Some preslaughter factors affecting the occurrence of bruising in sheep

The preslaughter handling and behaviour, and subsequent bruising was observed in 49 groups of sheep in a commercial slaughterhouse. A greater percentage of bruised carcases was found in lambs (71%) than in ewes (49%) (P less than 0.01). A greater percentage of severely bruised carcases was found in lambs from markets (20%) than in those direct from farms (12%) (P less than 0.05). Significant correlations were found between the occurrence of recent bruising and wool-pulls during unloading, riding by another sheep, and hits and squashes against structures at the slaughterhouse. However, even assuming that each potentially traumatic event observed in the slaughterhouse caused a bruise, only about one-quarter of the bruising could have been attributed to handling problems at the slaughterhouse. Eight-eight per cent of all bruises were estimated to have been caused within about 24 h of death, indicating that most bruising probably was caused by handling problems during loading on the farm, during transit and particularly at markets.