Temperature measurements during animal transports

Livestock is transported by road in order to move towards the next location in the production process. The climate in the vehicle is of interest especially due to the variable transport conditions in Europe. Temperature is an easy to measure indicator for climate and of great importance for the welfare of animals. Exposure to either too high (heat stress) or too low temperatures (cold stress) can lead to an impairment of welfare, exhaustion and in some cases even to death. In this research, temperature sensors were applied inside and outside animal transport vehicles during eight periods of commercial Dutch livestock transports. In each period several transports were followed, the number of transports per period varied from one to twenty-three. Data was obtained from a total number of seventy-nine transports. Seven different animal categories were distinguished: newborn calves, weaner calves, veal calves for slaughter, piglets, pigs for slaughter, bulls and broiler chickens for slaughter. Temperature sensors were installed and started at the beginning of a period, measuring with a frequency of 10¹ minutes during the whole period and were stopped and removed at the end of a period. The number of temperature sensors per period (and transport) varied between six and seventy-six. It was concluded that it is possible to measure temperature continuously during animal transports under varying circumstances. Measured temperatures were compared with legal temperature limits. The effects of location (length, width, height) of the sensor in the vehicle, animal species and outside temperature were estimated with a statistical model.