Analysis of the prevalence of selected qualitative deviations in slaughter poultry in Poland in 2016-2019

Abstract

The aim of the study was to analyse the results of official post-mortem inspections of hens, chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese carried out in poultry slaughterhouses in Poland by the Veterinary Inspection in 2016–2019. The data from the sanitary and veterinary survey were taken from annual reports drawn up by the General Veterinary Inspectorate (RRW-6) in 2016–2019. During this period, nearly 900 million hens, 206 million turkeys, 122 million ducks, 63 million geese, and over 5.7 billion slaughter chickens were slaughtered under veterinary supervision. Symptoms or lesions were found in almost 2.6 million hens (0.29%), 1.8 million turkeys (0.86%), 792 thousand ducks (0.65%), 185 thousand geese (0.29%) and over 27.3 million chickens (0.48%). The main causes of confiscation were emaciation (0.14%), incomplete loss of blood (0.06%), and septicaemia and pyaemia (0.07%). Quality deviations in the form of emaciation or incomplete loss of blood of slaughtered animals indicate shortcomings during rearing or transport of animals for slaughter. Therefore, there may be legitimate concerns about the appropriate level of animal welfare. The size of overall losses in poultry is determined by the disqualification of chickens, due to slaughter size in comparison with other species. The confiscation of such a large number of chickens deserves greater attention to determine the causes involved.