Effects of transporting bulls at different space allowances on physiological, haematological and immunological responses to a 12-h journey by road

Abstract

The effects of space allowance during transportation on physiological, haematological and immunological responses in nine-month old bulls (250 kg) were assessed before and after a 12-h road journey. Following transport, animals transported at a spatial allowance of 1.27 m2 had higher (P ≤0.001) non-esterified fatty acid concentrations than control. The stimulated production of interferon-, in response to concanavalin-A and keyhole limpet haemocyanin, and plasma cortisol were not different at the 0.85 m2 and 1.27 m2 stocking densities. Glucose and albumin concentrations were higher (P ≤0.001) post-transport in all transported animals than control. The percentage lymphocytes was reduced (P ≤0.001) and neutrophil percentage and the number of neutrophils were increased (P ≤0.001) in all transported treatments. There were no changes (P 0.05) in monocyte numbers, monocyte percentage or platelet numbers following transportation. The haematocrit values were higher (P ≤0.001) in the transported treatments while RBC numbers were higher (P ≤0.001) in the animals transported at a spatial allowance of 1.27 m2 than control. Protein, globulin, urea and lactate concentrations, and white blood cell numbers were not changed at any time during the study. The concentration of -hydroxybutyrate was lower (P ≤0.001) in all animals following transport. Plasma haptoglobin concentrations were unchanged following transportation while plasma fibrinogen concentrations were reduced in all transported treatments. There were no differences among treatments in rectal temperature or live weights pre- and post-transport. The results indicate that within the conditions of the study, there was no welfare advantage in transporting bulls at 1.27 m2 versus the standard spatial allowance of 0.85 m2 on a 12-h road journey.