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Infectious diseases and fetal wastage (FW) present major challenges in livestock management, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria. This study assessed the season variations, incidence rate and economic impact of prevalent diseases and FW at the Kubwa (KB) abattoir in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Abuja, Nigeria. Over a year-long period (January to December 2023), we analyzed 5,779 cattle through daily post-mortem inspections. Disease identification was based on morphological and gross lesions characteristic of the conditions studied. Economic losses from condemned organs and FW were calculated using the formula TEL = N × P × W. The results indicated statistically significant seasonal variations in the incidence of Fasciolosis (FS), Paramphistomosis (PP), and FW, with p-values of 2.52x10^-10, 3.33x10^-9, and 0.003, respectively. In contrast, Tuberculosis (TB), Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP), Dermatophilosis (DM), Abscess (AB), and Moneziasis (MZ) did not show significant seasonal variation. The total economic impact of condemned organs and FW was 104,348 USD (equivalent to 99,130,600 NGN at the time of the study), representing a considerable threat to food security and substantial economic losses for farmers. Considering the zoonotic potential of some diseases, which can be transmitted to those handling the carcasses, there is a critical need for enhanced inspection protocols, continuous disease surveillance, and timely reporting in slaughterhouses. The notable economic losses from condemned organs also underscore the necessity of implementing pregnancy tests for female animals before slaughter to protect food security and support the nation’s economy. These findings highlight the essential role of abattoirs in improving food security, detecting zoonotic diseases, and bolstering public health and economic stability in low-income countries.

Food-animal welfare is a major ethical and social concern. Pork is the most consumed meat worldwide, with over a billion pigs slaughtered annually. Most of these pigs routinely undergo painful surgical procedures (surgical castration, tail docking, teeth clipping), which farmers often reluctant to avoid, claiming it would increase cost and reduce production efficiency. Herein, this study indicates that these procedures compromise pigs’ health and condition. Replacing surgical castration with immunocastration, avoiding tail docking and teeth clipping, and providing environmental enrichment, resulted in significant increase in weight gain, lowered risks for injuries and death, and reduced saliva and hair cortisol, both biomarkers for stress. Testosterone and DHEA analyses confirmed that immunocastration was an effective alternative to surgical castration. Economic models for the entire US swine market revealed that following across-the-board acceptance of this management, pork meat price is expected to drop, while the total annual social welfare (combined consumer and producer surplus) is expected to increase by $US 1.48 to 1.92 billion. In conclusion, sustainable swine farming management can be beneficial for both animals and farmers. Applying such welfare-friendly management is expected to reduce stress, enhance piglet/pig welfare and production, and improve the economics of swine operations in the global agro-food system.

Background Organ condemnation in slaughterhouses poses significant public health and economic challenges, particularly in regions reliant on livestock. In southern Ethiopia, and specifically in Jinka, there is limited information on the causes and financial repercussions of this issue. Objectives This research aims to fill that gap by pinpointing the main pathological causes and calculating the economic losses associated with cattle slaughtered at the Jinka Municipal Abattoir. Methods A cross‐sectional study was carried out on 384 cattle at the Jinka Municipal Abattoir to identify the primary reasons for organ condemnation and to estimate the direct financial losses from condemned organs. Ante‐mortem examinations were conducted to evaluate clinical signs and body condition, while post‐mortem inspections identified lesions leading to organ condemnation. Descriptive statistics were employed to determine prevalence and estimate economic losses based on local organ market prices. A chi‐squared test was used to examine the relationship between outcomes and risk factors. Results Among the 384 cattle assessed, 46.5% exhibited clinical abnormalities during ante‐mortem inspection, with depression and nasal discharge being the most prevalent (12.2% each). Most cattle had medium body condition scores (43.8%). Post‐mortem inspections revealed that 18.6% had condemned organs, primarily livers (7.8%), lungs (5.0%) and hearts (2.6%). Fasciolosis, bruising and abscesses were the leading causes. Organ condemnation rates did not show a statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) with age, origin and body condition score. The estimated annual financial loss amounted to 56,150 Ethiopian Birr. Conclusions Fasciolosis and other preventable conditions are significant contributors to organ condemnation and economic loss at the Jinka Municipal Abattoir. Enhancing animal health practices, conducting regular veterinary checks and ensuring proper disposal of condemned organs are crucial to minimizing losses and preventing the transmission of zoonotic diseases. This study identifies fasciolosis and hydatidosis as significant causes of organ condemnation in cattle at Jinka Municipal Abattoir, Ethiopia, with an overall rejection rate of 18.6%. The estimated annual economic loss from these diseases is 56,150 ETB. These findings highlight the urgent need for improved disease management strategies and meat inspection practices to enhance cattle health and economic stability for farmers in the region.

