Attitudes of veterinarians to a standardized slaughter-monitoring program for pigs

Objective - To determine attitudes of participating veterinarians toward a standardized slaughter-monitoring program for swine. Design - Survey by mail questionnaire. Sample Population - 30 of 35 veterinarians in Minnesota who had participated in the program in 1993. Procedure - Survey was conducted regarding a slaughter-monitoring program. Respondents answered questions related to professional experience, use of slaughter inspections, methods, advantages and disadvantages of the program, effects on clients and business, labor requirements, referral of inspections, confidence in identifying lesions, and usefulness of reports for on-farm decision making. Results - 27 respondents expressed overall satisfaction with the program. Perceived advantages of the program included use of standardized methods, quality of reports, inspection of more types of lesions, and accumulation of data. Disadvantages predominantly related to increased time commitments for veterinarians. Data considered most useful for on-farm decision making were white spots on livers, nasal turbinate atrophy, and lesions indicative of papular dermatitis and enzootic pneumonia. Respondents perceived positive effects of participating in this program in the areas of recruitment of clients, frequency of visits to clients, recommendations made to clients, satisfaction of client needs, and generation of revenue. Clinical Implications - A standardized slaughter-monitoring program designed to provide improved information from slaughter inspections may be beneficial to the businesses of participating veterinarians.