Animal welfare at German abattoirs: insights into the occurrence of violations against laws and regulations from official veterinarians and judicial decisions.

Introduction: This study investigated the occurrence of various animal welfare violations at German abattoirs by analyzing the results of an anonymous online survey and relevant German court decisions. Methods: The survey targeted official veterinarians (OVs) and other individuals responsible for enforcing animal welfare laws and regulations at German abattoirs. Participants were asked to report the five most common animal welfare violations in their workplaces during the past 3 years (2019-2021), and whether 22 specific given violations had occurred or not (in the same timeframe). The court decisions were examined to determine how many abattoirs were penalized for a specific animal welfare violation and the details about the number and species of affected animals. Results: Overall, the violations examined throughout this study fell into one of the following categories: (1) use of prohibited driving aids (e.g., illicit use of electric prods, or hitting/beating animals); (2) inadequate husbandry in lairage; (3) inappropriate handling of animals with special care needs; (4) improper restraint, stunning, and bleeding of animals; and (5) unqualified task execution/inadequate administrative work (e.g., documentation of a violation). The violations analyzed in the scope of this study most frequently fell into categories 1, 2, and 4. Regarding the five violations that survey participants reported to be the most common in the years 2019-2021, 42.6% of responses (N = 277 reported violations) fell into category 4, followed closely by category 1 with 37.9%. Of the 22 violations surveyed in the second part of the survey, those reported by 50.0% or more participants were concentrated in categories 1, 2, and 4. Regarding the 16 relevant court rulings spanning from 2015 to 2022, the most frequently documented instances of misconduct primarily fell into category 1. Discussion: The collected data suggest that there may be need for improvements regarding compliance with animal welfare legislation, especially concerning categories 1, 2, and 4. The authors suggest OVs to consider these findings when conducting monitoring activities at abattoirs and in the training and education of abattoir personnel.

Drinking Pipes and Nipple Drinkers in Pig Abattoir Lairage Pens-A Source of Zoonotic Pathogens as a Hazard to Meat Safety.

The water distribution system in the lairage pens of abattoirs could act as a route of contamination for produced meat. In this study, biofilm formation and the occurrence of specific pathogens in drinking equipment was investigated in different lairage pens in a German commercial pig abattoir. Samples of the water and the drinkers in different locations were microbiologically cultivated and examined. After new drinking equipment had been installed for one month, three months and five years, biofilm formation was detectable, and retrograde growth from the nipple drinkers was seen up to the connection with the main water distribution system. In particular, Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas spp. were found in all samplings of the nipple drinkers. Zoonotic pathogens, Salmonella, pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, were also isolated from the nipple drinkers, while Listeria monocytogenes was not detected via microbial cultivation methods in any of the samples. Since the pigs take the contaminated nipple drinkers into their mouths to drink, or drink contaminated water containing the pathogens, transmission and even infection of the pigs in the lairage can be assumed. This could consequently lead to contamination or cross-contamination of the meat during slaughter and processing and to a public health risk.

Measures and Penalties for Animal Welfare Violations at German Abattoirs: A Compilation of Current Recommendations and Practices.

Protecting animal welfare during preslaughter handling and slaughter is an important ethical concern with growing importance to consumers. However, animal welfare violations in abattoirs remain a serious problem, and the enforcement of relevant laws and regulations is often inadequate. This study investigated and compiled the measures and penalties which official veterinarians (OVs) consider appropriate for different animal welfare violations at German abattoirs, including ranges for fines. Additionally, information regarding which measures were taken in past cases, including past procedural outcomes (e.g., judicial decisions and regulatory animal welfare orders in Germany), were gathered and summarised. The aim is to provide insights into the status quo, so that flaws in law enforcement (e.g., imposing low penalties or not filing a criminal complaint when necessary) can be identified in a future study. To achieve this, the following five steps were utilised: acquiring relevant judicial decisions; conducting an anonymous online survey among German OVs; conducting semi-structured interviews with OVs; conducting a virtual colloquium with OVs; and consulting lawyers. Measures and penalties for violations of 40 relevant and frequent different provisions of the German Ordinance on the Protection of Animals in connection with Slaughter or Killing (TierSchlV), in conjunction with the Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 and the German Animal Welfare Act, were gathered. The findings were compiled into a list of measures and penalties, which contains a separate table for all 40 violations, entailing an overview of the following information: citation(s) of legal/regulatory requirements to protect animals at the time of killing/slaughter; citation(s) of relevant regulatory and criminal penalties; special measures/penalties considered appropriate for the first and repeated offence by OVs; and information on penalties listed in judicial decisions of past similar cases. This initiative is a step towards achieving a reduction of animal welfare violations at German abattoirs.

Outcome of Communication Training in Veterinary Studies: Influence on the Perception of the Relevance of Veterinary Competencies and Self-Assessment of Communication Skills.

Since communication skills contribute significantly to professional success among veterinarians, there is a particular focus on developing communication classes in veterinary curricula. At Freie Universität Berlin, an e-learning course covering the basics of communication and a practical communication course based on role plays with and without simulation persons have been established. The outcome of these communication courses on the assessment of the relevance of several veterinary competencies and on the self-assessment of communication skills using the SE-12 questionnaire was investigated. For this purpose, students were surveyed before and after the e-learning course as well as before and after the practical course. Veterinarians were also surveyed on the relevance of veterinary competencies. The relevance of communicative competencies for professional success was rated significantly higher by the students after completing the practical course than by the other students and the veterinarians. Self-assessment of communication skills showed little increase after the e-learning course, but a significant increase after the practical course. Thus, an effective outcome of the communication classes was observed mainly after the practical course. However, the effect of the e-learning course cannot be ruled out since the students participating in the practical course have also completed the e-learning course beforehand.

Distribution and Characteristics of Listeria spp. in Pigs and Pork Production Chains in Germany.

Listeria (L.) monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen that can cause disease, mainly in elderly, pregnant or immunocompromised persons through consumption of contaminated food, including pork products. It is widespread in the environment and can also be found in asymptomatic carrier animals, for example, in different tissues of pigs. To learn more about their nature, 16 Listeria spp. isolates found in tonsils and intestinal content of pigs and 13 isolates from the slaughterhouse environment were characterized using next-generation sequencing (NGS). A wide distribution of clonal complexes was observed in pigs, as well as in the pork production chain, suggesting multiple sources of entry. Hypervirulent clones were found in pig tonsils, showing the potential risk of pigs as source of isolates causing human disease. The presence of closely related isolates along the production chain suggests a cross-contamination in the slaughterhouse or recontamination from the same source, strengthening the importance of efficient cleaning and disinfection procedures. The phenotypical antimicrobial resistance status of L. monocytogenes isolates was examined via broth microdilution and revealed a low resistance level. Nevertheless, genotypical resistance data suggested multiple resistances in some non-pathogenic L. innocua isolates from pig samples, which might pose a risk of spreading resistances to pathogenic species.