000132837 001__ 132837 000132837 005__ 20240315113108.0 000132837 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.1016/j.forsciint.2024.111936 000132837 0248_ $$2sideral$$a137748 000132837 037__ $$aART-2024-137748 000132837 041__ $$aeng 000132837 100__ $$0(orcid)0000-0002-6848-1010$$aMiranda-de la Lama, Genaro C.$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000132837 245__ $$aElectro-thermal injuries in ruminants caused by electrical equipment during pre-slaughter operations: Forensic case reports from an animal welfare science perspective 000132837 260__ $$c2024 000132837 5060_ $$aAccess copy available to the general public$$fUnrestricted 000132837 5203_ $$aThe use of electrical equipment for herding and moving livestock (electric batons) or for stunning animals before slaughter (electric stunners) is widespread in the livestock and meat industries worldwide. The use of these equipment is restricted to specific procedures and/or exceptional circumstances that justify their rational use. However, these restrictions can be underestimated or disregarded due to ignorance, inexperience, incompetence or irresponsibility on the part of users, resulting in pain and suffering to the animals and, in some cases, electro-thermal injury. This report presents four forensic cases of electro-thermal injuries identified during post-mortem animal welfare assessments in slaughterhouses in Colombia, Mexico and Spain. Electro-thermal injuries caused by contact (accidental or intentional) of equipment electrodes with skin and subcutaneous tissue are presented. Although our cases are isolated events detected over a 5-year period, they provide a useful visual guide for technicians and veterinarians interested in the differential diagnosis between bruises and electro-thermal injuries. The differentiation of the equipment causing the injuries allows the identification and control of critical points for animal welfare along the pre-slaughter logistic chain and the elimination of inappropriate animal handling practices. 000132837 540__ $$9info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess$$aby-nc-nd$$uhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/ 000132837 655_4 $$ainfo:eu-repo/semantics/article$$vinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 000132837 7102_ $$12008$$2700$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Produc.Animal Cienc.Ali.$$cÁrea Producción Animal 000132837 773__ $$g356 (2024), 111936 [8 pp.]$$pForensic sci. int.$$tFORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL$$x0379-0738 000132837 8564_ $$s6528840$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/132837/files/texto_completo.pdf$$yVersión publicada 000132837 8564_ $$s2590146$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/132837/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon$$xicon$$yVersión publicada 000132837 909CO $$ooai:zaguan.unizar.es:132837$$particulos$$pdriver 000132837 951__ $$a2024-03-15-08:50:54 000132837 980__ $$aARTICLE