The effects of some factors associated with transportation on the behavioural and physiological reactions of farmed red deer

Abstract The aim of this study was to examine the effects of several aspects of transportation (movement to a novel environment, reduced space allowance and deprivation of food and water) on the behavioural and physiological responses of red deer. In two experiments conducted in winter and summer, two groups of five adult male castrated red deer (housed at a space allowance of 2.7 m 2 per deer) were subjected to either 3- or 6-h treatment periods (without food and water) at a reduced space allowance (0.9 m 2 per deer). The effect of ambient temperature (9°C, 13°C and 20°C) was also examined in the winter experiment. In both experiments, each of the two groups was subjected to one treatment combination per week, in a random order. The deer lost live weight during treatment periods, although the rate of loss decreased with time. In Experiment 1, there was a significantly larger increase in sodium concentration at the end of 6-h treatments than after 3-h treatments (1.73 versus 0.30 mmol 1 −1 , P P P