Pre-Slaughter Stress Biomarkers and Animal Welfare

Scientific advances in measuring pre-slaughter stress biomarkers are enabling objective assessment of animal welfare in abattoirs, driving improvements in handling and stunning practices.

Key Facts

Cortisol, glucose, and lactate are established stress biomarkers measured pre-slaughter
Bruising and meat quality defects are correlated with pre-slaughter stress levels
Portable blood analysis equipment enables real-time welfare assessment in abattoirs
Eye temperature measured by infrared thermography correlates with stress in cattle
Implementation of welfare biomarker monitoring improves both animal welfare and product quality

Welfare Considerations

Pre-slaughter stress is one of the most measurable dimensions of farmed animal welfare, creating a direct commercial incentive for improvement alongside the ethical imperative. Animals experiencing high pre-slaughter stress suffer acute fear and pain, and also produce lower-quality meat. Biomarker science has enabled objective, comparable measurement of this stress across different handling systems and facilities. The integration of biomarker monitoring into routine abattoir quality management represents an important tool for driving welfare improvements, as it links animal suffering to tangible commercial outcomes.

What You Can Do

Support meat labelling schemes that include abattoir welfare assessment
Advocate for mandatory pre-slaughter welfare auditing in national food standards
Choose certified products from supply chains with abattoir welfare monitoring
Support research into non-invasive pre-slaughter stress assessment methods
Ask food retailers about the welfare monitoring standards of their meat suppliers