Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXIV, Issue 2
Written by Diana Oana MIHAI (OPREA), Carmen Daniela PETCU, Dana TĂPĂLOAGĂ, Corina PREDESCU, Marian GHIȚĂ, Oana Mărgărita GHIMPEȚEANU, Otilia Cristina MURARIU, Emilia CIOBOTARU-PÎRVU
Stress is defined as a complex chain of events, consisting in a stimulus that causes a subsequent reaction in the brain and activates physiological reactions. It is important to adopt good practices during slaughter. In assessing the level of stress, the following variables should be taken into account: the means of transport, the way of slaughter (with or without stunning), accidental fall of animals, refusal of animals to enter the containment box, excessive movement of animals during containment. In the living organism, a series of biochemical and energetic transformations take place, which are in close interdependence, and are subjected to the mechanisms of regulation and metabolic control, which cease with the suppression of animal life, therefore, after slaughtering animals, a series of transformations appear in the muscle tissue. The study was conducted between 2019-2020, on two batches of conventionally slaughtered pigs (with stunning) in slaughterhouses and on a batch of traditionally slaughtered pigs (without stunning). In the slaughterhouses, the technological flow of pigs slaughtering was monitored and blood samples were collected in order to extract the serum and measure the cortisol level. Cortisol was measured in a specialized laboratory by the immunoenzymatic method by chemiluminescence detection. Determination of cortisol levels in blood samples taken from conventional pig slaughter revealed different values, exceeding the established reference values, compared with blood samples collected from households following traditional slaughter, the level of which is lower, sometimes falling within the reference values. The growth and handling of pigs before slaughter induces their stress, so special attention must be paid to the slaughter process in order to minimize stress levels and improve the quality of the meat.
[Read full article] [Citation]
