Assessment of transport stress on cattle travelling a long distance (˜648 km), from Jessore (Indian border) to Chittagong, Bangladesh

Alam, Mahabub; Hasanuzzaman, Md; Hassan, Mohammad Mahmudul; Rakib, Tofazzal Md; Hossain, Md Emran; Rashid, Md Harun; Sayeed, Md Abu; Philips, Lindsay B; Hoque, Md Ahasanul

The feeding of low-quality forages was also documented in the market of destination in the current study where the cattle were fed only with paddy straw and drinking water. This deprivation from nutritional needs also hinders animal welfare. 21 The presence of nasal discharge increased by 13 per cent in the cattle after transportation (15 per cent before to 28 per cent after) at the destination market in the current study. This finding is in close agreement with the finding of Ishizaki and others 7 and Mitchell and others. 9 High frequencies of nasal discharge in cattle after transportation might have resulted from invasion of microorganisms into the upper respiratory tract 28-30 due to immune suppression by transportation stress, 6 invasion of dust 31 and heat stress. 32 The current study noticed an 8 per cent increase in the frequency of diarrhoea in the cattle after transportation from 15 per cent before to 23 per cent after. This finding is partially in line with the outcome of the previous study conducted by Richeson and others, 33 where they transported 264 calves from western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma to the University of Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, USA. Increase in the frequency of diarrhoea may be due to proliferation and intestinal invasion of pathogenic organisms (such as Escherichia coli) in stressed, immunocompromised animals. 34 The frequency of severe dehydration in the cattle also increased by 12 per cent in the present study, from 8 per cent before to 20 per cent after, which converges with reports published by Villarroel and others 35 and Hogan and others. 36 The increased occurrence of severe dehydration could be a result of water deprivation, high evaporative water loss due to high ambient temperatures and water loss through diarrhoea. 37 38 The elevations of Hb by 9.8 per cent (11.1 mg/dl before and 12.3 mg/dl after) and TEC by 17.5 per cent (4.7×10 6 / µl to 5.7×10 6 /µl) in the cattle after transportation in the present study indicate haemoconcentration, which could be due to the effect of diarrhoea and dehydration during transportation. These findings and the given logic have coincided with the findings of earlier studies. 39 40 They also found an increase of Hb and TEC in cattle, respectively, by 9.9 per cent and 14.3 per cent after 27 and 18 hours of transportation. In contrast, various studies performed previously reported the unchanged Hb and TEC values in cattle after transportation, which could be due to a short-distance transportation (<10 hours) and the provision of enough water and space during transportation. 4 9 The level of TLC increased just after transportation (6.2 thousands/µl before to 7.3 thousands/µl after) and then decreased to reach 5.3 thousands/µl in this study, which corresponds to other studies elsewhere in Bangladesh 41 and neighbouring countries. 7 The pattern of TLC changes might be due to the stimulating effect of glucocorticoids on TLC during long-distance transportation. 42 The level of lymphocytes decreased (61.7 per cent before to 58.1 per cent after) just after transportation and then again returned to the original value of 60.6 per cent (24 hours after the completion of transportation), whereas the level of neutrophils significantly increased (29.7-32.8 per cent) just after transportation. These patterns of lymphocyte and neutrophil changes align with the findings of many other studies performed elsewhere in the world. 6 9 37 43 The reduction of lymphocytes in