Workshop: Application of Artificial Intelligence in Slaughterhouses to Improve Animal Welfare

On October 18th, 2024, the PATT seminar on Artificial Intelligence applied to animal welfare in slaughterhouses took place, organized within the framework of the Horizon Europe aWISH project (Animal Welfare Indicators at the Slaughterhouse).

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The event was hosted by DARPA in collaboration with the Autonomous University of Barcelona and INNOVACC, the Catalan Cluster for Meat and Alternative Protein.

Experts from the sector and European companies participating in the aWISH project gathered to discuss the latest AI-driven technologies aimed at improving animal welfare throughout the production process.

The event began with a welcome from the organizers and the Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Manel López.

Antonio Velarde, from IRTA, presented the latest technological innovations focused on the poultry sector, as well as their potential applications to other livestock species. He highlighted the use of “iceberg indicators”—signals that indirectly point to animal welfare issues and require further investigation. Among these, he mentioned farm mortality, with a camera prototype for detecting dead animals, and animal condemnations at slaughterhouses, which may be linked to welfare concerns. Velarde introduced AI applications such as digital cameras and vision systems based on LED lighting, which allow real-time assessment of carcass quality (bruises, lesions, colour) and, thus, enhance welfare standards.

Kenny van Langeveld (PhD candidate at ILVO) and Sandra Stojanovic (from the BioSense Institute), participants in the aWISH project, explained how they are adapting sensors to monitor both chickens and pigs. Their trials include technologies that detect proteins related to stress and injuries, providing key information to improve animal welfare.

Pol Llonch, a researcher at the Department of Animal and Food Science at the UAB (Autonomous University of Barcelona), emphasized the importance of detecting welfare indicators throughout the chain, from the farm to the slaughterhouse, and proposed the use of AI systems to routinely monitor aspects such as nutrition, health (skin and lung lesions), and animal behaviour.

The technological partners from CLK GmbH, Sarah Husain, and Jan Schulte-Landwehr, presented innovative systems that combine animal welfare, food safety, and commercial efficiency. Using 2D and 3D cameras with constant lighting (special LEDs) and advanced algorithms, they can detect footpad lesions in chickens, wing fractures, bruises larger than 30 mm, dermatitis, neck cut issues, etc.. These technologies are integrated with slaughterhouse ERP systems, allowing for homogeneous production planning. They also showcased the PigInspector system, which detects lesions in pigs.

Innotech, represented by Thomas Banhazi, is developing technology for the automatic detection of lung lesions in pigs, providing greater transparency for customers. Initial trials have been successful, and the algorithms required for its application are expected to be finalized soon.

The seminar concluded with a roundtable discussion moderated by Rosada Gili, Veterinary Head of Animal Welfare at Slaughter, with participants such as Jordi Canet from Norfrisa, Daniel Cano from Torrent i Fills, and Jordi Vendrell, Head of Veterinary Services at the Baix Ebre Slaughterhouse. Together, they debated the advantages of AI and new technologies for the industry, as well as the challenges they bring, particularly regarding the necessary investment to implement these systems. Nevertheless, there was broad consensus that these innovations are essential for improving animal welfare and optimizing production processes in future slaughterhouses.

This event marks an important step towards the modernization of the meat sector, highlighting the crucial role of artificial intelligence in enhancing quality, food safety, and animal welfare.

Funded by the European Union.
Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission.
Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.

Copyright © 2023 BioSense Institute. All rights reserved.

1. aWISH Introduction

We would like to invite you to participate in the aWISH Expert Panel, as we believe that your experience and knowledge will contribute greatly to a key consultation body of the project. aWISH is a 4-year project funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation programme. Before you decide to participate in the aWISH Expert Panel, please take the time to read this document carefully to understand what your involvement will be in our project’s activity. If there is anything you do not understand, please feel free to ask questions.

