Quantifying avoidance-related behaviour and bleeding times of sheep of different ages, sex and breeds slaughtered at a municipal and a commercial abattoirs

South African Journal of Animal Science 2013, 43 (Issue 5, Supplement 1) Peer-reviewed paper: Proc. 45th Congress of the South African Society for Animal Science Quantifying avoidance-related behaviour and bleeding times of sheep of different ages, sex and breeds slaughtered at a municipal and a commercial abattoirs Y.Z. Njisane & V. Muchenje# Department of Livestock and Pasture Science, University of Fort Hare, P. Bag X1314, Alice 5700, South Africa (Received 10 October 2012; Accepted 16 November 2012; First published online 5 July 2013) Copyright resides with the authors in terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 South African Licence. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/za/ Condition of use: The user may copy, distribute, transmit and adapt the work, but must recognise the authors and the South African Journal of Animal Science ________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract The effect of abattoir type, age, sheep breed and sex on avoidance-related behaviour and bleeding times at slaughter were determined. Castrates and ewes of different age groups and breeds were used. From the commercial abattoir, 90 castrates and 110 ewes were used while 66 castrates and 19 ewes were obtained from the municipal abattoir. Avoidance-related behaviour and bleeding times differed with abattoir type and age classes. Animals slaughtered at the commercial abattoir were calmer and had shorter bleeding times (61 ± 1.16 s) than those slaughtered at the municipal abattoir which had a mean bleeding time of 74.2 ± 2.11 s. Older animals were calmer and had longer bleeding times (67.5 ± 1.82 s) than the younger animals which had a mean bleeding time of 61.6 ± 2.64 s. Avoidance-related behaviour also differed with breed and the sex of the animals with Merino and Dorper + Merino crosses being the calmer than the pure Dorper breed. About 95% of ewes were calmer than the castrates. It can be concluded that abattoir type, age, breed and sex have an effect on animal behaviour at slaughter. Only abattoir type and sex had an effect on bleeding times. ________________________________________________________________________________ Keywords: Abattoir type, animal handling, bleeding processes, Dorper, Merino, stunning # Corresponding author: Introduction There are different types and classes of abattoirs, and the abattoir classifications depend on the type of the species slaughtered, abattoir structure and the management system practised. Despite these differences, abattoirs function under the same standard laws and regulations to ensure public health safety. The laws governing abattoir operations include The Meat Act, 2000, and the Animal Protection Act, 1962 and 1935 for animal welfare maintenance (RMAA, 2011). It has been reported that commercial abattoirs spend more on getting reliable and sophisticated machinery (Gregory, 2005) while most municipal abattoirs in rural areas have poor handling facilities (Ndou et al., 2010). These differences are thought to have an effect on animal welfare thus affecting animal behaviour at slaughter and the quality of the product. Grandin (1999) reported that animals’ reactions differ with different handling techniques and systems, including the animal’s previous exposure at farms. Environment changes from the farm to the slaughter house. Lack of control in a particular environment may be stressful to the animals resulting in eccentric behaviour (Broom & Frazer, 2007). Behaviours such as avoidance and approach can be used to measure aversive handling effects (Boivin et al., 1997; Dodzi & Muchenje, 2011). In addition, several other factors such as the age, gender, breed, and species of the animal affect animal behaviour (Hansen et al., 2001). Poor welfare conditions also affect the animal’s behaviour (Knowles, 1998). URL: http://www.sasas.co.za ISSN 0375-1589 (print), ISSN 222-4062 (online) Publisher: South African Society for Animal Science Guest editor: S. M. Makuza http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/sajas.v43i5.7 Njisane & Muchenje, 2013. S. Afr. J. Anim. Sci., vol. 43 (Suppl. 1) S39 Abattoir operations at slaughter also affect bleeding efficiency during exsanguination. Two bleeding processes are used in different abattoirs. These are vertical bleeding which renders hygienic conditions, and horizontal bleeding which promotes faster bleeding rates (RMAA, 2011). Literature on general animal behaviour at slaughter from other parts of the world is available (Grandin, 2006; Bourguet et al., 2011). There is a dearth of information on such work under practical conditions, especially in the developing world. The aim of this study was therefore to quantify avoidance-related behaviour and bleeding times of sheep slaughtered at a municipal and a commercial abattoir. Materials and Methods The study was conducted at the East London (EL) commercial and the Adelaide municipal (MA) abattoirs in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Information on the sheep was recorded as the animals came in for slaughter from different farms located in the province. Castrates and ewes from Dorper, Merino and their crosses and of different age groups (<10 months, 11 - 12 months, >12 months) were used in the study. From the commercial abattoir, 90 castrates and 110 ewes were obtained while 66 castrates and 19 ewes were obtained from the municipal abattoir. The sheep slaughtered at the EL were brought into the abattoir a day before slaughter by trucks and were put into abattoir holding pens overnight with access to water but with no food. Those slaughtered at the MA were sourced from nearby farms (20 - 30 km) and brought in the morning of slaughter; transported in small vans. Behaviour observations were done before stunning while introducing the animals to the slaughter floor (Terlouw & Porcher, 2005; Table 1), with higher scores for higher levels of avoidance behaviour. One person standing 1.5 meters away from the exsanguination point was responsible for taking down the records. Table 1 Avoidance-related behaviour scores of sheep at slaughter before stunning on introduction to the slaughter floor Category Standing (rests on four legs) - Mostly calm Sitting (rests on thighs and front legs) - Calm but threatened Other e.g. jumping (unstable/trying to escape) - Aggression Code 1 2 3 Modified from Terlouw & Porcher (2005). Animals slaughtered at the EL were introduced from the holding pens onto the slaughter floor using a conveyer restrainer with minimal contact with handlers. Those from the MA were manually driven onto the slaughter floor by the abattoir workers. Electrical stunning was used in both abattoirs. However; the EL used 110V (0.6A) for 60 seconds and the same person conducted this procedure on the sides of the head above eye level. The MA used 650V and several workers conducted the stunning procedure depending on who was available. A horizontal bleeding process was used at the EL. The animals were then hung vertically (...truncated)