Homepage Agenda Contact Search Politeia conference Ethische Perspectieven Links Newsletter Opinions Publications Multatuli lecture Ethical Perspectives Centre for Economics and Ethics Centre for Ethics Centre for Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy Centre for Science, Technology and Ethics Ethical Perspectives Ethische Perspectieven European SPES-forum Herman De Dijn Multatuli-lecture PLOO-Ethiek Politeia-conference Spirituality in Economics and Society Wetenschap en ethiek Herman De Dijn Throughout his academic career, two philosophers took pride of place in the teaching and research of professor Herman De Dijn: Benedict Spinoza and David Hume. Publications and contributions of professor Herman...   Mutatuli Lectures The topic of the 'Mutatuli Lectures' touches on multiculturalism, and attempts to adress questions such as `under what circumstances will cultural confrontation lead to enrichment rather than antagonism?´, ìn what way is...   Politeia Conference The Politeia Conference has been established to bring to a wider audience some of the innovative ideas driving discussions about the future of our society. This conference is a bi-annual event where creative and...   Warning: mysql_fetch_assoc(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource in /www2/virtualhosts/ethics/ethics/include/pubfiche.php on line 86 Warning: mysql_fetch_assoc(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource in /www2/virtualhosts/ethics/ethics/include/pubfiche.php on line 92 Author Year of Edition Type publication Ref Description Evelyne Delezie, Johan De Tavernier, Stuart Spencer en Eddy Decuypere CABME, K.U.Leuven, Belgium Traditionally broilers are caught by the leg, inverted, and carried by a catcher with 3 or 4 birds in each hand. This task is labour intensive, repetitive and dirty. Catching and loading is also a potential source of stress, injury and mortality for poultry. To avoid reduced product quality and improve welfare, it’s very important to handle the birds gently during catching and (un)loading. Various harvesting systems have been introduced to facilitate the catching of broilers. Experiments were conducted to determine whether different harvesting methods (manual vs. mechanical) influence the welfare of the broilers and the quality of their carcass and meat. A comparative assessment of the consequences of both harvesting methods was done by means of physical (injuries) and physiological (corticosterone, glucose and lactate concentrations in blood plasma) indicators. To investigate the acceptability about alternative harvesting methods by society, inquiries had to be completed to evaluate if the scientific criteria are supported by the preferences of the people. The benefits of mechanical to manual harvesting include fewer injuries to broilers and improved working conditions for the catchers by eliminating most bending and lifting. The corticosterone concentrations after mechanical or manual harvesting were similar, while glucose and lactate concentrations at slaughter were slightly higher after manual harvesting. The harvesting method did not influence meat quality as indicated by pH-measurements. These results suggest that at present mechanical harvesting will improve bird welfare with regard to injuries. From a perceptual point of view, as reflected by the inquiry analysis, mechanical harvesting was preferred above manual, especially when the respondents knew the manual harvesting procedure. Further improvement of mechanical catching procedures in interaction with transport conditions may offer a valuable alternative for the stressful conditions for man and animals during animal catching. Keywords: broiler harvesting, welfare, product quality Keywords: broiler harvesting, welfare, product quality Back