German
English
Friday, February 10, 2012
Abstracts from 
Fleischwirtschaft 90 (8), S. 100 -106, 2010
Slaughter of pregnant cattle - ethical and legal aspects
By Katharina Riehn, Gottfried Domel, Almuth Einspanier, Jutta Gottschalk, Goetz Hildebrandt, Jörg Luy und Ernst Lücker
Slaughter | cattle | pregnancy | animal welfare | ethic |consumer protection
(original article is only in German language available)
The EU has the among the world's highest standards of animal welfare in the world, and
the safety of the food chain is indirectly affected by the welfare of animals, particularly those the cattle farmed for food production. The welfare of food producing animals depends largely on how they are managed by humans. A range of factors can impact on their welfare including housing and bedding, space and crowding, transport conditions, stunning and slaughter methods. Harmonised EU rules are in place covering a range of food safety- and welfare-affecting issues, but a regulatory framework which governs the slaughter of pregnant farm animals is still missing. A need for action on this part has not been seen by the Commission yet, because it was assumed that pregnant heifers are only slaughtered in exceptional cases. However, first own investigations show, that the proportion of pregnant heifers raised in different European member states amounts to up to 10%. The objects of this study are the collection of data concerning the frequency of
slaughter of pregnant heifers in different German abattoirs, acquisition of animal welfare relevant parameters during transport, stunning and slaughter, and fate of the foetuses and unborn calves. For this purpose, a mail questionnaire was sent to different German slaughterhouses. Until now feedbacks from 53 slaughterhouses could be gathered and
evaluated. More than 50% of the participants reported that they slaughter pregnant heifers. The percentage share of pregnant animals on the total number of female cattle is approximately 15%. More than 90% of the affected animals were slaughtered during last two trimesters of pregnancy.Pregnant heifers in different states of gravidity are regularly
slaughtered as the first results of our study show and questions concerning animal welfare particularly with regard to an animal welfare conform way of euthanasia for both the mother and the unborn calf have to be discussed in this context.
Authors' Addresses
Dr. med. vet. Katharina Riehn Fachtierärztin für Lebensmittelsicherheit, und Prof. Dr. Ernst Lücker, Institut für Lebensmittelhygiene, Universität Leipzig, An den Tierkliniken 1, 04103 Leipzig,Dr. Gottfried Domel, Veterinär- und Lebensmittelüberwachungsamt, Am Poschwitzer Park 7, 04600 Altenburg; Prof. Dr. Almuth Einspanier und Dr. Jutta Gottschalk, Universität Leipzig, Veterinärmedizinische Fakultät, Veterinär-Physiologisch-Chemisches Institut, An den Tierkliniken 1 , 04103 Leipzig; Prof. Dr. Goetz Hildebrandt, Freie Universität Berlin, Fachbereich Veterinärmedizin, Institut für Lebensmittelhygiene, Königsweg 69, 14163 Berlin; Prof. Dr. Jörg Luy, Freie Universität Berlin, Fachbereich Veterinärmedizin, Institut für Tierschutz und Tierverhalten, Oertzenweg 19b, 14163 Berlin
The EU has the among the world's highest standards of animal welfare in the world, and
the safety of the food chain is indirectly affected by the welfare of animals, particularly those the cattle farmed for food production. The welfare of food producing animals depends largely on how they are managed by humans. A range of factors can impact on their welfare including housing and bedding, space and crowding, transport conditions, stunning and slaughter methods. Harmonised EU rules are in place covering a range of food safety- and welfare-affecting issues, but a regulatory framework which governs the slaughter of pregnant farm animals is still missing. A need for action on this part has not been seen by the Commission yet, because it was assumed that pregnant heifers are only slaughtered in exceptional cases. However, first own investigations show, that the proportion of pregnant heifers raised in different European member states amounts to up to 10%. The objects of this study are the collection of data concerning the frequency of
slaughter of pregnant heifers in different German abattoirs, acquisition of animal welfare relevant parameters during transport, stunning and slaughter, and fate of the foetuses and unborn calves. For this purpose, a mail questionnaire was sent to different German slaughterhouses. Until now feedbacks from 53 slaughterhouses could be gathered and
evaluated. More than 50% of the participants reported that they slaughter pregnant heifers. The percentage share of pregnant animals on the total number of female cattle is approximately 15%. More than 90% of the affected animals were slaughtered during last two trimesters of pregnancy.Pregnant heifers in different states of gravidity are regularly
slaughtered as the first results of our study show and questions concerning animal welfare particularly with regard to an animal welfare conform way of euthanasia for both the mother and the unborn calf have to be discussed in this context.
Authors' Addresses
Dr. med. vet. Katharina Riehn Fachtierärztin für Lebensmittelsicherheit, und Prof. Dr. Ernst Lücker, Institut für Lebensmittelhygiene, Universität Leipzig, An den Tierkliniken 1, 04103 Leipzig,Dr. Gottfried Domel, Veterinär- und Lebensmittelüberwachungsamt, Am Poschwitzer Park 7, 04600 Altenburg; Prof. Dr. Almuth Einspanier und Dr. Jutta Gottschalk, Universität Leipzig, Veterinärmedizinische Fakultät, Veterinär-Physiologisch-Chemisches Institut, An den Tierkliniken 1 , 04103 Leipzig; Prof. Dr. Goetz Hildebrandt, Freie Universität Berlin, Fachbereich Veterinärmedizin, Institut für Lebensmittelhygiene, Königsweg 69, 14163 Berlin; Prof. Dr. Jörg Luy, Freie Universität Berlin, Fachbereich Veterinärmedizin, Institut für Tierschutz und Tierverhalten, Oertzenweg 19b, 14163 Berlin
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