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Cross-compliance checks are a tool of the Common Agricultural Policy to promote agrienvironmental objectives relating to the environment, animal welfare, and food safety. This mechanism consists of paying direct subsidies to farmers who comply with prescribed requirements. Compliance with animal welfare requirements in the Czech Republic is supervised by the State Veterinary Administration. This study aimed to find the main deficiencies identified as part of cross-compliance checks and to assess the trends of the most frequent defects during the period under review, i.e. 2016-2020. The data for the analysis were received from the Central Veterinary Administration of the State Veterinary Administration and included the results of 2,031 checks carried out. Shortcomings were found in 14.52% of cases. Detailed analysis showed that significantly (P < 0.05) the highest frequency of violations was found in the areas of 'nutrition and watering' (294; 29.85%) and 'spatial requirements' (274; 27.82%). Based on the evaluation of trends, a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in the frequency of violations in the field of compliance with holder duties and animal hygiene standards of animals was detected. The results of this work show that animal welfare is continuously improving on farms. However, the aim should be to reduce deficiencies to a minimum for all indicators. In view of the results of this study, it is necessary to focus primarily on improving the quality of nutrition, providing better housing standards with emphasis on space and equipment used, and intensifying daily checks of animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The level of compliance with livestock welfare requirements is directly reflected in animal health, behaviour, and performance as well as farm profitability. It is mandatory to keep animals in conditions that prevent suffering and that respect animal needs in terms of biology and ethology. Compliance with these obligations in the Czech Republic is supervised by the State Veterinary Administration (SVA) through inspectors affiliated to the veterinary administrations at the regional level. The aim of the study was to identify the main deficiencies observed during official site visits carried out at livestock holdings in 2016-2020 and to assess the trend of the most frequently occurring deficiencies during the reference period. Data obtained from Central Veterinary Administration of the SVA containing a total of 9,147 records of partial welfare checks were subjected to the analysis. The percentage of site visits where deficiencies were found at livestock holdings was 15.04%. When analysed in more detail, the results revealed a significantly (P < 0.05) highest frequency of violations with respect to administration and animal marking (2,054) followed by the provision of treatment and spatial conditions. The trend analysis showed no significant increase or decrease in the frequency of violations in the selected areas during the reference period (P > 0.05). The results show the need to focus on compliance with duties in the framework of administration and animal marking, provision of treatment, and provision of animal management standards, especially in terms of spatial conditions, nutrition, and animal hygiene where violations were consistently found most often. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the issue of animal welfare and its administrative-legal protection in exceptional situations. The authors analyse the competencies of authorities, as Veterinary Inspection, in cases of extreme violations of the animal welfare, highlighting ethical and legal dilemmas. This article seeks to address questions regarding legally enabling interventions to protect animals in emergency situations, implications of government actions and enforcement of the duty to euthanize animals in the exceptional circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence of kidney damage in livestock was monitored in the Czech slaughterhouses from 2010 to 2021. The results showed that the incidence of kidney damage was lower in all monitored species (P ˂ 0.05) in fattened animals compared to adult ones. In cattle and pigs, the incidence of kidney damage was lower (P ˂ 0.01) in fattened animals (bulls, finisher pigs) than in culled young (calves, piglets). When comparing individual categories of adult animals, the lowest incidence of kidney damage was found in does and ewes (2.68% and 3.01%, respectively), then in sows (28.45%), and the highest was in cows (40.46%). Among fattened animals, the incidence of findings in kidneys was increasing in the order of kids (0.21%), lambs (0.42%), bulls (10.46%) and finisher pigs (14.42%). Findings of chronic kidney damage were more frequent than findings of acute (P ˂ 0.01) and parasitic (P ˂ 0.01) origin in all observed categories of animals. The results show that, from the point of view of the incidence of kidney damage as a major consequence of imbalance between the organism’s metabolic needs and the nutrition provided to the animals, there are deficiencies of a significant level, which prove that there is still significant room for further optimization of the nutrition of individual categories of animals, that would take into account not only performance, overall clinical health, but also subclinical animal health, leading to a reduction in the incidence of kidney damage detected in animals at slaughter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal shelters, as entities supervised by district veterinarians, are subject to cyclical inspections, which are particularly important in the context of the implementation of new legal regulations. The article below presents the assumptions of the new regulation on running animal shelters on the example of a shelter in the Garwolin district. