Impact of transport distance on stress biomarkers levels in dromedary camel (Camelus dromedaries)

Impact of transport distance on stress biomarkers levels in dromedary camel (#Camelus dromedaries#) The welfare conditions of domestic animals during transport to the slaughterhouse are largely known able to influence the level of their stress, physiology and meat quality. Furthermore, the reaction of animals to stressors depends on the duration and intensity of these stressors. The objective of the study was to investigate the effect of transport distance on some blood physiological indicators of stress (haematocrit, haemolysis, cortisol, glucose and lactate) and biomarkers of oxidant stress (malondialdehyde and catalase) in camels. Transport distances were categorized as short (72-80km), medium (160- 170km) and long (350-360km) distance. All parameters analyzed here increased gradually and significantly (P<0.05) with transport distance, and that over longer distances these responses were more significant (P<0.005) compared with shortdistance. A positive correlation (P<0.001) was obtained between cortisol, glucose, lactate, malondialdehyde and catalase. As conclusion, road transport is very stressful in camel, and the effects of this stress on the relevant indicators rising much with distance. Future work should focus on the effect of transport distance on some quality indicators of camel meat. (Resume d'auteur)