EFFECTS ON CATTLE OF TRANSPORT BY ROAD FOR UP TO 15 HOURS

Twenty-four castrated male cattle aged between 12 and 18 months were t ransported by road for five, 10 or 15 hours, over distances of 286, 53 6 and 738 km. Half the animals were of Hereford x Friesian breeding an d half of 'continental' type. The animals transported for five hours l ost 4.6 per cent of their bodyweight, those transported for 10 hours l ost 6.5 per cent and those transported for 15 hours lost 7.0 per cent; recovery to pre-transport values took five days. There was little evi dence from changes in blood composition that a 15-hour journey was mor e stressful than a 10-hour journey. The cortisol concentrations were i ncreased by the stresses of loading and the first part of the journey but then recovered as the journey continued. Creatine phosphokinase (C PK) activities increased progressively with the longer journeys and CP K, urea, albumin and osmolality levels recovered more slowly after the longer journeys. Increases in free fatty acids, beta-hydroxybutyrate and urea concentrations and the continued increase in urea levels afte r the end of the journeys suggested that the animals' normal pattern o f feeding was disrupted. Increases in albumin, total plasma protein an d osmolality indicated slight dehydration during transit which was qui ckly rectified by access to water. The two breed types responded simil arly to transport, except that the increases in CPK were greater in th e continental breeds, possibly as a result of their greater muscularit y or greater sensitivity to stress. Based on the physiological measure ments made and the subjective observations of behaviour a 15-hour tran sport period under good conditions is not unacceptable from the viewpo int of animal welfare.