Transport Of Live Animals Research Articles

Swine Industry in Canada: Biosecurity in Live Animal, Semen Transportation, and Embryo Transfer

The pork industry, a key player in the Canadian economy, significantly contributes to livestock production, international trade markets, and employment. The multi-faceted swine industry is comprised of nucleus, multiplier, and commercial herds. The recognition and application of exemplary internal and external biosecurity measures are paramount for maintaining sustainable swine production. Historically, live animal transport has been an important means of disseminating superior genetics between production herds and poses a considerable risk for disease transmission and biosecurity breach points. The industry has evolved over time to employ other methods, through the shipping of boar semen and the adoption of artificial insemination practices to acquire genetic resources with a lower risk of disease transmission. These effective changes have led to an improvement in herd health, production performance, and efficiency. In particular, the industry’s dedication to enhanced biosecurity is evident in the effort to streamline embryo collection and transfer procedures. Such advances reduce the potential need to transport live animals, thereby lowering the risk of introducing infectious agents. This review article explores the different forms of disseminating swine genetics, namely, live animal, semen transportation, and embryo transfer, examining potential breaches in biosecurity, and discussing mitigation strategies that reduce disease transmission to protect the health of animal stock.

Impact of Covid 19 Outbreak on Livestock Production: A Review

For centuries, disease outbreak has posed a threat to livestock production. Corona virus disease, also known as COVID-19 is a novel disease that brought with it economic havoc and affected the livestock industry adversely. Animal Production and processing plants were heavily affected as a result of difficulty buying production inputs such as feed for animals, transportation of live animals including inter border crossing restrictions, assess to professional care, reduced workforce and decrease in supply of meat and meat products to the market. With the pandemic, importation and exportation of animals and livestock products were affected. There was reduction in the number of animals slaughtered daily and also a reduction in processing plant capacity across all species. Majority of workers in the livestock industry were infected with corona virus, which resulted to financial instability, loss of jobs as well as loss of animals. Better policies to reduce the economic loss through partial or full opening of both intra and interstate borders, providing funds to farmers, opening up processing plants and slaughtering houses will aid in cushioning the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the livestock industry.

Description of novel microsatellite markers for the giant mud crab Scylla serrata (Forskål, 1775) (Decapoda: Brachyura: Portunidae), with an evaluation for applications in stock structure and parentage assignment

Abstract The giant mud crab, Scylla serrata (Forskål, 1775), is a targeted fishery along its geographic distribution, both for domestic and international markets. Population genetic data, evaluated with genetic markers such as microsatellites, can be used to identify management units (stocks) based on genetic dissimilarities between locations, informing localized management decisions for targeted fisheries. Additionally, microsatellite loci can be used to identify released individuals from stock enhancement programs, while simultaneously monitoring genetic impacts of hatchery-releases on wild populations. We isolated and characterized 16 novel microsatellite markers; fourteen of the markers were further evaluated for population structure among three localities in the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands: Palau, Pohnpei, and Kosrae. The significant genetic differentiation observed between Palau and Kosrae/Pohnpei suggests the newly described markers would be capable of elucidating structure across the broader scope of the geographic distribution of the species. Given the international trade for live mud crab, the evaluation of structure would highlight potential issues regarding the transport of live animals between locations with genetically differentiated stocks. Additionally, a multilocus exclusion probability of 0.999, with as few as three markers, suggests the novel microsatellite markers would be capable of identifying hatchery-sourced individuals as part of a stock enhancement program.

The Effects of Live Transport on Metabolism and Stress Responses of Abalone (Haliotis iris).

The New Zealand abalone industry relies mostly on the export of processed products to distant Asian markets, notably China. Over the past five years, live export of high quality abalone from New Zealand has proven successful. However, transport of live animals is associated with multiple stressors that affect survival and meat quality at the end of the transport phase. Better understanding of transport-derived stress is needed to improve transport conditions and recovery at destination to ensure high product quality and safety throughout the supply chain. To this end, we applied an untargeted GC–MS-based metabolomics approach to examine the changes in metabolite profiles of abalone after a 2-day transport event and subsequent water re-immersion for 2 days. The results revealed alterations of many metabolites in the haemolymph and muscle of post-transported abalone. Decreased concentrations of many amino acids suggest high energy demands for metabolism and stress responses of transported abalone, while increases of other amino acids may indicate active osmoregulation and/or protein degradation due to oxidative stress and apoptosis. The accumulation of citric acid cycle intermediates and anaerobic end-products are suggestive of hypoxia stress and a shift from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism (resulting from aerial exposure). Interestingly, some features in the metabolite profile of reimmersed abalone resembled those of pre-transported individuals, suggesting progressive recovery after reimmersion in water. Evidence of recovery was observed in the reduction of some stress biomarkers (e.g., lactic acid, succinic acid) following reimmersion. This study revealed insights into the metabolic responses to transport stress in abalone and highlights the importance of reimmersion practices in the supply chain of live animal exports.

