Document type: scientific Document type: published in Preventive Veterinary Medicine
Authors: Kuo, Emma G. Gardner, Murray Gillies, Marianne I. Parent
Abstract in French (translation): Exploratory study of the link between whole-carcass rejection and farm animal welfare: a rapid review of existing research
Data on whole-carcass rejectionare regularly collected in slaughterhouses in certain regions and constitute a potential source of information for animal welfare monitoring. This brief exploratory review aimed to characterize all research studies that have used slaughterhouse rejection data to investigate the links between whole-carcass rejection and animal welfare, as well as to identify gaps in the literature, with the secondary objective of examining the possibility of using these data in an animal welfare monitoring system. Peer-reviewed literature was searched using Scopus, and grey literature using Google. Following the selection process, 53 peer-reviewed publications were identified. No grey literature publications were identified. General study characteristics and data on relationships (including associations and the absence thereof) between animal welfare variables (classified according to the following animal welfare factors: feeding, housing, health, behavior, transport, and slaughter) and reasons for whole-carcass rejection were extracted. We found that most research on this topic was conducted in Europe (n = 41/53) and focused on poultry (n = 29/53), particularly broiler chickens (n = 21/53). Furthermore, most existing research focuses on understanding the relationship between animal welfare factors related to on-farm health and whole-carcass rejections, rather than other factors such as those related to feeding, housing, and behavior, or those occurring during the transport and slaughter phases of the production chain. Gaps in the literature include research on cattle and small ruminants, as well as research on non-health-related animal welfare factors and their link to whole-carcass culling. Overall, we found that culling data constitute a valuable source of secondary data that allows for the tracking of large numbers of animals over long periods and can contribute to animal welfare monitoring systems.
Preview: Whole carcass condemnation data is regularly collected at abattoirs in some regions and presents a potential data source for animal welfare surveillance. This rapid scoping review aimed to characterize the body of research that has used condemnation data from abattoirs to investigate relationships between whole carcass condemnations and animal welfare, and identify gaps in the literature, with the secondary aim of considering the potential for condemnation data to be used in an animal welfare surveillance system. Peer-reviewed literature was searched using Scopus, and grey literature was searched using Google search. Following the screening process, 53 peer-reviewed records were identified. No grey literature records were identified. General study characteristics and data on the relationships (including associations and lack thereof) between animal welfare variables (which were categorized according to the following animal welfare factors: feeding, housing, health, behaviour, transport, and slaughter) and whole carcass condemnation reasons were extracted. We found that most research on this topic has been conducted in Europe (n = 41/53) and has focused on poultry (n = 29/53), particularly on broiler chickens (n = 21/53). In addition, most existing research focuses on understanding the relationship between on-farm health-related animal welfare factors and whole carcass condemnations, rather than other factors such as those related to feeding, housing, and behaviour, or during the transport and slaughter phases of the production chain. Gaps in the literature include research on cattle and small ruminants, and research on non-health-related animal welfare factors and how they relate to whole carcass condemnations. Overall, we found that condemnation data is a valuable secondary data source that can allow for the monitoring of large numbers of animals over long periods, and can contribute to animal welfare surveillance systems.