Each year, more than three million animals are transported from farms to abattoirs in Sweden. Animal transport is related to economic and environmental costs and a negative impact on animal welfare. Time and the number of pick-up stops between farms and abattoirs are two key parameters for animal welfare. Both are highly dependent on efficient and qualitative transportation planning, which may be difficult if done manually. We have examined the benefits of using route optimization in cattle transportation planning. To simulate the effects of various planning time windows and transportation time regulations and number of pick-up stops along each route, we have used data that represent one year of cattle transport. Our optimization model is a development of a model used in forestry transport that solves a general pick-up and delivery vehicle routing problem. The objective is to minimize transportation costs. We have shown that the length of the planning time window has a significant impact on the animal transport time, the total driving time and the total distance driven; these parameters that will not only affect animal welfare but also affect the economy and environment in the pre-slaughter logistic chain. In addition, we have shown that changes in animal transportation regulations, such as minimizing the number of allowed pick-up stops on each route or minimizing animal transportation time, will have positive effects on animal welfare measured in transportation hours and number of pick-up stops. However, this leads to an increase in working time and driven distances, leading to higher transportation costs for the transport and negative environmental impact.

Background Abattoir surveillance is the font of valuable information on the incidence and epidemiology of animal disease, having both public and animal health importance. A cross‐sectional study followed by simple random sampling was conducted from December 2021 to May 2022 to identify the major causes of edible offal condemnation and to estimate the financial losses attributed to edible offal condemnation in cattle slaughtered at Bahir Dar municipal abattoir, northwestern Ethiopia, using antemortem and post‐mortem examination. Result Out of 334 cattle investigated, 3.6% (12/334) cattle showed detectable abnormalities including diarrhoea in 0.6% (2/12), lameness in 0.9% (3/12) and tick infestation in 1.2% (4/12), and nasal discharge in 0.9% (3/12) in cattle during an antemortem examination. However, in post‐mortem examination, 22.16% (74/334) of cattle revealed lesions in visceral organs including the liver (14.6%), lung (9.9%), kidney (1.8%), heart (2.4%) and tongue (0.9%). The major causes that were identified in the current study include calcification, fasciolosis, hydatid cyst, cirrhosis, abscess, pneumonia, haemorrhage, emphysema, congestion, pericarditis, Cysticercus bovis, nephritis and renal calculi. Among the putative risk factors, only body condition was shown to have statistically significant variation (p < 0.05) with the prevalence of major causes of organ condemnation upon post‐mortem examination. The overall financial losses incurred due to organ condemnation were estimated to be475.19, with an annual loss of 15,447.85. Conclusion The current study implies that there was considerable edible offal condemnation resulting in significant economic loss. This instigates that it is crucial to adopt efficient animal management practices, conduct regular health assessments of animals and provide educational programmes for animal owners on disease prevention strategies like deworming to reduce the incidence of organ condemnation and its financial impacts in the region. From 334 cattle slaughtered in the Bahir Dar municipal abattoir, different lesions resulting in total or partial organ condemnation were found in organs of 12 (3.6%) cattle. Organs affected by different lesions or disease were liver 14.6% (49/334), lung 9.9% (33/334), heart 2.40% (8/334), kidney 3.6% (12/334) and tongue 0.9% (3/334).

