Religious Slaughter in Europe

Halal and Shechita slaughter were assessed in 135 European abattoirs. Shechita is carried out without stunning in all abattoirs, while 65% of cattle abattoirs, 50% small ruminants and 50% poultry abattoirs use preslaughter stunning for Halal Slaughter.

Meat characteristics of chickens from an F1 cross of two improved Spanish breeds depending on slaughter age

The present study analysed the meat characteristics of i) improved Castellana Negra chickens slaughtered at 18 weeks (CN-18) and ii) F1 crossbred chickens from improved Castellana Negra hens and improved Penedesenca Negra cocks (CNPN) slaughtered at 12 weeks and 18 weeks of age (young and adult animals, respectively). Purebred and crossbred specimens were compared at similar weights (CN-18 and CNPN-12) and ages (CN-18 and CNPN-18). The protein content of the meat was similar for the three types of animals; heavier animals (CNPN-18) had more fat than those slaughtered at lower weights (CNPN-12 and CN-18). Adults had a higher saturated fatty acid content and the young CNPN chickens had more monounsaturated fatty acids than CN chickens. In the CNPN adults, less water was lost during cooking, which is directly related to the juiciness of the meat. With regard to sensory analysis, a darker colour was observed in the meat as much as the internal fat of adult animals, in addition to greater colour uniformity. The meat of young CNPN birds was juicier, whereas that of the CN chickens was more fibrous. Therefore, we conclude that meat from CNPN chickens presents chemical, physical, and sensorial characteristics that make these animals a genetic base for alternative poultry production.

Applying precision feeding techniques in growing-finishing pig operations

The high cost of feed ingredients, the use of non-renewable sources of phosphate and the dramatic increase in the environmental load resulting from the excessive land application of manure are major challenges for the livestock industry. Precision feeding is proposed as an essential approach to improve the utilization of dietary nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients and thus reduce feeding costs and nutrient excretion. Precision feeding requires accurate knowledge of the nutritional value of feedstuffs and animal nutrient requirements, the formulation of diets in accordance with environmental constraints, and the gradual adjustment of the dietary nutrient supply to match the requirements of the animals. After the nutritional potential of feed ingredients has been precisely determined and has been improved by the addition of enzymes (e.g. phytases) or feed treatments, the addition of environmental objectives to the traditional feed formulation algorithms can promote the sustainability of the swine industry by reducing nutrient excretion in swine operations with small increases in feeding costs. Increasing the number of feeding phases can also contribute to significant reductions in nutrient excretion and feeding costs. However, the use of precision feeding techniques in which pigs are fed individually with daily tailored diets can further improve the efficiency with which pigs utilize dietary nutrients. Precision feeding involves the use of feeding techniques that allow the provision of the right amount of feed with the right composition at the right time to each pig in the herd. Using this approach, it has been estimated that feeding costs can be reduced by more than 4.6%, and nitrogen and phosphorus excretion can both be reduced by more than 38%. Moreover, the integration of precision feeding techniques into large-group production systems can provide real-time off-farm monitoring of feed and animals for optimal slaughter and production strategies, thus improving the environmental sustainability of pork production, animal well-being and meat-product quality.

Microbial spoilage and quality of marinated dark, firm, dry meat

Estudi elaborat a partir d’una estada al Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University of Denmark entre els mesos de Març a Juny del 2006. S’ha investigat l’efecte dels envasats amb atmosferes modificades (MAP), així com la marinació amb vi tint, sobre l’evolució de la contaminació bacteriològica de carns fosques, dures i seques (DFD). Les carns DFD es troben a les canals d’animals que, abans del sacrifici, han estat exposades a activitats musculars prolongades o estrès. Les carns DFD impliquen importants pèrdues econòmiques degut a la contaminació bacteriològica i als problemes tecnològics relacionats amb la alta capacitat de retenció d’aigua. A més a més, és crític per la indústria investigar la diversitat de la contaminació bacteriana, identificar les espècies bacterianes i controlar-les. Però és difícil degut a la inhabilitat per detectar algunes bactèries en medis coneguts, les interaccions entre elles, la complexitat dels tipus de contaminació com són aigua, terra, femtes i l’ambient. La Polymerasa chain reaction- Denaturating Electrophoresis Gel (PCR-DGEE ) pot sobrepassar aquests problemes reflectint la diversitat microbial i les espècies bacterianes. Els resultants han indicat que la varietat bacteriana de la carn incrementava amb els dies d’envasat independentment del mètode d’envasat, però decreixia significativament amb el tractament de marinació amb vi tint. La DGEE ha mostrat diferències en les espècies trobades, indicant canvis en la contaminació bacteriana i les seves característiques en la carn DFD sota els diferents tractaments. Tot i que la marinació és una bona alternativa i solució a la comercialització de carn DFD , estudis de seqüenciació són necessaris per identificar les diferents tipus de bactèries.

