Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-16T15:20:33.421Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An Examination of Some Physiological Variables for Assessing the Welfare of Beef Cattle in Feedlots

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2023

S C Wilson ,
L R Fell ,
I G Colditz  and
D P Collins
S C Wilson*
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Texas Tech University, 3601 4th Street, Lubbock, Texas 79430-6591, USA
L R Fell
Affiliation:
Co-operative Research Centre for Cattle and Beef Quality, University of New England, Annidale, 2350 NSW, Australia
I G Colditz
Affiliation:
CSIRO Livestock Industries, Pastoral Research Laboratory, Annidale, 2350 NSW, Australia
D P Collins
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Texas Tech University, 3601 4th Street, Lubbock, Texas 79430-6591, USA
*
§ Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: stewilso@ttacs.ttu.edu
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Some physiological variables which could aid in assessing the welfare of beef cattle in feedlots were screened in this exploratory study. In two experiments, each of 42 days duration, the physiological responses of Bos taurus steers to three treatments were investigated: pasture (rotation between 1.5 hectare paddocks); a feedlot yard stocked at 12.0 m2 per head with a dry, firm pen surface; and a ‘high-density’ feedlot yard stocked at 6.0 m2 per head with a wet and muddy pen surface. Fourteen steers were used per group per experiment. Relative adrenal mass in both feedlot groups was 8-10% higher than in the pasture group, and this finding was supported by morphological measurements of the adrenal glands. Out of 17 immune variables examined, only serum IgA and the T-cell lymphocytes subpopulation WC+1 showed consistent differences between the feedlot and pasture groups. Interestingly, no differences were observed between the two feedlot treatments. It was concluded that although there may have been some disruption of epithelial/mucosal immunity, more support was required from other immune variables before it could be stated that the immune system was depressed and that pre-pathological states existed in the feedlot groups. However, measures of relative adrenal weight, adrenal index, serum IgA and WC1+ lymphocytes are good candidates for use in future welfare investigations of feedlot cattle.

Keywords

animal welfarecattlefeedlotphysiological indices
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , August 2002 , pp. 305 - 316
Copyright
© 2002 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

