The relationship between carcass bruising in bulls and behaviour observed during pre-slaughter phases

A total of 142 entire bulls supplied by 12 different farms were examined at the loading, unloading, resting and before stunning for the follow behaviour occurrences: falls, reversals, heads, mounts, balks, jumps, slips, evacuations and vocalizations. All bulls were slaughtered in the same plant. Carcass bruising were assessed subjectively using a 3 point scale (1 = none, 2 = slight, 3 = severe).The frequencies of the different behaviour occurrences observed during the pre-slaughter procedures and their distribution in the bruising score classes were evaluated. The slip was the most frequent occurrence observed during loading, unloading and before stunning while severe bruises were associated with a higher bulk frequency and a reduction of evacuation