Transferring QTL technology to the pig breeding industry (PigQTech) - a demonstration project

The aim of the project has been to demonstrate how the farm animal breeding industry can utilise gene mapping technology to accelerate genetic improvement. Previous theoretical studies had suggested that the use of marker assisted selection could potentially increase the annual improvement for quantitative traits like backfat with about 10% and for more difficult traits such as meat quality and reproduction by as much as 40-60% compared with existing technology. The work has comprised two major tasks: 1. Commercially relevant populations have been screened for segregation at QTLs identified in experimental populations. The aim has been to establish optimal strategies for QTL detection in commercial pig populations and the extent to which QTLs explaining major phenotypic differences between divergent lines used in experimental studies also explain quantitative variation within commercial lines. The results are important for specifying future strategies for finding economically valuable QTLs. 2. Marker assisted backcrossing has been used to demonstrate how a QTL allele can be introgressed from one breed to another. The work has focused on the major fatness QTL on pig chromosome 4 previously identified in a wild pig/Large White intercross. The end result was not designed to be a commercially viable product in its own right, but the process has validated a number of points of major importance for the exploitation of QTLs in livestock.

Meat quality of ten cattle breeds of the Southwest of Europe

A sample of about 70 young bulls of each of ten beef cattle breeds reared in their typical production systems has been characterised with respect to meat quality traits. Breeds included were Asturiana de los Valles, Asturiana de la Montaña, Avileña-Negra Ibérica, Bruna dels Pirineus, Morucha, Pirenaica and Retinta from Spain, and Aubrac, Gasconne and Salers from France. As was previously showed regarding carcass traits, there exist large differences both between and within breed – systems. In general, rustic breeds tended to present darker and redder meats with higher haematin contents, whereas less precocious and more specialised breeds showed brighter meats with bigger water losses. Protein content was similar, whereas intramuscular fat presented the larger variations both between and within breeds. ICDH content was higher in the more rustic breeds, showing the predominantly oxidative character of their fibres. Texture measurements showed in general large within breed-system variations, the differences between breeds being less evident. Within breed-system, daily gain weight was positively associated with brighter and tender meats. In the range studied, increasing slaughter weight within breed did not have influence on meat quality. Conformation was related to lower water holding capacity and less dry matter and intramuscular fat, as well as to a lower haematin content giving brighter meats. The increase in fatness scores was related to an augment of toughness in meat specialised breeds, although in Avileña-Negra Ibérica breed fatness carcasses were related to more tender meats. Redness parameter a* was positively related to fatter animals and opposed to conformation, the opposite being true for the L* (lightness) parameter. There was a small trend of fatter carcasses to be related to oxidative fibres, whereas the muscular fibres of the more conformed carcasses were more glycolytic. Texture measurements maximum load, maximum stress and toughness were very closely related. Shear force was opposed to tenderness. Losses at cooking were opposed to juiciness, but only in the Spanish breeds. No consistent trends regarding relationships between carcass characteristics and tenderness could be observed. Overall acceptability was primarily related with tenderness and flavour, and later on juiciness.

Ramaderia extensiva com a eina de prevenció d'incendis i gestió del paisatge a Matadepera (Vallès Occidental)

Aquest es un estudi de la contribució d’un ramat mixt d’oví i cabrum a la gestió de les masses forestals per a la prevenció d’incendis al municipi de Matadepera. L’avaluació de l’acció del ramat s’ha efectuat mitjançant un estudi integrat a traves del coneixement local i l’estudi ecològic de les zones pasturades. La ramaderia extensiva i especialment els ramats d’ovelles i cabres han contribuït durant segles a la neteja del sotabosc mitjançant l’aprofitament productiu d’aquestes zones, per tant no es quelcom nou, sinó un reconeixement als serveis ecològics no productius de la ramaderia extensiva i com aquesta es eficaç en la prevenció d’incendis forestals.

La ramaderia ecològica de boví a les Valls d'Àneu i viabilitat del producte ecològic: de la producció al consum

A les Valls d’Àneu la producció ramadera de boví ecològic és molt important, ja que, actualment, el 22% de les explotacions són ecològiques i es preveu que aquest percentatge augmenti fins al 50% en els propers dos anys. Malgrat això, la motivació principal per a convertir les explotacions convencionals en ecològiques és el factor econòmic, no la consciència ambiental. En l’anàlisi del cicle productiu carni del boví ecològic procedent de les Valls d’Àneu s’ha observat que no hi ha diferències substancials entre la producció ecològica i la convencional. Tot i així, el producte carni de boví ecològic no té gran sortida al mercat, ja que aquest és incipient i, a més, el preu del producte ecològic és molt més elevat que el del convencional. Un aspecte crític de la producció ramadera ecològica és que la seva normativa no considera els impactes ambientals que genera, com són els derivats del transport, la generació de residus d’envasos, etc. En aquest estudi es presenta una aproximació quantitativa dels impactes generats en el cicle productiu carni de boví ecològic de les Valls d’Àneu.

