Heart rate response as a measure of stress and welfare in cattle

L.H. Jacobson and C.J. Cook

Meat Industry Research Institute of New Zealand, P.O. Box 617, Hamilton, New Zealand.

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production, 1996, 56: 103-106

Problems exist in welfare quantification of stressors due to variation in animal responses. A theory, based on adaptation to repeated exposure of a stressor, is proposed for objective assessment of welfare.

Cattle of three ages were exposed repeatedly to transport, or aspects of transport. Cattle aged 6 weeks showed a declining tachycardic response to repeated transport (p<0.05). Cattle aged 3-6 months showed no consistent pattern of heart rate response to transport, although bradycardia was observed in some animals. Bradycardia was also observed in 2 year old bulls, the incidence of which declined with repeat exposure to trailer loading. Heart rate decreased over transport in bulls unfamiliar with trailer loading (p<0.05), while no change in heart rate was seen in bulls familiar with a trailer.

Keywords: NZSAPAB; stress; welfare; heart rate; adaptation.

Download abstract in text format
Last Updated 18-03-1997