Caracterização das condições de bem-estar de bovinos durante a transumância no circuito várzea-terra firme entre as Comunidades São Sebastião do Boto-Caburi no município de Parintins-Am

Abstract

The present study was conducted among the communities of São Sebastião do Boto and Caburi in the municipality of Parintins, during the periods of floodplain and dry land, with the aim of characterizing the transport infrastructure conditions for moving cattle from the floodplain to dry land, evaluating the physiological parameters, respiratory rate, and surface body temperature of the cattle, and assessing the thermal comfort indices ITGU during transhumance. An infrared thermography camera model Uti260B was used to capture images of the vessel and the animals, and a stress meter model IBUTG AK887 was employed to evaluate the thermal comfort conditions of the environment. During the diagnosis of the vessel, it was possible to identify a variation in temperatures on the barge, where the lowest temperature recorded was the floor temperature, corresponding to 32.3°C, and the highest temperature obtained was that of the side of the vessel, which reached 44.9°C. The results observed in the evaluation of ITGU showed that the environmental conditions remained in a state of emergency throughout the entire journey, such that the average obtained was 88.6, with a minimum ITGU of 87 and a maximum of 91. In the physiological parameters, the data obtained from the respiratory rate collected from 10 of the 100 animals present showed to be within normal limits, with an average of 36.8 movements/minute. The surface body temperature was found to be higher than that reported by (NAVARINI et al., 2009) in an experiment with cattle in full sun. In this study, the average obtained was 40.3°C, with a minimum of 35.6°C and a maximum of 44.1°C. Meanwhile, Navarini et al. (2009) reported an average of 35.2°C, a minimum of 33.4°C, and a maximum of 37°C. It is worth mentioning that the lack of studies focused on the transport of cattle and its influence on the productive quality of the animals raises several questions, such as: how can the travel time interfere with animal welfare, or how do the infrastructure of covered boats or barges influence the thermal comfort of the animals, or whether more humane treatment during the boarding and disembarking of cattle would yield better outcomes for producers in the region. Such questions can be used for future studies, with the aim of expanding knowledge in the sector.