Opportunities to Improve Animal Welfare during Transport and Slaughter of Cattle and Pigs through Staff Training—Results of a Delphi Survey
Fabienne Eichler,
Veronica Duckwitz,
Rudi Isbrandt,
Svea Nicolaisen,
Nina Langkabel,
Mechthild Wiegard,
Diana Meemken,
Christa Thöne-Reineke,
Marcus G. Doherr
Affiliations
Fabienne Eichler
Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, 14163 Berlin, Germany
Veronica Duckwitz
Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, 14163 Berlin, Germany
Rudi Isbrandt
Institute of Food Safety and Food Hygiene, School of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, 14163 Berlin, Germany
Svea Nicolaisen
Institute of Animal Welfare, Animal Behavior and Laboratory Animal Science, School of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, 14163 Berlin, Germany
Nina Langkabel
Institute of Food Safety and Food Hygiene, School of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, 14163 Berlin, Germany
Mechthild Wiegard
Institute of Animal Welfare, Animal Behavior and Laboratory Animal Science, School of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, 14163 Berlin, Germany
Diana Meemken
Institute of Food Safety and Food Hygiene, School of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, 14163 Berlin, Germany
Christa Thöne-Reineke
Institute of Animal Welfare, Animal Behavior and Laboratory Animal Science, School of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, 14163 Berlin, Germany
Marcus G. Doherr
Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, 14163 Berlin, Germany
To improve animal welfare for cattle and pigs during transport and at slaughter, online training modules for all staff including employees in the lairage pen, the slaughter line as well as animal welfare officers are developed at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. Before starting the development of these modules, an expert elicitation survey using a modified Delphi approach was performed to identify action points considered most relevant for animal welfare during transport and slaughter, and as having the potential for improvement through training. In total, 49 participating experts rated predetermined action points of each step in the transport and slaughter process in two survey rounds. The rating scale included numbers 0 (=‘not relevant’, respectively ‘no possibility of improvement’) to 10 (=‘very relevant’, respectively ‘very high possibility of improvement’). None of the action points were rated with a median score of less than 5. Assessment of fitness for transport, unloading at the abattoir, handling at stunning and exsanguination were amongst the highest rated action points, and were therefore selected to develop online training modules. The Delphi approach was seen as a valuable method to include external expertise to select the most relevant action points for the development of online training modules.