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The liver is the principal organ involved in animal metabolism. A healthy liver is critical to proper protein, carbohydrate, and fat metabolism. In contrast, liver damage results in a deterioration of animal health and, thereby, their well-being. In this study, liver damage was monitored in all animals reared on Czech farms and slaughtered in slaughterhouses in the Czech Republic for a period of 12 years (2010 to 2021). The results show the highest prevalence of liver damage in cattle, followed by pigs, sheep, and then goats, both in adults and in fattening animals. Chronic lesions were significantly more frequent than acute or parasitic lesions in the majority of species and categories of animal species, with the exception of piglets and ducks, in which acute lesions were most frequent, and ewes and lambs, in which parasitic lesions were most frequent. We monitored liver damage in cattle (cows, heifers, fattening bulls, and calves culled from the herd), pigs (sows, finishing pigs, and piglets culled from the farm), sheep (ewes and lambs), goats (does and kids), rabbits, and poultry (end-of-lay hens, broiler chickens, turkeys, domestic ducks, and domestic geese) in the period from 2010 to 2021. All animals (n = 1,425,710,143) reared on Czech farms and slaughtered at slaughterhouses in the Czech Republic were included in the analysis. We determined the total number of damaged livers for individual categories of animals and also analyzed separately the incidence of damage of acute, chronic, parasitic, and other origin. The overall incidence of liver damage was higher in adult animals compared to fattening animals in all species. In cattle and pigs, the incidence was also higher in young animals culled from the herd compared to fattening animals. When comparing adult animals by species, the incidence of liver damage was highest in cows (46.38%), followed by sows (17.51%), ewes (12.97%), and does (4.26%). When comparing fattening animals by species, the incidence was highest in heifers (14.17%) and fattening bulls (7.97 %), followed by finishing pigs (11.26%), lambs (4.73%), and kids (0.59%). When comparing young culled from the herd by species, it was higher in piglets (32.39%) than in calves (17.6 %), and when poultry and rabbits were compared, the incidence was highest in turkeys (3.38%), followed by ducks (2.20%), geese (1.09%), broiler chickens (0.08%), and rabbits (0.04%). The results indicate that fattening animals have a better liver condition than mature animals and that culled young have a worse liver condition than older fattening animals. Chronic lesions represented the dominant proportion of pathological findings. Parasitic lesions occurred, first and foremost, in animals grazed on meadows with likely parasitic invasion, i.e., in ewes (7.51%), lambs (3.51%), and heifers (1.31%), and in animals in which antiparasitic protection is limited in view of the protection of meat from antiparasitic residues, i.e., finishing pigs (3.68%). Parasitic damage to the liver was rarely detected in rabbits and poultry. The results obtained represent a body of knowledge for measures to improve the health and condition of the liver in food animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal and meat inspections in abattoirs are important in the surveillance of zoonotic diseases. Veterinary inspections in abattoirs can provide useful data for the management of health and welfare issues of humans and animals. Using the network analysis and ordination technique, in this study, we analyzed the data from 11 years of veterinary inspections in pig slaughterhouses from 16 regions in Poland. Based on the huge data set of 80,187,639 cases of diseases and welfare issues of pigs, the most frequent livestock diseases were identified to be abscesses, soiling, faecal or other contaminations, and congestions, which together accounted for 77.6% of the total condemnations. Spatial and temporal differences in swine diseases between the Polish regions were recognized using the above-mentioned statistical approaches. Moreover, with the use of a quite novel method, not used yet in preventive veterinary medicine, called a heatmap, the most problematic disease and welfare issues in each region in Poland were identified. The use of statistical approaches such as network analysis and ordination technique allow for identification of the health and welfare issues in slaughterhouses when dealing with long-term inspection data based on a very large number of cases, and then have to be adopted in current veterinary medicine.

