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Animals
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Livestock Transport
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Livestock Transport

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal System and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2020) | Viewed by 11751

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Leonardo Nanni Costa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL), Division of Animal Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale Fanin 46, 40127 Bologna, Italy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The transport of livestock involves a complex series of operations, which includes handling, loading, journey, and unloading at the farm or at the abattoir. Stressors experienced during transport lead to adaptive responses at the physiological and behavioural levels with consequences for the health, productivity, and welfare of the animals transported. If the transport procedures are not carried out in such a way as to reduce unavoidable stress as much as possible, the consequences could be extremely serious, including mortality, loss of weight, morbidity, and impaired carcass and meat quality. Thus, a continuous up-to-date knowledge of the physiological and behavioural needs of the animals during transport is required in order to improve their welfare, health, and products.

Prof. Leonardo Nanni Costa
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Transport
  • Livestock
  • Welfare
  • Physiology
  • Behaviour
  • Meat quality
  • Heat stress
  • Ventilation
  • Handling
  • Transport economic

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 281 KiB  
Article
Developing an Animal Welfare Assessment Protocol for Livestock Transported by Sea
by Emma Dunston-Clarke, Renee S. Willis, Patricia A. Fleming, Anne L. Barnes, David W. Miller and Teresa Collins
Animals 2020, 10(4), 705; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10040705 - 17 Apr 2020
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 5335
Abstract
Australian livestock industries face increased scrutiny from animal welfare groups and society, and the long-distance transport of livestock by sea has recently gained particular attention. Other than non-compliance with broad regulatory standards and voyage mortality rates, there is minimal information to ascertain the [...] Read more.
Australian livestock industries face increased scrutiny from animal welfare groups and society, and the long-distance transport of livestock by sea has recently gained particular attention. Other than non-compliance with broad regulatory standards and voyage mortality rates, there is minimal information to ascertain the welfare of exported livestock. There is currently no standardised, validated animal welfare assessment protocol for livestock on-farm prior to live export or when undergoing transport. This study describes a novel assessment protocol suitable for use on live feeder and slaughter animals exported by sea from Australia. Health and welfare indicators for use in the livestock export supply chain were identified by reviewing three internationally recognised animal welfare assessment protocols for livestock; Welfare Quality®, AWIN and AssureWel, as well as consulting with industry compliance standards and guidelines. This paper proposes a welfare protocol designed to assess sheep and beef cattle exported by sea from Australia, and incorporates environmental-, resource-, management- and animal-based measures. In collaboration with industry, this welfare protocol can be tested on commercial livestock consignments, and be used for ongoing management, for increased transparency and to provide feedback to operators for continuous improvement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Livestock Transport)
12 pages, 495 KiB  
Article
Effects of Doubling the Standard Space Allowance on Behavioural and Physiological Responses of Sheep Experiencing Regular and Irregular Floor Motion during Simulated Sea Transport
by Grisel Navarro, Ramazan Col and Clive J.C. Phillips
Animals 2020, 10(3), 476; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10030476 - 12 Mar 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2255
Abstract
Transporting livestock at high stocking density by ship presents significant risks to their welfare, especially if it is over long distances. Previous research has investigated small variations in density for long periods or a moderate variation for short periods. The objective of this [...] Read more.
Transporting livestock at high stocking density by ship presents significant risks to their welfare, especially if it is over long distances. Previous research has investigated small variations in density for long periods or a moderate variation for short periods. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of a doubling of space allowance during two types of simulated ship movement, regular and irregular floor motion, on the welfare of sheep for a short one-hour period. Six 25 kg sheep were restrained in pairs in a crate on a programmable platform that generated roll and pitch motion typical of that experienced on board ship. Sheep were subjected to regular or irregular movement or a control treatment at high and low stocking densities (0.26 and 0.52 m2/sheep) in a multilevel changeover design. Irregular movement was programmed as a sequence of 30 different amplitude and duration values for pitch and roll movements, which were randomly selected by computer software controlling the movement. Regular movement was the mean of these values, which represented approximately 33% of the recommended maximum tolerance for livestock carriers. Behaviour was recorded by six cameras positioned around the crate. The low space allowance increased sheep pushing each other (Low: 4.51 events/h, High: 1.37 events/h, p < 0.001), affiliative behaviour, with their heads one on top of the other (Low 8.64, High 3.75 s/h, p = 0.02) and standing supported by the crate (Low 96, High 3.2 s/h, p < 0.001). Sheep stepped more frequently when more space was provided, particularly in the forward (Low 6.4, High 8.4 steps/h, p = 0.02) and left (Low 4.0, High 4.7 steps/h, p = 0.03) directions. The low space allowance group also had i heart rates, providing evidence of physiological stress. Irregular movement reduced rumination (Irregular 288, Control 592, Regular 403 s/h, p = 0.02), which was evidence of reduced welfare, but balance corrections by stepping were more common if the motion was regular. Thus, there was evidence that the low space allowance increased interactions between sheep and was stressful, and that irregular floor motion in simulated ship transport limited balance control and reduced welfare. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Livestock Transport)
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7 pages, 225 KiB  
Article
Prevalence of Pathogens Related to Bovine Respiratory Disease Before and After Transportation in Beef Steers: Preliminary Results
by Francesco Cirone, Barbara Padalino, Daniele Tullio, Paolo Capozza, Michele Losurdo, Gianvito Lanave and Annamaria Pratelli
Animals 2019, 9(12), 1093; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9121093 - 6 Dec 2019
Cited by 34 | Viewed by 3607
Abstract
Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is a serious health and economic problem in the beef industry, which is often associated with transportation and caused by different pathogens. The prevalence of bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BoHV-1), bovine adenovirus (BAdV), bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), bovine [...] Read more.
Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is a serious health and economic problem in the beef industry, which is often associated with transportation and caused by different pathogens. The prevalence of bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BoHV-1), bovine adenovirus (BAdV), bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), bovine coronavirus (BCoV), bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV), bovine parainfluenza virus (BPiV), Pasteurella multocida, Mannheimia haemolytica, Histophilus somni, Mycoplasma bovis, in the nasal microbiota of beef steers before and after the same long-distance journey from France to southern Italy was documented. Fifty-six Limousine animals of three different shipments, travelling on three different days from February to April, were included. Prior to shipment (T0) and four days after arrival (T1), two DNS/animal were collected and tested by Real Time quantitative PCR (qPCR). Univariate logistic regression was carried out, considering time and day as fixed factors and the outcome of qPCR for each pathogen as a dependent categorical dichotomous variable (positive/negative, 1/0). The fact that the number of H. somni positive animals were found to be higher in the third shipment than the first and second one, indicating that this pathogen was already present before loading, is relevant. The prevalence of BCoV, BRSV, M. haemolytica, M. bovis, P. multocida was higher at T1 than T0, suggesting that other factors, such as stress and the epidemiological status of the arrival farm, played a role. The tested animals were not treated before and after transport, and our results are in agreement with the current literature, supporting the hypothesis that the prevalence of pathogens related to BRD would increase after travelling, with an increased risk of pathogens shedding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Livestock Transport)
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