Abstract
Simple SummaryConsumers have become increasingly demanding about the quality of the meat they eat; they want healthy, natural, and palatable products, but are also concerned about animal welfare during production, transport, and slaughter. The way we handle animals does not only affect animal welfare, but also the quality of the meat produced. In this study the main factors affecting the welfare of lambs for slaughter in Chile are reviewed and the implications on meat quality shown. Factors like long distance transport due to difficult geographical reasons, bad roads, and lack of adequate local slaughterhouses appear to have a major impact on the welfare of lambs and also in reducing the quantity and quality of meat produced. Some deficiencies in terms of the handling of the lambs by untrained stockmen and drivers appear, and also inadequate infrastructure for transport in terms of vehicles and loading/unloading ramps. The problems observed are common for other South American countries and should be addressed firstly by educating and training all people involved in the lamb meat chain regarding animal welfare. In Chile there is legislation, ongoing since 2013, regarding the protection of animals during production, transport, and slaughter, including compulsory training of the people involved, which should improve animal welfare and meat quality.Consumers have become increasingly demanding about the quality of products of animal origin, particularly regarding animal welfare during production, transport, and slaughter. The aim of the present study was to review the factors affecting the welfare of lambs for slaughter in Chile and show the implications on meat quality. Rounding up and driving the lambs from the fields in large extensive production systems and long distance transport through difficult geographical routes affect the blood variable indicators of stress and reduces muscle glycogen reserves, increasing the risk of high pH of meat. In small farmer sheep production conditions there is a lack of appropriate installations for loading/unloading and deficiencies in vehicle structure specific for lambs; this together with the work of untrained handlers results in a high percentage of mortality and bruised carcasses, compared to European studies. These problems are common for other South American countries and should be addressed firstly by educating and training all the people involved in the lamb meat chain regarding animal welfare. In Chile there is legislation, ongoing since 2013, regarding the protection of animals during production, transport, and slaughter, including compulsory training of animal handlers and livestock transporters, which should improve animal welfare and meat quality.
Highlights
Chile has a population of 3,938,119 sheep [1], that are concentrated (64%) in the Chilean Patagonia; these sheep are mainly of the Corriedale and Merino breeds and their crosses, and are kept in large herds in extensive grass pastures.The rest of the sheep are kept in the central-southern part of the country, mainly in flocks of 50 to 500 ewes owned by small farmers; they are from the Suffolk, Hampshire, and Texel breeds, are kept on pasture but are usually collected in pens at night to protect them from predators. the sheep population is small compared to China, Australia, and New Zealand, Chile has some comparative advantages in terms of the sanitary condition of livestock and potential insertion in international markets
The Chilean Patagonia produces most of the lambs in Chile; in the regions of Magallanes and the island of Tierra del Fuego (Figure 8) most of the lambs produced are slaughtered in local export slaughterhouses, and the distance of transport fluctuates between 15 and 300 km only [27,28]
The results presented in terms to of provide distances travelled times for lambs longer than 24 h, this should partly counteract the negative effects these journeys on animal transported to and slaughter in Chile differ completely from those in of
Summary
Chile has a population of 3,938,119 sheep [1], that are concentrated (64%) in the Chilean Patagonia; these sheep are mainly of the Corriedale and Merino breeds and their crosses, and are kept in large herds (thousands) in extensive grass pastures (mainly Festuca gracillima in the form of tussocks). Consumers have become increasingly demanding that products of animal origin are healthy, natural, and palatable, and result from animals that are produced, transported, and slaughtered in a humane way [3] According to these consumer requirements it has become necessary to include animal welfare as part of the quality assurance schemes in Chile [4]. In sheep the effects of poor transport and handling on the quality of the meat produced does not seem as evident as in cattle and pigs [6], geographical and human conditions in Chile, and in other countries of the region, suggest that in many occasions the welfare of lambs for slaughter is negatively affected and that this can negatively affect meat quality and have economic impact [7,8]
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