Zanardi Emanuela, De Luca Silvio, Alborali Giovanni Loris, Ianieri Adriana, Varrà Maria Olga, Romeo Claudia, Ghidini Sergio
Department of Food and Drug, University of Parma, Via del Taglio 10, 43126 Parma, Italy.
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna-Headquarters, Via A. Bianchi, 9, 25124 Brescia, Italy.
Animals (Basel). 2022 Aug 7;12(15):1997. doi: 10.3390/ani12151997.
The assessment of bruises on carcasses at the slaughterhouse has been lately indicated as a valid method to evaluate cattle welfare. However, little is known about the prevalence and the causes of bruises of cattle slaughtered in Italy. The aim of this study was to collect information concerning the prevalence of bruises on the carcasses of beef cattle slaughtered in an Italian abattoir and to determine a relationship between fresh bruises and transport-related factors. In total, 1265 animals were included in this study, with 21.6% of them being positive for at least one bruise, either fresh or old. In most cases, the bruising was mild, with lesions exclusively located in one area of the carcass. Most of the bruised animals (63%) showed at least one red lesion. Occurrence of such red, fresh bruises varied significantly depending on the body parts (p < 0.0001), with the flank being the most affected area (39.5%), followed by the butt (36.0%) and the front (23.8%). The probability of fresh bruising varied significantly depending on the category of each animal (p < 0.0001), with steers showing fewer red bruises than both heifers and veal. Finally, animals transported in conditions of a high density had a lower probability of bruising (p = 0.0003). These findings support the use of a monitoring scheme based on the presence of bruises to assess cattle welfare at the abattoir level in order to provide feedback to farmers and to implement procedures carried out during transport.
屠宰场对屠体瘀伤的评估最近被认为是评估牛福利的一种有效方法。然而，对于在意大利屠宰的牛瘀伤的发生率和成因却知之甚少。本研究的目的是收集有关意大利一家屠宰场屠宰的肉牛屠体瘀伤发生率的信息，并确定新鲜瘀伤与运输相关因素之间的关系。本研究共纳入1265头动物，其中21.6%的动物至少有一处新鲜或陈旧瘀伤呈阳性。在大多数情况下，瘀伤较轻，损伤仅位于屠体的一个部位。大多数有瘀伤的动物（63%）至少有一处红色损伤。此类红色新鲜瘀伤的发生率因身体部位不同而有显著差异（p<0.0001），侧腹是受影响最严重的部位（39.5%），其次是臀部（36.0%）和前部（23.8%）。新鲜瘀伤的概率因每只动物的类别不同而有显著差异（p<0.0001），公牛的红色瘀伤比小母牛和犊牛都少。最后，在高密度条件下运输的动物瘀伤概率较低（p = 0.0003）。这些发现支持使用基于瘀伤情况的监测方案来评估屠宰场层面的牛福利，以便向养殖户提供反馈并实施运输过程中的相关程序。
