Abstract
ABSTRACT: This study sought to evaluate the number of bruises on bovine carcasses and their relationship with loading rates in different truck models. Bruising percentages in the hindquarter, forequarter and short rib regions were evaluated. The space occupied on the truck by each animal in m² was defined as the Practiced area, obtained by dividing the body area by the number of males and females transported in straight trucks (10.60 x 2.40 m) and livestock trailers (14.80 x 2.60 m), 240 and 168, and 120 and 93, respectively, and 80 males in a straight truck with trailer configuration (17.50 x 2.60 m). The minimum area occupied by the animals was assessed according to the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) and Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (AWAC). The data was analyzed in a completely randomized design and included two sex classes, three carcass regions and three truck types. For males, the minimum areas (m²) calculated by the FAWC and AWAC were smaller (1.37 and 1.29 m², respectively) for the straight truck. The straight truck with trailer configuration had the lowest (P=0.0025) bruising index in the forequarter region (15.1%) and the highest (P=0.047) in the short rib region (30.5%). Females transported in the livestock trailer had a higher (P<0.001) percentage of bruises in the forequarter region (51.7%). There was a relationship between the high bruising rates and the loading rate Practiced for the males. Estimations made by the AWAC are close to those practiced in the upper Pantanal region of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.
Highlights
Demands for high-quality meat are constantly increasing, extending to both the international and national markets
There were no cases without bruises among the different truck configurations, a frequency above 11 bruises was not observed in any carcass evaluated during the execution of this project that were transported in this type of vehicle; the same was not true for the straight truck and livestock trailers, which presented carcasses with 11-15 bruises
When evaluating the minimum areas according to the equations (FAWC and Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (AWAC)), there was a very large difference in the areas occupied per m2, which were always smallest (P
Summary
Demands for high-quality meat are constantly increasing, extending to both the international and national markets. Problems related to meat quality have; been linked to animal welfare, especially pre-slaughter management with an emphasis on the cattle transport phase, which. V.50, n.5, leads to an increase in carcass bruising, physiological stress and yield loss (DINIZ et al, 2011). In addition to ethical principles, i.e., transport conditions within the well-being norms, carcass bruises are identified as one of the main causes for economic losses in slaughterhouses (ASSIS et al, 2011). Transport becomes a cause of stress when animals are exposed to adversities such as inadequate loading rates and mixing of lots with differences in age and sex (ADZITEY, 2011; ROMERO et al, 2013; NUNES et al, 2018)
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