Farm Animal Welfare during Transport and at the Slaughterhouse: Perceptions of Slaughterhouse Employees, Livestock Drivers, and Veterinarians

Abstract

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.

Keywords: legislation; livestock; slaughterhouse; transport; welfare.

Figure 1

Comparison between slaughterhouse employees and livestock drivers in relation to animal welfare beliefs on the topics of knowledge of animal welfare laws (A), influence of public opinion on animal welfare (B), animal welfare (C), value of animals to humans (D) and relationship between humans and animals (E) (only effect size values > 0.20 are listed).

Figure 2

Comparison of animal welfare awareness between slaughterhouse employees and livestock drivers on the topics of animal welfare (A), water and feed requirements (B), the welfare of animals (C), and health status (D) (only effect size values > 0.20 are listed; * p < 0.05).

Figure 3

Comparison of perceived and actual animal welfare in the slaughterhouse on topics of General impression (A), Animal behavior (B), Lairage conditions (C), and Environmental conditions (D) (only effect size values > 0.20 are listed; * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01).

Figure 4

Comparison of perceived and actual animal welfare standards during transport on topics of General impression (A), Animal behavior (B), Transport conditions (C), Environmental conditions (D), Regulation compliance (E) (only effect size values > 0.20 are listed; * p < 0.05).