Quantitative assessment of biosecurity in broiler farms using Biocheck.UGent in Central Luzon, Philippines

The biosecurity status of 397 broiler farms in Central Luzon, the highest poultry meat–producing region in the Philippines, was assessed using Biocheck.Ugent. This online biosecurity assessment tool quantifies biosecurity level or compliance of surveyed farms. The system generates scores that reflect the current biosecurity status of each farm in terms of the different external and internal biosecurity measures being implemented in each farm. It was initially developed for pigs and broilers but recently is available for layers, swine, and cattle (beef, dairy, and veal).The overall biosecurity score of broiler farms in Central Luzon was 71.2%, with average external and internal biosecurity scores of 68.5 and 77.2%, respectively. Bataan had the highest biosecurity scores (76.5%) compared with the other 6 provinces. This was also true for the external and internal biosecurity scores of the province, with mean scores of 72.1 and 80.1%, respectively. Of the 11 subcategories of external and internal biosecurity that were assessed, purchase of day-old chicks, feeds and water supply, supply of materials, cleaning and disinfection, and materials between compartments had scores higher than the global scores. Low scores were generated from transport of live animals and infrastructure and biological vectors.The mean biosecurity score of farms with traditional/conventional type of housing was 7.8% lower than that with tunnel vent housing. Every year as the farm gets older, there was a corresponding drop of 0.2% in the biosecurity score.Biosecurity measures are in place in broiler farms in the country. However, there were areas with low scores which need to be prioritized to improve and upgrade the farms' biosecurity status.To date, this is the first quantitative assessment of biosecurity in broiler farms in the Philippines. High biosecurity scores may entail greater protection from disease incursion.

MANAGEMENT OF ANIMAL TRANSPORT WITH SPECIAL ATTENTION TO ANIMAL WELFARE

Transport management takes into account a wide range of decisions: from defining a strategic plan to choosing the type and method of transport. The transport of live animals is a specific type of transport due to the type of “load” which is the living organism. For animals, transport, especially over long distances, carries the risk of injury and is undoubtedly a source of stress. Increased interest in the welfare of animals during transport is now an object of interest not only for animal organizations, but also business communities, animal breeders, slaughterhouses and enterprises transporting animals. The article presents and describes the requirements for managing the transport of slaughter animals, taking into account animal welfare.

Exportação de animais vivos e o bem-estar animal no Brasil: um panorama da situação atual

A Instrução Normativa nº 46, de 28 de agosto de 2018, regulamenta a exportação de bovinos, bubalinos, ovinos e caprinos vivos destinados ao abate imediato, engorda ou reprodução e estabelece normas e procedimentos básicos para a preparação de animais vivos para exportação por via marítima, fluvial, aérea ou terrestre. Neste artigo, abordam-se seus principais tópicos em relação ao bem-estar dos animais. Visto o aumento desta atividade nos últimos anos no Brasil, a nova legislação representa um avanço na área de transporte de animais vivos, pois até então a legislação era ausente. Contudo, esta é uma atividade complexa e que envolve uma das etapas mais estressantes aos animais de produção, o manejo pré-abate. Mesmo com este avanço, devemos atentar aos pontos ainda deficientes e que poderão ser melhorados nos próximos anos, eliminando ou minimizando falhas que ainda persistem, embasados em estudos técnicos e científicos.

Farm animals against open borders: uncovering discrepancies between narratives and evidence regarding actors and motives in the animal trade

ABSTRACT: The paper examined dominant discourses in the debate about live animal transport and trade before reviewing trade figures from the UN Comtrade database. Between 1998 and 2015, the trade in cattle increased slightly, the trade in pigs increased by 76%, while the trade in poultry increased more than doubled. It is shown that an increased division of work is the driving force behind animal trade and that not even animal advocacy groups are effective in reducing the amount of trade. Largely independent of the ethical framework applied, in an environment that pays increasingly tribute to animal welfare, this is problematic. The paper concluded that animal trade results in externalities that should be internalized by governments.

Effects of insurgency on traditional cattle feedlot management in maiduguri, nigeria

The outbreak of insurgency in Maiduguri in 2009 and the subsequent targeted attacks on the lives and property of innocent civilians including livestock farmers has had a severe disruptive effect on Agriculture in northeast Nigeria. Efforts aimed at economic recovery and rehabilitation of the conflict ravaged regions requires information and an understanding of how the insurgency affected the communities so that aid aimed at financial inclusion could be appropriately directed. Thus, this study was designed to highlight the traditional feedlot cattle management in Maiduguri. The price of the cattle and feed materialsas well as profit in 2008 and 2015 were compared. It was found that the preferred choice of feedlot cattle is the non- indigenous Ambala cattle breed. Compared with 2008, the cost of the bulls and feed materials had significantly increased in 2014 and 2015 but the average profit remained unchanged. The farmers earned up to ₦40,000 profit per head of cattle. It is recommended that financial inclusion strategies intended for post-insurgency socio-economic recovery in Maiduguri and other affected areas of north-eastern Nigeria should include building of secure feedlot cattle enclosures with proper facilities for tethering, feed storage,and waste disposal. Quality assurance and hygienic management of such places should be according to global best practices. In addition, establishment of a meat processing plant as well as provision refrigerated transportation trucks can help the farmers to maintain their profit margin and avoid stress associated with road transport of live animals. The government should design and implement a program to breed Ambala cattle using Assisted Reproductive Technology for the development Nigeria’s beef industry.

Clinical and paraclinical effects of transportation on miniature and domestic donkeys

Transportation of live animals is an inevitable husbandry practice and has been identified as one of the main causes of stress. Miniature donkeys, because of their rarity and entertainment value, occupy a unique place among all domesticated animals in some countries. We hypothesized that transportation stress would produce changes in clinical and biochemical parameters of domestic and miniature donkeys (Equus africanus asinus). Ten clinically healthy donkeys were selected for this study. The overall study population was almost equally subdivided into six subgroups according to the breed (domestics and miniatures), sex (males and non-pregnant non-lactating females) and age (foals and adults). Donkeys up to 2 years of age and over 3 years old were called foals and adults, respectively. Heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR) and rectal temperature (RT) were measured before and after transport. Serum concentrations of chloride (Cl−), calcium (Ca2+), sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), magnesium (Mg2+) and phosphorus (P−) were measured. Following the transportation, serum concentrations of Ca2+, Na+ and K+ were significantly reduced in all the donkeys (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in P−, Cl− and Mg2+ levels before and after transportation. There were significant decreases in serum concentrations of Ca2+ and K+ in domestic, female and adult subgroups and in Na+ levels in male and foal subgroups. According to the results of this study, transportation generally affects the physiological and biochemical status of domestic and miniature donkeys, regardless of interspecies differences. However, more studies are required to differentiate between the effects of transportation and effects of food and water deprivation during transport.

Revitalizing genetically-modified mouse strains using frozen-thawed sperm after up to 192 h of refrigerated epididymis transportation.

In the scientific interchange of genetically-modified mouse strains the transportation of refrigerated epididymis has several advantages over the transportation of live animals, especially with regard to the 3R (replacement, reduction and refinement) principles. The major limiting factor is the duration of the transportation. Previous reports have shown that sperm collected from transported epididymis maintained their fertility for around 72 h, but there are no published data with longer transportation times, and this window of time may be too short, especially for international shipments and where locations are not well connected. In this study live pups were born using frozen-thawed sperm after up to 192 h (8 days) of transportation, using a special invitro fertilization design which resulted in a fertilization rate of 10.5%.

The costs of preventive activities for exotic contagious diseases—A Danish case study of foot and mouth disease and swine fever

The present paper provides an overview of the costs of preventive activities, currently undertaken in Denmark, related to foot and mouth disease (FMD) and classical and African swine fever (SF). Only costs held between outbreaks were included. Costs were divided into public costs and costs paid by the pig and cattle industries, respectively. Data were retrieved from multiple sources such as databases, legal documents, official statistics, yearly reports and expert opinions. As no previous studies have assessed such costs, data collection and estimation procedures were discussed and decided upon in a group of experts from universities, industry, and public authorities. The costs of each preventive activity were related to the type of activity, the number of times the activity was carried out and the share of costs that could be associated with FMD or SF. Uncertainty about parameters was incorporated in the analysis by assuming that the FMD/SF shares of costs as well as total costs for each activity could take on a most likely as well as a minimum and maximum value. A high degree of transparency was prioritized in the cost analysis, which enables reproducibility and easy access to conducting sensitivity analyses.A total of 27 FMD/SF preventive activities were identified. The estimated median (minimum-maximum) of total costs amounted to €32 (18–50) million in 2013. The single most costly FMD/SF related activity, amounting to €8 (5–13) million or 26% of total costs, was a national legal requirement to clean lorries immediately after transportation of live animals. The distribution of costs between stakeholders was estimated to be as follows: pig industry 63%, cattle industry 27%, and the public authorities 10%. Most of the activities focused on reducing the probability of spreading FMD/SF, while only a few activities were directed mainly towards reducing the probability of introduction. Legally required FMD/SF activities (mainly based on EU legislation) accounted for 60% of the activities, while FMD/SF related measures agreed on at sector level and measures implemented due to individual initiatives, such as farmer’s investment in specially built delivery facilities, each accounted for 20%.

Dynamics of Goat Meat Production in Extensive Systems in Asia: Improvement of Productivity and Transformation of Livelihoods

The principal objective in the improvement of agriculture for food production is to ensure efficient use of the natural resources (land, crops, animals and water) that match population and income growth and dietary changes. Population growth is currently placing great pressure on food supplies from overused existing arable land areas, forcing the need to look beyond to improving less favored areas (LFAs) like rain fed regions in a sustainable way. Among domestic animals in developing countries, goats are very valuable for multifunctional reasons. Increasing productivity from them is justified in the context of the diversity of goat genetic resources, dynamics of extensive and migratory systems, multifunctionality, and productivity improvements through research and development (R and D). Imperatives for successful pro-poor projects are realistic project design, prioritization of R and D, and predictable impacts to transform agricultural growth. Goat meat is sought after for its high lean meat content and inadequate supply has pushed high prices in most countries. The unique biological and socio-economic attributes of goats in farming systems are described, including contributions to nutrition and food security, stability of farm households and survival of the poor. Discussion focuses on characteristics of extensive systems, distribution across agro-ecological zones (AEZs), feeding behavior and digestive efficiency, types of markets (assembling, distribution, ,weekly and rural), marketing systems, market players, transportation of live animals for slaughter, value chains, socio-economic implications and major constraints. Rural markets are an Asian concept and serve numerous functions. Current R and D is discipline – oriented, but need to shift to more assertive community-based pathways involving small farmers, the landless, researchers and extension personnel. The presence of large concentrations of goats and sheep in less favored areas (LFAs) provides an entry point for transforming agriculture and the utilization of welladapted indigenous breeds in crop-animal systems. Empowering the knowledge base is a priority, to enrich small and commercial farmers alike. An overriding challenge is to define a policy framework that promotes greater institutional involvement, systems approaches to improved understanding of rain fed agriculture, capacity to cope with climate change and stratification of production options. The latter includes breeding increased goat numbers, intensive utilization of available forage biomass and crop residues in situ, development of intensive zero grazing systems, and integrated resource utilisation. The sustainability of the natural environment is important, as it influences the entire basis for food production. Priority setting is essential to demonstrate technology application to transform agriculture. Increased investments increases agricultural productivity, but agricultural development and goat production is hampered by the lack of investments and climate change, and it is doubtful if yield increase can be achieved. Major challenges exist for improved land use, management of production and consumption, environmental degradation and water scarcity. Despite this gloom, for, enduring hope of several millions of the poor and the landless, the enduring hope remains - sustained food supplies from animal-agriculture through efficiencyenhancing technologies, access to food for all, in which self-reliance and vision needs to lead the way.

Characterization of Contact Structures for the Spread of Infectious Diseases in a Pork Supply Chain in Northern Germany by Dynamic Network Analysis of Yearly and Monthly Networks

A major risk factor in the spread of diseases between holdings is the transport of live animals. This study analysed the animal movements of the pork supply chain of a producer group in Northern Germany. The parameters in-degree and out-degree, ingoing and outgoing infection chain, betweenness and ingoing and outgoing closeness were measured using dynamic network analysis to identify holdings with central positions in the network and to characterize the overall network topology. The potential maximum epidemic size was also estimated. All parameters were calculated for three time periods: the 3-yearly network, the yearly and the monthly networks. The yearly and the monthly networks were more fragmented than the 3-yearly network. On average, one-third of the holdings were isolated in the yearly networks and almost three quarters in the monthly networks. This represented an immense reduction in the number of holdings participating in the trade of the monthly networks. The overall network topology showed right-skewed distributions for all calculated centrality parameters indicating that network resilience was high concerning the random removal of holdings. However, for a targeted removal of holdings according to their centrality, a rapid fragmentation of the trade network could be expected. Furthermore, to capture the real importance of holdings for disease transmission, indirect trade contacts (infection chain) should be considered. In contrast to the parameters regarding direct trade contacts (degree), the infection chain parameter did not underestimate the potential risk of disease transmission. This became more obvious, the longer the observed time period was. For all three time periods, the results for the estimation of the potential maximum epidemic size illustrated that the outgoing infection chain should be chosen. It considers the chronological order and the directed nature of the contacts and has no restrictions such as the strongly connected components of a cyclic network.

Static network analysis of a pork supply chain in Northern Germany—Characterisation of the potential spread of infectious diseases via animal movements

Transport of live animals is a major risk factor in the spread of infectious diseases between holdings. The present study analysed the pork supply chain of a producer community in Northern Germany. The structure of trade networks can be characterised by carrying out a network analysis. To identify holdings with a central position in this directed network of pig production, several parameters describing these properties were measured (in-degree, out-degree, ingoing and outgoing infection chain, betweenness centrality and ingoing and outgoing closeness centrality). To obtain the importance of the different holding types (multiplier, farrowing farms, finishing farms and farrow-to-finishing farms) within the pyramidal structure of the pork supply chain, centrality parameters were calculated for the entire network as well as for the individual holding types. Using these centrality parameters, two types of holdings could be identified. In the network studied, finishing and farrow-to-finishing farms were more likely to be infected due to the high number of ingoing trade contacts. Due to the high number of outgoing trade contacts multipliers and farrowing farms had an increased risk to spread a disease to other holdings. However, the results of the centrality parameters degree and infection chain were not always consistent, such that the indirect trade contacts should be taken into consideration to understand the real importance of a holding in spreading or contracting an infection. Furthermore, all calculated parameters showed a highly right-skewed distribution. Networks with such a degree distribution are considered to be highly resistant concerning the random removal of nodes. But by strategic removal of the most central holdings, e.g. by trade restrictions or selective vaccination or culling, the network structure can be changed efficiently and thus decompose into fragments. Such a fragmentation of the trade networks is of particular importance from an epidemiological perspective.

Integrative molecular phylogeography in the context of infectious diseases on the human-animal interface

The rate of new emerging infectious diseases entering the human population has increased over the past century, with pathogens originating from animals or from products of animal origin accounting for the vast majority. Primary risk factors for the emergence and spread of emerging zoonoses include expansion and intensification of animal agriculture and long-distance live animal transport, live animal markets, bushmeat consumption and habitat destruction. Developing effective control strategies is contingent upon the ability to test causative hypotheses of disease transmission within a statistical framework. Broadly speaking, molecular phylogeography offers a framework in which specific hypotheses regarding pathogen gene flow and dispersal within an ecological context can be compared. A number of different methods has been developed for this application. Here, our intent is firstly to discuss the application of a wide variety of statistically based methods (including Bayesian reconstruction, network parsimony analysis and regression) to specific viruses (influenza, salmon anaemia virus, foot and mouth disease and Rift Valley Fever) that have been associated with animal farming/movements; and secondly to place them in the larger framework of the threat of potential zoonotic events as well as the economic and biosecurity implications of pathogen outbreaks among our animal food sources.

