Effect of Anesthesia on Welfare Aspects of Hair Sheep (Ovis aries) During Electro-Ejaculation

Animal welfare concern has been expressed regarding the use of Electro-Ejaculation (EE) as a semen collection technique. In the present experiment, the effect of anesthesia on measures of welfare of hair sheep (Ovis aries) during EE was evaluate. Twenty intact F1 Dorper/St. Croix rams aged 12-13 months were randomly assigned to one of 2 groups: Controls (T(0)) and animals receiving im injection of xylazine and ketamine (T(1)). All animals were electro-ejaculated once. Changes in cortisol concentration, Heart (HR) and Respiratory Rate (RR) were used to quantify the stress response to EE. A peak of >200 beats min(-1) was observed at the time of EE in both groups. Anesthetized rams in T(1) returned to their basal heart rate within 4 min after this peak, while the heart rate of rams in the T(0) group remained relatively high 30 min after EE. Serum cortisol levels were significantly higher (p0.05) were observed between or within groups. It was concluded that anesthetic treatment during EE improved 2 of 3 measures of welfare (heart rate and cortisol concentration). These findings provide support for the use of anaesthetics when collecting semen in hair sheep by EE.