Effects of handling procedures and transport vehicle design on the welfare and meat quality of pigs

与生猪销售相关的压力可能会导致肉类质量下降，一些死亡，并对猪的福利构成挑战。这项建议解决了导致与销售猪相关的搬运和运输压力的因素。这些因素包括装载过程的组成部分，如设施设计、运输车辆的设计(包括每个隔间的特征)，以及动物从车辆和屠宰场上的压力中恢复的程度。该项目包括三个阶段：第一阶段确定商业运输条件下的压力原因；第二阶段在密集的受控研究中更仔细地检查这些组件和减少它们压力的方法；第三个项目是在商业条件下纳入变化，以评估它们在减轻压力和改善肉类质量方面的有效性。该项目的大部分将在加拿大西部和东部进行，在夏季和冬季，以包括气候和管理的地区差异。该项目是一个涉及动物行为、生理、工程和肉类质量的多学科设计。它代表了来自四所加拿大大学和附属研究实验室的科学家的合作。该项目得到了生猪生产商组织和肉类加工商的支持。

The stress associated with marketing pigs may result in reduced meat quality, some mortality, and a challenge to the pigs' welfare.  This proposal addresses factors that contribute to the stressfulness of handling and transportation associated with the marketing of pigs.  These factors include components of the loading process, such as facility design, design of the transport vehicle including characteristics of each compartment, and the degree to which animals recover from stress both on the vehicle and at the slaughter plant.  The project involves three phases: the first to identify causes of stress under commercial transport conditions; the second to more closely examine these components and means to reduce their stressfulness in intensive controlled studies; and the third to incorporate changes under commercial conditions to assess their effectiveness in reducing stress and improving meat quality.  Portions of the project will be conducted in both western and eastern Canada, during both summer and winter, in order to include regional differences in climate and management.  The project is multi-disciplinary in design involving animal behaviour, physiology, engineering, and meat quality.  It represents a collaboration of scientists from four Canadian universities and affiliated research labs. The project is supported by both pig producer organizations and meat processors.