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Poster 11
Iris Kolkman presents Poster 11 during the poster sessions in the Aula.
Session theme 1: Development, validation and automated measurements of indicators of animal welfare
ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFICACY OF THE RICE PELVIMETER BY
COMPARING PELVIMETRICAL MEASUREMENTS WITH
MEASUREMENTS ON THE CARCASS AFTER SLAUGHTER OF DOUBLE
MUSCLED BELGIAN BLUE COWS
I. Kolkman 1,2 , G. Hoflack 2 , S. Aerts 3 , G. Opsomer 2 , D. Lips 1,3
1 Department Agro- and Biotechnology, KaHo Sint-Lieven, Sint Niklaas, Belgium
2 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Department of Reproduction, Obstetrics and Herd
Health, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium
3 Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centre for Science, Technology and Ethics, Kasteelpark Arenberg 30, 3001
Leuven, Belgium
Selection for the double muscled conformation in the Belgian Blue (BB) breed has created
incompatibility between the fetus and the pelvis of the dam. As a result, there is a high incidence of
caesarean section which poses serious ethical questions. In this breed, the size of the birth canal has
been stated to be a limiting factor in determining the ease of calving. In the present study we
examined the efficacy of the Rice pelvimeter in BB cows by comparing these measurements with
measurements performed on the carcasses after slaughter.
To this purpose, the pelvis of 466 BB cows (2-10 years old) was measured approximately 12 hours
prior to slaughter (pelvimeter) and within 2 hours after slaughter (carcass). The mean difference for
pelvic width was -0.2 cm (95% limits of agreement -2.5 - 2.1 cm) and for the pelvic height 1.2 cm
(95% limits of agreement -1.8 - 4.1 cm). The Pearsons correlation coefficient between the
measurements was moderate albeit significant, for pelvic width, height and area (r=0.56; r=0.46;
r=0.59; P < 0.001, for pelvic width, pelvic height and pelvic area respectively). An influence of the
age of the animals was only found on pelvic height (P