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Effects of travel sickness on stress hormones and meat quality in pigs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2021

R. H. Bradshaw ,
J. M. Randall ,
M. A. Stiles ,
S. N. Brown ,
M. L. Forsling ,
R. Rodway ,
J. A. Goode ,
P. D. Warriss  and
D. M. Broom
R. H. Bradshaw
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OES, United Kingdom
J. M. Randall
Affiliation:
Silsoe Research Institute, Wrest Park, Silsoe, Bedford MK45 4HS, United Kingdom
M. A. Stiles
Affiliation:
Silsoe Research Institute, Wrest Park, Silsoe, Bedford MK45 4HS, United Kingdom
S. N. Brown
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Langford, Bristol BS18 7DY, United Kingdom
M. L. Forsling
Affiliation:
U.M.D.S., Division of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, St Thomas's Hospital, London SE1 7EM, United Kingdom
R. Rodway
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Physiology and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
J. A. Goode
Affiliation:
MAFF Laboratory of Welfare and Behaviour, The Babraham Institute, Cambridge CB2 4ET, United Kingdom
P. D. Warriss
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Langford, Bristol BS18 7DY, United Kingdom
D. M. Broom
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OES, United Kingdom
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Extract

Forsling et al. (1984) have shown that exposure to vibration and noise leads to raised concentrations of plasma lysine vasopressin (LVP) in pigs. Pigs can exhibit symptoms of travel sickness during road transport even when, following commercial practice, they are not fed before transportation. These symptoms appear to be associated with elevated concentrations of plasma LVP (Bradshaw et al. in press). We wished to establish whether concentrations of plasma LVP at exsanguination may reveal which pigs had been travel sick during the journey to slaughter and whether those pigs exhibited subsequent poor meat quality.

Fifty 90 kg slaughter pigs were transported on a lorry (25 each day for two days, food withdrawn the previous evening at 1700) for five hours (0.49 m2 per pig). RHB travelled in the main body of the vehicle scanning the individually marked pigs every 8 min for incidences of standing, lying and symptoms of travel sickness (sniffing, foaming at the mouth, chomping, retching and vomiting).

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Programme
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 1997 , 1997 , pp. 103
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1997

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References

Barton Gade, P., Warriss, P. D., Brown, S. N. and Lambooij, E. (1996) Methods of assessing meat quality. In New information on welfare and meat quality of pigs as related to handling, transport and lairage conditions (ed. Schütte, A.). Proceedings of the EU seminar, 29 - 30 June 1995, Mariensee (ed., Schütte, A.). Landbauforschung Volkenrode, suppl. 166: 23– 34.Google Scholar
Bradshaw, R.H. Parrott, R. F., Forsling, M. L., Goode, J. A., Lloyd, D. M., Rodway, R. & Broom, D. M. (in press) Stress and travel sickness in pigs: effects of road journeys on concentrations of plasma Cortisol, beta-endorphin and lysine vasopressin. Animal Science.Google Scholar
Bradshaw, R. H., Parrott, R. F., Goode, J. A., Lloyd, D. M., Rodway, R. & Broom, D. M. (1996) Behavioural and hormonal responses of pigs during transport: effect of mixing and duration of journey. Animal Science 62: 547– 554.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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