ABSTRACT

The objective was to investigate the impact of the TRANSUS box (modularized box) on pig welfare and meat quality. 20 groups of 12 slaughter pigs were tested over 5 days. Pigs were assigned to one of the two transportation treatments: TRANSUS box or conventional lorry. Pigs were loaded into the TRANSUS box at ground level and then the box was lifted by acrane onto the back of the flat deck truck. Total loading and unloading times for TRANSUS box were longer than for the conventional lorry but behaviors recorded during loading and unloading and the transport, skin temperature, total skin lesion scores, blood temperature, carcass, and meat quality were not affected by treatment. The results show that there was no beneficial impact on pig welfare or meat quality of transporting in the TRANSUS box compared to conventional methods. Nevertheless, refinements to the design and in the methods used to load/unload the containers could help to realize the potential for use of containers such as the TRANSUS box in the transportation of pigs to slaughter.

摘要

目的是研究 TRANSUS 箱（模块化箱）对猪福利和肉质的影响。在 5 天内对 20 组 12 头屠宰猪进行了测试。猪被分配到两种运输方式之一：TRANSUS 箱式运输车或传统卡车。猪被装入地面的 TRANSUS 箱中，然后用起重机将箱子吊到平板卡车的后部。TRANSUS 箱的总装卸时间比传统卡车长，但装卸和运输过程中记录的行为、皮肤温度、总皮肤病变评分、血温、胴体和肉质不受处理的影响。结果表明，与传统方法相比，在 TRANSUS 箱中运输对猪福利或肉质量没有有益影响。尽管如此，