Farm Animal Welfare during Transport and at the Slaughterhouse: Perceptions of Slaughterhouse Employees, Livestock Drivers, and Veterinarians
Animal welfare is a multidimensional concept that includes several physical and psychological parameters of the animal. The aim of this study was to assess animal welfare during transportation and in Slovenian beef, pork, and poultry slaughterhouses. A questionnaire was used for this study. Several...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/3/443 |
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| author | Maja Lipovšek Andrej Kirbiš Iztok Tomažič Alenka Dovč Manja Križman |
| author_facet | Maja Lipovšek Andrej Kirbiš Iztok Tomažič Alenka Dovč Manja Križman |
| author_sort | Maja Lipovšek |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Animal welfare is a multidimensional concept that includes several physical and psychological parameters of the animal. The aim of this study was to assess animal welfare during transportation and in Slovenian beef, pork, and poultry slaughterhouses. A questionnaire was used for this study. Several parameters of animal welfare were rated on a 5-point scale, such as health status, animal behavior, lairage or transport vehicle conditions, and driver regulation compliance. The scale was also used for the second part of the study. This consisted of two studies: (1) self-assessment by slaughterhouse employees and livestock transport drivers and (2) animal welfare observational assessment performed by two veterinarians. The results were compared with each other. Ten large slaughterhouses and nine livestock drivers took part in the survey. The results showed that slaughterhouse employees knew more about animal welfare than livestock truck drivers, but both groups were not sufficiently familiar with animal welfare laws and regulations. This study found that the experts’ assessments were generally lower than the self-assessments of employees and livestock drivers. Based on the research findings, it can be concluded that there is a need to improve the awareness and knowledge of slaughterhouse employees and livestock drivers regarding animal handling and animal welfare regulations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T04:01:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-615089ef3fd1461e8ab7cc619a2ab3b0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T04:01:35Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-615089ef3fd1461e8ab7cc619a2ab3b02024-02-09T15:06:41ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152024-01-0114344310.3390/ani14030443Farm Animal Welfare during Transport and at the Slaughterhouse: Perceptions of Slaughterhouse Employees, Livestock Drivers, and VeterinariansMaja Lipovšek0Andrej Kirbiš1Iztok Tomažič2Alenka Dovč3Manja Križman4Institute for Food Safety, Feed and Environment, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaInstitute for Food Safety, Feed and Environment, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaDepartment of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaClinic for Birds, Small Mammals and Reptiles, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaInstitute for Food Safety, Feed and Environment, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaAnimal welfare is a multidimensional concept that includes several physical and psychological parameters of the animal. The aim of this study was to assess animal welfare during transportation and in Slovenian beef, pork, and poultry slaughterhouses. A questionnaire was used for this study. Several parameters of animal welfare were rated on a 5-point scale, such as health status, animal behavior, lairage or transport vehicle conditions, and driver regulation compliance. The scale was also used for the second part of the study. This consisted of two studies: (1) self-assessment by slaughterhouse employees and livestock transport drivers and (2) animal welfare observational assessment performed by two veterinarians. The results were compared with each other. Ten large slaughterhouses and nine livestock drivers took part in the survey. The results showed that slaughterhouse employees knew more about animal welfare than livestock truck drivers, but both groups were not sufficiently familiar with animal welfare laws and regulations. This study found that the experts’ assessments were generally lower than the self-assessments of employees and livestock drivers. Based on the research findings, it can be concluded that there is a need to improve the awareness and knowledge of slaughterhouse employees and livestock drivers regarding animal handling and animal welfare regulations.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/3/443welfaretransportlivestockslaughterhouselegislation |
| spellingShingle | Maja Lipovšek Andrej Kirbiš Iztok Tomažič Alenka Dovč Manja Križman Farm Animal Welfare during Transport and at the Slaughterhouse: Perceptions of Slaughterhouse Employees, Livestock Drivers, and Veterinarians Animals welfare transport livestock slaughterhouse legislation |
| title | Farm Animal Welfare during Transport and at the Slaughterhouse: Perceptions of Slaughterhouse Employees, Livestock Drivers, and Veterinarians |
| title_full | Farm Animal Welfare during Transport and at the Slaughterhouse: Perceptions of Slaughterhouse Employees, Livestock Drivers, and Veterinarians |
| title_fullStr | Farm Animal Welfare during Transport and at the Slaughterhouse: Perceptions of Slaughterhouse Employees, Livestock Drivers, and Veterinarians |
| title_full_unstemmed | Farm Animal Welfare during Transport and at the Slaughterhouse: Perceptions of Slaughterhouse Employees, Livestock Drivers, and Veterinarians |
| title_short | Farm Animal Welfare during Transport and at the Slaughterhouse: Perceptions of Slaughterhouse Employees, Livestock Drivers, and Veterinarians |
| title_sort | farm animal welfare during transport and at the slaughterhouse perceptions of slaughterhouse employees livestock drivers and veterinarians |
| topic | welfare transport livestock slaughterhouse legislation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/3/443 |
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