OCCURRENCE OF BRUISES AND INJURIES IN BOVINE CARCASSES AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH ROAD TRANSPORT

The objective of this study was to evaluate the incidence of bruises and losses due to injuries in bovine carcasses submitted to road transport. A total of 1599 carcasses were evaluated for the number of bruises and 1440 for injuries losses. The study was conducted in the city of Aquidauana/MS, at a slaughterhouse. The number, location, color and size of the bruises were visually assessed. In addition, data regarding types of trucks in which the animals were transported, distance traveled to the slaughterhouse, sexual class and age of the animals were collected. In order to quantify the injury losses, the injuries removed during toilet of the carcasses were collected and weighed. Animals that traveled longer distances to the slaughterhouse showed more bruises in the carcasses, 97.81% of the carcasses evaluated had one or more bruises. In addition, the regions of the carcasses that obtained the highest average percentage of bruises were the sacral and lumbar, being 31.77 and 31.63%, respectively. Bruises in the posterior area of the carcass may represent greater economic losses because meat cuts of higher market value are located in this area. Females and uncastrated males were the groups with the highest number of carcasses with bruises. The injuries represented an average loss of 0.225 kg per carcass, generating an average economic loss of R$ 2.14, in this context, females showed greater losses due to injuries when compared to uncastraled and castrated males. In conclusion, longer distances increase the risk of bruised carcasses. Transport with inadequate stocking, physical conditions of vehicles and inadequate handling are the main causes of bruising. In addition, factors inherent to the animals may also favor the occurrence of bruises and injuries, such as lower fat cover in females and the more aggressive behavior of uncastrated males when compared to castrated males.