The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has released a new technical report evaluating how a set of ante- and post-mortem animal-based measures (ABMs) can be used at slaughter to monitor the welfare of Equidae in establishments.

The report draws on discussions held during the 2025 meeting of the EFSA Network of the National Contact Points (NCPs) for scientific support under EU legislation on the protection of animals at the time of slaughter. During this meeting, members reviewed information gathered in slaughterhouses across Network members to better understand current welfare assessment practices for horses, donkeys, and their hybrids.

As part of this exercise, EFSA collected input from 17 Network members through a questionnaire developed with support from the experts of the EFSA Working Group on Equidae welfare. All respondents confirmed that Equidae are slaughtered in their countries. Most use multispecies slaughterhouses, though five countries also operate horse-specific facilities. The number of horses slaughtered varies significantly between countries, influenced by differences in horse populations, morphology, age, management practices, and intended use. These factors can affect animals’ exposure to risks and shape how certain ABMs are interpreted during welfare assessments.

Participants noted that assessing horse welfare at slaughter provides an important opportunity to gather meaningful data. Several ABMs are already recorded as part of meat hygiene and disease surveillance, but the use of integrated databases or electronic recording systems remains limited. Network members emphasised that more systematic electronic tools would help improve consistency and efficiency. They also recognised that automation is not feasible for some ABMs.

During the meeting, on-site polls helped identify which ABMs members considered most essential for monitoring horse welfare at slaughter.

Results from the poll on the prioritisation of the proposed ABMs to be assessed ante-mortem. The stacked columns show the number of respondents (out of 14). Source: EFSA report.

Indicators such as “carcass condemnations”, “skin lesions or alteration”, “lung lesions and pleuritis”, and “carcass aspect” were prioritised by more than half of respondents. Others, including “stomach lesions”, “dental alterations”, “hernia”, “oral lesions”, and “bursitis”, were generally considered desirable. Respondents also reported the greatest uncertainty around the assessment of “carcass aspect”.

Results from the poll on the prioritisation of the proposed ABMs to be assessed post-mortem. The stacked columns show the number of respondents (out of 20). Source: EFSA report.

The results revealed considerable differences between Network members in how these measures are currently used. Knowledge gaps were also identified, particularly regarding “dental alterations” and “carcass aspect”. While most respondents agreed that ABMs used for horses can also be applied to donkeys and hybrids, they reported limited knowledge for these species due to their small populations and fewer slaughterhouses processing them.

The findings from this report will contribute to EFSA’s upcoming Scientific Opinion on the welfare of Equidae, scheduled for adoption by the end of 2026.

For more see: https://doi.org/10.2903/sp.efsa.2025.EN-9820