Transportation Issues Affecting Cattle Wellbeing and Considerations for the Future

 

Transporting cattle safely, humanely, and in an expeditious manner is the goal of the seller, transporter, and buyer of cattle. Almost all beef and dairy animals are transported at least once in their lives and often as many as 6 times.

 

Loading Density: Over- or under-loading has the potential to decrease welfare. Bruise scores documented for cattle transported at high and low densities were higher than at medium density (4 and 2 times greater.  Loading density can be highly variable between trailer compartments. The belly and deck compartments have been shown to be loaded more densely, 7.5 and 5.5% less space than recommended, whereas the nose, “the dog or doghouse” (small compartment in the top and back of a trailer), and back were loaded less densely than recommended. One commonly recognized best management practice for loading is that larger cattle should never be loaded in a compartment in which their back touches the ceiling of the upper level or the roof of the trailer.

 

 

Transport Duration and Distance: The total duration an animal is transported is more important than the total distance it travels. The entire transport duration an animal experiences includes waiting to depart from the point of origin after loading, driving and stationary periods, waiting to off load, and any delays occurring during the journey.

 

Cattle within the United States can be transported up to 28 h (USDA, 1997). A United States study reported that calves shipped to commercial feedlots were transported an average of 434 miles, indicating that at an average highway speed of about 62 mph, cattle would be in transit an average of 7 hours.  Studies on the effect of transport conditions on more fragile cattle such as cull cows and very young calves are lacking, but this most likely is where the largest welfare issues may occur.

 

Feed and Water Withdrawal: Studies have reported that cattle fasted for 12, 24, 48, and 96 hours had live weight losses of 6, 8, 12, and 14%, respectively.  This observed body weight loss includes both water and tissue loss depending on the length of the fast. Other studies have reported that half of the weight loss occurring in cattle transported an average of 636 miles was due to muscle tissue loss. One study reported that return to pre-transport body weight took up to 5 days.

 

Weather and Trailer Environment: The trailer environment has been identified as having a great effect on animal welfare during transport, especially under extreme environmental conditions such as very high or low  temperatures.

 

The temperature–humidity index is greater at animal level than at the ceiling level of each trailer compartment when the truck is stopped compared with in-transit periods.  The lower temperature–humidity index in the belly and back compartments compared with the nose, deck, and doghouse of the trailer could be explained by less exposure to solar radiation, whereas the highest temperature–humidity index, in the nose, was most likely related to decreased airflow directly behind the tractor.  In one of the only studies assessing the relationship between environmental conditions and animal welfare, it was found that animal death increased sharply when ambient temperatures fell below 5°F, whereas the likelihood of becoming nonambulatory increased when temperatures rose above 86°F. This suggests that producers and haulers should be careful when shipping fragile cattle under these conditions, and manage the trailer environment through the use of aids such as bedding, boarding, or other available means.

 

To mitigate the effects of cold weather transport, air flow can be controlled with boards (plastic, fiberglass, or plywood) that cover perforations in the trailer walls and decrease air exchange between inside and outside environments. Although boards can be used on the entire surface of the trailer, boarding is only recommended on a portion of a trailer to facilitate some air flow. Recent research assessing cull cow transport during winter in Canada found that >50% of trailer perforations were boarded at 24°F, whereas 80% of perforations were boarded at 12°F. Boarding was also found to have a positive effect on welfare by reducing dark cutting carcasses during winter transport.

 

Even though bedding is recommended for comfort and insulation (particularly for fragile cattle) during cold conditions, a recent transport survey found bedding was used less frequently with cull cattle (41.9%) than feeders (56.3%), calves (67.4%), and breeding cattle (75.0%),  suggesting economic value plays a large role in the provision of bedding.

 

Animal Handling and Driver Experience: It is recommended that handling be conducted slowly, gently, and quietly.  This is especially important when handling cull cows that are susceptible to bruising due to their decreased fat cover and higher incidence of lameness. It is suggested that all cattle should be handled as little as possible before slaughter to decrease bruising, especially after long distance transport, because shrink can magnify this effect.

 

Packing Plant Delays: The risk of bruising was higher in loads of cows that had a delay of 30 minutes or more before unloading at the slaughter plant.

 

Driving skill: Driving skill has direct effects on cattle and their welfare during transport. Skill is associated with both experience and awareness of the driver. The authors found that shrink at unloading was lower in cattle transported by drivers having ≥6 years of experience compared with those with ≤5 years. This suggests that those drivers may be more conscientious at stopping, starting, and turning; have better cattle handling skills; or are better at managing transport risk factors.

 

Animal Type and Age: Shrink increased the risk of bovine respiratory disease in lighter weight calves compared with heavier weight calves.  Likewise older animals (i.e., cull cows) are also at greater risk of poor welfare during long-haul transport because they have the greatest probability of becoming lame, nonambulatory, and dying during and at the end of the journey compared with other types of cattle. Heavier calves recover from transport more quickly due to their resilience to stress compared with lighter weight calves.

 

Effect of Transportation on Carcass Value: The most recent National Market Cow and Bull Beef Quality Audit indicated that 63% of market cow carcasses evaluated had some level of bruising present at the time of slaughter, with the majority occurring in the round region. In carcasses from 4,287 fed cattle evaluated for bruising presence, anatomical location, and severity, Kansas State University researchers found that 53.5% of carcasses had at least one bruise and 60.5% of bruises were located in the central region of the carcass. Among carcasses with one bruise, 61.8% occurred along the dorsal midline, with over half occurring in the rib–loin area. Based on these data, it is assumed that animal handling during the pre-slaughter transportation process (including animal handling procedures, trailer design, or working facilities) is contributing to the relatively high incidence of bruise presence in beef carcasses. Further, carcass bruises occur in anatomical areas associated with high value beef cuts.

 

Fitness for Transport: It is suggested that the following pre-transportation practices be implemented.