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Road Transport of Farm Animals: Mortality, Morbidity, Species and Country of Origin at a Southern Italian Control Post

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Long distance transportation is a welfare concern because it may cause sickness (i.e., morbidity) or death (i.e., mortality). Commercial transportation in Europe is regulated by the Council Regulation (EC) No. 1/2005 which regulates the maximum journey in the different species. After...

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Autores principales: Padalino, Barbara, Tullio, Daniele, Cannone, Saverio, Bozzo, Giancarlo
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6162402/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30227665
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani8090155
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author Padalino, Barbara
Tullio, Daniele
Cannone, Saverio
Bozzo, Giancarlo
author_facet Padalino, Barbara
Tullio, Daniele
Cannone, Saverio
Bozzo, Giancarlo
author_sort Padalino, Barbara
collection PubMed
description SIMPLE SUMMARY: Long distance transportation is a welfare concern because it may cause sickness (i.e., morbidity) or death (i.e., mortality). Commercial transportation in Europe is regulated by the Council Regulation (EC) No. 1/2005 which regulates the maximum journey in the different species. After this time animals must be unloaded for resting, watering and feeding at control posts (CPs) where Official Veterinarians (OVs) have to check their health. This study analyzed the surveillance reports filled by OVs at a CP in Southern Italy from 2010 to 2015. A total of 1391 trucks stopped at the CP, transporting a total of 111,536 animals. The average mortality and morbidity rates were 0.025% and 0.010%. Cases of mortality and/or morbidity were reported for only 11 out of the 1391 trucks (0.8%). In a truck transporting lambs, 14 dead on arrival (DOA) were recorded, and this represented 93% of all DOAs. This is the first study reporting the results of surveillance practices conducted by OVs on animals travelling from North Europe to a CP in Southern Italy in compliance with EC 1/2005. Further studies should be conducted comparing the implications of long distance transportation at different CPs along different routes. ABSTRACT: Statistics on animal transport and its implications for health and welfare are limited. This study documented the animals transiting through a control post and their welfare outcomes measured by mortality rate and the prevalence of animals considered unfit for further transport (i.e., morbidity). Reports filed by the director of the control post and Official Veterinarians from 2010 to 2015 were analyzed. A total of 60,454 (54.2%) sheep/goats, 45,749 (41.0%) cattle, and 5333 (4.8%) pigs travelled in 225 (16.2%), 1116 (80.2%) and 50 (3.6%) trucks, respectively. Trucks coming mainly from France (71.3%), Spain (14.0%), and Ireland (7.4%) went mainly to Greece (95.4%), which was also the most common nationality of the transport companies (44.6%). Cases of mortality and/or morbidity were reported for only 11 out of the 1391 trucks (0.8%). The average mortality and morbidity rates were 0.025% and 0.010%, with maximum values for transport of lambs (0.084%, and 0.019%). Species of animal being transported and space allowance were associated with the measured welfare outcomes (p < 0.05). Overall, this study provided statistics based on official surveillance reports, suggesting that small space allowance during long haul transportation of sheep/goats may affect their health and welfare.
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spelling pubmed-61624022018-10-02 Road Transport of Farm Animals: Mortality, Morbidity, Species and Country of Origin at a Southern Italian Control Post Padalino, Barbara Tullio, Daniele Cannone, Saverio Bozzo, Giancarlo Animals (Basel) Article SIMPLE SUMMARY: Long distance transportation is a welfare concern because it may cause sickness (i.e., morbidity) or death (i.e., mortality). Commercial transportation in Europe is regulated by the Council Regulation (EC) No. 1/2005 which regulates the maximum journey in the different species. After this time animals must be unloaded for resting, watering and feeding at control posts (CPs) where Official Veterinarians (OVs) have to check their health. This study analyzed the surveillance reports filled by OVs at a CP in Southern Italy from 2010 to 2015. A total of 1391 trucks stopped at the CP, transporting a total of 111,536 animals. The average mortality and morbidity rates were 0.025% and 0.010%. Cases of mortality and/or morbidity were reported for only 11 out of the 1391 trucks (0.8%). In a truck transporting lambs, 14 dead on arrival (DOA) were recorded, and this represented 93% of all DOAs. This is the first study reporting the results of surveillance practices conducted by OVs on animals travelling from North Europe to a CP in Southern Italy in compliance with EC 1/2005. Further studies should be conducted comparing the implications of long distance transportation at different CPs along different routes. ABSTRACT: Statistics on animal transport and its implications for health and welfare are limited. This study documented the animals transiting through a control post and their welfare outcomes measured by mortality rate and the prevalence of animals considered unfit for further transport (i.e., morbidity). Reports filed by the director of the control post and Official Veterinarians from 2010 to 2015 were analyzed. A total of 60,454 (54.2%) sheep/goats, 45,749 (41.0%) cattle, and 5333 (4.8%) pigs travelled in 225 (16.2%), 1116 (80.2%) and 50 (3.6%) trucks, respectively. Trucks coming mainly from France (71.3%), Spain (14.0%), and Ireland (7.4%) went mainly to Greece (95.4%), which was also the most common nationality of the transport companies (44.6%). Cases of mortality and/or morbidity were reported for only 11 out of the 1391 trucks (0.8%). The average mortality and morbidity rates were 0.025% and 0.010%, with maximum values for transport of lambs (0.084%, and 0.019%). Species of animal being transported and space allowance were associated with the measured welfare outcomes (p < 0.05). Overall, this study provided statistics based on official surveillance reports, suggesting that small space allowance during long haul transportation of sheep/goats may affect their health and welfare. MDPI 2018-09-17 /pmc/articles/PMC6162402/ /pubmed/30227665 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani8090155 Text en © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Padalino, Barbara
Tullio, Daniele
Cannone, Saverio
Bozzo, Giancarlo
Road Transport of Farm Animals: Mortality, Morbidity, Species and Country of Origin at a Southern Italian Control Post
title Road Transport of Farm Animals: Mortality, Morbidity, Species and Country of Origin at a Southern Italian Control Post
title_full Road Transport of Farm Animals: Mortality, Morbidity, Species and Country of Origin at a Southern Italian Control Post
title_fullStr Road Transport of Farm Animals: Mortality, Morbidity, Species and Country of Origin at a Southern Italian Control Post
title_full_unstemmed Road Transport of Farm Animals: Mortality, Morbidity, Species and Country of Origin at a Southern Italian Control Post
title_short Road Transport of Farm Animals: Mortality, Morbidity, Species and Country of Origin at a Southern Italian Control Post
title_sort road transport of farm animals: mortality, morbidity, species and country of origin at a southern italian control post
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6162402/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30227665
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani8090155
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