Human-animal interactions, occupational health and well-being in pig slaughterhouses of Colombia: Exploring worker perceptions and practices

IF 2.2 2区 农林科学 Q1 VETERINARY SCIENCES
Adriana P. Pastrana-Camacho , Genaro C. Miranda-de la Lama , Laura X. Estévez-Moreno
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Public concern about global health has forced the meat industry to make technological, operational and logistical improvements, but human-animal interactions are rarely considered from an animal welfare perspective. A total of 171 workers from 12 pig slaughterhouses were interviewed about their occupational perceptions and practices affecting their health and well-being, and human-pig interactions. Ninety percent of the workers interviewed were male, between 18 and 30 years old, with high school education, < 7 years of experience, and learned their work in the slaughterhouse. In terms of human-animal interactions, we found that the nature of the tasks performed by each worker had an impact on their perceptions of pigs, particularly those involving work with live animals (outdoors) and stunning and bleeding (indoors). In addition, respondents show disapproval of cruel practices and a high level of awareness of pig pain and concern to alleviate it. However, there are neutral responses to statements that show some weakness in their feelings towards pigs. Forty per cent of respondents reported having at least one of the health problems and had suffered occupational accidents. The most common types of accidents were falls, cuts and animal aggression. These accidents were related to incorrect movements, especially in the morning, by personnel > 40 years of age, with > 7 years of experience, and the upper and/or lower extremities were most affected. Our results indicate that fatigue caused by factors such as line speed, uncoordinated operations, and risky behavior by workers, is the main cause of workplace accidents in slaughterhouses. Based on this evidence, we conclude that adjustments of work break/rest intervals and improvements of working conditions are necessary to reduce fatigue, improve safety, and enhance work efficiency.
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来源期刊
Preventive veterinary medicine
Preventive veterinary medicine 农林科学-兽医学
CiteScore
5.60
自引率
7.70%
发文量
184
审稿时长
3 months
期刊介绍: Preventive Veterinary Medicine is one of the leading international resources for scientific reports on animal health programs and preventive veterinary medicine. The journal follows the guidelines for standardizing and strengthening the reporting of biomedical research which are available from the CONSORT, MOOSE, PRISMA, REFLECT, STARD, and STROBE statements. The journal focuses on: Epidemiology of health events relevant to domestic and wild animals; Economic impacts of epidemic and endemic animal and zoonotic diseases; Latest methods and approaches in veterinary epidemiology; Disease and infection control or eradication measures; The "One Health" concept and the relationships between veterinary medicine, human health, animal-production systems, and the environment; Development of new techniques in surveillance systems and diagnosis; Evaluation and control of diseases in animal populations.
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