Tips For Stress-Free Live Stock Trucking

Live stock transportation should result in as little stress to the animals as possible, whether they are being transported to the abattoir or other farms.

- Giepie Bester

Stress your livestock while transporting them and you are likely to end up with unnecessary weight loss, or even bruises or other injuries that could lead to disease, carcass rejections or even mortalities.

Stress during transportation also has a negative impact on meat quality, which will affect your profits in the long term.

According to Dr Dirk Verwoerd, a veterinarian at Karan Beef, animals inevitably lose some weight during transportation, as they do not eat or drink during the trip. The main goal, however, is to ensure that they do not lose weight due to dehydration.

“It’s difficult to give a fixed answer for acceptable weight loss during transportation, as you have to take into account the type of animal as well as its age and condition at the start of the journey,” says Dirk.

HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?

However, it is generally accepted that six- to eight-month-old beef weaners can lose up to 3% of their body weight during the first 100km and another 1% for each additional 100km.

“The initial losses are mainly due to gastro-intestinal content and urine,” explains Dirk.

Depending on the condition of the cattle at the start of a trip, and their age, a loss of 8% to 10% of body weight should raise a red flag. A figure such as this indicates that weight loss is caused by intra-cellular dehydration.

Because they are ruminants, cattle usually have enough food in their stomachs to last two days without eating, says Dirk. This is why the regulations are different for animals with one stomach, such as pigs, which need to have access to fresh water once they have travelled more than 50km.

Recovery stops will also help to prevent intra-cellular dehydration. “At Karan Beef, we have these stops when cattle are transported for more than 500km,” says Dirk.