Anàlisi socio-ambiental de les bordes de la Vall d'Estaon (Pallars Sobirà) i de la biodiversitat associada

Aquest projecte ha estat desenvolupat entre l’octubre de 2008 i el juliol de 2009 per un equip d’estudiants de Ciències Ambientals de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. L’objecte d’estudi principal han estat les bordes, construccions agroramaderes utilitzades tradicionalment per a emmagatzemar l’herba i estabular-hi el bestiar. D’altra banda, pel que fa la biodiversitat, s’ha realitzat un estudi de la vegetació de pedra seca, i una primera aproximació a l’estudi dels rat-penats, espècies protegides que utilitzen les bordes com a refugi. L’àmbit d’estudi ha estat la Vall d'Estaon dins el municipi de Vall de Cardós, a la comarca del Pallars Sobirà, Catalunya. Tota la superfície d’estudi es troba dins de l’àmbit del Parc Natural de l’Alt Pirineu (PNAP) i, per tant, sota la seva protecció. Per a la realització d’aquest estudi, s’ha utilitzat la metodologia emprada en el projecte del Bosc de Virós (Mestres et al.,2007). S’elabora un inventari de bordes i un altre de biodiversitat a partir de les dades recopilades amb la observació al camp i es realitzen entrevistes als gestors de la zona, antics i nous propietaris. En l’anàlisi dels resultats, s’observa que les bordes han perdut la seva funcionalitat tradicional i moltes d’elles s’han abandonat. Aquests fets provoquen la degradació d’aquestes construccions i la conseqüent pèrdua de patrimoni. D’altra banda la idea de recuperar les activitats tradicionals esdevé poc realista i es combina amb la impossibilitat d’aplicar nous usos per la protecció que exerceix la figura de Parc Natural. Així doncs, les bordes es troben enmig d’una situació estàtica i paradoxal entre la voluntat i desig de conservació i l'imminent i accelerat procés d’abandonament i degradació.

Effect of magnesium sulphate and L-tryptophan and genotype on the feed intake, behaviour and meat quality of pigs

Sixty-nine entire male pigs with different halothane genotype (homozygous halothane positive – nn –, n=36; and homozygous halothane negative – NN-, n=33) were fed with a supplementation of magnesium sulphate (Mg) and/or L-tryptophan (Trp) in the diet for 5 days before slaughter. Animals were housed individually and were submitted to stressful ante mortem conditions (mixed in the lorry according to treatments and transported 1 hour on rough roads). Individual feed intake was recorded during the 5-d treatment. At the abattoir, pig behaviour was assessed in the raceway to the stunning system and during the stunning period by exposure to CO2. Muscle pH, colour, water holding capacity, texture and cathepsin activities were determined to assess meat quality. The number of pigs with an individual feed intake lower than 2 kg/d was significantly different among diets (P&0.05; Control: 8.7 %; Mg&Trp: 43.5 %; Trp: 17.4 %) and they were considered to have inadequate supplement intake. During the ante mortem period, 15.2 % of pigs included in the experiment died, and this percentage decreased to 8.7 % in those pigs with a feed intake & 2kg/day, all of them from the stress-sensitive pigs (nn). In general, no differences were observed in the behaviour of pigs along the corridor leading to the stunning system and inside the CO2 stunning system. During the stunning procedure, Trp diet showed shorter periods of muscular excitation than control and Mg&Trp diets. The combination of a stressful ante mortem treatment and Mg&Trp supplementation led to carcasses with high incidence of severe skin lesions. Different meat quality results were found when considering all pigs or considering only those with adequate supplement intake. In this later case, Trp increased pH45 (6.15) vs Control diet (5.96) in the Longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle (P&0.05) and pH at 24h (Trp: 5.59 vs C: 5.47) led to a higher incidence of dark, firm and exudative (DFD) traits in SM muscle (P&0.05). Genotype affected negatively all the meat quality traits. Seventy-five percent of LT and 60.0 % of the SM muscles from nn pigs were classified as pale, soft and exudative (PSE), while none of the NN pigs showed these traits (P&0.0001). No significant differences were found between genotypes on the incidence of DFD meat. Due to the negative effects observed in the Mg&Trp group in feed intake and carcass quality, the utilization of a mixture of magnesium sulphate and tryptophan is not recommended.