Objectives The objective of this paper is to analyse the activities of the Veterinary Inspection (VI) while presenting its role and operational efficacy in the domain of food safety and quality. Material and methods The analysis has demonstrated that the VI executes animal health protection and veterinary protection of public health. The authority is obliged to supervise the safety of animal-origin food products at the stages of production, marketing and direct sales. Its control measures also cover the health of reproduction animals and its health quality. Results The Veterinary Inspections also cover animal protection regulations, rules for animal identification and registration, and the transport of animals. Furthermore, the body imposes veterinary requirements on animal farms. It has been demonstrated that the VI also monitors illegal substances, chemical, biological and medical product residues as well as radioactive contamination in animals and poultry, and the trade and volumes of veterinary medicinal products. Conclusions The competencies of the VI enable the authority to effectively execute its statutory responsibilities. However, the domain in which the VI operates does not include all business entities of the food chain. This creates challenges for the comprehensive supervision of food production and distribution and suggests that the currently proposed concept of the National Food Safety Inspection will increase the efficacy of control measures on this new body in comparison with the VI.

It is possible to ensure the country's food security within hunting industry mostly by means of developing the market of food products of hunting industry as well as by increasing self-sustainment and self-employment of rural hunters. In order to improve the quality of nutrition it is important to obtain the diet containing foods of natural origin, which are rarely or never used. At present, state regulation of marketing products of hunting industry has a number of excessive administrative barriers at various stages of production and marketing. At the stage of production (harvesting game resources) there are excessive limitations on permissible tools and methods used. Therefore, we propose to introduce some changes in the existing legislation by repealing the ban on snaring hazel-grouse. At the stage of marketing products of hunting industry there are a number of administrative barriers associated with the rules of veterinary examination of slaughter animals and the rules of veterinary and sanitary expertise of meat and meat products and their marketing. It would be advisable to repeal the regulation on the necessity to get a veterinary certificate №2 for wildfowl to be sold outside an administrative district. Furthermore, it is necessary to repeal a discriminative regulation according to which individual amateur hunters have to sell their game harvest if it is not used for personal consumption - to enterprises specializing in purchasing products of hunting industry.

The aim of this article was to present important aspects of food safety policy in Poland. Ensuring the safety of products of animal origin is possible only if the producers obey the existing rules and regulations and with continuous control provided by the Veterinary Inspection. The multitude of food business operators (FBOs), and a long list of items they produce, are both essential factors to plan and to coordinate the activities of authorities by conducting risk assessment. Furthermore, the scarcity of human resources and time, in contrast to a large quantity of entities using additives and a long list of such products, makes impossible to inspect all the products manufactured by facilities that are under the supervision of the Veterinary Inspection. Consequently, it is essential to assess the minimal frequency of inspections for every FBO and to use the Risk Matrix (MR) or the Risk Priority Number (RPN) to choose product or additive to be inspected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2014 the post-mortem inspection of carcasses and offal of pigs is limited, in accordance to changes in Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 stating specific rules for the organization of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption. Post-mortem examination is at present based on visual inspection - lymph nodes are not incised. The aim of this paper is to present zoonotic potential of purulent bacteria which can be isolated from swine lymph nodes. The most often isolated bacteria are Mycobacterium spp., Rhodococcus spp., Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp., Corynebacterium spp. and Trueperella spp. The most exposed group are slaughterhouse workers and consumers with various immune deficiencies. It is highly important to control prevalence and etiology of purulent lesions in swine lymph nodes to make risk assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to assess post-mortem findings according to their localization and the nature of damage and to assess the standard of health and welfare of farmed rabbits on the basis of these findings. A total of 40,206 pathological findings were recorded in 1,876,929 rabbits slaughtered at slaughterhouses in the Czech Republic in the period from 2010 to 2019. Pathological findings on the limbs (0.84%), the trunk (0.71%), the kidneys (0.17%), and the liver (0.05%), along with generalized changes (0.37%), occurred most frequently. Findings of traumatic origin dominated among findings on the limbs and trunk, which indicates the inappropriate housing and handling rabbits on farms and during transport. Findings in the kidneys and liver were most often of a chronic nature having an evident correlation with the diet of intensively fed rabbits, with shortcomings in the diet having an impact on the parenchyma with chronic manifestations in the liver and kidneys. Among the generalized findings, multiple abscesses, which were probably associated with the infection of injuries occurring during fattening, and emaciation resulting from current husbandry practices, leading to insufficient feed intake or the development of disease in some individuals, predominated.

