ANSCI 4205 (Slaughtering of Animals and Processing of their Products)

Prepared by: ALONA T. BADUA

E-mail Address: alona.badua@clsu2.edu.ph

Central Luzon State University

Science City of Muñoz 3120
Nueva Ecija, Philippines

Instructional Module for the Course

ANSCI 4205 SLAUGHTERING OF ANIMALS AND PROCESSING OF THEIR
PRODUCTS

Module 3
Handling Animals before Slaughter
Overview
This module discusses the effects of transporting and moving
animals before slaughter and its effect on meat quality. Likewise, the
commonly used transport methods for animals and the factors
considered regarding the health and welfare of the animals during
transport are explained. The selection criteria for animals to be
slaughtered are given emphasis including the management procedure
done before slaughter to ensure the quality of meat produced.

I. Objectives
After finishing this module the student will be able to:
1. Explain the effects of transport and movement of animals before slaughter
2. Describe the commonly used methods for transporting animals before slaughter
and the procedures followed to ensure their welfare and health
3. Identify the selection criteria for animals to be slaughtered
4. Discuss the procedures followed before animals will be slaughtered to ensure a
good quality of meat produced

II. Learning Activities

A. TRANSPORT OF ANIMALS BEFORE SLAUGHTER

The transport process is part of a series of events required to get the animal
from farm to slaughter which is usually referred to as pre-slaughter or ante-mortem

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handling. Transport of livestock is undoubtedly the most stressful and injurious stage in
the chain of operations between farm and slaughterhouse and contributes significantly
to poor animal welfare and loss of production.
1. Effects of transport and movement include:
a. Stress –leading to DFD beef and PSE pork
b. Bruising –perhaps the most insidious and significant production waste in the meat
industry
c. Trampling –this occurs when animals go down due to slippery floors or
overcrowding
d. Suffocation -this usually follows on trampling
e.Heart failure -occurs mostly in pigs when overfed prior to loading and transportation
f. Heat stroke -pigs are susceptible to high environment temperatures and humidity
g. Sun burn -exposure to sun affects pigs seriously;
h. Bloat -restraining ruminants or tying their feet without turning them will cause this
i. Poisoning -animals can die from plant poisoning during trekking on hoof
j. Predation -unguarded animals moving on the hoof may be attacked
k.Dehydration -animals subject to long distance travel without proper watering will
suffer weight loss and may die
l. Exhaustion -may occur for many reasons including heavily pregnant animals or
weaklings
m. Injuries -broken legs, horns
n. Fighting -this occurs mostly when a vehicle loaded with pig stops, or among horned
and polled cattle.

2. Methods of transport
a. Cattle
The most appropriate methods of moving cattle are on hoof (trekking), by road
motor vehicle or by rail wagon.

b. Sheep and goat

Of the food animals these are the easiest to transport and generally travel well
on hoof, rail or road. Double-deck trucks are also suitable.

c. Pigs
Pigs are difficult animals to transport, and the only satisfactory method is by
road, although rail can be used under careful circumstances.

d. Poultry
Broilers and other poultry such as turkeys or ducks are best transported by road.
Recommended are plastic crates, which can be stacked on top of each other on a
vehicle and which can easily be washed after use.

3. Factors to be considered in order to ensure the health and welfare of the

animals during transport:

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a. Types of vehicles
Any vehicle used for the transport of slaughter livestock should have adequate
ventilation, have a non-slip floor with proper drainage and provide protection from the
sun and rain, particularly for pigs. The surfaces of the sides should be smooth and there
should be no protrusions or sharp edges. No vehicle should be totally enclosed. Animals
should be kept in a sufficient floor space without being overcrowded.

b. Pre-loading precautions
There are a number of simple procedures that can be implemented prior to the loading
of livestock, which will considerably reduce the risk of injury and stress like:
1) Pre-mixing of cattle or pigs leads to greater familiarity and these animals
travel better than animals that are strangers.
2) Most animals can be fed and watered before transporting except for pigs
3) Do not mix horned and hornless animals in the vehicles as this cause bruising
and injury.
4) Animals that are diseased, injured, emaciated or heavily pregnant should not
be transported, and unfit, heavy, pen fed animals should not travel far as
they cannot stand up to the rigours of transport.
5) Vehicles should be fitted with a portable ramp to facilitate emergency
offloading in case of prolonged breakdowns.

