Evaluación del bienestar animal durante la etapa ante-mortem en los mataderos de Cuenca y Paute

Abstract

The objective of the study was to evaluate the different factors that affect animal welfare during the ante-mortem stage spent in the municipal slaughterhouse of Cuenca and Paute. In the study, a visual inspection and the use of forms in which were the independent variables such as race, sex, age, origin, transport time, overcrowding in vehicles, body condition etc. and the dependent variables such as falls, mucous membranes color, walking abnormalities. The study was carried out in landing, corrals and sleeves sectors. The number of animals studied was 4000 cattle, for the statistical analysis the frequency, analysis of variance, contingency tables and the chi square test were determined. It was obtained as a result that some variables studied have a relationship on animal welfare such as, the origin that is significantly associated with the fallen variables, walking abnormalities, mucous color, breathing and behavior abnormalities. Finally, it is concluded that there are several anomalies at the level of facilities and handling of cattle in the slaughterhouses studied, which impacts on animal welfare