Benchmarking Indicators of Compromised and Unfit Conditions in Cattle Arriving at Auctions and Abattoirs in Alberta

The transport and sale of compromised and unfit cattle is a major welfare concern. A compromised animal is defined as having reduced capacity to withstand the stress of transport, but where transport with special provisions will not result in undue suffering. Currently, there is a lack of information regarding the occurrence and conditions of compromised cattle arriving at central assembly points. A pilot study was conducted to document the incidence of cattle arriving at auctions and abattoirs in a compromised condition within Alberta (Canada), and to characterize which conditions were most prevalent. A total of 8 out of 22 auction markets and 11 out of 43 provincial abattoirs were selected based on annual sale/slaughter volumes and geographic location. Auction volumes were defined as selling ≥65,000 cattle/year (large) and <65,000 cattle/year (small). Abattoir volumes were defined as slaughtering <275 cattle/year (low), between 276-543 cattle/year (medium), or >543 cattle/year (high). Each population was further stratified by age (80% market and 20% cull cattle) based on historical data. Over a 3 mo period 19 sites were visited once (17 sites were visited by 2 observers and 2 sites were visited by 1 observer) to assess indicators of compromised condition in a representative proportion of cattle (n= 936; 847 auction and 89 abattoir cattle). The conditions assessed included mobility (5 point scale), respiratory signs (modified DART 5 point scale), body condition (BCS; 5 point scale), heavy lactation (Yes/No) and assigned an overall score for compromised condition (5 point scale; normal (1), mild (2), moderate (3), severe (4) and unfit for transport (5)). Cattle were defined as compromised if they had a mobility or respiratory score of ≥3, BCS of ≤1.5, heavy lactation (Yes), or an overall compromised condition score of >3. Data for a particular animal were removed when disagreement between observers was greater than 1 score. The percentage of cattle defined as compromised based on mobility, respiratory signs, BCS, heavy lactation, and overall compromised condition score were 1.26, 0, 0.80, 0.92 and 1.38 % for auction cattle, and 15.7, 2.25, 2.25, 0, and 22.5 % at abattoirs, respectively. Mobility was the most prevalent compromised condition observed in both populations. Except for heavy lactation, the prevalence of all compromised conditions were greater in abattoirs than in auction markets. Characterizing the indicators of compromised conditions in this benchmarking study allows for the identification of important conditions to aid in the development of intervention strategies.