Stress and bruising in cattle.

The harvesting of meat animals involves a series of handling and transport procedures which may lead to physiological stress and physical injury with a consequent reduction in the yield and quality of meat produced (Lister 1979; Grandin 1980; Wythes et al. 1982). In Victoria the majority of bruising of cattle occurs within a few hours prior to slaughter (McCausland and Millar 1982). The following experiment was to test the hypothesis that susceptibility to bruising was associated with the physiological state (stress responsiveness) of the animal.