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Effect of mulesing and shearing on the prevalence of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae arthritis in lambs
Author(s) -
PATON MW,
ROSE IR,
SUNDERMAN FM,
MARTIN M HOLM
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
australian veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1751-0813
pISSN - 0005-0423
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-0813.2003.tb12543.x
Subject(s) - medicine , arthritis , veterinary medicine , odds ratio , flock , population , logistic regression , environmental health
Objective To examine the effects of management practices and environment on the prevalence of arthritis in lambs. Design and population A case‐control study was conducted on groups of lambs from 122 Western Australian sheep flocks. Method Arthritis was diagnosed by visual assessment of lambs at abattoirs by qualified meat inspectors. The prevalence was estimated from data collected from producers on culling practices for arthritis. Data on management practices and environmental variables were collected by personal interview. Stepwise logistic regression was used to measure the effects of the most important factors on the prevalence of arthritis. Results Mulesing and shearing lambs increased the odds of high prevalence of arthritis by 7 (95% CI 1.9 ‐ 25.6) and 4.3 (95% CI 0.9 ‐ 19.6) times, respectively compared to unmarked and unshorn lambs. Lambs slaughtered between December and June had 3.7 (95% CI 0.8 ‐ 16.6) times greater odds of having a high prevalence of arthritis than lambs slaughtered in the remainder of the year. Conclusions This study indicates that, to decrease the risk of high prevalence of arthritis, lambs raised for meat production should not be mulesed or shorn. Recommended improvements to hygiene at mulesing such as the use of portable yards had little effect on the prevalence of arthritis.