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The Network of the National Contact Points for scientific support under Art 20 of Council Regulation (EC) 1099/2009 on the protection of the animals at the time of killing (scientific NCPs Network) includes nationally appointed representatives of Members States, including EFTA Countries. During the annual meeting in 2025, an exercise was performed to gather information from Network members on animal‐based measures (ABMs) collected at slaughterhouses to monitor the level of welfare of Equidae in establishments. Prior to the meeting, Network members were requested to submit, via an online questionnaire, information on ABMs currently measured in ante‐ and post‐mortem inspections of Equidae at the slaughterhouses in their countries, the availability of a database for the electronic recording of these ABMs, their feasibility, and any automated systems for their assessment. The questionnaire collected information on the species Equus caballus (horses), Equus asinus (donkeys) and their hybrids (mules and hinnies). During the meeting, a structured discussion was held on the information provided, and participants were also asked to vote and score the criteria for the provided ABMs. As a result of this exercise, an initial list of ABMs deemed useful to be collected in the slaughterhouses to retrospectively monitor the level of welfare of Equidae in establishments was produced, and related information was collected. The information included in this report will be used for the development of the relevant scientific opinion on the welfare of Equidae, expected to be adopted by end 2026.

Background Participatory abattoir appraisals and observational analysis were conducted in selected local abattoirs in the Wolaita, Ethiopia with the aims of assessing (i) the physical facilities available in these abattoirs and (ii) the detection of post-mortem gross lesions upon routine meat inspection that may have been due to infectious diseases. Methods Our study surveyed public abattoirs to evaluate meat inspection services and facility standards. Gross lesions in slaughtered animals were categorized by consistency, prioritized using a scoring matrix, and analyzed for anatomical distribution. Concordance in prioritization was assessed with Kendall’s W test. Results Our investigation revealed that almost all public abattoirs surveyed had substandard physical facilities for conducting meat inspection services. According to statistics from the studied abattoirs, 26.6% of slaughtered animals exhibited at least one grossly visible lesion, of which 65% were considered by the local veterinary inspectorate to have potential animal or public health significance. Among the identified lesions, 10% were classified as having a ‘soft’ consistency (e.g., cystic or caseous/abscess), while 5% were categorized as ‘hard’ (e.g., fibrotic, firm, fibrous, or mineralized). The remaining 85% of lesions were uncategorized. Using a prioritization matrix scoring method, the overall mean proportional priority rank data indicated that ‘mineralized/calcified’ hard lesions were assigned the highest priority (0.67), followed by ‘cystic’ lesions (0.58). The evidence for group concordance in prioritization was moderate (W = 0.275; p  = 0.019). Regarding anatomical distribution, the survey groups ranked gross lesions in the lungs and associated mediastinal and bronchial lymph nodes as the top priority (0.67). Lesions in the small intestine and mesenteric lymph nodes (0.33) were ranked second, followed by lesions in the hepatic lymph nodes (0.42). There was strong concordance in the overall mean ranking of these lesion sites within the survey groups (W = 0.518; p  = 0.0001). Some of the gross lesions detected in this study may pose a potential zoonotic risk (e.g. tuberculosis). Conclusions This study highlights how infrastructural deficiencies and operational procedures in abattoirs can contribute to poor quality and potentially diseased meat entering the human food chain, features which need to be addressed locally to safeguard public health.

This study was conducted to highlight the effect of zoonotic diseases on the hematological parameters of small ruminants from the municipal abattoir of Korhogo. A total of 170 small ruminants, comprising 85 sheep and 85 goats, some of which were detected with zoonotic diseases, were recruited for blood analysis. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein using EDTA anticoagulant tubes. Complete Blood Count (CBC) was performed on these blood samples. The main results indicate that 34.71% of the small ruminants were sick, with 38.82% among sheep and 30.58% among goats. Tuberculosis was detected in 20.59% of the total population, compared to 14.12% with fascioliasis. Comparison of hematological parameters between healthy and sick animals revealed that blood parameters were more altered in sick animals than in healthy ones. Anemia was the most observed hematological complication in sick animals, with average hemoglobin levels of 7.77 ± 0.39 g L-1 in sick sheep and 7.42 ± 0.49 g L-1 in sick goats. Statistical analysis showed a significant correlation between hemoglobin levels and zoonotic pathology in both sheep and goats, with coefficients of 0.261 and 0.254, respectively. These results suggest that zoonotic pathologies are responsible for hematological complications especially anemia in small ruminants slaughtered at the municipal abattoir in Korhogo. These diseases should thus be detected through blood tests before slaughter to preserve their health and provide high-quality meat to the population.