References

Amadori, M, Archetti, I L, Frasnelli, M, Bagni, M, Olzi, E, Caronna, G and Lanteri, M 1997 An immunological approach to the evaluation of the welfare of Holstein Friesian cattle. Journal of Veterinary Medicine B 44: 321–327CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, B H, Watson, D L and Colditz, I G 1999 The effect of dexamethasone on immunological parameters in cattle. Veterinary Research Communications 23: 399–413CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Appleby, E C and Sohrabi, I 1978 Pathology of the adrenal glands and paraganglia. Veterinary Record 102·. 76–78CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blackshaw, J K and Blackshaw, A W 1994 Heat stress in cattle and the effect of shade on production and behaviour: a review. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 34: 285–295CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baldwin, C L, Sathiyaseelan, T, Rocchi, M and McKeever, D 2000 Rapid changes occur in the percentage of circulating bovine WCl(+)gamma delta Th1 cells. Research in Veterinary Science 69: 175–180CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Broom, D 1996 Animal welfare defined in terms of attempts to cope with the environment. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica (Section A: Animal Science) 27: 22–28 (Suppl)Google Scholar
Burton, J L and Kehrli, M E 1996 Effects of dexamethasone on bovine circulating T lymphocyte populations. Journal of Leukocyte Biology 59: 90–99CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cockram, M, Imlah, P, Goddard, P, Harkiss, G and Waran, N 1993 The behavioural, endocrine and leucocyte response of ewes to repeated removal of lambs before the age of natural weaning. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 38: 127–142CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dawkins, M S 1990 From an animal's point of view: motivation, fitness, and animal welfare. Behavioural and Brain Sciences 13: 1–12CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drummond, P D and Hewson-Bower, B 1997 Increased psychosocial stress and decreased mucosal immunity in children with recurrent upper respiratory tract infections. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 43: 271–278CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duncan, I J H 1996 Animal welfare defined in terms of feelings. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica (Section A: Animal Science) 27: 29–35 (Suppl)Google Scholar
Duncan, F J H and Petherick, J C 1991 The implications of cognitive processes for animal welfare. Journal of Animal Science 69: 5017–5022CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fell, L R, Shutt, D A and Bentley, C J 1985 Development of a salivary Cortisol method for detecting changes in plasma “free” Cortisol arising from acute stress in sheep. Australian Veterinary Journal 62: 403CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Florence, B D, Svendsen, L, Stodulski, G, Crowley, A and Hau, J 1995 Assessment of lacrimal IgA as a potential parameter for measurement of long term stress in poultry. In Vivo 9: 9–25Google ScholarPubMed
Fraser, D 1995 Science, values and animal welfare: exploring the inextricable connection. Animal Welfare 4: 103–117Google Scholar
Hartmann, H and Gunther, H 1974 The general adaptation syndrome in the calf. 4. Histological studies on the adrenal cortex with reference to functional parameters. Archiv fur Experimentalle Veterinarimeizin 28: 927–941Google Scholar
Jóhannesson, T and Sørenson, J T 2000 Evaluation of welfare indicators for the social environment in cattle herds. Animal Welfare 9: 297–316Google Scholar
Kagnoff, M F and Kiyono, H 1996 Essentials of Mucosal Immunology. Acadcmic Press: San Diego, USAGoogle Scholar
Kirkwood, J K, Sainsbury, A W and Bennett, P M 1994 The welfare of free-living wild animals: methods of assessment. Animal Welfare 3: 257–273Google Scholar
Maes, M, Hendricks, D, Van Gastel, A, Demedts, P, Wauters, A, Neels, H, Janea, A and Schärpe, S 1997 Effects of psychological stress on serum immunoglobulin, complement and acute phase protein concentrations in normal volunteers. Psychoneuroendocrinology 22: 397–409CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Makumyaviri, A M, Ottowicz, G and Verhulst, A 1985 Transport stress and histophysiology of the adrenals and thyroid of cattle in Shaba-drove cattle arriving at Lubumbashi abattoir from Kundelungu (Zaire). Revue de Medecine Veterinaire 136: 69–72Google Scholar
Moberg, G P 1985 Biological response to stress: key to animal well being? In: Moberg G (ed) Animal Stress pp 27–49. Waverly Press: Maryland, USACrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moberg, G P 1996 Suffering from stress: an approach for evaluating the welfare of an animal. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica (Section A: Animal Science) 27: 46–49 (Suppl)Google Scholar
Morrow-Tesch, J, Woollen, N and Hahn, L 1996 Responses of gamma delta t-lymphocytes to heat stress in Bos taurus and Bos indicus crossbred cattle. Journal of Thermal Biology 21: 101–108CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nandone, A, Lacetera, N, Bernabucci, U and Ronchi, B 1997 Composition of colostrum from dairy heifers exposed to high air temperatures during late pregnancy and the early postpartum period. Journal of Dairy Science 80: 838–844CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niwano, Y, Becker, B A, Mitra, R, Caldwell, C W, Abdalla, E B and Johnson, HD 1990 Suppressed peripheral blood lymphocyte blastogenesis in pre- and postpartal sheep by chronic heat-stress, and suppressive property of heat stressed sheep serum on lymphocytes. Developmental and Comparative Immunology 14: 139–149CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pariante, C M, Carpiniello, B, Orr'u, M G, Sitzia, R, Piras, A, Farci, A M, Del Giacco, G S, Piludu, G and Miller, A H 1997 Chronic caregiving stress alters peripheral blood immune parameters: the role of age and severity of stress. Psychotherapeutics and Psychosomatics 66: 199–207CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pliška, V, Hari, J, Heiniger, J, Neuenschwander, S and Stranzinger, G 1985 Stress-like changes in the histological structure of pig adrenal glands and pituitaries: effect of total body fat but not of predisposition to malignant hyperthermia. Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics 109: 51 -63Google Scholar
Rocker, L, Kirsch, K A and Stoboy, H 1978 Sex-dependent changes in plasma globulins in women and men exposed to heat stress. Israel Journal of Medical Science 14: 212–217Google ScholarPubMed
Roth, J A and Kaeberle, M L 1981 Evaluation of bovine polymorphonuclear function. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology 2: 157–174CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sandøe, P and Simonsen, H B 1992 Assessing animal welfare: where does science end and philosophy begin? Animal Welfare 1: 257–267CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Standing Committee on Agriculture and Resource Management (SCARM) 1997 National guidelines for beef cattle feedlots in Australia, 2nd edition. SCARM Report No. 47. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation: Melbourne, AustraliaGoogle Scholar
Stott, G H and Reinhard, E J 1978 Adrenal function and passive immunity in the dystocial calf. Journal of Dairy Science 61: 1457–1461CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tannenbaum, J 1991 Ethics and animal welfare: the inextricable connection. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 198: 1360–1376Google ScholarPubMed
Van Rijswijk, A W and Vorster, F 1995 The influence of stress on the adrenals of the springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis). Journal of the South African Veterinary Association 66: 251–253Google ScholarPubMed
Wemelsfelder, F 1997 The scientific validity of subjective concepts in models of animal welfare. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 53: 75–88CrossRefGoogle Scholar