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Brazilian donkey slaughter and exports from 2002 to 2019
2021
Mariana Bombo Perozzi Gameiro | Vanessa Theodoro Rezende | Adroaldo José Zanella
The international demand for donkeys has increased sharply in recent years, motivated by China’s growing interest in producing ejiao (a traditional medicine made from donkey skin) and, in a smaller proportion, donkey meat. Since the Chinese donkey population dropped by 75.4% in the past 25 years, the country has searched for supply in the international market, mainly in Africa and South America. Aiming to understand the participation of Brazil in this scenario, this paper presents and discusses official data on donkey slaughter and donkey meat and skin exports in Brazil from 2002 to 2019. After the recent news reports of donkey trade-related mistreatment in the Brazilian Northeast, the issue has attracted attention from public authorities, the media, and civil society, but it lacked a quantitative description that could give a tangible dimension to the situation. The interpretation of these data is made with the collaboration of qualitative research methods, emphasizing some aspects of human-animal relations.
Show more [+] Less [-]The union between technical knowledge and activism as a tool to save the donkey
2021
Gislane Junqueira Brandão | Joice Heloisa de Medeiros | Geuza Leitão Barros | Adriana Wanderley Pinho Pessoa | Adroaldo José Zanella | Chiara Albano de Araujo Oliveira | Elizabeth Macgregor | Vânia Plaza Nunes
This case report presents the importance of articulation between legal professionals with the expertise of those who work in different areas of animal science and the activists of animal cause. The report is based on the experience that took place in the interior of the State of Bahia, with a donkey herd, the target of foreign groups interested in donkey hide exploration. The animals were rescued from mistreatment and slaughter, thanks to efficient legal work, aided by several areas of the veterinary sciences, and supported politically by the movement of animal activists. The union between activism and technical knowledge in the areas of health, breeding, nutrition, animal welfare, and legal knowledge is a tool that should not be overlooked. On the contrary, it has proved effective, confirming a strong and innovative link capable of saving animals, promoting their welfare, generating technical knowledge, and new and promising proposals for intersectoral action.
Show more [+] Less [-]Donkey skin trade: is it sustainable to slaughter donkeys for their skin?
2021
Patricia Tatemoto | Yuri Fernandes Lima | Eduardo Santurtun | Emily Kate Reeves | Zoe Raw
Donkeys (Equus asinus) face a global crisis. The health, welfare, and even survival of donkeys are being compromised as the demand for their skins increases. It is driven by the production of ejiao, a traditional Chinese remedy believed by some to have medicinal properties. It is estimated that the ejiao industry currently requires approximately 4.8 million donkey skins per year. Since there is no productive chain for donkey skin production outside of China, the activity is extractive and has resulted in the decimation of donkeys. Gestation is 12 months in donkeys, increasing the risk of extinction if such practices are not controlled. In this scenario, the donkeys are collected (purchased for low prices, stolen, and collected from the side of the roads) and are then often transported for long distances, usually without water, food, or rest. The trade, in Brazil, poses significant biosecurity risks, particularly because examinations are rarely conducted and therefore infectious diseases, such as glanders and infectious anemia, remain undetected. Furthermore, in chronic stress situations, the immune system is suppressed, increasing the biosecurity risk, especially because donkeys are a silent carrier of diseases. Rarely there is traceability with animals from different origins being put together in “fake farms”, before being delivered to slaughterhouses. The opportunistic strategy of collecting animals, or buying for low prices, keeping them without access to food and veterinary assistance, is what makes this trade profitable. Our experience in donkey welfare and the global skin trade suggest that it will be enormously challenging and cost-prohibitive to run a trade at the standards required to be considered humane, sustainable, and safe. Although donkeys are being blamed for the involvement in road accidents, it is not an ethical solution to maintain this trade as an alternative. Moreover, the ecological role of donkeys in native ecosystems has not been elucidated, and some studies indicate they could even have a positive effect. Regardless of the future the donkeys will have; we must guarantee a life with the least dignity to the animals under our responsibility.
Show more [+] Less [-]Prevalence of infectious diseases on dairy farms classified on the basis of their biosecurity score
2022
Perillo Laura | Cascone Giuseppe | Antoci Francesco | Piccione Giuseppe | Giannetto Claudia | Salonia Rosario | Salina Felice | Giudice Elisabetta | Monteverde Vincenzo | Licitra Francesca
The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between biosecurity as scored on the Italian National Animal Welfare Reference Centre (Centro di Referenza Nazionale per il Benessere Animale – CReNBA) checklist and the prevalence of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis, Chlamydophila abortus and Neospora caninum on dairy farms located in Ragusa, Italy.
