A survey of handling and transportation of UK farmed deer
Studies on the transport of deer (Cervidae), in the UK, were published > 15 years ago. A more recent study of deer transport is required to allow for assessments and improvements to the transport of farmed deer. Sixteen deer farmers participated in a survey describing their management practices r...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Animal Welfare |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0962728623000258/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1797814200395890688 |
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| author | Samuel J Pearce Aiden P. Foster Toby G Knowles Poppy Statham |
| author_facet | Samuel J Pearce Aiden P. Foster Toby G Knowles Poppy Statham |
| author_sort | Samuel J Pearce |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Studies on the transport of deer (Cervidae), in the UK, were published > 15 years ago. A more recent study of deer transport is required to allow for assessments and improvements to the transport of farmed deer. Sixteen deer farmers participated in a survey describing their management practices related to transport. Their responses showed that most vehicles used to transport deer were designed for other livestock. Participating farmers estimated journey times to slaughter as 1–8 h, with an arithmetic mean of 4.8 (± 2.38) h. Specific concerns raised by the respondents, relating to the transport of deer, included a need for deer-specific vehicles, stop-off areas for long journeys, market locations and haulier experience. Furthermore, data were collected from two abattoirs between July 2019 and June 2020 comprising journey times, slaughter times, bruising, location of origin, vehicle type and the number of animals. In total, 4,922 deer were transported across 133 journeys (from farm to abattoir) from 61 farms. Median and range for journey length were 3.2 (0.4–9.8) h and 154.2 (7.1–462.2) km, whereas group size and time spent in the lairage were 24 (1–121) and 17.8 (10.2–68.9) h, respectively. Group size was found to be significantly associated with both the presence of bruising in a group and the amount of bruising per deer. This study provides a much-needed update on the transport of farmed deer in the UK and highlights key areas for future research including the welfare impact of transport in larger groups and for longer durations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T08:04:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-49d921f39c924efcb048987b9b02e0e1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0962-7286 2054-1538 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T08:04:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animal Welfare |
| spelling | doaj.art-49d921f39c924efcb048987b9b02e0e12023-06-01T08:23:11ZengCambridge University PressAnimal Welfare0962-72862054-15382023-01-013210.1017/awf.2023.25A survey of handling and transportation of UK farmed deerSamuel J Pearce0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3268-7666Aiden P. Foster1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3808-8434Toby G Knowles2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3845-0942Poppy Statham3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0553-5349Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford, North Somerset, BS40 5DU, UKBristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford, North Somerset, BS40 5DU, UKBristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford, North Somerset, BS40 5DU, UKBristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford, North Somerset, BS40 5DU, UKStudies on the transport of deer (Cervidae), in the UK, were published > 15 years ago. A more recent study of deer transport is required to allow for assessments and improvements to the transport of farmed deer. Sixteen deer farmers participated in a survey describing their management practices related to transport. Their responses showed that most vehicles used to transport deer were designed for other livestock. Participating farmers estimated journey times to slaughter as 1–8 h, with an arithmetic mean of 4.8 (± 2.38) h. Specific concerns raised by the respondents, relating to the transport of deer, included a need for deer-specific vehicles, stop-off areas for long journeys, market locations and haulier experience. Furthermore, data were collected from two abattoirs between July 2019 and June 2020 comprising journey times, slaughter times, bruising, location of origin, vehicle type and the number of animals. In total, 4,922 deer were transported across 133 journeys (from farm to abattoir) from 61 farms. Median and range for journey length were 3.2 (0.4–9.8) h and 154.2 (7.1–462.2) km, whereas group size and time spent in the lairage were 24 (1–121) and 17.8 (10.2–68.9) h, respectively. Group size was found to be significantly associated with both the presence of bruising in a group and the amount of bruising per deer. This study provides a much-needed update on the transport of farmed deer in the UK and highlights key areas for future research including the welfare impact of transport in larger groups and for longer durations.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0962728623000258/type/journal_articleanimal welfarelivestockmeatred deerslaughtertransport and handling |
| spellingShingle | Samuel J Pearce Aiden P. Foster Toby G Knowles Poppy Statham A survey of handling and transportation of UK farmed deer Animal Welfare animal welfare livestock meat red deer slaughter transport and handling |
| title | A survey of handling and transportation of UK farmed deer |
| title_full | A survey of handling and transportation of UK farmed deer |
| title_fullStr | A survey of handling and transportation of UK farmed deer |
| title_full_unstemmed | A survey of handling and transportation of UK farmed deer |
| title_short | A survey of handling and transportation of UK farmed deer |
| title_sort | survey of handling and transportation of uk farmed deer |
| topic | animal welfare livestock meat red deer slaughter transport and handling |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0962728623000258/type/journal_article |
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