Occurrence of Injuries Related to Handling in Carcasses of Beef Cattle Slaughtered in a Slaughterhouse Located in the Northwest Region of the State of São Paulo

This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of injuries in bovine carcasses slaughtered in the northwest of São Paulo, through the quantification of the number of these injuries and their location in the main Brazilian commercial courts. Five ranchers were randomly selected, differentiated by the acronyms PEC A (rancher A), PEC B (rancher B), PEC C (rancher C), PEC D (rancher D) and PEC E (rancher E), which totaled 333 evaluated carcasses. The results showed that the majority of the slaughtered animals were of the Nellore breed and females of different age groups. There was a variation in the fasting period and water diet established for the animals, with the PEC C being the shortest period and in the others the variation was 10 to 16 hours. As for the injuries, it was possible to observe that the greater the distance covered, the greater the percentage of injuries in the half carcasses, with the rear quarter being more affected, especially the thigh, followed by the rump. Factors such as age and duration of transport positively influenced the percentage of injuries and even with the intense discussions and quality programs aimed at the application of animal welfare, the bovine half carcasses analyzed in the present study showed a high incidence of injuries.