Influence of Housing System and Number of Transported Animals on Transport-induced Mortality in Slaughter Pigs

Voslářová, Eva; Chloupek, Petr; Steinhauser, Ladislav; Havlíček, Jan; Večerek, Vladimír

doi:10.2754/avb201079S9S079

Acta Veterinaria > Archive > 2010, Vol. 79 > Supplementum 9 > Influence of Housing System and Number…

Acta Vet. Brno 2010, 79: 79-84

https://doi.org/10.2754/avb201079S9S079

Influence of Housing System and Number of Transported Animals on Transport-induced Mortality in Slaughter Pigs

Eva Voslářová¹, Petr Chloupek¹, Ladislav Steinhauser², Jan Havlíček³, Vladimír Večerek¹

¹Department of Veterinary Public Health and Toxicology,
²Department of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Brno, Czech Republic,
³Regional Veterinary Administration of the South Moravian Region, Czech Republic

Received June 24, 2009
Accepted September 8, 2009

The study monitored the effect of the housing system and the number of animals transported together on transport-induced mortality of slaughter pigs in the Czech Republic in the period from 2004 to 2008. Concerning the type of housing during the fattening, the lowest mortality rate during the subsequent transport to slaughter houses was detected among pigs fattened on solid floor (0.047%) and on deep bedding (0.084%). The highest mortality during transport was detected among pigs fattened on fully or partially slatted floor (0.139%), a significant difference (p < 0.01) was found compared to other housing types. Assessment of the influence of individual pig load size on mortality showed the lowest mortality among pigs transported in loads of up to 40 animals (0.053%). Mortality during the transport in loads of the size of 41 to 120 animals was 0.130%, and for loads of the size over 120 pigs the mortality rate was 0.156%. These mortality rates are significantly higher (p < 0.01) compared to the load sizes of up to 40 animals.