UK.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grandin, T, McGee, K, Lanier, JL 1999. Prevalence of severe welfare problems in horses that arrive at slaughter plants. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 214, 1531–1533.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gregory, NG 1994. Pathology and handling of poultry at the slaughterhouse. World's Poultry Science Journal 50, 66–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gregory, N 2007. Physiology and behaviour of animal suffering. UFAW Animal Welfare, Royal Veterinary College, London, UK.Google Scholar
Hamdy, MK, Kunkle, LE, Rheins, MS, Deatherage, FE 1957. Bruised tissue III. Some factors affecting experimental bruises. Journal of Animal Science 16, 496–501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Instituto Nacional de Normalización, Chile (INN) 2002. Norma Chilena Oficial NCh 1306. Canales de bovino–Definiciones y tipificación, Chile.Google Scholar
Jago, JG, Hargreaves, AL, Harcourt, RG, Matthews, LR 1996. Risk factors associated with bruising in red deer at a commercial slaughter plant. Meat Science 44, 181–191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jarvis, A, Cockram, M 1994. Effects of handling and transport on bruising of sheep sent directly from farms to slaughter. Veterinary Record 135, 523–525.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jarvis, AM, Selkirk, L, Cockram, MS 1995. The influence of source, sex class and pre-slaughter handling on the bruising of cattle at two slaughterhouses. Livestock Production Science 43, 215–224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knowles, TG 1999. A review of the road transport of cattle. Veterinary Record 144, 197–201.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koning, R de 1985. On the well-being of dry sows. PhD, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Lambooij, E 2000. Transport of pigs. In Livestock handling and transport (ed. T Grandin), pp. 275–296. CABI Publishing, New York, USA.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liste, G, Villarroel, M, Chacón, G, Sañudo, C, Olleta, JL, García-Belenguer, S, Alierta, S, María, A 2009. Effect of lairage duration on rabbit welfare and meat quality. Meat Science 82, 71–76.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Matthews, LR 2000. Deer handling and transport. In Livestock handling and transport (ed. T Grandin), pp. 331–362. CABI Publishing, New York, USA.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayes, F 1980. The incidence of bruising in broiler flocks. British Poultry Science 21, 505–509.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCausland, IP, Dougherty, R 1978. Histological ageing of bruises in lambs and calves. Australian Veterinary Journal 54, 525–527.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McNally, PW, Warriss, PD 1996. Recent bruising in cattle at abattoirs. Veterinary Record 138, 126–128.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nijdam, E, Arens, P, Lambooij, E, Decuypere, E, Stegeman, JA 2004. Factors influencing bruises and mortality of broilers during catching, transport, and lairage. Poultry Science 83, 1610–1615.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
ODEPA 2009. Oficina de Estudios y Políticas Agrarias. Beneficio de ganado por especie y numero de animales. Retrieved December 10, 2010, from http://www.odepa.gob.clGoogle Scholar
Strappini, AC, Metz, JHM, Gallo, CB, Kemp, B 2009. Origin and assessment of bruises in beef cattle at slaughter. Animal 3, 728–736.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Strappini Asteggiano, AC 2010a. Problemas y errores más comunes encontrados en Chile durante el manejo del ganado. In Bienestar animal y calidad de la carne (ed. D Mota-Rojas, I Guerrero-Legarreta and ME Trujillo-Ortega), pp. 157–169. Editorial B.M., México.Google Scholar
Strappini, AC, Frankena, K, Gallo, C, Metz, J, Kemp, B 2010b. Prevalence and risk factors for bruises in Chilean bovine carcasses. Meat Science 86, 859–864.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tarumán, JA, Gallo, CB 2008. Bruising in lamb carcasses and its relationship with transport. Archivos de Medicina Veterinaria 40, 275–279.Google Scholar
Weeks, CA, McNally, PW, Warriss, PD 2002. Influence of the design of facilities at auction markets and animal handling procedures on bruising in cattle. Veterinary Record 150, 743–748.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wythes, JR, Arthur, RJ, Meischke, HR 1982. The handling and transport of livestock in relation to meat quality. Proceedings of the Australian Society of Animal Production 14, 116–119.Google Scholar