Prevalence of Body Injuries and Handling Practices for Slaughter Pigs and Their Association With Meat Quality in Kiambu County, Kenya

Abstract

The demand for pork in Kenya is expected to increase by 268% by 2050, based on data on demand for the year 2010. The government of Kenya has legislation in place demanding for humane treatment of pigs from the farm to the slaughterhouse, but no study on pig welfare has ever been done along the pork value chain in the country. The study hypothesis was that handling practices of pigs before slaughter and the resultant body injuries has an association with the quality of pork harvested. The specific objectives of this study were to; 1) determine prevalence of body injuries on pigs and handling practices which hampers welfare status of pigs for slaughter. 2) Analyze the relationship between body injuries on pigs, the handling practices and meat quality. Data on body injuries and handling practices were collected from 529 pigs, and meat samples of biceps femoris obtained for a total of 387 pigs previously selected for the study. The meat samples were placed in cool boxes and then transported to the laboratory at the Department of Public Health Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Nairobi for further analysis. These meat samples were subjected to various tests to determine meat pH24, meat color and drip loss, and a published criterion was used to categorize meat into four different meat quality categories: Pale Soft and Exudate (PSE), Dark Firm and Dry (DFD), Red Soft and Exudative (RSE) and Red Firm and Non-Exudative (RFN). Data were analyzed by computing frequencies and other measures of central tendencies and dispersions. Further analysis was done to determine the relationship between the body injuries and handling practices with the various meat categories using multinomial logistic regression. The results showed that about 97% of pigs were not well stunned based on signs of consciousness post-stunning, 83% had one or more body injuries with the most prevalent being laceration to the ears (ear marks’ used as identification markers). About 5% of the pigs were transported to slaughterhouses when tied on motor bikes and bicycles while 27% were transported.........................................................................................