Welfare assessment of goat during transportation and unloading at the livestock cattle market

Abstract

In Bangladesh, studies on the effect of long-distance transportation on goat health are not frequent. The study aimed to investigate the behavior of goats and goat handlers during unloading, health conditions, and the nature and types of injuries. Further attempts were made to assess the hematological profile after long-distance transportation as physiological indicator. A total of 8790 goats were studied in Sagorika Livestock Market, Chattogram, Bangladesh from February 2023 to September 2023. Goats were transported from the different markets of origin in Bangladesh where the duration of the journey ranged from 12 to 17 hours. During unloading, the behavior of goats and goat handlers was observed. Blood was collected from the jugular vein for hematological analysis. Among the goat's behavior, ‘Jump’ (35.29%) was most prevalent followed by ‘Fall’ (18.62%) and ‘Refuse to move’ (18.60%). However, ‘Hanging by a rope’ (38.89%) was the common unloading behavior of staff followed by ‘Push’ (15.55%) and ‘Beating’ (13.69%). Fresh Injury (14.72%) was more prevalent than old injury while Abrasion (9.30%). Laceration (6.24%), Lameness (5.13%), Dehydration (51.66%), and Nasal discharge (14.80%) was also observed at different proportionate rate. Several hematological values in goats were significantly impacted by long-distance transportation, including PCV, TEC, and TLC percentages of Eosinophils and Basophils, Lymphocytes, and Monocytes, as well as the N:L ratio where the p-value is p<0.05. Nevertheless, there were no statistically significant variations (p>0.05) in the Hb or Neutrophil counts. The overall finding reflects poor welfare during transportation and unloading of transported goats. Raising awareness among staff and proper care during transportation and unloading is necessary to overcome the stress.