An analysis of the influence of pre-slaughter management factors on welfare and meat quality outcomes in fed beef cattle in the United States

Abstract

During the pre-slaughter phase, cattle are transported from their place of origin to a slaughter facility, experiencing transportation, lairage, environmental factors, and novel environments. Although research exists that has evaluated how the pre-slaughter phase impacts cattle welfare and meat quality, some significant pre-slaughter management factors and subsequent welfare and meat quality outcomes have not been thoroughly explored. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of pre-slaughter management factors on welfare and meat quality outcomes in fed beef cattle in the United States. Transportation factors, environmental characteristics, lairage factors, cattle characteristics and several meat quality variables were collected from five federally inspected commercial processing facilities in the United States. After excluding slaughter lots that included <75% complete data sets, a total of 619 slaughter lots representing 84,508 head of cattle were used for further analysis. Predictor variables of interest included processing plant, cattle breed, sex class, operation shift at the plant, distance travelled to the plant, truck waiting time to unload at the plant, lairage duration and space allowance, temperature humidity index (THI), and windspeed. Outcome variables of interest included cattle mobility, carcass bruising, dark cutting (DC), quality grades (QG), and hot carcass weights (HCW). All statistical analysis was performed using SAS 9.4. Logistic and linear regressions were used to analyze the associations between the predictor and outcomes variables of interest. Increased distance travelled and truck waiting time were associated with higher odds of mobility impairment (P = 0.0009 and P = 0.007, respectively), with each 10 km increase in distance travelled having an odds ratio (OR) of 1.001 (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.000-1.001) and each 1-minute increase in waiting time having an OR of 1.003 (CI: 1.001-1.004). Conversely, a 10 km increase in distance travelled decreased the odds of carcass bruising (OR: 0.997, CI: 0.996-0.998; P < 0.0001). Longer lairage was associated with increased odds of DC (P = 0.0415), with each 60-minute increase in duration having an OR of 1.034 (CI: 1.001-1.068). The results demonstrate the importance of truck arrival management (i.e., scheduling, prioritizing unloading) on mobility. Focusing on lairage management (i.e., density and time) may provide some opportunities to improve meat quality.