Pathological findings in individual classes of cattle were assessed from the viewpoint of their localization and category. The objective of the study was to evaluate whether there are differences in the range and number of findings made between the individual classes of cattle. The results of veterinary inspections on 2,514,666 head of cattle slaughtered in the Czech Republic in the period 2010–2019 were used for the assessment. In terms of localization, the most frequent findings in cows were in the liver and pancreas (46.13%), the urinary tract (40.76%) and the lungs (36.23%). These findings also predominated in heifers and bulls, though they were recorded at lower frequencies (p < 0.01) than in cows. The most frequent pathological changes in heifers and bulls were chronic findings in the lungs (16.09% and 12.27%, respectively). The range of findings in calves differed significantly from other classes of cattle, primarily as the result of respiratory and diarrheal syndrome being the most frequent diseases in calves. Calves were the class of cattle most frequently diagnosed with findings in the lungs (44.89%), as well as other unclassified changes (24.43%) and overall changes (21.55%), which point to a systemic disorder of the organism. The results of this study confirmed the differing states of health in the individual classes of cattle and the differing health issues to which treatment and the prevention of the most frequently occurring infectious and non-infectious diseases must be adapted. Cattle welfare is affected not only by the level of health but also by the herd management and economics. This is confirmed by the range of findings, and the deterioration of living conditions especially in cows, likely because of great intensity of farming, but also in calves which suffered from emaciation or stunted growth.

The standard of the health and welfare of individual categories of cattle was assessed from the viewpoint of intravital pathological changes. The results of veterinary inspections of 2,514,666 head of cattle (1,136,754 cows, 257,912 heifers, 1,015,541 bulls and 104,459 calves) slaughtered in the Czech Republic in the period from 2010 to 2019 were analyzed. The results show significant differences (p < 0.01) between the categories of cattle in the total numbers of intravital findings. Intravital findings were most frequently recorded in cows (index 2.271) and least frequently recorded in bulls (index 0.479). In all categories of cattle, chronic findings predominated, where the largest number was recorded in cows (index 1.740) and calves (index 0.910). Parasitic and traumatic findings were only detected in low numbers in all categories of cattle. Assessment of the trend in the total number of intravital pathological findings in individual categories of cattle in the monitored period showed an evident fall in heifers (rSp = −0.915, p < 0.01), cows (rSp = −0.806, p < 0.01) and bulls (rSp = −0.636, p < 0.05). In calves, no decreasing trend was found (rSp = −0.382, p > 0.05). The results obtained in this study do not merely reflect the standard of health of the animals slaughtered at abattoirs in the Czech Republic, but also provide a picture of the standard of the living conditions provided by farmers rearing individual categories of cattle.