c. Transport operations
A number of factors must be taken into account during the journey in order that the
animals do not suffer, become injured or die.
1) Trekking—Only cattle, sheep and goats can be successfully moved on hoof,
and here certain risks are involved.
2) Time of the day—It is important to transport animals in vehicles during the
cooler mornings and evenings or even at night. This is particularly important
for pigs.
3) Duration of journey—Where possible, journeys should be short and direct,
without any stoppages.
4) Driving—Vehicles should be driven smoothly, without jerks or sudden stops.
5) Wind chill—Wind blowing on wet animals being transported in cold weather
causes a wind chill factor, where the body temperature is considerably
reduced, resulting in severe stress or deaths

B. SELECTION OF ANIMALS TO BE SLAUGHTERED

Selection of animals for slaughter depends mainly on the purpose for which meat
is to be used and on the cost of the end product. Some of the general factors that
should be considered are the following:
1. Age of the animal
The recommended ages of livestock for slaughter :
a. swine – 6-12 months of age
b. cattle and carabao – 3 years or younger

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c. goat – about a year old

Meat coming from old animals is dark, rough textured but flavorful, have high
water binding capacity and emulsion capacity and associated with high degree of
marbling. Tenderness changes with age. Change in tenderness is very rapid below one-
year old and then it slows down.
In general, meat from old animals is juicier than meat from young one. Young
animals have watery meat on first chewing but have a final impression of dryness.

2. Sex of the animal

a. barrows and gilts – best sources of meat for curing
b. boars – young boars (200 days old or below) can still be used. As the boar
becomes older, ―boar taint‖ becomes pronounced
c. sows – meat is tough and during advance stage of pregnancy the meat
maybe fishy in odor.

3. Size
The recommended slaughter weights of animals for fresh meat retailing and
intact meat processing are:
1) hog – 80-110 kg
2) cattle and carabao – 300-450 kg

In terms of processing characteristics, the processing, smoking and storing, shrinkage

of loin, ham and bacon tend to decrease with increase slaughter weight but the
percentage cooking losses increase with increasing live weight.

4. Degree of fatness
Meat flavor, tenderness and juiciness are some of the palatability factors greatly
influenced with fat. Most flavor compounds are found in the fatty tissue while chewing
fat stimulates the flavor of saliva thus, giving the impression of juiciness. For sausages
and other comminuted meat products, 30-40% fat seems to be the most acceptable.

5. Health of the animal

The animal for slaughter must be substantially healthy. Unhealthy animals must
be first treated and brought to normal condition prior to slaughter.

C. MANAGEMENT OF ANIMALS PRIOR TO SLAUGHTER

Some of the recommended management practices for animals prior to slaughter
are the following:

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1. Fasting
Fasting as applied to slaughter animals is simple the withdrawal of feed but
water is given ad libitum. Pigs are fasted for 12-24 hours and ruminants for 24-48
hours. Fasting the animals has several advantages:
a. saving of feeds
b. ease of cleaning entrails
c. ease of cleaning and eviscerating carcass
d. it results to a thoroughly bled and brightly colored carcass
e. it lengthens shelf-life of carcass
f. it gives low shrinkage of meat

2. Relax the animal

As much as possible, no form of stress is given to animals prior to slaughter.
Some of the common stresses slaughter animals are subjected to include shipping
stress, overcrowding stress, driving stress, heat stress and others. If stress cannot be
avoided, animals must be given enough time to relax and regain their composure
before these are slaughtered. If stress given is not so severe, pork tends to be pale,
soft and exudative (PSE). If stress given is severe, meat tends to be dry, firm and dark
(DFD).
The level of glycogen on the muscles at death controls the pH of the resulting
meat. Meat from unstressed animals has a pH of 5.3 and the drop in pH is very gradual.
The meat from stressed animals, pH is usually within the range of 6-7 and the pH drop
is very rapid. The rapid pH drop is partly due to the rise in the temperature of the
carcass favoring rapid anaerobic glycolysis.

3. Handle the animals gently

The part of an animal whipped, kicked or boxed prior to slaughter develops
blood clots and red spot in the meat. This is due to breaking of blood vessels in those
areas. As a result, the blood is not withdrawn during bleeding and this is a good
medium for luxuriant growth of microorganisms, which causes accelerated spoilage of
the meat.

4. Clean the animals

The practice of good sanitation is best started by keeping the animal clean. One
of worst contaminants of meat is the microflora most abundant in the feces. These and
other dirt must therefore be washed off to minimize possible contamination of the
carcass.

III. References
FAO. 2004. Good Practices for the Meat Industry. FAO Farm Production and Health
Manual.
FAO. 2004. Guidelines for humane handling, transport and slaughter of livestock.
Ibarra, P.I. 1983. Meat Processing for Small and Medium Scale Operation. University of
the Philippines, Los Banos, Laguna