Behavioural Responses in Pigs administered with Ascorbic acid and Transported by Road for Eight Hours during the Harmattan Season

Experiments were carried out with the aim of investigating the modulatory role of ascorbic acid (AA) on responses to 8h road transportation, covering a distance of 260 km at a speed of 40 50 km/h, during the harmattan season. Twentynine adult local pigs aged 9 12 months served as subjects. Seventeen pigs administered with AA, prior to the transportation, at the dose of 250 mg/kg orally and individually served as experimental animals, and 12 others administered orally with sterile water were used as control animals. The behavioural activities of pigs which included resting (that is, either lying down or standing idle), defaecating, urinating, sniffing, threats of attack (fight), attempts to escape, mounting on one another, hurdling together and routing the floor were monitored with the aid of a video camera without the pigs knowing that they were being observed. Recordings were done based on the number of pigs found performing each activity within 30 min of direct observation, alternated by 30 min of rest and this continued for a period of 4 h. The tape was later watched, analysed and the number of pigs exhibiting each behavioural activity was recorded. Post-transportation, the behavioural activities of standing (94.1 ± 5.8 %), aggressiveness indicated by the percentage of pigs involved in fighting (23.5 ± 6.00 %) and attempts to escape (66.67 ± 14.21 %) were higher in experimental pigs (P < 0.05) post-transportation than control pigs with the corresponding values of 25.00 ± 3.00 %; 0.00 % and 35.29 ± 11.95 %, respectively. The results showed that road transportation induced considerable behavioural stress resulting in depression of the central nervous system. AA administration pre-transportation reduced the manifestation of stressful behavioural activities in experimental pigs following road transportation. In conclusion, long-term road transportation of pigs during the harmattan season induces behavioural stress, alleviated by AA administration.


Introduction
and animal welfare may be assessed based on them (Hicks et al., 1998).Road transportation is a critical phase in animal Ascorbic acid (AA) or Vitamin C is a naturally production and utilization.The current UK legislation occurring antioxidant (Sahin et al., 2001) found to be [Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order, 1997] states beneficial in ameliorating stressful situation and that pigs can be transported for a maximum of eight currently is the most widely used vitamin supplement hours after which they must be unloaded, fed, watered throughout the world (Naidu, 2003).AA is an effective and rested for 24 hours before any further journey antioxidant because it plays an important metabolic (Brown et al., 1999).This standard is currently role in the body by acting as a potent scavenger of free undergoing a review for improved welfare order radicals by donating two electrons and then becoming (Gavinelli and Simonrin, 2003).Long-term transportation oxidized to dehydro-L-ascorbic acid (Rice, 2000). of livestock by road across various ecological and Free radicals causing oxidative stress in the brain have climatic zones imposes many stressors upon the been shown to be involved in stress-induced neuroanimals which overtax the body system (Hartung, behavioural changes (Pal et al., 2006), excitotoxicity 2003) and is often considered as one of the main (Ray et al., 2007)  The harmattan season in Nigeria is a cold-dry affects production both in economic and animal season occurring between the month of November and welfare terms (Broom, 2003).Behavioural changes February in the Northern Guinea Savannah zone et al., et al., (Igono 1982).It is characterized by high ambient are often the first signs of distress (Ayo 2002), temperature (AT) in the afternoon hours of the day, and served as control were similarly given 20 ml of sterile relatively low AT late in the evening and early hours of water.Food and water were withdrawn 12 hours the day (Ayo et al., 1998).The wind during the season before and throughout the journey period, which is cold-dry and dust laden (Igono and Aliu, 1982).The lasted 8 hours.practise mixed farming and they sell pigs to generate 38 E) to Pambegua (10 4 N, 08 16 E) along Zaria-Jos cash in order to buy items needed for the end-of-the road and back to Zaria on tarred road.The vehicle year celebrations (Ayo et al., 2006).covered 260 km at a speed range of 40-50 km/h.After Currently, there is paucity of information on completing the journey, the pigs were unloaded at the behavioural stress responses of pigs transported by spot where they were original loaded.The animals road during the harmattan season.
were fed and watered as they had been prior to the The aims of the study, therefore, were to journey.investigate the effect of long-term (8-h) road transpor-Determination of behavioural activities: The tation on behavioural stress responses of pigs during behavioural activities of pigs which included standing, the harmattan season and the modulatory role of AA lying down, sniffing, mounting, fight, routing the administration on the responses.
floor, huddling together, eating, drinking, attempt to escape, defaecation and urination were observed as University, Samaru-Zaria (11 10 N, 07 38 E), located period of 4 h.The video tape was later watched and the in the Northern Guinea Savannah zone of Nigeria.number of pigs exhibiting each behavioural activity Experimental Animals and Management: Twenty was recorded.nine local pigs, including males and non-pregnant, Statistical Analysis: Behavioural activities for each period of measurement were summed and results non-nursing females, weighing 20-48 kg, and with presented as percentiles.Data subjected to Student's t-ages ranging from 9 -12 months were bought from test and are expressed as mean ± standard error of the different localities in Zaria environs two weeks before the experimental day.They were kept under an mean (mean ± SEM).Values of P < 0.05 were considered intensive system of management.The pigs were pre-significant.conditioned for two weeks before the commencement The results obtained in the present study showed mean of 51.00 ± 1.5 %.Thus, the range was 51 % that the pigs were subjected to a cold and dust-laden during the journey.There was a positive correlation (r wind with high AT, characteristics of harmattan season = 0.992, P < 0.01) between the hour of the journey and in the Northern Guinea Savannah zone of Nigeria.RH in experimental and control pigs.
This observation agreed with that made by Ayo et al.The results of the behavioural activities of (1998).Meteorological results obtained during the experimental pigs and control pigs are shown in Figure present study agreed with the previous findings that 1.The value obtained for behavioural activities of the harmattan season is thermally stressful to pigs defaecating (75.00 ± 12.5 %), urinating (37.5 ± 12.5 %) and huddling together were higher (P < 0.05) in the (Adenkola et al.

