The assessment of bruises on carcasses at the slaughterhouse has been lately indicated as a valid method to evaluate cattle welfare. However, little is known about the prevalence and the causes of bruises of cattle slaughtered in Italy. The aim of this study was to collect information concerning the prevalence of bruises on the carcasses of beef cattle slaughtered in an Italian abattoir and to determine a relationship between fresh bruises and transport-related factors. In total, 1265 animals were included in this study, with 21.6% of them being positive for at least one bruise, either fresh or old. In most cases, the bruising was mild, with lesions exclusively located in one area of the carcass. Most of the bruised animals (63%) showed at least one red lesion. Occurrence of such red, fresh bruises varied significantly depending on the body parts (p < 0.0001), with the flank being the most affected area (39.5%), followed by the butt (36.0%) and the front (23.8%). The probability of fresh bruising varied significantly depending on the category of each animal (p < 0.0001), with steers showing fewer red bruises than both heifers and veal. Finally, animals transported in conditions of a high density had a lower probability of bruising (p = 0.0003). These findings support the use of a monitoring scheme based on the presence of bruises to assess cattle welfare at the abattoir level in order to provide feedback to farmers and to implement procedures carried out during transport.
Keywords: beef; bruises; cattle welfare; post-mortem; space allowance; transport.