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Transport of horses for slaughter in Iceland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

RC Roy ,
MS Cockram ,
IR Dohoo  and
S Ragnarsson
RC Roy
Affiliation:
Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre, Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PE, C1A 4P3, Canada
MS Cockram*
Affiliation:
Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre, Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PE, C1A 4P3, Canada
IR Dohoo
Affiliation:
Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre, Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PE, C1A 4P3, Canada
S Ragnarsson
Affiliation:
Department of Equine Science, Hólar University College, Iceland
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: mcockram@upei.ca
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Abstract

There is interest in the transportation of horses (Equus caballus) to slaughter and a need to assess the welfare implications of this practice. Forty-six loads of 7-35 horses transported for 0.33 to 3.10 h to a slaughter plant in Iceland were studied. Adults and foals were transported together and then placed in separate pens overnight in the lairage. This acted as a weaning procedure for the foals. Between one and eleven horses per load (59 adults and 129 foals) were observed during loading and at the slaughter plant, blood was sampled at slaughter and carcases were observed. No wounds were observed before transport, but 1.6% of horses had small, superficial bleeding wounds after transport. The respiration rate was greater after, compared to before, transport. Blood lactate concentration measured after lairage and slaughter was greater than normal in both adults and foals, 13% of adults and 20% of foals had a blood glucose concentration lower than normal, and 58% of adults and 25% of foals had a plasma total protein concentration greater than normal. Forty-four percent of adults and 17% of foals were bruised. There were no pre-existing conditions affecting the fitness of the horses for transportation. The effects of transport on the physiological responses and the severity of bruising were relatively minor. However, the results suggested that the handling, transport and lairage of the horses resulted in injury and signs of exertion or stress that were not compatible with optimal management practices. The mild dehydration in adults might have been associated with restricted access to drinking water during lairage of lactating mares. Controlled studies are required to identify the specific practices used in Iceland that result in injury and dehydration.

Keywords

animal welfaredehydrationhorsesinjurylairagetransport
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 24 , Issue 4 , November 2015 , pp. 485 - 495
Copyright
© 2015 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

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