A Descriptive Study on the Carcass, Muscle, and Offal Yields of the Plains Zebra ( Equus quagga ) Harvested in Two Seasons.

This study presents descriptive data on the meat and offal production of Plains zebras harvested in the winter ( n = 8) and summer ( n = 12) seasons, at different respective locations in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The cold dressing percentages were numerically higher for the winter (58.0 ± 0.60%) than for the summer-harvested animals (56.60 ± 0.70%). Heavier internal offal yields were reported for the winter-harvested group (70.76 ± 21.8 kg) compared to the summer-harvested animals (66.13 ± 3.78 kg). As harvest season had no influence, pooled data of the percentage contribution of each muscle to cold carcass weight indicated that the Longissimus et lumborum (3.5 ± 0.18%), semimembranosus (1.6 ± 0.04%), biceps femoris (2.7 ± 0.05%) and semitendinosus (0.9 ± 0.02%) muscles differed significantly in their respective contributions to cold carcass weight. No significant differences were recorded between the contribution of the infraspinatus (0.6 ± 0.02%), supraspinatus (0.4 ± 0.03%) and psoas major (0.6 ± 0.02%) muscles. Carcass and muscle yields, as well as low-cost protein offal yields from this study indicate that the Plains zebra has the potential to be used and distributed as an alternative protein source.