Brucellosis is a neglected zoonotic disease of remarkable importance worldwide. The focus of this systematic review was to investigate occupational brucellosis and to identify the main infection risks for each group exposed to the pathogen. Seven databases were used to identify papers related to occupational brucellosis: CABI, Cochrane, Pubmed, Scielo, Science Direct, Scopus and Web of Science. The search resulted in 6123 studies, of which 63 were selected using the quality assessment tools guided from National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Case Report Guidelines (CARE). Five different job-related groups were considered greatly exposed to the disease: rural workers, abattoir workers, veterinarians and veterinary assistants, laboratory workers and hunters. The main risk factors and exposure sources involved in the occupational infection observed from the analysis of the articles were direct contact with animal fluids, failure to comply with the use of personal protective equipment, accidental exposure to live attenuated anti-brucellosis vaccines and non-compliance with biosafety standards. Brucella species frequently isolated from job-related infection were Brucella melitensis, Brucella abortus, Brucella suis and Brucella canis. In addition, a meta-analysis was performed using the case-control studies and demonstrated that animal breeders, laboratory workers and abattoir workers have 3.47 [95% confidence interval (CI); 1.47-8.19] times more chance to become infected with Brucella spp. than others individuals that have no contact with the possible sources of infection. This systematic review improved the understanding of the epidemiology of brucellosis as an occupational disease. Rural workers, abattoir workers, veterinarians, laboratory workers and hunters were the groups more exposed to occupational Brucella spp. infection. Moreover, it was observed that the lack of knowledge about brucellosis among frequently exposed professionals, in addition to some behaviors, such as negligence in the use of individual and collective protective measures, increases the probability of infection.

In developing countries, animals are often slaughtered and dressed in unsanitary settings, thus endangering the microbiological quality and safety of the meat obtained. In addition, slaughterhouses and retail outlets are the regions most vulnerable to cross-contamination with meat. As a result, the objective of this study was to evaluate slaughterhouse and meat retail shop hygiene practices and to determine the causes of unsanitary meat handling in slaughterhouses and retail shops. 165 butcher men from a municipal slaughterhouse and every retail meat store in Hawassa city participated in this investigation, which was carried out using an institution-based cross-sectional study design between March 22 and May 30, 2022. Data was collected through interviewer-administered standardized questionnaires and an observation checklist. Data was entered using Epidata software version 3.1.1, and it was exported for further analysis using SPSS version 25. A cutoff point of P.V < 0.25 was employed for the bivariate model to control possible confounders. A binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify independent factors, the findings were displayed as the 95% confidence interval for the crude odds ratio and adjusted odds ratio. The level of significance was assessed using cutoff points of P < 0.05. The prevalence of good hygienic practices was 25.5% [95% CI: (18.2-32.1)]. Attitude (fair attitude) [AOR = 0.157; 95% CI: (0.037, 0.659)], cleanness and disinfection of waste container status [AOR = 12.64; 95% CI: (3.936-40.562)], regular supervision by health offices [AOR = 0.176; 95% CI: (0.35-0.894)], health and safety training [AOR = 3.46; 95% CI: (1.054-11.344)], and Removal of personal items during meat processing [AOR = 0.036; 95% CI: (0.008-0.150)] were factors that were significantly associated with poor hygienic practices. The prevalence of good hygienic practices was low. After adjusting for possible confounding factors, attitudes, cleanness and disinfection of waste containers, regular supervision by health offices, health and safety training and Removal of personal items during meat processing (behavioral factor) were significantly associated with hygienic practices. These findings could call for appropriate prevention strategies based on cognitive domains and practice.

