Carcass yields and physicochemical meat quality characteristics of Namibian springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) as influenced by muscle, sex and age

This investigation determined the carcass yields of Namibian springbok and compared the physicochemical meat quality characteristics of 6 different muscles (biceps femoris, infraspinatus, Longissimus thoracis et lumborum, semimembranosus, semitendinosus, and supraspinatus) from different sex and age groups. Although the adult male slaughter weights (40.44 ± 1.88 kg) did not differ from that of the adult female slaughter weights (36.61 ± 0.50), the adult males were heavier than both sexes from the sub-adults. No differences were observed for dressing percentages between sex nor age groups. The infraspinatus muscle showed the lowest shear force values in adult male springbok and in both sub-adult male and female springbok and can be described as the more tender muscle. The infraspinatus and Longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscles of the adult male springbok group showed the lowest cooking losses. The supraspinatus and semitendinosus muscles from the sub-adult groups tended to have the highest L* and thus the lightest meat. No major differences were observed for protein content between the different sex and age groups although the muscles of the different sex and age groups had a noticeably higher fat content (above 3%). Discriminant analysis revealed no differentiation among the different muscle groups for the variables measured. Neither springbok sex nor age influenced any of the meat quality parameters although older animals tended to have heavier carcasses, therefore the decision of which sex and/or age group to cull will depend on the springbok management strategy