Copyright of Zywnosc is the property of Polish Society of Food Technologists - Scientific Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The food safety warranty is a fundamental principle of international trade. Veterinary inspection is the process that allows countries to meet trade obligations and access to the international markets by ensuring that food safety and animal health control are effective and trustworthy. Brazil and the United States (US) are the major players in the world’s meat marketing industry. The Brazilian Federal Inspection Service (SIF) and the US Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) are responsible for food inspection services guidelines in these two countries. The objectives of this overview were to compare and highlight the similarities and differences between SIF and FSIS, to address the challenges of which Brazilian Food Inspection Service faces due to the rapidly growing demand by the livestock sector for Veterinary Services, and provide recommendations to improve the Brazilian food inspection services. Government regulations and local news were examined to provide information for this paper. FSIS is an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), with their own governance and budget. In contrast, the SIF is not an independent agency, but is a department within the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA). It has technical governance, but no separate budget or legal independence. The US establishments for production, processing and distribution of food of animal origin have the option to apply for Federal inspection or State inspection under the “at least equal to” (Federal) requirements policy. In Brazil the industry players have the option to apply for Federal, State or Municipal inspection, and there is no mandatory compliance with Federal requirements. The FSIS hiring system is continuous and straightforward, whereas the hiring system for all public servants in Brazil is conducted through a general entrance examination and is subject to the approval of high-ranking government. The challenges of the Brazilian food inspection services are discussed and recommendations to improve the service are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the frequency of pathological changes in slaughtered horses in Poland, in years 2015-2018. More than 109.000 horses were slaughtered in Poland in this period. During the post-mortem examinations, lesions or qualitative changes were found in over 32.800 carcasses (30.07%). The number of necropsies performed, ranged from 23.720 in 2015 to 30.136 in 2018. The highest percentage (33.14%), of carcasses with identified pathological changes was in 2015. 320 slaughtered horses were considered unfit for consumption (0.29%). The most frequently observed changes included focal suppurative lesions and congestive lesions, which accounted for 94.54% of all identified changes. Parasites were found in 1195 of necropsied animals (3.63%). Other qualitative changes constituted from 0.003% to 1.50%. The highest number of suppurative focal lesions and congestions as well as contaminations in horse carcasses were found in Wielkopolskie and Małopolskie voivodships. Most cases deemed unfit for consumption were found in Wielkopolskie (160) and Śląskie (107) voivodships, which constituted for over 83% of all disqualified horse carcasses in 2015-2018 in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a risk analysis framework, food chain safety measures should be objective and scientifically based. Network science - as a decision support tool - may have an important role in bringing safety to the food supply. The aim of the present work is to develop a network-based assessment methodology for Hungarian cattle holdings. The criteria of which is (1) suitable for risk-based planning in order to put resources into the most critical elements of the cattle production network; (2) should be capable of simulating different epidemiological situations in order to increase preparedness for real epidemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The level of risk for human health originating from organs of slaughter pigs was determined on the basis of carcass inspection classification at slaughterhouses in the Czech Republic during the period of 1995-2002. The following pig's organs were included in the study: the lungs, heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, stomach, and intestines. A potential level of risk relating to food safety of different organs was determined according to the numbers of the organs condemned by official veterinarians. At the same time total number of slaughtered animals was also considered. The trend of the development of potential risk was determined as an index equal to the ratio of the occurrence of condemned organs during the period of 1999-2002 to the same figures from the period of 1995-1998. The highest level of potential risk was found in porcine lungs (at the level of 66.30%) followed by kidneys (18.14%), liver (17.20%) and heart (5.15%). Increasing trend in the development of risk was found for the lungs (index 1.19), spleen (1.16) and heart (1.15). The trends were confirmed as highly significant (P < 0.01). The results indicating high levels of potential risk for food safety and increasing trends in the aforementioned organs of pigs confirmed the importance of veterinary inspection at slaughterhouses and classification of organs of slaughter pigs by official veterinarians. This way the risks for food safety are eliminated.

