动物福利与肉品质量

《动物福利与肉品质量》p628-632AnimalwelfareandmeatqualityB.NowakandA.CSpringomm,UniversityofVeterinaryMediansHanover,GermanyAbstract:Meat-producinganimalssuchascattle,pigandpoultryaretodayusuallyraisedhimodemintensiveindoorfarmingsystemsand,afterfinishing,transportedtoanabattoirwheretheyarcstunnedandslaughtered.Thereisincreasingconcernamongconsumersaboutwelfareoftheseanimalsandthepoorwelfareananimalsuffersinthecourseofitslifemayhaveanegativeinfluenceonthequalityofthemeatderivingfromtheanimals.Housingsystemcanhaveahighinfluenceonanimalwelfarebutthereislittleevidencethatmeatqualityisimpairedunderusualmanagementconditions.Transportstresscancausepoorcarcassquality,toolowpHvaluesandpossiblyPSE(pigs,turkey)orDFDmeat(cattle)whentheanimalsaretransportedfortoolongorunderinappropriateconditions.Stunningandslaughterseemtohavethehighestimpactonbothanimalwelfareandmeatquality.Inordertoprotecttheanimalsandmeatquality,acriticalreviewofallcommonhousingsystems,allowedtransportandcurrentlyappliedstunningmethodsshouldbecarriedout'Animal-friendliness'shouldbecomeanadditionalandimpoitamqualitytraitformeat.Thiswillmeetconsumerdemandsandbasingdecision.Itisthereforenecessarytofurtherpromotelabellingsystem,whichgivetheconsumerthechoicebetweendifferentproductlines.successfulmeatproductioninfuturehastobebasedontransparencyofthefoodchain,displayingthesafetyoftheproductandthehealthandthewelfareoftheanimalsthatprovidethemeat.Keywords:meatquality,animalwelfare,housingconditions,transportandlairage,stunningandslaughter27.1IntroductionMeal-producinganimalssuchascattle,pigandpoultryareusuallyraisedtodayinmodern,intensive,indoorfarmingsysteminordertomakebestuseoftheirselectedgeneticqualitieswhichenablethem，underappropriatehousing,feeding,hygiene,managementandveterinarycontrol,toreachhighgrowthrates.Atthesametime,welfareoffarmanimalsisofincreasingpublicconcern(bennett,1996;MieleandParisi,2001),inrecentpolls,EUcitizensrankithighly,givingit9outof10onaverageintermsofimportance.Moreover,62%wouldchangeshoppinghabitsinordertoaccessmoreanimalwelfarefriendlygoods(Euoobarometer,2007),inferringthatwelfareisofsuchconcerntheywouldchooseaproductthathadbeenrearedtogoodwelfarestandardsandavoidpurchasingproductstheyperceivedasnotbeingwelfarefriendly.Althoughanimalswelfareisnowamajorissueonthepublicagenda,andpeoplerefertotheirrolesasconsumersinpublicdebates,theseconcernsarenotreflectedintheactualmarketsharesofanimalfriendlyproductsacrossEurope.Thereasonforthisdiscrepancyinthebehaviouroftheconsumeraremanifold.Firstly,thereisaconsiderablelackofknowledgeandunderstandingofmordernanimalproduction,whichischaracterisedbythetermsintensification,specialisationandregionalconcentration.Largefarmsarekeepinghighnumbersofanimalsofoneanimalspeciesonlyandwhichareoftenconcentratedincertainruralareaswheretheycancreateenvironmentalpollutionofsoil,waterandairbyodours,heavymetals,drugresiduesorasurplusofnutrients(HartungandWathes,2001;Hamscheretal,2003).Secondly,theconsumerwantstohavefoodofthehighestqualityandsafetyavilableatanytimeforthelowestpossibleprice.Thirdly,theconsumerisconfusedaboutthescarcityofdatathatclearlydemonstratetheinfluenceofpoorwelfareananimalsuffersinthecourseofitslifeonthequalityofthemeatderivingfromthatanimal.Thehazardsfacedbymeat-producinganimalsduringtheirlifecycle,possiblyleadingtopoorwelfareandconsecutivelytopoormeatquality,maybederivedfromthehusbandrysystemanditsmanagement,transport,stunningandtheslaughterprocedure.Theanimalsareexposedtothesehazardsoverlongerorshorterperiodswithquitedifferentintensities.Afterhatching,broilersandturkeysspendtheirwholelife-span,whichisaboutfiveweeksforbroilersandabout20weeksfortomturkeys,inthesamebarn.Followingweaning,pigsremaininthesameintensiveproductionrearingsystemsforseveralmonths,whilevealcalveschangeafterbeingkeptinsinglecratesforthefirstfewweekstosystemsconsistingofsmallgroupholdingsforfinalfattening.Meat-producinganimalsareusuallytransportedtwiceduringtheirlives.Thesetransportscanlastbetweenperiodsofafewminutestotheadjacentfarmandforseveralhoursorevendaysfromthebreedingfarmtothefatteningunitor,afterfinishing,toaslaughterhouseinanotherregionorcountry.Inthelairageoftheabattoirandduringstunningandslaughter,theanimalsareexposedtoshortbutintensivestresssituations.Thischapterwillelaborateuponwhetherthereisscientificevidencethatpooranimalwelfarewhichtypicalmeat-deliveringanimalssuchascattle,pig,broilerandturkeymaysufferwhilebeingraisedinaparticularkeepingsystemandduringtransport,stunningandslaughter,hasanegativeeffectonmeatqualityandwhetherthiscanbedemonstratedbyanorientatingriskassessmentapproach.Whichrangefromverygeneralphysiologicalexpressionssuchas‘theanimalslivesinharmonywiththeenvironment’(Hughes,1976)tothemoreactiveandbehaviouralapproachofananimal,whichshouldbeable‘tocopewiththeenvironment’(Broom,1986).Whilethereisacloserelationshipbetweenhealthandwell-being,’welfare’canalsobeseenaspartofmentalhealth.Thealthofananimalencompassesbothphysicalandmentalhealth;thisincludesphysicalfitness,freedomfrominfectiousandnon-infectiousdis