Forensic age assessment of late-term bovine fetuses.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Transporting pregnant cattle that have passed 90% or more of the expected gestation period (G90 threshold) is prohibited within the European Union. Therefore, there is a need to determine whether this threshold has been exceeded in late-gestation cows sent to slaughter. The aim of this study was to evaluate fetal parameters' reliability for use in forensic age assessment of late-term Holstein fetuses.

Results

Analysis of the gestation length of 2734 Holsteins that calved with a single liveborn fetus revealed a median gestation length of 278 days with 99% of parturitions occurring between day 261 and 290, corresponding to G90 thresholds of 235 and 261 days, respectively. The association between gestation length and neonatal body weight had an R² of 0.27.

SUBMITTER: Agerholm JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10290400 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature