Slaughter value, meat quality, creatine kinase activity and cortisol levels in the blood serum of growing-finishing pigs slaughtered immediately after transport and after a rest period

Abstract

The experimental materials comprised 44 hybrid [ (Polish Large White x Polish Landrace) x Duroc] growing-finishing pigs. The animals were randomly divided into two groups: 24 pigs were slaughtered immediately after transport and 20 pigs were slaughtered after a 24-hour rest period in the lairage. The meat content of pork carcasses, carcass dressing percentage, the proximate chemical composition, physicochemical and sensory properties of meat and shear force values were determined. Serum creatine kinase activity and cortisol levels were determined in blood samples collected before transport and during carcass bleeding.Pigs slaughtered immediately after transport, compared with those slaughtered after a 24-hour rest period, were characterized by a higher meat content of the carcass and a higher carcass dressing percentage. Pre-slaughter handling had no effect on pork quality. The incidence of normal-quality meat, partially PSE (pale, soft, exudative) meat and PSE meat was similar in both groups. Chemical analysis showed that the content of dry matter, total protein, fat and minerals in meat was comparable in both groups. As regards the functional properties of the pork, samples from the carcasses of pigs that had rested before slaughter had a higher contribution of the red color component. Meat from pigs slaughtered immediately after transport had more desirable sensory properties.Pre-slaughter resting had a significant effect on those analyzed physiological parameters which were found to be good indicators of pre-slaughter stress. Serum creatine kinase activity and cortisol levels were higher in blood samples collected after transport (during carcass bleeding) than in samples collected before transport, pointing to a strong stress response of animals to pre-slaughter treatment. The decrease in serum cortisol levels in blood samples collected during bleeding from the carcasses of pigs slaughtered after a 24-hour rest period, compared with samples collected from animals slaughtered immediately after transport, suggests that rest before slaughter alleviated stress induced by pre-slaughter handling operations.

Differential expression of luteinizing hormone receptor, androgen receptor and heat-shock protein 70 in the testis of long-distance transported mice

“…However, road transportation especially long-distance transportation as a stressor could do much harm to the dairy industry. The economic losses due to transport stress include decreased body weight (Greer et al, 2011;Gonzalez et al, 2012), decreased milk production and changes in meat quality (Honkavaara et al, 2003;Hoffman and Fisher, 2010;Smiecinska et al, 2011) and higher incidence of diseases. Significantly higher egg production of Dicrocoelium dendriticum was observed in the feces of transported ewes (Sotiraki et al, 1999).…”

Operação de transporte e tempo de descanso na incidência de carne PSE em suínos

“…No experimento realizado por Smiecinska et al (2011) com 44 suínos separados em dois grupos, dentre os quais 20 suínos foram abatidos imediatamente após o transporte e 24 foram abatidos após o tempo de descanso de 24 h, apresentando resultados similares para ocorrência de carne PSE nos dois grupos; os suínos abatidos imediatamente apresentaram maior rendimento da carcaça e pH melhor do que os suínos submetidos ao tempo de descanso sinalizando que o manejo pré-abate e as condições de transporte adequadas não afetam a qualidade da carne.…”

Animal welfare of barrows with different antemortem lairage times without food

“…From the perspective of animal welfare and meet quality, transport and antemortem lairage seem to be the most important pre-slaughtering factors (Costa et al 2002;Amtmann et al 2006;MotaRojas et al 2006;Gallo 2008;Smiecinska et al 2011), given that they are as or more transcendent than genetic predisposition (Broom and Kirkden 2004). Numerous studies have been conducted to determine the ideal lairage period for the recovery of the pigs.…”

“…At present, other indicators of stress include evaluating the packed cell volume, leukocyte count and the concentrations of glucose, lactate and ketone bodies, or the plasma concentration of proteins from the acute phase of animals in transit, and, recently, complete haemodynamic profiles carried out to assess the degree of animal stress and animal welfare from birth (Gonzalez-Lozano et al 2009a,b;Orozco-Gregorio et al 2008Trujillo-Ortega et al 2011) to death in the abattoir (Averos et al 2007;Becerril-Herrera et al 2009;Mota-Rojas et al 2009;Tadich et al 2009;Ondruska et al 2011). In addition, there are few studies of pigs that have evaluated the degree of stress that the animals experience during their stay in the holding pens antemortem from the physiometabolic perspective (Skrlep et al 2009;Smiecinska et al 2011). Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the energy metabolism, mineral and acid-base balances, and blood gas exchange of hogs during five different antemortem lairage periods without food in order to identify haemodynamic alterations.…”