Welfare of horses transported long distances in Europe

Marlin, D. J.; Meldrum, Keith; White, Jo; Westen, Hannah; Parkin, T. D. H.; Wood, James L. N.; Kennedy, Mark; Johnson, Barry; Coombs, Sarah L.; Heard, Caroline

doi:10.1136/vr.165.9.270

Cited by 3 publications

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“…Globally, the number of horses slaughtered for human consumption has increased in recent years [ 2 ], and horses are usually slaughtered in Asia, South America, and Europe after long and short journeys [ 3 , 4 ]. Within Europe, Italy, France, Belgium, and Holland are among the major producers or consumers of horsemeat, but horses are primarily sourced from Romania, Poland, Spain, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Hungary, and Belarus [ 1 , 5 ]. Even countries where horses are not kept for meat contribute to the horsemeat trade by shipping horses at the end of their career to countries where they can be slaughtered [ 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Journeys, Journey Conditions, and Welfare Assessment of Unbroken (Unhandled) Horses on Arrival at a Slaughterhouse in Italy

Zappaterra

Costa

Felici

et al. 2022

Animals

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Transportation of horses to slaughterhouses can pose a welfare concern, in particular when horses are unbroken/unhandled. This study aimed to describe their journeys and journey conditions, document their welfare status on arrival in a slaughterhouse in Italy, and investigate possible associations between journey conditions and welfare issues. A total of 395 unbroken draft horses in 20 different consignments were assessed with a standardized protocol. The most common departure point (16/20 consignments, 80%) was a French assembly center, but many of these horses had Spanish passports, suggesting they had previously been transported from Spain to France. The average journey duration was 34 ± 14 h, including journey breaks (i.e., short stops inside the vehicle and long resting stops at control posts), while transit time was 24 ± 4 h. The drivers were well experienced, the trucks were well equipped (i.e., forced ventilation, drinkers), and the horses traveled loose in small groups (n ≤ 4 horses) within pens inside the vehicle. On arrival at the slaughterhouse, the horses self-unloaded and showed minimal behavioral and health problems. The prevalence of injuries, diarrhea/abnormal feces, and nasal discharge were 1.52%, 6.58%, and 4.30%, respectively. Cold temperatures, space allowance, and lack of feeding during transport were found to be the main hazards of those problems (all p < 0.05). Our findings confirm that the correct assessment of the fitness for transport, adequate journey conditions, and experienced staff are crucial factors to safeguard the welfare of unbroken horses during long journeys.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Journeys, Journey Conditions, and Welfare Assessment of Unbroken (Unhandled) Horses on Arrival at a Slaughterhouse in Italy

Zappaterra

Costa

Felici

et al. 2022

Animals

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“…Both short and long trips are stressful for horses and require proper management [ 2 ]. Longer trips have a greater effect on horse health and require particular attention [ 3 , 4 ], and those longer than 10 h duration may lead to psychological and physical exhaustion and death [ 5 ]. Consequently, many animal transport codes include special requirements for longer journeys.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Problems and Risk Factors Associated with Long Haul Transport of Horses in Australia

Padalino¹,

Hall²,

Raidal³

et al. 2015

Animals

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Simple SummaryRecords from road transport of horses from Perth to Sydney over a two year period were analysed to explore the incidence of transport related issues and identify risk factors. Transportation resulted in health problems in 2.8% of the transported horses, and in fatalities in 0.24%. Journey duration and season were risk factors for the development of transport related health problems, while breed, sex and age did not predict disease or injury risk. Overall, this study provides statistics to inform policy development for the equine transport industry and enhance management of the transported horse.AbstractEquine transportation is associated with a variety of serious health disorders causing economic losses. However; statistics on horse transport are limited and epidemiological data on transport related diseases are available only for horses transported to abattoirs for slaughter. This study analysed reports of transport related health problems identified by drivers and horse owners for 180 journeys of an Australian horse transport company transporting horses between Perth and Sydney (~4000 km) in 2013–2015. Records showed that 97.2% (1604/1650) of the horses arrived at their destination with no clinical signs of disease or injury. Based on the veterinary reports of the affected horses; the most common issues were respiratory problems (27%); gastrointestinal problems (27%); pyrexia (19%); traumatic injuries (15%); and death (12%). Journey duration and season had a significant effect on the distribution of transport related issues (p < 0.05); with a marked increase of the proportion of the most severe problems (i.e., gastrointestinal; respiratory problems and death) in spring and after 20 h in transit. Although not statistically significant; elevated disease rate predictions were seen for stallions/colts; horses aged over 10 years; and Thoroughbreds. Overall; the data demonstrate that long haul transportation is a risk for horse health and welfare and requires appropriate management to minimize transport stress.

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Transport-related respiratory pathogens in horses travelling long distances: A prospective study on arrival at the slaughterhouse

Padalino,

Pellegrini,

Felici

et al. 2025

Research in Veterinary Science

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Welfare of horses transported long distances in Europe

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Journeys, Journey Conditions, and Welfare Assessment of Unbroken (Unhandled) Horses on Arrival at a Slaughterhouse in Italy

Journeys, Journey Conditions, and Welfare Assessment of Unbroken (Unhandled) Horses on Arrival at a Slaughterhouse in Italy

Health Problems and Risk Factors Associated with Long Haul Transport of Horses in Australia

Transport-related respiratory pathogens in horses travelling long distances: A prospective study on arrival at the slaughterhouse

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