1.1 What is the aWISH project about?

In the EU, a challenge that still remains is to reconcile the social and moral demand for a high level of animal welfare with other pillars of sustainable livestock production. Indeed, 82% of Europeans believe that farm animals should be better protected than they currently are. A broad definition of animal welfare refers to the feelings and physical well-being of an individual animal. Broilers and pigs are the farm animals EU citizens care most about, and they are also the most important meat-producing animals in the EU and worldwide. Both pigs and broilers have significant welfare problems at all stages of production (on-farm, loading and transport, unloading and slaughter), leading a growing number of citizens to question the social license to produce. Ambitious and effective, but also practical and efficient solutions are needed. This is where the aWISH project comes in to fill this gap! The aim of aWISH is to develop and provide a cost-effective solution for assessing and improving the welfare of meat-producing livestock in Europe. The aWISH solution is based on the automatic monitoring of animal-related indicators at slaughter. The necessary technologies will also be developed to collect complementary data on farm or during transport. Pilot and development activities will be carried out in 6 broiler and fattening pig production chains across Europe using a lean multi-actor approach to test and validate the project results. A catalogue of animal welfare indicators will disseminate all validated indicators and standardised data collection methods. Best practice guides will be developed to improve key aspects of animal welfare in pigs and broilers and to help external stakeholders use aWISH technologies and tools. In this context, the aWISH project will set up expert panels that will be composed of representatives of actors from the entire farm to fork value chain across the EU. The expert panels will have the function to retrieve and share feedback on technology, processes, farming practices, industry, sector regulation and markets, as well as society and perceptions. In this way, stakeholder participation in expert panels could help initiate interdisciplinary dialogue, promote interaction with target groups and associations, and strengthen trust between different actors.

2. Useful Information

2.1 Is my participation voluntary and what does it involve?

Your participation in the aWISH project is entirely voluntary. If you decide to participate in an aWISH activity, we will ask you to sign an Informed Consent Form to collect and process your data. The project will last 48 months, but you will only participate for as long as you wish.

2.2 Purpose of personal data collection

As mentioned above, the expert panel will have the function to retrieve and share feedback on technology, processes, farming practices, industry, sector regulation and markets, as well as society and perceptions. In order to do this effectively, we need to process some of your personal data:
  • Your contact information
  • Demographic information (age, gender, country of origin)
  • Professional information (where do you work, what position do you hold, what is your area of expertise)
  • Personal opinions on the subject

2.3 What we will do with your data

The information you provide is confidential. Your consent form will be kept separate from the observations collected during the course of the project activity. We will share your data with other aWISH project partners involved in the data analysis and reporting process. Once the data is analysed, a report of the findings may be submitted for publication. The project's deliverables that will be derived by this activity will not include your personal data or any other information that could identify you. The results of this project activity may also be shared with representatives of the European Union (e.g. the Project Officer evaluating the project's or the reviewing EU agencies). Only broad trends will be reported and it will not be possible to identify any individuals.

3. Access, deletion of information or withdrawal of consent

Under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you have the right to request to: (i) provide you with a copy of your data; (ii) correct your data if you believe they are inaccurate; (iii) erase your data; (iv) restrict or stop processing your data; or (v) provide your data in an appropriate format and transfer them to another organisation. In addition, you may withdraw your consent and therefore your participation at any time without consequence. Anonymous data already collected will be used as we cannot trace the information back to you. No further data will be collected or other procedures carried out in relation to your information. If you wish to have the personal data we hold checked, amended, corrected or deleted, or if you wish to withdraw your consent, you can contact the responsible partner listed below.

4. Contact Information

Partner name: WHITE RESEARCH SRL
e-mail: akyriakidis@white-research.eu

5. Informed Consent Form

I confirm that I understand that by ticking each box below I am consenting to this element of the study. I understand that it will be assumed that unticked boxes mean that I DO NOT consent to that part of the study. I also understand that by not giving consent for any of the elements, I may be deemed ineligible for participating in this project’s activity.
 

6. Declaration of Acceptance

I, the undersigned
acknowledge that I have read and agree to be bound by the aWISH Expert Panel Terms of Reference. I agree to participate in the aWISH Expert Panel in my individual capacity and, as such, may not assign or be substituted for any other person to perform the work without prior written agreement with the aWISH Expert Panel Consortium. I agree not to disclose any information given in the course of the Expert Panel’s work unless the aWISH Consortium agrees to releases me from this obligation, and to respects the confidentiality requirements. I declare that I fully and unconditionally accept my appointment as an aWISH Expert Panel member as described in the Terms of Reference. I agree that any contribution I make as an aWISH Expert Panel member may be used by the aWISH consortium for reporting purposes or to align project activities to the needs of relevant stakeholders. I consent to the processing of my personal data necessary for my participation in the aWISH Expert Panel.

Welcome to the awISH Project website

Before we dig in we would like to know a little more about you. Group that describes you the best is: