TITLE:
Clinical and Radiographic Evaluation of Cattle Tail before and after the Vaquejada Race
AUTHORS:
Raíssa Karolliny Salgueiro Cruz, Maria Luiza Albuquerque Ribeiro, Juliano Sarmento Macedo, Brunno Aguiar Ferreira, Marcelo Araújo Silva, Anaemília das Neves Diniz, Helena Emília Cavalcanti da Costa Cordeiro Manso, Helio Cordeiro Manso Filho
KEYWORDS:
Zebu, Physical Exercise, Locomotor, Health
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Veterinary Medicine,
Vol.11 No.6,
June
18,
2021
ABSTRACT: The vaquejada race is a sport with animals which has the greatest socio-economic impact in
Brazil and is responsible for generating an intense cultural and economic
movement. However, this activity has been the subject of questions about
well-being involving the environmental and mental comfort conditions offered to
equine and cattle interactions. It is necessary to perform technical
evaluations of the cattle involved on the basis of scientific study to better
understand the processes of sport and, with this, promote their evolution on
good welfare practices in the 21st century. Therefore, to test the
hypothesis that the use of the official rules of the vaquejada where
cattle use a protective harness on the tail protects the cattle’s tail from
injuries in this region that compromise health. Before, during and after races,
a study was developed that aimed to perform a general and radiological clinical
evaluation in the proximal coccygeal region in cattle that ran in a modern
cattle stall. Forty male bovines were evaluated (average: 2 year-old and 420
kg). Oxen were subjected to clinical and radiological examination before and
after racing with official rules. Results of the clinical and radiological
evaluations performed by veterinarians, did not observe clinical occurrences
before and after the races in the 40 cattle evaluated. The increase in heart
and respiratory rates was a reflection of temporary management stressors, as
the animals returned to the feeding/rumination/interaction pattern after
running in the rest pen. The radiographic findings in the tail, represented by
the reduction of the intervertebral space and areas of subcutaneous
radiolucency, suggest technical artifacts derived from the manipulation of the
tail for proper positioning to perform the tests in the condition of retention
in the corral. The partial fracture found by an evaluator showed signs of
calcification and was accompanied by swelling in the soft tissue but without
pain in the pre-run examination. It is concluded that the modern vaquejada race, which meets the official rules, is not related to the increase in lesions
in the locomotor apparatus or other evaluated tissues, including the tail.