Effects of different rest-stop durations at control posts during a long journey on the welfare of sheep

All livestock transport within the European Union must comply with the EC Regulation 1÷2005. For sheep, this law prescribes a maximum journey of 29 hours after which animals must rest in control posts (CP) for 24 hours before further transportation. However, there is no scientific evidence de ning the effects of di erent stop duration on sheep recovery during long journeys. The aim of this study was to assess if a shorter stop could be provided without impairing ewes' welfare. Ninety-six adult ewes were divided into 4 homogenous groups. One group stayed at the farm (control) and the other 3 were transported for 29 hours (long-transport, LT), stopped at CP for di erent times (8 hours (S8 group); 16 hours (S16 group); 24 hours (S24 group)) and were re-transported for 6 hours (short-transport, ST). Blood and saliva were collected to assess dehydration, muscular damage, and adrenocortical stress before departure, after LT, after the stop, and after ST. The LT a ected the hydration of all transported groups (i.e. higher BUN÷creatinine levels than controls, p<0.001), but basal values were restored after the ST, regardless of the stop duration. After the ST, S8 group had higher muscular damage than the other groups (p<0.05). No di erences in stress level were observed. These results suggest that, in this trial, ewe's welfare was not impaired by a stop reduction from 24 hours to 16 hours.