Analysis of current methods and Welfare concerns in the transport of 118 horses by commercial air cargo companies

BMC Veterinary Research

Table 5 Behaviors shown by the horses during one minute of scan sampling and their association with the different air transport phases

Variable	At departure (n (%))	One hour before landing (n (%))	On arrival (n (%))	One day after arrival (n (%))	Five days after arrival (n (%))	P value
Pawing	20 (19)^A	8 (8)^a	7 (10)	2 (3)^B	0 (0)^Bb	< 0.001
Tail swishing	5 (5)	5 (5)	6 (9)	8 (11)	1 (1)	0.073
Head tossing	25 (24)^A	12 (12)	12 (18)^a	10 (14)^a	1 (1)^Bb	0.003
Weaving	1 (1)	0 (0)	2 (3)	0 (0)	0 (0)	na
Vocalizing	11 (11)^A	10 (10)^A	21 (31)^B	8 (11)^ACa	0 (0)^Cb	< 0.001
Stamping	6 (6)	5 (5)	7 (10)^A	2 (3)	0 (0)^B	< 0.001
Licking/chewing	19 (18)^A	17 (17)^A	17 (25)^a	31 (42)^Bb	24 (34)	< 0.001
Turning head	20 (19)^ADa	11 (11)^AC	35 (52)^B	26 (36)^BDb	20 (29)^BD	< 0.001
Groom interaction	52 (50)	46 (45)	44 (66)	42 (57)	38 (54)	0.173
Horse interaction	35 (34)	50 (49)^A	30 (45)^ACa	19 (26)^B	18 (26)^BCb	< 0.001
Resting	66 (64)^A	70 (69)^A	39 (58)^A	49 (67)^A	66 (94)^B	< 0.001
Sniffing	18 (17)^A	18 (18)^A	39 (58)^B	35 (48)^B	38 (54)^B	< 0.001
Eating	12 (12)^A	41 (40)^B	40 (60)^Ba	44 (60)^Bb	40 (57)^B	< 0.001

Total percentages: It is important to note that total percentages may not always sum to 100% for every characteristic due to rounding. na: Not applicable due to the low number of events. ns: Non-significant. For all the behaviors data were missing at departure (missing = 15 horses; 13%), one hour before landing (missing = 16 horses, 14%), on arrival (missing = 51 horses, 43%), one day after arrival (missing = 45 horses, 38%), five days after arrival (missing = 48 horses, 41%). P value = effect of air transport phase. Values with different superscripts differ significantly (A, B, C, D = P < 0.001; a, b = P < 0.05)

ISSN: 1746-6148