Effect of vaccination against gonadotrophin-releasing hormone, using Improvac®, on growth performance, body composition, behaviour and acute phase proteins

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of vaccination against GnRH on performance traits, pig behaviour and acute phase proteins. A total of 120 pigs (36 non-castrated males, NCM; 36 males to be vaccinated, IM; 24 castratedmales, CM; and 24 females, FE)were controlled in groups of 12 in pens with feeding stations allowing the recording of individual feed intake. The two vaccinations (Improvac®) were applied at a mean age of 77 and 146 days. All pigswere individually weighed every 3 weeks from the mean ages of 74 to 176 days and backfat thickness (BT) and loinmuscle depth (LD) were also recorded ultrasonically. Twelve group-housed pigs for each treatment were video recorded during 2 consecutive days at weeks 9, 11, 20, 21, 23 and 25 of age to score the number of inactive or active pigs in each treatment group by scan sampling. Aggressive behaviour by the feeder and away from the feeder, and mounting behaviour was also scored by focal sampling. Blood samples from 12 NCM, 12 CM and 12 IM were taken to determine the concentration of circulating acute phase protein Pig-MAP atweeks 1, 2, 4, 11, 13, 21 and 25 of age. After slaughter, the number of skin lesions on the left half carcasswas scored. IMpresented overall a higher growth rate and daily feed intake compared to NCM (Pb0.05),whereas their feed conversion ratios did not differ significantly. In comparison with CM, IM presented a better feed conversion ratio (Pb0.05), since their overall dailyweight gaindid not differ significantly, butIM ate less. Final leanmeat percentage of IM and CM was lower compared to that of NCM (Pb0.05). Activity, mounting and aggressive behaviour of NCM was higher than in IM, CM and FE after the second vaccination. Pig-MAP concentrationswere significantly elevated just after surgical castrationand after bothadministrations of the vaccine (Pb0.05), but concentrations subsequently decreased throughout time. Skin lesions of NCM were significantly higher compared to that of IM and FE (Pb0.05). The effects of vaccination were especially remarkable after the second dose, when the higher feed intake and lower activity of IM compared to NCMmight result in higher final body weight and more fat. Results from this study indicate that some welfare aspects such as a reduced aggression and mounting behaviour may be improved by vaccination against GnRH, together with productive benefits like adequate feed conversion ratio and daily weight gain.

Environmental Regulations in the Hog Farming Sector: A Comparison of Catalonia, Spain and Manitoba, Canada

This article examines the governance structures for managing the location and operation of Intensive Livestock Farming Operations (ILFOs). The article focuses on the hog sector and compares two very different jurisdictions: the Province of Manitoba, Canada and the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, Spain. Both are regions that have witnessed recent increases in hog production, including increasing spatial concentration of ILFOs and increasing size of those ILFOs. Policy has both fostered and sought to manage the increased production. Following a brief background description of restructuring, the changing legislative framework for Manitoba and Catalonia are described. Keywords: environmental regulations, hog farms, manure management, animal feeding operations. JEL: Q15, Q58, R52, O57

Els bara : una comunitat ramadera. El robatori de zebús a Madagascar

Els membres de l'ètnia bara de Madagascar, eminentment ramadera, viuen la seva cultura entorn d'un animal, el zebú, que no només és moneda de canvi i força per al transport, sinó tot un símbol per a aquest poble, i entorn del qual se segueixen tot un seguit de rituals. L'estudi es centra en el robatori de zebús, com a ritual de pas de l'edat jove a l'adulta. Tanmateix, el poble bara és en l'actualitat víctima d'un prejudici lamentable, ja que s'associa amb els lladres de bestiar en el context del problema social i econòmic actual de bandits armats i el robatori de l'espècie bovina a gran escala.Passant d'allò general a allò concret, l'estudi s'estructura de la següent manera: en primer lloc, es fa una aproximació inicial a l'ètnia bara i a la seva cultura lligada al seu ramat, fent esment al fenomen de la desforestació que devasta el país i que guarda certa relació amb l'objecte de recerca; posteriorment, es passa a explicar en què consisteix el robatori de zebús, les diverses motivacions que el provoquen i la seva evolució fins a l'actualitat.

Projecte de millora de l’explotació de vaquí de llet ‘Mas Batlle’ de Vilademires

Ampliació i millora de l’explotació ‘Mas Batlle’, construint una nau de producció, el femer per emmagatzemar les dejeccions un temps mínim de 6 mesos i construint també un cobert per a la maquinària. L’explotació està situada al veïnat de Vilademires, dins el municipi de Cabanelles, Alt Empordà (Girona)

Desenvolupament d'un sistema d'avaluació de les tecnologies segures que s'apliquen en les indústries càrniques

La finalitat del projecte és crear un sistema d’avaluació dels equips de treball usats en un escorxador des del punt de vista de la prevenció de riscos laborals, per tal de facilitar la tasca d’elecció d’una eina o màquina per a un lloc de treball determinat, garantint la seguretat i la salut del treballador que l’ha d’emprar