{"id":1857,"date":"2024-12-09T10:21:57","date_gmt":"2024-12-09T02:21:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/impetusanimalwelfare.org\/?page_id=1857"},"modified":"2024-12-10T08:40:53","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T00:40:53","slug":"the-principles-of-animal-welfare-programs-at-abattoirs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/impetusanimalwelfare.org\/the-principles-of-animal-welfare-programs-at-abattoirs\/","title":{"rendered":"The principles of animal welfare programs at abattoirs"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
Author: Sarah Babington<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p> As the saying goes \u201cyou manage what you measure\u201d, or more so \u201cyou cannot improve what you do not measure\u201d. Animal welfare programs are important because they can assist those with animals under their care as a way of establishing a baseline for welfare which can then be monitored in a scalable way over time. In the context of abattoirs, having an internal animal welfare program can be beneficial in several ways because it can (Grandin, 2023): <\/span><\/p>\n An animal welfare program at an abattoir includes the regulatory requirements, customer and assurance scheme requirements, animal welfare policies, standard operating procedures and working instructions, personnel training, relevant facility design and equipment, routine monitoring activities, and record keeping. While all the components of an animal welfare program are important, this article focuses on the monitoring activities within an animal welfare program that are used to assess welfare and validate effectiveness of the system at an abattoir. <\/span><\/p>\n The five domains model is a framework that is widely used to assess animal welfare. The model is an extension from the five freedoms to consider good welfare as more than minimising negative experiences but also providing opportunities for animals to have positive experiences (Mellor, 2016). The five domains are nutrition, environment, health, behavioural interactions, and lastly the mental state of an animal which the other four domains influence. Together the five domains can help assess the overall welfare state of an animal. The Five Domains model has been used to assess the welfare of some farm animal species in different situations, including pigs (Johnson et al., 2022; Plush et al., 2024), sheep (Hernandez et al., 2020), and horses (McGreevy et al., 2018), however it has not been applied and validated for use in an abattoir.<\/span><\/p>\n Selecting the measures<\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n Table 1.<\/b> Examples of the types of measures that could be monitored under an animal welfare program at an abattoir.<\/span><\/p>\n Animal-based measures<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Resource-based measures<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Management-based measures<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n When applying the five domain model to monitor animal welfare at an abattoir the first four domains of nutrition, environment, health, and behavioural interactions can be monitored through relevant measures and outcomes. See Table 2 for examples of measures that can be applied to the first four domains (Grandin, 2022). The fifth domain mental state on the other hand is currently unable to be directly measured.<\/span><\/p>\n Table 2.<\/b> Examples of measures that can be applied to the first four domains.<\/span><\/p>\n Domain<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Examples<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Nutrition<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Body condition scoring, and access to water<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Environment<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Slips and falls during handling (indicate flooring condition), animal flow or escape attempts (indicate effectiveness of raceway design), signs of thermal stress (indicate temperature and ventilation control), and body cleanliness (indicate lairage cleanliness)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Health<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Dead on arrival, signs of disease or injury, lameness, and bruises<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Behavioural interactions (includes animal-environment, animal-animal, and animal-human interactions)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Acts of abuse, abnormal behaviours (e.g., stereotypies, aggression), use of electric prodders, use of handling aids, and vocalization during handling<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n The way that animal-based measures may be scored during monitoring activities includes yes\/no, number based, or percentage based depending on the outcome of the measure and its risk to welfare (Meat Institute Animal Welfare Committee & Grandin, nd). The chosen scoring system for a measure should be easy for personnel to use and consistently used during monitoring activities so that the data that is collected can be compared and tracked over time. For each measure there should be an established acceptable and unacceptable level, whereby if a measure is identified as unacceptable it initiates corrective and preventive actions to address the issue. <\/span><\/p>\n Measures can be classified based on the risk and severity that the possible consequence may pose to the welfare of an animal, which can help determine how often they should be monitored. The number of animals or how often monitoring occurs is important to ensure data provides a meaningful representation of day-to-day operations. Measures that should be monitored for each individual animal should be those that pose a very high risk to animal welfare, such as whether animals were fit to load or stunned effectively. Many of the critical animal-based measures should be monitored for each individual animal by personnel during day-to-day operations. Other measures that may pose a lower risk to animal welfare may be able to be monitored less frequently or using sample size of animals that is representative of operations.