, 2009). control pigs than the corresponding values recorded in
The meteorological results obtained demonsthe experimental pigs (with values of 58.8±12.3,trated that transportation of pigs during the thermally 25.00% ±11.3, 0.00%± 0.0 %, respectively).However, stressful harmattan (Adenkola et al., 2009) may there was no significant (P > 0.05) difference in the adversely affect the pigs; and, consequently, impair percentage values of the number of pigs found the homeostatic mechanisms of the animals.This is  2006) that the lying down.AA is essential for the synthesis of muscle AT during transport influences the level of well-being carnitine required for transport and transfer of fatty in pigs.Such responses have been established to have acids into mitochondria where it can be used for negative effects on both the health status and energy production.Adenkola and Anugwa (2007) productivity of animals (West, 2003).Environmental demonstrated that there is better feed utilization in AA stress factors have been shown to cause oxidative supplemented animal.The mechanism involved in AA stress and impair the antioxidant, AA in vivo (Sahin et controlling defaecation and urination under stress was al., 2001).Thus, AA supplementation in the present not investigated.study attenuated the negative responses of pigs to The result of the present study showed that AA transportation stress.
increased the number of animals involved in sniffing The fact that all the pigs, both experimental and and mounting as the values were greater in control, were standing before transportation indicated experimental pigs compared to the control pigs.This that the pigs were mentally alert, an indication of showed that AA apparently increased sexual activity in sensiromotor reflex and neuromuscular coordination.pigs even after transportation.This finding was in This is in agreement with the standard guidelines agreement with the result of Gubergrits and governing the welfare of pigs during road transpor-Lvenevsky (1998) which showed that AA enhanced libido.Furthermore, the present study showed that AA tation (Lambooij, 2000;Grandin, 2001) that physically increased aggressiveness in AA-treated pigs as fit pigs should be transported.Pig in the two groups, evidenced by increased percentage of pigs involved in experimental and control, defaecated and urinated prefighting post-transportation. transportation.This finding indicated that road The fact that the percentage of pigs attempting to transportation induced fear as observed by Frazer and escape was higher in the experimental pigs compared Broom (1990), but the percentage of pigs exhibiting to control pigs post-transportation supported the these behavioural activities were higher in the control findings of Chervyakov et al. (1977), Kondratyev than experimental pigs post-transportation, thus (1988) and Balz (2003) that AA activates the adrenergic suggesting that AA has ameliorating effect on brain system.AA acts as a co-factor for the enzyme dopaminefunction as observed by Balz (2003).
β-hydroxylase, which catalyzes the conversion of The percentage number of pigs that huddled neurotransmitter dopamine to adrenaline.together was more in the control than experimental In conclusion, long-term road transportation of pigs.This finding could be, due to the fact that pigs during the harmattan season induces behavioural stressful harmattan season induced generation of free stress and depression, and AA administration prior to radicals as observed by Adenkola and Ayo (2009) and the transportation alleviates the risk of these adverse that this free radical inhibits the hypothalamic behavioural stress responses.Therefore AA administhermostat, rendering it incapable of controlling the body tration is recommended before road transportation in temperature in the control pigs.However, in experipigs.mental pigs, AA was able to scavenge these free radicals produced thereby ameliorate the effect of free References radical and prevents oxidative stress in experimental et al.(1999).Recordings were Experimental Site: The experiments were performed done based on the number of pigs found performing during the harmattan season, at the Livestock Research each activity within 30 min of direct observation, Pen, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ahmadu Bello alternated by 30 min of rest and this continued for a

