Pilot Study of the Relationship between Deck Level and Journey Duration on Plasma Cortisol, Epinephrine and Norepinephrine Levels in Italian Heavy Pigs
The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the relationship between journey duration, deck level and activation patterns of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPA) and sympathetic adrenal medullary system (SAM) in pigs. A total of 90 pigs were examined. The animals came from three diff...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/9/1578 |
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| author | Giancarlo Bozzo Barbara Padalino Elisabetta Bonerba Roberta Barrasso Vincenzo Tufarelli Martina Zappaterra Edmondo Ceci |
| author_facet | Giancarlo Bozzo Barbara Padalino Elisabetta Bonerba Roberta Barrasso Vincenzo Tufarelli Martina Zappaterra Edmondo Ceci |
| author_sort | Giancarlo Bozzo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the relationship between journey duration, deck level and activation patterns of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPA) and sympathetic adrenal medullary system (SAM) in pigs. A total of 90 pigs were examined. The animals came from three different Italian farms associated with the same slaughterhouse located in Bari (Apulia region-Italy). A group of thirty animals was transported from Pordenone (11 h journey); a second group was transported from Terni (6.5 h journey); a third group was transported from Benevento (3 h journey). The animals were transported in the same vehicle, which complied with the structural characteristics indicated in the Council Regulation (EC) No. 1/2005. The truck was composed of a lorry and a trailer, each one divided into three decks. Only the animals transported in the trailer were tested for the study. Before transportation, blood samples were collected on each farm, at 6:00 a.m., from 30 pigs randomly selected out of 135 pigs ready to be transported. Blood samples were also collected during slaughter to evaluate plasma cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine, around 6:00 a.m. A journey duration of 11 h was associated with significantly higher plasma concentrations of stress hormones compared with shorter journeys. This increase was proportional to the journey duration, with the pigs travelling for 6.5 h displaying intermediate concentrations between those noticed after 3 h and 11 h journeys. The interaction between deck and journey distance was not significant on epinephrine, norepinephrine or cortisol levels collected at arrival. There was a significant effect of deck level on norepinephrine levels (<i>p</i> < 0.0001), a tendency to influence epinephrine levels (<i>p</i> = 0.073) but no effect on cortisol levels (<i>p</i> = 0.945). Overall, we observed that an 11 h-long journey seemed to impact negatively on pigs’ HPA-SAM activity, likely requiring the animals to spend more time in the lairage facilities to recover. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:34:47Z |
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| id | doaj.art-5062f47ad0fa456b962207f2f034380b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:34:47Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-5062f47ad0fa456b962207f2f034380b2023-11-20T12:34:15ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152020-09-01109157810.3390/ani10091578Pilot Study of the Relationship between Deck Level and Journey Duration on Plasma Cortisol, Epinephrine and Norepinephrine Levels in Italian Heavy PigsGiancarlo Bozzo0Barbara Padalino1Elisabetta Bonerba2Roberta Barrasso3Vincenzo Tufarelli4Martina Zappaterra5Edmondo Ceci6Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Strada Provinciale per Casamassima km 3, 70010 Valenzano, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale Giuseppe Fanin 46, 40127 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Strada Provinciale per Casamassima km 3, 70010 Valenzano, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Strada Provinciale per Casamassima km 3, 70010 Valenzano, ItalyDepartment of DETO-Section of Veterinary Science and Animal Production, University of Bari, Strada Provinciale per Casamassima km 3, 70010 Valenzano, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale Giuseppe Fanin 46, 40127 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Strada Provinciale per Casamassima km 3, 70010 Valenzano, ItalyThe aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the relationship between journey duration, deck level and activation patterns of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPA) and sympathetic adrenal medullary system (SAM) in pigs. A total of 90 pigs were examined. The animals came from three different Italian farms associated with the same slaughterhouse located in Bari (Apulia region-Italy). A group of thirty animals was transported from Pordenone (11 h journey); a second group was transported from Terni (6.5 h journey); a third group was transported from Benevento (3 h journey). The animals were transported in the same vehicle, which complied with the structural characteristics indicated in the Council Regulation (EC) No. 1/2005. The truck was composed of a lorry and a trailer, each one divided into three decks. Only the animals transported in the trailer were tested for the study. Before transportation, blood samples were collected on each farm, at 6:00 a.m., from 30 pigs randomly selected out of 135 pigs ready to be transported. Blood samples were also collected during slaughter to evaluate plasma cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine, around 6:00 a.m. A journey duration of 11 h was associated with significantly higher plasma concentrations of stress hormones compared with shorter journeys. This increase was proportional to the journey duration, with the pigs travelling for 6.5 h displaying intermediate concentrations between those noticed after 3 h and 11 h journeys. The interaction between deck and journey distance was not significant on epinephrine, norepinephrine or cortisol levels collected at arrival. There was a significant effect of deck level on norepinephrine levels (<i>p</i> < 0.0001), a tendency to influence epinephrine levels (<i>p</i> = 0.073) but no effect on cortisol levels (<i>p</i> = 0.945). Overall, we observed that an 11 h-long journey seemed to impact negatively on pigs’ HPA-SAM activity, likely requiring the animals to spend more time in the lairage facilities to recover.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/9/1578pigsstresstransportcortisolcatecholaminesdeck level |
| spellingShingle | Giancarlo Bozzo Barbara Padalino Elisabetta Bonerba Roberta Barrasso Vincenzo Tufarelli Martina Zappaterra Edmondo Ceci Pilot Study of the Relationship between Deck Level and Journey Duration on Plasma Cortisol, Epinephrine and Norepinephrine Levels in Italian Heavy Pigs Animals pigs stress transport cortisol catecholamines deck level |
| title | Pilot Study of the Relationship between Deck Level and Journey Duration on Plasma Cortisol, Epinephrine and Norepinephrine Levels in Italian Heavy Pigs |
| title_full | Pilot Study of the Relationship between Deck Level and Journey Duration on Plasma Cortisol, Epinephrine and Norepinephrine Levels in Italian Heavy Pigs |
| title_fullStr | Pilot Study of the Relationship between Deck Level and Journey Duration on Plasma Cortisol, Epinephrine and Norepinephrine Levels in Italian Heavy Pigs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pilot Study of the Relationship between Deck Level and Journey Duration on Plasma Cortisol, Epinephrine and Norepinephrine Levels in Italian Heavy Pigs |
| title_short | Pilot Study of the Relationship between Deck Level and Journey Duration on Plasma Cortisol, Epinephrine and Norepinephrine Levels in Italian Heavy Pigs |
| title_sort | pilot study of the relationship between deck level and journey duration on plasma cortisol epinephrine and norepinephrine levels in italian heavy pigs |
| topic | pigs stress transport cortisol catecholamines deck level |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/9/1578 |
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