The Teagasc Beef Conference took place on Tuesday, 13 December in the Shearwater Hotel, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway.
Dr Natascha Meunier, Programme Manager Beef HealthCheck, Animal Health Ireland discussed abattoir lesions in cattle are associated with an increased age at slaughter.
Poor health is widely recognised to negatively affect performance in cattle. Liver fluke, liver abscesses and pneumonia lung lesions were related to
increased slaughter age. The impact of health status on slaughter age varied with animal type and farm type, but on average heifers and steers were 40-46, 8 and 12-14 days older at slaughter if liver fluke, liver abscesses and pneumonia lung lesions were present, respectively. The prevalence of liver fluke at slaughter has been decreasing since 2016 but it is still widespread, with 44% of herds that slaughtered cattle exhibiting liver fluke in 2022. Gains in animal production and subsequent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions can be achieved if animal health is improved.