The possible application of acute phase protein measurements of meat extract in porcine carcass inspection at abattoir, under routine conditions, was studied. Concentrations of two acute phase proteins, C-reactive protein and haptoglobin, were quantified in 357 samples from carcasses subjected to official veterinary inspection at slaughterhouses. Carcasses were classified according to their sanitary status in five groups of animals ranging from healthy animals, without any organ alteration (group 1), to completely condemned carcasses with gross alteration in several organic systems (group 5). The concentration of both acute phase proteins appeared significantly higher in groups 2 to 5 in comparison to group 1. Sensitivity of these proteins to detect animals with organ alterations was 86% when the values of both proteins were taken into account. The quantification of the levels of acute phase proteins could be of help during routine veterinary meat inspection by offering an objective tool for active disease detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Veterinary inspection in slaughterhouses allows for the detection of macroscopic lesions reminiscent of bovine tuberculosis, but the presence of Mycobacterium bovis must be confirmed by laboratory methods. This study aimed at comparing the performances of the standard diagnostic tools used to identify M. bovis in tissue specimens sampled from suspicious animals. During a two years period, 1390 cattle were inspected at the Machachi abattoir in the Mejia canton – Ecuador. A total of 33 animals with granulomatous lesions were detected, representing 2.33% (16/687) and 2.42% (17/703) animals examined in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Ninety-four tissue specimens were sampled and screened for the presence of mycobacteria. Acid-fast bacilli were identified in one third of the suspicious cattle (11/33) and suggestive microscopic lesions in 27.3% (9/33) of the samples examined by direct microscopy and histopathology, respectively. Culturing on Stonebrink medium and 16S-rRNA-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) yielded 36.4% (12/33) and 27.3% (9/33) of positives, respectively. Compared to culture, other diagnostic procedures displayed a lower sensitivity, with 56.5% for PCR, and 43.5% for direct microscopy and histopathology; however, the specificity was higher (94.4% for PCR and microscopy, and 97.2% for histopathology). We conclude that reliable post-mortem laboratory testing either requires the combination of a set of available diagnostic tools or necessitates the development of improved new-generation tools with better sensitivity and specificity characteristics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Danish Crown group is an international food producer with production and sales across the world. At present it is the world's third largest and Europe's second largest pig slaughtering business and also Europe's largest meat processing company. The cooperative has achieved this status by setting and observing very high and strict quality standards at all stages in meat processing, which explains why its products are exported all over the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revue d'Etudes en Agriculture et Environnement is the property of Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Simple Summary: Veterinary inspections in abattoirs are important in the surveillance of zoonotic diseases. This study is based on veterinary inspection reports providing data about the diseases and welfare issues of 231 million pigs slaughtered in 16 regions of Poland between 2009 and 2019. Over 80 million slaughtered pigs were found with pathological changes that could pose a risk to human health. The most frequently observed changes were abscesses, soiling, faecal or other contaminations, and congestions, together accounting for 77.6% of the total infections. Statistical approaches conducted with the use of long-term data can help identify the most problematic health and welfare issues in slaughterhouses. The results of this study showed that changes related to poor animal welfare (purulent foci, contamination, congestion) and parasitic diseases accounted for the majority of the identified cases of condemnation. Animal and meat inspections in abattoirs are important in the surveillance of zoonotic diseases. Veterinary inspections in abattoirs can provide useful data for the management of health and welfare issues of humans and animals. Using the network analysis and ordination technique, in this study, we analyzed the data from 11 years of veterinary inspections in pig slaughterhouses from 16 regions in Poland. Based on the huge data set of 80,187,639 cases of diseases and welfare issues of pigs, the most frequent livestock diseases were identified to be abscesses, soiling, faecal or other contaminations, and congestions, which together accounted for 77.6% of the total condemnations. Spatial and temporal differences in swine diseases between the Polish regions were recognized