Results
of the experiment.During the period, they were pre-Meteorological Data: The meteorological data from conditioned to experimental procedure and screened the study period pre-transportation are shown in for diseases by taking their blood and faecal samples Table-1.The period was characterized by relatively for laboratory analyses.The infested pigs were treated o low minimum AT of 19.0 ± 3.1 C and low maximum using oxytetracycline at the dose of 20 mg/kg and o thiabendazole (M.S.D. AGVET, U.S.A.) at the dose of AT of 23.3 ± 0.7 C. The DBT value obtained during o 25 mg/kg body weight.therecordings was 19.2 ± 2.7 C. The harmattan season Experimental Design: On the experimental day, the was characterized by relatively low humidity of 21.0 ± experimental pigs (n=17) were orally and individually 0.51 % pre-transportation and 21.0 ± 0.6 % postadministered with AA (Juhel Nigeria Ltd., Enugu, transportation.The wind direction was North-east Nigeria.) at 250 mg/kg(Chervyyakov et al., 1977)  with a speed of 226.43 km/ day.The meteorological dissolved in 20 ml of water, while 12 pigs which data during the post-transportation period (Table2) were similar to those obtained during the pre-transpor-exhibiting other activities studied in the experimental tation period (P>0.05).During the transpor-tation the and control pigs pre-transportation.The recorded 0 values of behavioural activities of standing, sniffing, DBT value inside the vehicle before loading was 12 C, mounting, fight and attempt to escape were signifiwhile that value obtained imme-diately after loading 0 0 cantly (P < 0.05) higher in experimental than control was 18 C.Thereafter, the DBT rose gradually from 24 pigs, while behavioural activities of lying down (75.0 C in the first hour of the journey, and attained a peak 0 ± 13.0 %), defaecating (12.5 ± 8.5 %) and urinating value of 29 C in the second hour of the journey.The 0 with a value of (12.5± 8.5 %) were higher in the control lowest value of 21 C was recorded in the eighth hour (P<0.05)than experimental pigs. of the journey (Table-3).The mean DBT inside the 0 vehicle during the journey was 28.33 ± 0.79 C, Discussion whereas the mean RH ranged between 34 -75 % with a duration of the journey increased; whereas a marked Erythrocyte osmotic fragility of pigs administered increase in the number of animals lying down occurred antioxidant and transported by road for short-term duration post-transportation.In experimental pigs, AA may during the harmattan season.Afri.J. Biotechnol.9(2): 226 -233.have prevented the muscular damage often caused by 5. Altan O, Pabuccuaoglu A, Konyalioglu S, Bayracktar H free radical production, leading to muscle glycogen (2002).Effect of heat stress on oxidative stress, lipid depletion and possibly fatigue and lethargy as peroxidation and some stress parameters in broilers.Brit.indicated by the higher percentage of control pigs Poultry Sci.44 (4): 54 -55.
and AA has been shown to have causes of stress (Earley et al., 2006; Buchham Sporer, neuroprotective abilities (Santiago-Mejia, 2004).et al., 2008; Adenkola et al., 2010), and it adversely Two persons loaded the pigs into the changes in thermal environment caused by fluctua-vehicle under relatively calm conditions.One person tions in AT and relative humidity (RH) have been caught and carried a pig and led it to the other person, demonstrated to induce a variety of physiological already inside the vehicle, who in turn placed the pig responses, which may adversely affect productivity into the vehicle.The pigs were stocked at the density

Mean Ambient Temperature and Relative Humidity inside the Vehicle during the Long-Term Road Transportation similar
to the findings of Vecerek et al. ( This finding was in agreement with that of 3. Adenkola AY, Ayo JO, Sackey AKB.(2009).Ascorbic acid-Knowles et al. (1999), who observed that the number induced modulation of rectal temperature in pigs during the harmattan season.J. Thermal Biol.34 (13): 152-154 .
ascorbic acid during the harmattan season in Zaria Nigeria.J.tation.