Pre‐slaughter mortality among turkeys related to their transport

Abstract

Overall mortality among turkeys transported for slaughter in the Czech Republic from 2009 to 2014 was 0.147%. The lowest mortality (0.023%) was found in turkeys transported for distances up to 50 km; longer distances were associated with increasing death rates, with the highest losses (0.543%) recorded for distances from 201 to 300 km. Differences were also found when comparing transport-related mortality rates according to the season of the year. The highest mortality (0.228%) was associated with transports carried out in summer, whereas the lowest death rates were found in turkeys transported for slaughter in winter (0.105%) and autumn (0.113%). According to the ambient temperatures in which transports associated with the highest death rates among turkeys were carried out (14 to 21°C), it appears that heat stress can be a major factor in the birds' mortality. However, low ambient temperatures (i.e. below -2°C) also appear to increase transport-related mortality, as shown by our results. In addition to shortening the lengths of transport distances, appropriate consideration of prevailing climatic conditions and the sensitivity of turkeys to high and low temperatures during transport may also lead to a reduction in the number of turkeys dying during transport for slaughter.

Mortality in rabbits transported for slaughter

“…In fact, greater mortality rates (0.37%) were found only in broiler chickens (Vecerek, Voslarova, Conte, Vecerkova, & Bedanova, ). Otherwise, the preslaughter mortality of rabbits was greater than that recorded in swine (0.07%, Voslarova, Vecerek, Passantino, Chloupek, & Bedanova, ) and bovine animals (0.02%, Simova, Voslarova, Passantino, Bedanova, & Vecerek, ; Simova et al., ), as well as in poultry with the exception of broiler chickens, that is ducks (0.08%, Voslarova, Hytychova, Vecerek, Nenadovic, & Bedanova, ) and turkeys (0.15%, Machovcova et al., ). The overall high losses in rabbits found in our study are more likely to result from varying transport conditions than from rabbits' higher sensitivities to transport stress.…”

“…In pigs (Voslarova et al., ) and broiler chickens (Vecerek et al., ), the greatest death losses were associated with journeys carried out in winter. In turkeys (Machovcova et al., ) and ducks (Voslarova et al., ), the greatest death losses were found in summer. In cattle (Simova et al., ), spring was the season in which increased transport‐related mortality rates were recorded.…”

Effects of Season, Plumage Colour, and Transport Distance on Body Weight Loss, Dead-on-Arrival, and Reject Rate in Commercial End-of-Lay Hens

“…Caffrey et al [ 14 ] found a higher mortality rate in for long transport distance of broiler chickens. Similarly, Machovcova et al [ 26 ] found the negative effect of longer transport distances in turkeys. In order to decrease these problems, either these animals should be slaughtered in closer slaughterhouses, or the transport conditions over longer distances should be more strictly monitored; at least, water and feed should be provided for durations longer than 12 h.…”

Effect of Transport Crate Position on Welfare of Laying Hens and Oxidative stress

“…Although detrimental effects of transportation on animals have been well explained, the responses of different animal species to stressors or detailed results regarding their capacity to cope with stress have still not been confirmed (Kettlewell and Mitchell 1994, Onmaz et al 2011, Vecerkova et al 2019. Studies reported different tenderness and mortality rates against transport stress for poultry species (Machovcova et al 2017, Al-obaidy et al, 2020. Researches have been realized to prevent or reduce harmful effects ranging from distress to transport death in animals.…”

“…However, it has been reported that research on the welfare of end-of-lay hens during transport is also limited (Bozkurt 2018). More research is needed to develop appropriate strategies to control of environmental conditions to increase knowledge about the negative aspects of transport to laying hens to prevent transport-induced stress and damage, and to improve the welfare of laying hens during transport (Al-obaidy et al 2020, Machovcova et al 2017, Vecerkova et al 2019). This study was carried out to examine the effects of crating position of hens during transport on live weight loss, mortality rate, plasma biochemical, and oxidative stress parameters in laying hens under commercial transport conditions in Afyonkarahisar.…”