Strategy and slaughter

Colin Gray's ‘Clausewitz Rules, OK’ was the one contribution to the Interregnum special issue of this Review that engaged the problem of modern war in general. Issues of war and peace were represented only patchily in a volume aiming to reflect on the ‘post-Cold War’ decade, but put together before ‘9/11’ brought it to an abrupt end. The Balkans didn't play a large part in William Wallace's account of Europe; unstable Asian great-power rivalries and local wars, which could make Rosemary Foot and Andrew Walter's ‘Pacific Century’ anything but pacific were barely noted; while Caroline Thomas wrote about the Third World without mentioning Africa's wars. The Middle East, Rwanda and genocide were not covered. Bruce Cumings' wise reflections on the military bases of American liberalism, a brief discussion of the ‘new interventionism’ by Geoffrey Hawthorn, and dutiful mentions of Kosovo across the chapters, hardly compensated for these omissions

STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN U.S. CHICKEN AND TURKEY SLAUGHTER

Cost function analyses using data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census reveal substantial scale economies in chicken and turkey slaughter. These economies show no evidence of diminishing as plant size increases, are much greater than those realized in cattle and hog slaughter, and have resulted in a huge increase in plant size over the 1972-92 period. The findings also suggest that consolidation in the chicken and turkey slaughter industry is likely to continue, particularly if the growth in the demand for poultry diminishes.chicken slaughter, turkey slaughter, production costs, structural change, Livestock Production/Industries,

Is Humane Slaughter Possible?

One of the biggest ethical issues in animal agriculture is that of the welfare of animals at the end of their lives, during the process of slaughter. Much work in animal welfare science is focussed on finding humane ways to transport and slaughter animals, to minimise the harm done during this process. In this paper, we take a philosophical look at what it means to perform slaughter humanely, beyond simply reducing pain and suffering during the slaughter process. In particular, we will examine the issue of the harms of deprivation inflicted in ending life prematurely, as well as shape of life concerns and the ethical implications of inflicting these harms at the end of life, without the potential for future offsetting through positive experiences. We will argue that though these considerations may mean that no slaughter is in a deep sense truly ‘humane’, this should not undermine the importance of further research and development to ensure that while the practice continues, animal welfare harms are minimised as far as possible

Bacteriological and epidemiological studies of campylobacter spp. in Swedish broilers

Campylobacter jejuni is the most frequently reported cause of bacterial gastrointestinal illness in humans in Sweden. Chicken products are considered an important risk factor for human infection. This thesis analyses and identifies sources and risk factors for colonisation of Campylobacter spp. in broilers at both farm level and slaughter. Slaughter groups with a low within-group prevalence were identified, split slaughter was confirmed as a risk factor and contamination of carcasses was shown to occur both during transport and during the slaughter process. Environmental campylobacter load was comparable on high and low incidence farms, indicating that hygiene regime is of greater importance than environmental load. Slaughter groups with a high within-flock prevalence had significantly higher campylobacter load in carcasses at slaughter than slaughter groups with a low degree of colonisation Campylobacter jejuni is the Campylobacter sp. predominantly found in broilers. Strain characterisation below species level, so-called subtyping, is a helpful tool in epidemiological studies, e.g. in determination of transmission routes. Certain subtypes were shown to be common in Sweden and may have a higher ability to survive in the environment around broiler houses. The results from phylogenetic analysis indicated that typing based on 16S rRNA sequencing is not always sufficient for differentiating between C. jejuni and C. coli. However, nine different 16S rRNA types were identified among 47 Swedish campylobacter isolates from broilers. About one-third of Swedish broiler producers seldom deliver any campylobacter-positive broilers to slaughter, demonstrating that it is possible to produce campylobacter-free chickens in Sweden. The factors identified as carrying the highest risk of producing campylobacter-positive broilers in Sweden were (i) insufficient general tidiness on the farm, (ii) split slaughter, (iii) an in-line position of the doors between the outside and access into broiler houses instead of an angled position. Furthermore, (iv) high risk farms often had other livestock such as cattle and pigs, and (v) high risk farms were more frequently situated in groves than in forest. Reducing the proportion of campylobacter-infected broiler flocks and the numbers of campylobacter on broiler carcasses would considerably lower the risk for consumers

