Time to death for on-farm emergency slaughtered cattle in Norway

Animal welfare and aspects of sustainability are growing concerns in cattle production. In Norway, on-farm emergency slaughter (OFES) accounts for 4.2 % of all cattle slaughter. The time animals must wait for killing after veterinary inspection is an important, but unstudied, measure when considering the welfare of animals undergoing OFES. This study investigated 2229 cases of OFES from three regions in Norway. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority gave permission to collect data from physical handwritten OFES certificates collected and stored in each slaughterhouse from four months in 2018. The time from OFES certification to death could be calculated for 2028 cases. Survival analysis was used to investigate the hazard of death from OFES certification. Half of all cases were killed within 2.5 h of OFES certification. The condition reported as the reason for OFES significantly affected time from OFES certification to death. Cattle reported to have obstetrical conditions were killed faster than cattle reported to be recumbent (Hazard Ratio 1.74, 95 % CI 1.50-2.00). When considering the animal welfare implications of OFES, the length of time an animal is waiting to be killed is critical. The majority (75 %) of cases in this study were killed within 4.25 h, but the last 5 % waited over 20 h. This implies that some case selection is employed by personnel involved in the on-farm emergency slaughter process. This study provides information about the time cattle wait for OFES in Norway to allow for evidence-based, rather than anecdotal, discussions about the practice.