Listeria monocytogenes is one of the most important foodborne pathogens and is a causal agent of listeriosis in humans and animals. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, serogroups, antibiotic susceptibility, virulence factor genes, and genetic relatedness of L. monocytogenes strains isolated from 500 poultry samples in Turkey. The isolation sources of 103 L. monocytogenes strains were retail markets ( n  = 100) and slaughterhouses ( n  = 3). L. monocytogenes strains were identified as serogroups 1/2a-3a (75.7%, lineage I), 1/2c-3c (14.56%, lineage I), 1/2b-3b-7 (5.82%, lineage II), 4a-4c (2.91%, lineage III), and 4b-4d-4e (0.97%, lineage III). Most of the L. monocytogenes strains (93.2%) were susceptible to the antibiotics tested. PCR analysis indicated that the majority of the strains (95% to 100%) contained most of the virulence genes ( hylA , plcA , plcB , prfA , mpl , actA , dltA , fri , flaA inlA , inlC , and inlJ ). Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) demonstrated that there were 18 pulsotypes grouped at a similarity of > 90% among the strains. These results indicate that it is necessary to prevent the presence of L. monocytogenes in the poultry-processing environments to help prevent outbreaks of listeriosis and protect public health.

A cross-sectional socio-economic study of fascioliasis in livestock was carried out at the Livestock Development Cooperation (SODEPA) slaughterhouse in Etoudi, Yaoundé during the periods covering the beginning and late dry season in the northern and eastern regions of Cameroon. A total of 768 cattle and 267 sheep were inspected for the presence of Fasciola species. The overall infection rate in cattle and sheep was 18% ( n = 767) and 27% ( n = 267), respectively. For the animals that were Fasciola positive, a total of 267.86 kg of liver in cattle was condemned, resulting in a loss of US $1124, while a total of 57 kg of liver was condemned from the sheep population, amounting to a loss of US$ 114. A total of US$76,097 was determined as losses incurred from condemnation of liver for both cattle and sheep per annum based on the total number slaughtered each year. The findings indicate that fascioliasis is present in cattle and sheep slaughtered in Cameroon and that it causes great economic losses due to condemnation of liver. The local climatic conditions, husbandry systems and the presence of snails (intermediate hosts) are probably the main factors influencing the incidence of the disease and may account for the epidemiological significance found in this study.

Steers representative of the most common type, weight and conformation slaughtered in Chile were transported for either three or 16 hours and held in lairage for three, six, 12 or 24 hours. Measurements of liveweight, carcase weight, and the postmortem pH and colour of muscle were made to assess the economic and welfare effects of the different transport and lairage times. Compared with the short journey, the longer journey was associated with a mean (se) reduction in liveweight of 8.5 (2.8) kg, and there was a further decrease of 0.42 (0.18) kg for every hour that the animals were kept in lairage after 16 hours of transport, an increase in final muscle pH, a decrease in muscle luminosity and an increase in the proportion of carcases downgraded because they were classified as ‘dark cutting’. The carcase weights also tended to be lower after the longer journey and after longer periods in lairage.

Economic historians have focused research effort on accounting for the growth and significance of Britain's pharmaceutical industry, but little effort has so far been directed at the veterinary medicine industry, which formed an important part of the wider sector. This article addresses that gap. Factors responsible for that sector's relative insignificance until the 1950s included a general tendency to slaughter rather than to treat sick animals, the absence of advanced medicines until the innovation of sulpha drugs and antibiotics, and difficult relations with the wider pharmaceutical industry. Thereafter output of veterinary medicines increased dramatically, arising from an exponential growth in the demand for intensively farmed poultry meat. Since the 1980s a decline in the use of drugs in agriculture has caused the industry to concentrate on the health needs of domestic animals rather than those of livestock.

Food processing establishments incur costs to install, maintain, and operate equipment and implement specific food safety practices. During times of economic recession, establishments might reduce their food safety efforts to conserve resources and reduce costs of operation. This study was conducted to determine whether financial performance measures are systematically associated with Salmonella test results. The association between Salmonella test results from 182 federally inspected young chicken slaughter establishments from 2007 to 2009 and financial performance was examined while controlling for other establishment characteristics. Results indicated that the smallest establishments, which slaughtered fewer than 0.2 million chickens per year, had three times as many positive test results as did the largest establishments, which slaughtered more than 86.0 million chickens per year (P < 0.01). Establishments that slaughtered more than 0.2 million but fewer than 18.5 million chickens had 1.5 times as many positive test results (P = 0.02). Two statistically significant financial performance measures were identified, but the effects were limited. Establishments in bankruptcy had 1.4 times as many positive test results as did those not in bankruptcy (P = 0.02); however, only five establishments were in bankruptcy. Establishments with better payment performance generally had better Salmonella test results, but the effect was significant only in the winter season.