Animal welfare incidents during and after transport to Australian export slaughterhouses: An evaluation of government reports (2020–2021)

Abstract

Background: Australian animals delivered to meat export slaughterhouses are inspected ante-mortem for welfare problems by a veterinarian, which determines their fitness to enter the slaughter process. Emergency killing, priority slaughter or proceeding to slaughter with other animals are possible outcomes. However, when animals with welfare conditions are detected, the veterinarian or slaughterhouse staff are required to send an incident report to the State government authorities. Methods: We reviewed 631 incident reports from 2020/2021, obtained from the Australian government following Parliamentary Enquiry. Results: Emergency killing was the most common response to incidents, especially after long journeys. Pigs had the most incidents, mostly handling issues not requiring emergency killing. Cattle had the second highest and were the subject of the most reports. Lameness was commonly recorded. Delivery to detection took 8–12 hours on average, probably because deliveries late in the day are inspected the following day. Conclusions: Incident reports identified that there were significant welfare problems with farmed animals arriving at meat export slaughterhouses, especially in pigs. Lengthy delays to detection were also identified. Reducing this time to detection would improve welfare, as would ensuring slaughterhouses have a system to monitor all animals at all times.