Show more [+] Less [-]Brazilian attitudes towards the use of animals in research
2017
Ana Paula Oliveira Souza | Carla Forte Maiolino Molento | Vanessa Carli Bones | Jaqueline Quadros | Catherine Anne Schuppli | Daniel Martin Weary
Little research has examined the views of Latin Americans on the use of animals in research. This study examined the degree to which Brazilians support the use of animals in research and the reasons they put forth to explain their position. Participants were randomly assigned to research scenarios describing the use of animals for biomedical or environmental benefits, and varying in the number of pigs required. Each scenario began by proposing the use of conventional pigs and then advanced to the development and use of genetically modified animals (GMA). A total of 151 quantitative and 307 qualitative answers were analysed. Scenario and number of animals had little effect on support, but opposition increased from 25% to 58% when pigs were used to develop a GM strain for the environmental scenario. Support to use of animals was often conditional upon adequate protection of the animals’ welfare. Participants were less willing to support research on environmental scenario when this involved the creation of GMA, in part because they feared the risk associated with this technology.
Show more [+] Less [-]Effect of electrical and controlled atmosphere stunning methods on broiler chicken behavior at slaughter, blood stress indicators and meat traits
2016
Marcos Franke Pinto | Diego Augusto Bitencourt | Elisa Helena Giglio Ponsano | Manoel Garcia Neto | Iderlipes Luiz Carvalho Bossolani
Brazil is the world’s largest exporter and third largest producer of chicken meat. To maintain competitiveness, the productive sector must always be alert to consumer demands, and concern about animal welfare is a growing tendency. Aspects involving animal welfare are especially critical in the slaughter of broiler chickens. This study evaluated the stunning of chickens in a CO2-enriched atmosphere chamber to reduce bird stress, comparing with electrical water bath stunning, the most usual desensitization method used in chicken slaughter. The reaction of birds when exposed to a high CO2 concentration (30%) and to a 10% initial CO2 level, gradually elevated to 30% was compared. The effect of mixing argon with CO2 was also evaluated, always aiming to reduce the discomfort of birds. In all the gas stunning parameters evaluated, evident discomfort reactions before stunning were observed in about two thirds of the birds, but the blood levels of corticosterone and glucose, used as stress indicators, indicated that gas increased the birds’ welfare. Gas exposure time required to stun the birds and time to regain consciousness after exiting the gas chamber presented a wide variation. Controlled atmosphere stunning method facilitated bird handling during slaughter, but more studies will be necessary to develop this technological alternative and make it viable for industrial use.
Show more [+] Less [-]The involvement of the hypothalamopituitary-adrenocortical axis in stress physiology and its significance in the assessment of animal welfare in cattle
2017
Emma J. Brown | Andre Vosloo
The intensification of cattle production has raised concern for animal welfare due to the stress that is associated with farming practices. The welfare of an animal is determined by the animal’s ability to cope with or adapt to its continuously changing environment and the biological cost that is associated with this adaptation and maintenance. Stressors arise from various psychological, physiological and physical aspects of farming practices due to management and human–cattle interactions. Measuring the activity of the hypothalamopituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis with plasma cortisol levels is a useful method for determining the effects of stress on animals as it is stimulated at the onset of a perceived stress. The activation of the HPA axis affects various target tissues or systems and can result in suppression of the immune system, increased susceptibility to disease and adverse effects on reproductive success in prenatal and neonatal calves. Although some levels of stress associated with farming practices are unavoidable, improvements in farming methods need to be implemented in order to maintain or increase the efficiency of cattle production in a way that does not compromise the welfare of the animal.
Show more [+] Less [-]Survey of euthanasia methods used in neotropical chiropterans in São Paulo State, Brazil
2023
Liura Sanchez Lauri | Alex Junior Souza de Souza | Karin Corrêa Scheffer | Enio Mori | Lilian Rose Marques de Sá
Zoonotic Surveillance Divisions (ZSDs) rescue and euthanize bats in contact with humans. The euthanasia procedure should be conducted safely for the animal and caretaker and minimal stress for the animal is important. The objectives of this study were: i. evaluate the methods of euthanasia used by ZSDs in the State of São Paulo; ii. compare the methods with national and international guidelines for animal euthanasia practices; iii. assess the methodologies considering taxonomy and eating habits of the main bat species, and iv. propose standardization of euthanasia procedures. Sixty-five ZSDs locations received an online questionnaire or were contacted by telephone and 33 ZSDs (50.8%) responded and are distributed in 11 mesoregions in the state to remain anonymous. The euthanasia methods were divided into chemical (injectable or inhalation), physical, or mixed methods. Bat specimens (n = 550) were identified and classified to evaluate the main genera found in the state. The location of the ZSD, species, eating habits, and the method of euthanasia used were analyzed. The specimens by bat families were Molossidae (n = 340), Phyllostomidae (n = 171), and Vespertilionidae (n = 39). Chemical methods were used in 25 ZSDs (75.75%), physical in 5 (15.15%), and mixed in 3 (9.09%). There is no uniformity or standardization in bat euthanasia methods used by ZSDs, although most are based on acceptable chemical methods. It was proposed an algorithm to assist the veterinarian in choosing the method of euthanasia for bats that will allow standardizing euthanasia procedures for this species, considering physiological differences, and respecting technical, bioethical, and animal welfare guidelines.
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