using the above-mentioned statistical approaches. Moreover, with the use of a quite novel method, not used yet in preventive veterinary medicine, called a heatmap, the most problematic disease and welfare issues in each region in Poland were identified. The use of statistical approaches such as network analysis and ordination technique allow for identification of the health and welfare issues in slaughterhouses when dealing with long-term inspection data based on a very large number of cases, and then have to be adopted in current veterinary medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In Lithuania, African swine fever (ASF) notifications in domestic pigs and wild boar have been increasing since the entry of ASF from 2014 to 2018. The disease caused serious economic losses and affected commercial and non-commercial pig holdings. We conducted a prospective matched case-control study to investigate the potential risk factors associated with ASF outbreaks in pig farms in Lithuania in 2019. The study revealed that the risk of ASF occurrence in a pig farm was significantly lower if the farm had been inspected by veterinary inspectors, while the risk increased if certain activities, possibly related to the indirect transmission of ASF to a pig farm, were practiced on a farm, e.g., mushroom picking, sharing equipment, etc. Veterinary inspection seemed to increase the level of biosecurity and ASF awareness on a farm, which may have helped to prevent disease introduction. These findings can be used to improve the control and prevention of ASF in domestic pigs in countries affected by ASF. While numerous risk factors of African swine fever (ASF) transmission to domestic pigs have been described, ASF virus introduction has often not been traced back to one single defined cause. The large number of ASF outbreaks that occurred in domestic pigs in Lithuania from 2014 through to 2018 raised the question regarding whether outbreak-specific risk factors and transmission routes could be identified. Therefore, a prospective matched case-control study was designed. Data from 18 outbreaks that occurred in Lithuanian in 2019 and 36 control farms were analyzed. Conditional multivariable logistic regression showed that two or more visits by veterinary inspection of a farm had a significant preventive effect on the occurrence of ASF on a farm (Odds ratio (OR) 14.21, confidence interval (CI) 1.09–185.60 for farms not inspected vs. farms inspected twice or more a year), while certain practices (e.g., mushroom picking, sharing equipment, etc.), which might facilitate the indirect introduction of ASF from fields and forests into piggeries, significantly increased the odds of an outbreak (OR 5.18, CI 1.10–24.44). The results of the study highlight the importance of veterinary inspections for increasing the biosecurity level on pig farms and the awareness of ASF. The knowledge on potential protective and risk factors may help to improve the prevention and control of ASF outbreaks in domestic pig farms in Lithuania and other affected countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Veterinary inspection at the slaughterhouse plays an important role in the surveillance system for animal health and welfare. The study focused on the quantification and identification of pathological findings in rabbits slaughtered at the slaughterhouses in the Czech Republic in the period from 2010 to 2019. The ratio of the number of pathological findings to the total number of rabbits slaughtered was 0.0214, i.e., for every hundred rabbits, 2.14 findings were made documenting the impairment of health and/or welfare to an extent leading to pathological changes detected during the post-mortem inspection of the rabbits at the slaughterhouse. The pathological findings that occurred most often were those on the limbs (0.84%), trunk (0.71%), kidneys (0.17%), and liver (0.05%), along with generalized changes (0.37%). The results show that findings on the limbs and trunk were dominated by findings of traumatic origin. Findings in the kidneys and liver were most often of a chronic nature. Findings of abscesses were most frequent among generalized findings. The aim of the study was to assess post-mortem findings according to their localization and the nature of damage and to assess the standard of health and welfare of farmed rabbits on the basis of these findings. A total of 40,206 pathological findings were recorded in 1,876,929 rabbits slaughtered at slaughterhouses in the Czech Republic in the period from 2010 to 2019. Pathological findings on the limbs (0.84%), the trunk (0.71%), the kidneys (0.17%), and the liver (0.05%), along with generalized changes (0.37%), occurred most frequently. Findings of traumatic origin dominated among findings on the limbs and trunk, which indicates the inappropriate housing and handling rabbits on farms and during transport. Findings in the kidneys and liver were most often of a chronic nature having an evident correlation with the diet of intensively fed rabbits, with