Evaluation of a protection system for livestock during transport: PROGAT® from the animal welfare point of viewl

SM Huertas*^1,2, PE Bobadilla^1,2, M Prieto², F Vila^1,2 and J Lestido³

Received: July 02, 2018;   Published: July 11, 2018

DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2018.06.001386

Full Text PDF

To view the Full Article   Peer-reviewed Article PDF

Abstract

Transport of livestock constitute a large welfare problem in most of South American countries. With the aim to provide a solution and applying the knowledge of the automotive and metal-mechanic industry, a device was designed and constructed in Uruguay that consists of an elastic strip placed inside the cage of a truck and a pneumatically activated steel fins that act as “funnel” to cover the door frames, both inside the trailer and in the main door of the truck. Validation consisted in comparing 19 pairs of identical trucks (brand-model-year-maintenance), one vehicle with PROGAT® and another without it. Both leaving the same farm, day, time and route, arriving together to the same slaughter plant. Trained observers recorded the loading/unloading of 1,177 animals and the presence of carcass bruises, their location and depth. Results showed that carcasses of animals transported in a PROGAT® vehicle had a significantly lower proportion of bruises than those of a common vehicle. In the truck with the device, no bruises degree 3 (the deepest, with significant muscle loss) was recorded. Data showed that animals transported in a conventional vehicle had 1.6 more probability of presenting at least one bruise (p < 0.001). It is concluded that PROGAT® device installed in a vehicle transporting cattle constitutes a protection factor against potential impacts during transport by land and related maneuvers.

Keywords: PROGAT®;Cattle Transport; Carcass Bruises; Animal Welfare

Abstract| Introduction| Materials & Methods| Results & Discussion| Conclusion| References|