<\/span><\/p>\n S<\/span>ome animal-based measures that are collected at an abattoir can also provide information about the standard of animal welfare on-farm, for example if a group of cattle arrived at an abattoir in poor body condition or all had signs of lameness it would likely indicate poor conditions on-farm. Many of the welfare issues that are identified at an abattoir may be because of issues on-farm that on arrival become the responsibility of the abattoir. Therefore, where measures collected at the abattoir indicate information about on-farm conditions it is beneficial if there is a feedback mechanism for the abattoir to provide that data to producers so that practices can be adjusted to improve both welfare and meat quality. <\/span><\/p>\n To ensure an animal welfare program is achieving its desired outcomes it is important that it is regularly reviewed, at least annually, and amended as required. The data collected from the monitoring activities within an animal welfare program should be regularly reviewed and discussed with management and personnel. There should also be the opportunity for personnel to have input and provide feedback so that they feel heard and have a vested interest in improving animal welfare. <\/span><\/p>\n Animal welfare programs are an important tool to validate and improve welfare outcomes for animals at abattoirs. Having an animal welfare program with robust monitoring activities can ensure that animal welfare is maintained, risks are addressed proactively, and opportunities for improvement are identified. Overall, abattoirs choosing to have an animal welfare program reflects a commitment to animal welfare and continuous improvement.<\/span><\/p>\n At Impetus Animal Welfare we work with abattoirs in Australia to assist them in developing effective animal welfare programs so that processors have more information so that they can make better decisions to help improve animal welfare and their business. <\/span><\/p>\n Contact us at admin@impetusanimalwelfare.org to find out more or how you can be involved.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n
Using the Five Domains model in animal welfare programs<\/span><\/h1>\n
Monitoring activities of an animal welfare program<\/b><\/span><\/h1>\n
<\/span>The measures that are monitored under an animal welfare program will largely determine how effective the system is at identifying and addressing animal welfare issues and risks. The measures to monitor should be selected based on those that have the most significant impact on the welfare of animals if not monitored effectively. Measures that may be monitored under an animal welfare program can be classified as management-, resource-, or animal-based measures (Welfare Quality, nd). Management-based measures relate to policies, standard operating procedures, and general management practices at the abattoir. Resource-based measures assess the infrastructure designed, equipment, and provisions provided to animals while at the abattoir. Animal-based measures include directly assessing the physiology and behaviour of animals to infer their welfare state. See Table 1 below for examples of the types of measures that could be monitored under an animal welfare program at an abattoir. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n
\n \n \n \n \n \n \u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Acts of animal abuse <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Not fit to load <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Dead on arrival<\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Body cleanliness <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Disease <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Injuries and lameness<\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Thermal stress (heat and cold stress) <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Heavily pregnant, parturition, or young at foot<\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Falls and slips during handling <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Use of electric prodders and handling aids <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Vocalization during handling or restraint<\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Stun effectiveness and re-stun rate<\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Unconsciousness during <\/span>bleeding<\/span><\/h6>\n<\/td>\n
\n \u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Transport conditions <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Handling and lairage facility design <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Lighting <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Temperature and ventilation<\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Water and food (if required) availability <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Noise levels <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Stunning restraint facility design and equipment<\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Stunning method and equipment <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Stunning parameters <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Back-up stunning and emergency killing methods and equipment<\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Slaughter (bleeding) method and equipment <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Personnel availability<\/span><\/h6>\n<\/td>\n
\n \u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Regulatory compliance <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Animal welfare policies <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Standard operating procedures and work instructions <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Internal audit and monitoring systems <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Workplace culture <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Facility maintenance program <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Personnel training and competency verification <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>External audits and voluntary certification <\/span><\/h6>\n
\u00b7<\/span> <\/span>Record keeping and documentation<\/span><\/h6>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\n\n
\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Scoring system<\/i><\/h1>\n
Frequency and sample size<\/i><\/span><\/h1>\n
Feedback mechanism between producers and processors<\/b><\/span><\/h1>\n
Reviewing animal welfare programs<\/b><\/span><\/h1>\n
Summary<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n
Impetus Animal Welfare<\/b><\/span><\/h1>\n
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