A pilot study to develop an assessment tool for sheep welfare after long journey transport

Abstract

Sheep transport within Europe involves 9.5 million animals yearly, 63% of which travel over long journeys (> 8 h). Livestock transport, particularly over long journeys, gives rise to concern about the welfare of transported animals. The European Commission stimulates the development of market-oriented animal welfare standards for all phases of livestock production, providing an alternative to the ‘regulatory approach’. This study aimed to develop and test a new sheep welfare assessment protocol to be used following transport, irrespective of the journey purpose. The protocol included outcome (animal-based measures) and input variables (resource-based and management-based measures), being welfare-relevant aspects of both transport and unloading procedures. Weighted Cohen's Kappa and Fleiss’ Kappa index of agreement were calculated to evaluate the raters accuracy and the inter-observer reliability. Overall, good agreement levels were found. The protocol was tested on 40 commercial transports arriving at previously selected assembly centres and slaughterhouses in Italy and Greece. The protocol was found to be feasible when applied to commercial transports, allowing for a comprehensive and quick sheep welfare assessment during unloading, wthout impairing stockman work. Univariate analysis was carried out to evaluate associations between outcome and input variables. In this study, significant association between outcome measures and risk factors were identified when associated to unloading procedures but not to travel conditions. In collaboration with the relevant stakeholders, this protocol might be developed into a tool for routine checks for certification purposes and could provide direct feedback to all professionals involved in animal transportation on the weaknesses and strengths of their work.

Welfare of small ruminants during transport

“…Social mixing of lambs in novel environments produces high levels of aggression and elevated plasma cortisol levels (Ruiz-De-La-Torre and Manteca, 1999; Miranda-de la Lama et al, 2012). Messori et al (2015a) reported exposure to a higher number of unfamiliar animals during resting periods in the CP as a potential problem. Fighting can be exacerbated if there is limited access to dry resting areas, drinking and feeding points.…”

“…Specifically, loading may be preceded by potentially stressful practices such as social separation, social mixing, herding, handling and physical restraint that have an affective and behavioural impact on animals (Burnard et al., 2015). The response of animals to unloading depends on the cumulative effect of travel time, road conditions, density, microclimatic conditions, weather conditions as well as the degree of fatigue of the animals (Messori et al., 2015b).…”

“…(2015b) suggested that, despite having access to water while the truck was moving, sheep appear to need a stationary period to obtain enough water. In addition, when sheep were allowed to either access feed during an 8‐h rest period on the truck with a space allowance of 0.27 m 2 /animal, only 17% of the sheep were observed eating, whereas more than twice this number were observed eating while offloaded in a CP pen (Messori et al., 2015b). The authors concluded that, despite the sheep having access to familiar feedstuffs, offering them feed in the stationary truck at commercial space allowance resulted in reduced eating.…”

“…Inadequate/insufficient drinking devices and/or inexperience in drinking from them: Poorly designed drinking devices, too few drinking devices, or devices designed for other species or age categories constitute a risk of compromised water intake during the transit stage. In addition, if the animals are not familiar with the operation of the device, they will likely not drink adequately (Messori et al., 2015b). Water supply systems may become inadequate during very hot weather when demand is high (Jubb and Perkins, 2015).…”

Using sensors to detect individual responses of lambs during transport and pre-slaughter handling and their relationship with meat quality

“…Knowles (1998) formulated a review of the factors affecting the welfare of sheep during transport and recommended best practice techniques to minimise the effect. While more recently, Messouri et al (2015) developed an assessment tool using animal-, resource-and management-based measures for sheep welfare at transport and the European Union (Consortium of Animal Transport Guides Project 2017) produced a good practice guide devoted to the transport of sheep. Llonch et al (2015) carried out a review of the animal-based indicators of sheep welfare and, despite noting many valid indicators of disease and injury and sick animals, stressed the need for novel indicators to assess the onset of short-term hunger and thirst.…”