Slaughterhouses are facilities where animals are slaughtered for meat production. Poor hygiene practices in these facilities, especially in developing countries, pose significant public health risks. The lack of regulation and substandard conditions can lead to the transmission of diseases from animals to humans, particularly affecting slaughterhouse workers who are in close contact with animals and animal products. A scoping review was conducted to map and summarize existing evidence on hygiene practices in slaughterhouses and evaluate their effectiveness in mitigating public health risks. This review used the Joanna Briggs Institute Collaboration (JBI) scoping review inclusion framework Population Concept and Context (PCC) and PRISMA for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Databases searched included; EBSCO Medline, Web of Science, EMBASE, and grey literature from BASE and Google Scholar. The studies were screened for eligibility and data extracted from included studies using the JBI data extraction chart. Included studies were assessed for risk of bias using cross-sectional and prevalence studies quality assessment tools. Fourteen studies were included published between January 2002 and May 2023. These studies were conducted in 10 countries, with one-third (n = 5) originating from Nigeria. Twelve studies used cross-sectional surveys, while one employed a prevalence survey. This review identified common hygiene practices relating to personal hygiene [handwashing with soap and water] and environmental hygiene (cleaning tools and surfaces). Overall, workers' reported that they had good knowledge of hygiene practices; handwashing (95.7%), using protective apparatus (89.7%), and cleaning equipment (89.3%). Studies reported that over half of slaughterhouse workers wore protective clothing. However, much less (12%) reported that they cleaned their knives before and after use, and it was reported that some slaughterhouses disposed of refuse improperly (bush], raising important public health concerns. Only three studies clearly linked slaughterhouse hygiene practices with public health risks. Improving hygiene practices in slaughterhouses is crucial for reducing public health risks. Gaps in knowledge, inadequate training, insufficient inspections and poor infrastructure were identified as key areas for improved guidelines and policy intervention.

The state of Mato Grosso is Brazil's agribusiness powerhouse with a cattle herd of 30.2 million head in 2017. With land use patterns heavily influenced by beef production, which requires substantial land inputs, the state is a key target for environmental conservation. Yet the spatial and temporal dynamics of slaughterhouses in Mato Grosso remain largely unknown due to data limitations. Here, we provide a novel method to map slaughterhouse expansion and contraction. We analyzed the opening and closing of 133 plants between 1967 and 2016 in Mato Grosso and estimated the geographic locations and slaughter volumes. This was achieved by triangulating across multiple data sources including a registry of 21 million companies, government records of three million slaughter transactions (Portuguese acronym GTA), and high resolution satellite imagery. Our study is the first to include longitudinal information and both inspected (for food quality) and uninspected slaughterhouses. The results show that 72 plants operated in 2016 through 52 holding companies. By measuring geographic distances between active plants and pasture areas, we documented a 29% increase in the density of plants during 2000-2016, showing an expansion of the cattle slaughter infrastructure. We identified three periods of expansion: 1967-1995, with 15.1% of the plant openings; 1996-2003, with 24.6%; and 2004-2016, with 60.3%. While closings likely occurred throughout the period studied, no data were available prior to 2002. We estimated a minimum value for the volume of uninspected slaughter as 2-3% for 2013-2016. We conclude by discussing potential applications of the data, a deidentified version of which is made available through an online repository. The method developed here can be replicated for the whole country, which would increase our understanding of the dynamics of cattle slaughter and their impact on land use.

Though the international trade in agricultural commodities is worth more than $1.6 trillion/year, we still have a poor understanding of the supply chains connecting places of production and consumption and the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of this trade. In this study, we provide a wall-to-wall subnational map of the origin and supply chain of Brazilian meat, offal, and live cattle exports from 2015 to 2017, a trade worth more than $5.4 billion/year. Brazil is the world’s largest beef exporter, exporting approximately one-fifth of its production, and the sector has a notable environmental footprint, linked to one-fifth of all commodity-driven deforestation across the tropics. By combining official per-shipment trade records, slaughterhouse export licenses, subnational agricultural statistics, and data on the origin of cattle per slaughterhouse, we mapped the flow of cattle from more than 2,800 municipalities where cattle were raised to 152 exporting slaughterhouses where they were slaughtered, via the 204 exporting and 3,383 importing companies handling that trade, and finally to 152 importing countries. We find stark differences in the subnational origin of the sourcing of different actors and link this supply chain mapping to spatially explicit data on cattle-associated deforestation, to estimate the “deforestation risk” (in hectares/year) of each supply chain actor over time. Our results provide an unprecedented insight into the global trade of a deforestation-risk commodity and demonstrate the potential for improved supply chain transparency based on currently available data.