Slaughter weight and carcass of male New Zealand White rabbits after rationing with koro bean (Mucuna pruriens var. utilis)

Santoso U, Sutarno. 2009. Slaughter weight and carcass of male New Zealand White rabbits after rationing with koro bean (Mucuna pruriens var. utilis). Nusantara Bioscience 1: 117-122. The objectives of the research were to know the effects of koro bean (Mucuna pruriens var. utilis) present on slaughter weight and carcass of rabbits and to know the optimum dosage that resulted the best slaughter weight and carcass. The research used Randomized Block Design whereas 25 heads of six weeks old rabbits with 450-1270 g of body weight were devided into five groups according to the body weight. Each group were treated with different treatment. The treatment were unpresent of M. pruriens as a control (R0) and various percentage of M. pruriens as much as 21.5%, in the ration with treatment as follows: R1 (raw), R2 (heating), R3 (boiling), and R4 (fermentation). The parameters observed were slaughter weight, carcass weight, meat weight, bone weight, and adipose tissue weigth. The data analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed with Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT). The present of processed M. pruriens could increase production of slaughter weight better than the present of unprocessed M. pruriens. The additional of 21.5% of fermented M. pruriens resulted in the best production of slaughter weight and carcass of rabbits. Key words: koro bean, Mucuna pruriens, ration, rabbits, New Zealand white

Economics of Homeland Security: Carcass Disposal and the Design of Animal Disease Defense

In an effort to bolster confidence and protect the nation the U.S. government through agencies like the Department of Homeland Security is identifying vulnerabilities and evolving strategies for protection. Agricultural food supply is one identified vulnerable area, and animal disease defense is one of the major concerns there under. Should an outbreak of animal disease occur, it is likely to have a mass slaughter and disposal of animal carcasses. The current existing policy, mainly including slaughter policy and strict movement bans, may be not sufficient to control disease spread at reasonable cost. We address the issue modeling vaccination as a supporting strategy with later slaughter of animals and argue that vaccination can decrease slaughter and disposal cost in the case of emergency. Our results show that (a) Vaccination gains time to slow down the flow of slaughter, thereafter the disposal operation of animal carcasses. By smoothing slaughter/disposal flow, vaccination likely decreases slaughter and disposal cost; (b) Vaccination likely reduce the total amount of slaughter and disposal of animals mainly because vaccinated animals shed less and disease spread slower; and (c) Vaccination becomes more valuable in reducing slaughter and disposal costs when the marginal cost of vaccination falls, the even size of disease outbreak is larger, the disease is more contagious and spreads faster, and/or vaccines are more effective in controlling disease spread.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Impact of diversity of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae strains on lung lesions in slaughter pigs

The importance of diversity of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M. hyopneumoniae) strains is not yet fully known. This study investigated the genetic diversity of M. hyopneumoniae strains in ten pig herds, and assessed associations between the presence of different strains of M. hyopneumoniae and lung lesions at slaughter. Within each herd, three batches of slaughter pigs were investigated. At slaughter, from each batch, 20 post mortem bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples were collected for multiple locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA), and lung lesions (Mycoplasma-like lesions, fissures) were examined. Multivariable analyses including potential risk factors for respiratory disease were performed to assess associations between the number of different strains per batch (three categories: one strain, two-six strains, >= seven strains), and the lung lesions as outcome variables. In total, 135 different M. hyopneumoniae strains were found. The mean (min.-max.) number of different strains per batch were 7 (1-13). Batches with two-six strains or more than six strains had more severe Mycoplasma-like lesions (P = 0.064 and P = 0.012, respectively), a higher prevalence of pneumonia [odds ratio (OR): 1.30, P = 0.33 and OR: 2.08, P = 0.012, respectively], and fissures (OR = 1.35, P = 0.094 and OR = 1.70, P = 0.007, respectively) compared to batches with only one strain. In conclusion, many different M. hyopneumoniae strains were found, and batches of slaughter pigs with different M. hyopneumoniae strains had a higher prevalence and severity of Mycoplasma-like lung lesions at slaughter, implying that reducing the number of different strains may lead to less lung lesions at slaughter and better respiratory health of the pigs