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

In today's modern society, transport of livestock is an integral part of farming. Live animals may be moved due to a change of ownership from one farm to another, a change in the rearing areas, and for marketing from short-distance or long-distance sale yard, live cattle market, abattoir, feedlot or pre-export assembly depot. 1 Transport stress is a complex issue. Many things factor into transportation stress to include transport management, climatic factors (temperature, humidity, gases and so on), handling methods and facilities, feed and water deprivation, and so on. 1 An animal's response to the effects of transportation stress creates a complex interaction between neurons and hormones. The results of such interactions are manifested clinically (Minka and Ayo) 2 by changes in physical (external changes), haematological, biochemical and hormonal parameters (internal changes) of the body. 3 In general, the biochemical changes due to transportation stress include a decrease in glucose concentrations, and an increase in non-esterified free fatty acid, muscle enzymes (such as creatine kinase), 4 5 packed cell volume (PCV) 6 and serum protein. 3 4 Due to activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), 1 researchers have also reported marked changes in cortisol and catecholamine in different stages of transportation. 6 7 Considering the immune response, transport stress results in increases in the number of total white blood cells, neutrophils, eosinophils and mononuclear cells in particular. However, transport stress results in decreased lymphocyte counts. 8 9 These changes in blood parameters may be useful biomarkers in estimating the degree of transport stress. 10 Transport stress has a negative effect on production and reproductive performance 11 ; for example, it causes liveweight loss that varies from 3 to 12 per cent depending on the duration and conditions of a journey. 12 The transportation of livestock in Bangladesh is mainly performed by road vehicles. Bangladesh is a tropical country where temperature (average 30°C-40°C) and humidity (average 60-85 per cent) become higher during the summer season. Most days are very hot and the UV exposure is high. Animal transporters attempt to move animals under adverse weather conditions and this can be detrimental to the animals. Various cruel practices such as rough handling, high stocking density, transport in high temperature, humidity and so on are different forms of welfare violations that have been observed, and these practices increase the risk of muscle injury and fatigue. 13 In a nutshell, transportation stress results in multidirectional effects that include body injuries, bodyweight shrinkage and degradation of meat quality. 14 Transportation can also decrease immunity, increase infectious diseases susceptibility and eventually result in the death of an animal. Therefore, the current study investigated the health conditions, and the extent and pattern of cattle injuries, along with haemato-biochemical and hormonal changes, before and after long-distance transportation (≈648 km) from the market of origin to the market of destination.