Logistics issues in the Brazilian pig industry: A case-study of the transport micro-environment

Abstract

Inadequate thermal characteristics inside a truck during livestock transport might lead to an important decrease meat quality and increase swine mortality. This study aims to assess the microenvironment characteristics of the pig transportation truck in tropical regions. These characteristics involve air temperature, relative humidity, wind and vehicle speed, and noise level. The present study compares two pig transportation schedules by assessing the ambient and pig surface temperature, and calculating the environmental temperature and humidity index (THI). The surface temperature was recorded using a thermal camera. Results showed that thermal characteristics inside the truck varied between the farm and the slaughterhouse plant (p < 0.0489). The unloading process at the slaughterhouse plant impacted the pigs surface temperature (p < 0.027) more than the loading management at the farm.