shortcomings in the diet having an impact on the parenchyma with chronic manifestations in the liver and kidneys. Among the generalized findings, multiple abscesses, which were probably associated with the infection of injuries occurring during fattening, and emaciation resulting from current husbandry practices, leading to insufficient feed intake or the development of disease in some individuals, predominated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The data from a veterinary inspection is a valuable tool in monitoring the health and welfare of slaughtered animals and can provide information relevant to the assessment of their living conditions. In our study, the results of veterinary inspections of cattle slaughtered in the Czech Republic in the period 2010–2019 were analyzed. In terms of localization, the most frequent findings in cattle were in the liver and pancreas (26.36%), in the lungs (25.44%) and in the urinary tract (25.19%). Among adult cattle, according to these pathological findings, cows were numerically the most affected class. In contrast, bulls had very good levels of health. In calves, the most frequent were findings in the lungs, unclassified changes and overall changes. The results showed the different health issues and the different states of health in the individual classes of cattle, which demand a different approach to the treatment and prevention of the most frequent diseases. The spectrum of characteristic findings is also a reflection of the level of welfare. Deteriorated living conditions should be mentioned especially in cows but also in calves which often suffered from emaciation or stunted growth. Pathological findings in individual classes of cattle were assessed from the viewpoint of their localization and category. The objective of the study was to evaluate whether there are differences in the range and number of findings made between the individual classes of cattle. The results of veterinary inspections on 2,514,666 head of cattle slaughtered in the Czech Republic in the period 2010–2019 were used for the assessment. In terms of localization, the most frequent findings in cows were in the liver and pancreas (46.13%), the urinary tract (40.76%) and the lungs (36.23%). These findings also predominated in heifers and bulls, though they were recorded at lower frequencies (p < 0.01) than in cows. The most frequent pathological changes in heifers and bulls were chronic findings in the lungs (16.09% and 12.27%, respectively). The range of findings in calves differed significantly from other classes of cattle, primarily as the result of respiratory and diarrheal syndrome being the most frequent diseases in calves. Calves were the class of cattle most frequently diagnosed with findings in the lungs (44.89%), as well as other unclassified changes (24.43%) and overall changes (21.55%), which point to a systemic disorder of the organism. The results of this study confirmed the differing states of health in the individual classes of cattle and the differing health issues to which treatment and the prevention of the most frequently occurring infectious and non-infectious diseases must be adapted. Cattle welfare is affected not only by the level of health but also by the herd management and economics. This is confirmed by the range of findings, and the deterioration of living conditions especially in cows, likely because of great intensity of farming, but also in calves which suffered from emaciation or stunted growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The standard of the health and welfare of individual categories of cattle was assessed from the viewpoint of intravital pathological changes. The results of veterinary inspections of 2,514,666 head of cattle (1,136,754 cows, 257,912 heifers, 1,015,541 bulls and 104,459 calves) slaughtered in the Czech Republic in the period from 2010 to 2019 were analyzed. The results show significant differences (p < 0.01) between the categories of cattle in the total numbers of intravital findings. Intravital findings were most frequently recorded in cows (index 2.271) and least frequently recorded in bulls (index 0.479). In all categories of cattle, chronic findings predominated, where the largest number was recorded in cows (index 1.740) and calves (index 0.910). Parasitic and traumatic findings were only detected in low numbers in all categories of cattle. Assessment of the trend in the total number of intravital pathological findings in individual categories of cattle in the monitored period showed an evident fall in heifers (rSp = −0.915, p < 0.01), cows (rSp = −0.806, p < 0.01) and bulls (rSp = −0.636, p < 0.05). In calves, no decreasing trend was found (rSp = −0.382, p > 0.05). The results obtained in this study do not merely reflect the standard of health of the animals slaughtered at abattoirs in the Czech Republic, but also provide a picture of the standard of the living conditions provided by farmers rearing individual categories of cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]