Figure 1.3 Allowable Stocking Fraction for 40kg Adult Merinos, fat score 3, acclimatised to 15
o
C wet bulb, shorn
10 20
30 40
50 60
70 80
90 100
J anuar
y F
ebr uar
y Ma
rc h
Ap ri
l Ma
y J
une Ju
ly A
ugus t
S ept
em be
r Oc
to b
e r
N ov
em ber
De c
e m
b e
r
St oc
k ing f
ra c
ti o
n
PAT 50 mhr PAT 70 mhr
PAT 100 mhr PAT 150 mhr
PAT 200 mhr PAT 250 mhr
South to Gulf, Merino adult 40kg, fat score 3, shorn coat, 15degC wb acc., 2 chance of 5mortality.
1.5 Recommendations for Further Work
Following the principal risk influences, further work could focus on weather, animal parameters or ship ventilation.
1.5.1 Weather
It is considered that the best use has already been made of available data. A serious weather monitoring program would take decades to build statistically useful data to supplant
the data already available. However, monitoring Gulf and Red Sea weather has a distinct advantage in being able to corroborate shipboard measurements whenever an incident is
being investigated. For example; satellite based weather data could assist in assessing heat stress effects on the Cormo Express voyage turned away from Saudi Arabia.
1.5.2 Animal Parameters
While the animal heat stress thresholds HST and mortality limits ML are uncertain, the trends of there parameters with the risk influences of weight, breed, coat, acclimatisation and
fat score are less clear. It may well be that, for example, lambs could be loaded more densely than suggested, with
the heaviest wethers requiring still more space. We believe that the targets for hot house research work in order of priority are:
Influence of weight on the HST of sheep Influence of weight on the HST of cattle
HST of crossbred vs. Merino sheep Influence of Bos indicus infusion on HST
Influence of acclimatisation on the HST of sheep and cattle Influence of fat score on the HST of sheep and cattle
Metabolic heat production data can be done together with the other experiments if the
facility is appropriately set up.
Project: LIVE.116 – Development of a Heat Stress Risk Management Model Revision F
Maunsell Australia Pty Ltd Page 12 of 129
Final Report December 2003
1.5.3 Vessel Ventilation
HS Version 2.1 has no allowance for air jetting or variation of ventilation along a deck. More importantly, the vessel ventilation data in HS Version 2.1 remain largely unaudited. We
recommend that all vessels on the trade be subject to ventilation surveys to verify or amend PAT data which are central to risk assessment.
Jetting assessment is more problematic. We now take the view that the air flows to give the necessary pen air turnover will be sufficient to give effective jetting and general circulation
over animal areas. Lack of jetting will be correlated with low PAT. If the input risk data are appropriately taken as relevant to pens with jetting, then the method may only be criticised
for not applying a ‘de-rating’ to areas with no jetting and only a general drift velocity. Such a de-rating could be included later if required as provision has been made in the software data
structure.
2 Weather
The key weather influences on the live export trade, notably the detailed seasonal variations of wet bulb temperature climatologies, are described in the following sections. Section 2.1
focuses on the weather experienced in the nine key Middle Eastern ports of disembarkation. Section 2.2 looks at the voyage weather covering the oceanic areas ranging from the
Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. Section 2.4 provides an overview of the wet bulb climatology of the Australian
ports of departure.
2.1 Middle East Weather
