Opportunities to Improve Animal Welfare during Transport and Slaughter of Cattle and Pigs through Staff Training-Results of a Delphi Survey.

To improve animal welfare for cattle and pigs during transport and at slaughter, online training modules for all staff including employees in the lairage pen, the slaughter line as well as animal welfare officers are developed at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. Before starting the development of these modules, an expert elicitation survey using a modified Delphi approach was performed to identify action points considered most relevant for animal welfare during transport and slaughter, and as having the potential for improvement through training. In total, 49 participating experts rated predetermined action points of each step in the transport and slaughter process in two survey rounds. The rating scale included numbers 0 (='not relevant', respectively 'no possibility of improvement') to 10 (='very relevant', respectively 'very high possibility of improvement'). None of the action points were rated with a median score of less than 5. Assessment of fitness for transport, unloading at the abattoir, handling at stunning and exsanguination were amongst the highest rated action points, and were therefore selected to develop online training modules. The Delphi approach was seen as a valuable method to include external expertise to select the most relevant action points for the development of online training modules.

Animal Welfare during Transport and Slaughter of Cattle: A Systematic Review of Studies in the European Legal Framework.

Literature related to European transport and slaughter processes were included in this systematic review. The publication period is limited to the past twelve years since the European Animal Welfare Transport Regulation was enacted in 2009. Three different databases were used. The final screening resulted in the inclusion of 19 articles in this review. When handling cattle during transport and slaughter, personnel have an important impact and may inflict stress on the animals. Other factors, such as the group composition and health status prior to transport, can have a strong negative effect on animal welfare. At the abattoir, constructional conditions and the resulting environmental influences can have a negative impact on welfare as well. These include increased noise levels due to the lack of noise dampening and changing light conditions. Stress in cattle can be assessed, e.g., by measuring stress hormones or heart rate. Effective stunning is an important welfare-relevant step in the slaughtering process. Some signs of unconsciousness, such as immediate body collapse or absence of the corneal reflex, can be easily assessed. Expertise and continuous training of all personnel involved are important measures in stress reduction.