Indagine sull’organizzazione del trasporto premacellazione del coniglio in condizioni commerciali

A survey was conducted in order to assess the preslaughter conditions of rabbits in a commercial chain and to determine the effect of the season, journey time and lairage time on mortality, liveweight loss and slaughter yield. The study was carried out during a one-year period considering 975 rabbit flocks (average of 2,207 rabbits/flock) slaughtered towards a major Italian abattoir. The overall average incidence of mortality and liveweight loss were found to be 0.079 and 3.39%, respectively. During the winter, it was observed lower (P0.01) liveweight loss, while slaughter yield was higher (P0.01) during the summer. The shortest transport time (3h) exhibited lower (P0.01) mortality rate and liveweight loss and higher (P0.01) slaughter yield in respect with medium (3-5h) and long (>5h) transport times. Rabbits laired for less than 2h also exhibited a significantly lower (P0.01) mortality rate and higher (P0.01) carcass yield compared to medium (2-4h) and long (>4h) lairing times. This survey has shown that the main preslaughter critical points are represented by long transport and lairage which can impair mortality rate and slaughtering yields.