Urinary catecholamine concentrations in three beef breeds at slaughter

Animal welfare has become an important determinant of meat quality with poor animal temperament leading to huge economic losses to the meat industry due to carcass bruising and condemnation. Handling and transport of live animals is a stressful experience for animals. The temperaments of cattle affect their behaviour and differ between breeds, i.e. studies have shown that Bos indicus types are more temperamental than Sanga and Bos taurus types. Catecholamines (CAT’s) are considered as indicators of stress, because higher concentrations of CAT’s in brain tissue were noted in animals that are better adapted to stressful situations. In the present study, urinary CAT’s of three beef breeds were determined immediately post mortem. Brahman cattle represented Bos indicus types, Simmentaler cattle represented Bos taurus types and Nguni cattle represented the Sanga type. Nguni steers showed higher urinary norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (E) concentrations than Brahman and Simmentaler steers. Simmentaler steers showed a higher concentration of urinary dopamine (DA) than Br and Ng. The results suggest that Nguni cattle are less stress sensitive compared to the other beef breeds studied. These observations may be due to the process of domestication and selection for specific genes that influence tameability and consequently resulting in a shift in circulating concentrations of urinary CAT’s.Keywords: Animal welfare, breed divergence, animal temperament, stress

Identifying questions in the American Association of Swine Veterinarian's PRRS risk assessment survey that are important for retrospectively classifying swine herds according to whether they reported clinical PRRS outbreaks in the previous 3 years

The American Association of Swine Veterinarian's (AASV) Production Animal Disease Risk Assessment Program (PADRAP) is a web-based program that offers a set of risk assessment surveys being used by veterinarians who are members of the AASV. Members use PADRAP to help producers systematically assess risk factors that may be associated with clinical outcomes. As assessments are performed the completed surveys are added to the dataset maintained at the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. One of the surveys included in PADRAP is the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) Risk Assessment for the Breeding Herd. The aim of the study was to categorize questions in version 2 of the PRRS Risk Assessment for the Breeding Herd survey as important or unimportant for classifying herds according to whether they reported clinical PRRS outbreaks in the previous 3 years. The results elucidate the relative importance of risk factors and areas of risk factors for clinical outcomes and removing unimportant questions may reduce the time required to complete the survey without affecting the quality of information obtained. Surveys from 896 sow herd sites in the United States and Canada completed between March 2005 and March 2009 were included in the analysis. The survey contained a large number of questions with a complex correlation structure among the questions. Responses for several questions were dependent upon responses to others. To address these issues, an approach was developed using a series of statistical methods including random forest, principle component analysis, logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to classify the herds using the questions in the survey as explanatory variables. Questions were ranked by importance and systematically excluded from least important to most important. The questions excluded, without significantly affecting the performance of the model for classifying herds were identified as unimportant. Thirty-eight of the 127 questions analyzed were identified as unimportant for classifying herds according to whether they reported clinical PRRS outbreaks in the previous 3 years. Sections of the survey where a large number of questions were identified as unimportant included (1) entry of semen into the breeding herd and (2) transportation of live animals. Sections with a high percentage of questions identified as unimportant included (1) characteristics of the site, (2) disposal of dead animals and waste management and (3) employee and visitors.

Possible in‐cabin exposure to cat allergen: a 2010 airline survey on live animal transport and a review of literature

Possible in‐cabin exposure to cat allergen: a 2010 airline survey on live animal transport and a review of literature

Evaluation of a Commercially Available Organic Acid Product During Feed Withdrawal and its Relation to Carcass Shrink in Commercial Turkeys

The transport of live animals has important economic and welfare implications. A commerciallyavailable organic acid product (Optimizer ) was added to the drinking water of commercial hen turkeys TM during preslaughter Feed Withdrawal (FW) in two trials. In trial 1, a total of 60 trailers from treated (OA) or control non-treated turkey houses were evaluated. Turkey farmers initiated water treatment on the day before pick up (8-12 h treatment according to label directions). Investigators recorded trailer numbers as they were loaded out of each house to confirm which trailers contained treated birds vs. control non-treated birds. Individual trailer weights were recorded upon arrival to the processing plant and again immediately prior to live hang. A significant reduction in rate of weight loss during holding at the processing plant was observed in the treated turkeys (719 g/min per OA treated trailer vs. 845 g/min per control trailer). In trial 2, two commercial market age turkey houses were selected and in each house, 400 birds were weighed and recorded as a representative sampling. The treated house received OA administered according to manufacturer’s directions continuously for 19 h. At the end of this time, 400 birds were weighed and recorded as a representative sampling. A significant (p<0.05) improvement of average body weights was observed in treated turkeys during 19 h (125 g treated vs. 35 g control), an average of 90 grams difference. Experiments are ongoing to measure water consumption during the FW that may explain the reduction in carcass shrinkage during transportation to the processing plant and increased body weights at the farm by increasing hydration of turkeys treated with OA.