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Additional samples may be required in addition to the core samples, depending on
the suspected cause of death
Sampling from Comprehensive Necropsies
Comprehensive necropsies are performed when there is no obvious cause of death from clinical signs, history and initial necropsy, and should be accompanied by a full
set of samples.
5.1.5 Be familiar with photographic requirements before commencing a necropsy
Experience indicates that digital photographs provide extremely valuable information to aid in identifying cause of death. The most useful photographs include:
1. Dead cattle in situ before they are relocated or dismembered with the case number on a small placard or the NLIS tag number in the photograph captured in the photograph.
2. Each of the major body cavities i.e. oral, thorax, abdomen at end of display stage see necropsy protocol even if no lesions are evident.
3. Organs and tissues where there are gross changes suspected to be caused by disease More information on taking necropsy photographs on cattle ships is presented in Section 7.3.
6 Bovine necropsy protocol
This Handbook provides a description of a method of performing a bovine necropsy suitable for ship board conditions. There are many ways to do a necropsy and procedures must be
adapted to the conditions operating at the time. The method described here takes into consideration the following conditions:
• Gut tissues may be sampled early in the necropsy to minimize postmortem changes especially if enteric disease is suspected.
• Core body temperature must be measured early in the necropsy especially if hyperthermia is suspected.
• The carcass is likely to be lying in accumulated bedding and manure that may risk gross contamination of equipment samples.
• The carcass must eventually be fully dismembered for ease of disposal and it is unnecessary to salvage the hide.
The description is for a necropsy conducted with the left side down so that the rumen lies under the abdominal viscera. If the animal is found right side down, only roll it over if pen
conditions permit, and if it is a large animal, you have assistance.
Necropsies should be performed systematically and comprehensively, however it is recognized that time is not always available to do this. A systematic comprehensive
approach using checklists will minimise the risk of not collecting important samples and reduce bias of investigators.
It is expected that almost all necropsies performed during
voyages will
be targeted
necropsies accompanied by the Core set of samples.
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6.1 Short summary of bovine necropsy
