Auswirkungen von Stressoren vor der Schlachtung auf Rinder bei zwei verschiedenen Schlachtmethoden (Bolzenschuss im kleinen Schlachthof und Kugelschuss auf der Weide)

Summary

During the pre-slaughter period cattle experience novel environment and procedures causing reduced welfare and stress. This period involves a number of critical
situations: loading, transport, unloading, meeting unfamiliar animals, fixation. Therefore, stress is an inevitable consequence of transporting animals from a farm to the abattoir. In Switzerland, the first farmer recently started with a stress reducing cattle slaughter method within a pilot project: the slaughtering via gunshot on farm. Only the carcass has to be transported. Usually direct marketing farmers are transporting single animals to the next small-scale slaughterhouse. Therefore those two slaughter methods were compared regarding stress related parameters. Slaughtering always took place during the same daytime and with animals of the same breed and similar ages. Behavioral observations took place right before slaughter.
Exsanguination blood samples were analyzed for cortisol. Animals slaughtered on farm had a mean cortisol concentration of 0.75 μg/dl, animals transported to a small
slaughter house differed significantly with a mean cortisol concentration of 4.77 μg/dl. Differences in behavior could as well be observed.