While Little Joe Cartwright excitedly fires his Colt 45 into the clear-blue Nevada sky, his brother, Hoss is gently prodding and poking the now confused animals that have been suddenly aroused and disturbed from their peaceful grazing, across the sprawling expanse of The Ponderosa. The sunny incidental music provides a cheerful accompaniment to the frightened cries in the herd as they are driven great distances to be weighed before their sale. Father Ben Cartwright proudly oversees. As the credits roll, the viewer, exhilarated by the poignancy of the plot and its heroic climax, is also left with a vague and sanitized perspective of what the cattle are actually forced to endure. Excepting the use of trucks, electric cattle prods, and other high-tech gadgets and equipment, it seems that not much has changed in the transportation of livestock since the days of America’s Wild West!
Developments in more humane slaughter practices, due largely to the efforts of animal rights lobbyists, improvements in feed, housing, and heightened FDA regulations in the inspection of meat products before they are distributed to the stores, have changed the beef-cattle industry resulting in the production and distribution of higher quality beef. However, the methods of transporting and weighing livestock have remained relatively unchanged.
The process of weighing cattle, which requires transporting them to distances upward of 25 miles, can result in great strain and stress; it can inhibit reproduction and quite often, cause injuries to livestock. Labor and equipment expenses involved in driving cattle by horseback and/or by truck to a scale also drive the price of beef up!
Beef producers select cattle for temperament. Cortisol is a hormone that stimulates the breakdown of muscle and fat deposits affecting growth, health and reproduction. One of the main hormones produced during stress responses is cortisol. Higher concentrations of it are found in temperamental cattle compared to calm cattle. Cortisol is produced during this fear-inducing process to release energy and protein to support the behavioral stress response, causing a stress reaction that often results in drastic internal and external changes in their physiology that influences their temperament. This adversely affects their growth and their overall health; this results in decreased quality, weight, and yield of the end-product.
New technologies are currently being tested that weigh beef cattle without having to move them, reducing stress on the cattle. Keeping the cattle calm results in better quality beef, and the expenses related to moving them to be weighed is eliminated.
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