Authors : A. Orihuela , V. Aguirre , C. Hernandez , I. Flores-Perez and R. Vazquez
Abstract: > Animal welfare concern has been expressed regarding the use of Electro-Ejaculation (EE) as a semen collection technique. In the present experiment, the effect of anesthesia on measures of welfare of hair sheep (Ovis aries) during EE was evaluate. Twenty intact F1 Dorper/St. Croix rams aged 12-13 months were randomly assigned to one of 2 groups: Controls (T0) and animals receiving im injection of xylazine and ketamine (T1). All animals were electro-ejaculated once. Changes in cortisol concentration, Heart (HR) and Respiratory Rate (RR) were used to quantify the stress response to EE. A peak of >200 beats min-1 was observed at the time of EE in both groups. Anesthetized rams in T1 returned to their basal heart rate within 4 min after this peak, while the heart rate of rams in the T0 group remained relatively high 30 min after EE. Serum cortisol levels were significantly higher (p<0.05) in the T0 group than in the T1 rams 20 min after EE (161.57±14.37 and 110.60±11.74 ng mL-1 in T0 and T1, respectively). No differences in the respiratory rate variable (p>0.05) were observed between or within groups. It was concluded that anesthetic treatment during EE improved 2 of 3 measures of welfare (heart rate and cortisol concentration). These findings provide support for the use of anaesthetics when collecting semen in hair sheep by EE.
A. Orihuela , V. Aguirre , C. Hernandez , I. Flores-Perez and R. Vazquez , 2009. Effect of Anesthesia on Welfare Aspects of Hair Sheep (Ovis aries) During Electro-Ejaculation. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 8: 305-308.