Abstract

GARZON-JARRIN, Rafael Alfonso et al. Animal welfare parameters. A quality indicator of sheep slaughter in a province of Ecuador. J.Selva Andina Anim. Sci. [online]. 2024, vol.11, n.1, pp.23-31.  Epub Apr 01, 2024. ISSN 2311-3766.  https://doi.org/10.36610/j.jsaas.2024.110100023.

The activity concerning the breeding of sheep is an important economic and social activity for Ecuador and in particular for Chimborazo. With the objective of evaluating the animal welfare (AW) parameters of the sheep slaughtered. A total of 320 sheep designated for the meat industry were selected for the period between May 2 and July 13, 2022. To evaluate the weighting of the AW (transport, housing, health status, behavior, stunning equipment, bleeding, personnel), the observations were described by 5 rating criteria (poor, fair, good, very good and excellent), using a rating scale of 1 to 5 points according to the Welfare Quality protocol. The results showed that for 60 % of the sheep observed, the transport variable was rated as fair. As for sheep housing, in terms of comfort, 47 % were classified as fair and 47 % as good. On the other hand, it was determined that the sanitary condition of the animals entering the sheep pen was good in 56 % of cases, while for stunning, 44 % were rated as 4 points or very good. Bleeding was considered excellent. With reference to the evaluation of the personnel, 44 % indicated that there are trained personnel for the performance of their functions. It is concluded that the stress caused by deficient AW employment negatively affects the quality of the meat of the sheep slaughtered due to poor pre-mortem handling in the municipal slaughterhouse of Guamote, so it would be a priority to establish lines of work for the welfare of sheep destined for human consumption in the stages before, during and after slaughter, this will avoid the consequences of a poor process from transportation, housing, health, behavior, equipment management and exsanguination.

Keywords : Animal; stunning; good practices; bleeding; slaughter; quality indicators; transportation.

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