Transporting livestock
 

Does anybody know of an airline that can move 500 head of cattle?

I have a friend who is looking for an airline that does this type of thing. Off the top of my head, I am thinking of Volga-Dnieper or some other airline that operates 747s? Just out of curiousity...how many cattle can fit in a B747 Classic Freighter? 100?

Thanks.

Could not give you an exact amount but used to be involved in sending them to UAE with Polar you could try and give them a call.

Mooooo
 

Call Atlas Air, and about 300 will fit on a 200. Have done many.

Depending on age/type of cattle you're probably looking at least two 747F loads. See Page 195 of the IATA Live Animals Regs for stocking density. Full grown cattle (700 KG ea) can only be packed 4 to a pallet; while smalleer cattle (300kg ea) can go 8 to a pallet. In any event, once you add in the weight of the pens, you'll weight out before you bulk out. All that being said - don't forget to call Evergreen for a competitive quote.

. I have never see more than 2-3 head of cattle shipped on a pallet at a time, they have allot of girth to them. Another factor is temperature, cattle generate allot of heat.

Try Kalitta. Kalitta used to have a regular cattle run from PHNL to LAX.

Altough IATA-LAR states 4 heads a pallet, it would be too much of a squeeze in most cases. It's usually 3 heads a pallet and as said elsewhere even with that you will bump against the max payload (on 747F ) before you run out of pallet positions ( Don't even think of using super lightweight rickety pens - if 1500 pounds of steak-to-be toss a tantrum you'll appreciate a sturdy pen ). Also, most of the cattle that gets airlifted is epxensive breeding stock; packing them too closely will increase the risk of injuries if the flight gets bumpy. Delivering injured goods will have the vets, the customer and god knows who else climbing all over you - not worth the hassle...

In proper pens with vets along for the ride we maxed out at 160 pregnant heifers in a Classic freighter... took some time to remove a certain 'je ne sais quoi' aroma from the uniform though...:}

FedEx used to do them with the MD-11. CGN or HAM to DMM or SHJ. Used the Instone penning system and I believe the numbers were around 160 with a full main deck and forward belly. Then BSE hit.........

Haven't heard of any cattle positioned in the forward belly as the transport of cattle requires access by an animal attendant...unless there is a hole in the floor on the main cabin for an attendant to get down.

No, did several with a full complement of cows in the forward belly with no access either, never lost one. They were Instone charters so I'm sure they know what they're doing. Set the pack flow switches to full on the lower maintenance panel and open the vent panel in the forward belly left hand sidewall and off you go. Crew were also asked to keep the cabin altitude higher than normal auto schedule to reduce temperature and cycle the outflow valve every 30 minutes so it didn't freeze due to all that extra moisture.That was many years ago (pre BSE!) so the regulations may have changed since then?

Isn't this what Ryanair do on a regular basis, although in smaller batches?

... and with the same lingering odour...:p

Are they potty trained?

Hi Guys,

Can I please ask a stupid question? Why would anyone want to move "herds" of anything by air? Would sea freight not be a better option? Speed in this case surely can't have anything to do with it unless you where having one hell of a BBQ at short notice and wanted your meat fresh. (Which by the way is not always the best thing).

Thanks

Mark

Cost.

if you're in Australia then there are several 'livestock' ships always available.

if you're in Europe or the Americas these ships aren't available. And the cost of chartering one runs to many $000s/day - and you start paying from the moment you sign the contract, including positioning etc.

So for a few hundred head (ships are designe for thousands) works out at $way-too-much.

Make sure you dose them up properly with sedatives!

f l y i n g . c o w s

Not a stupid question at all. Indeed, apart from moving cattle for the purpose of starting up new herds, there is little justification in moving them (or sheep, for that matter) around the world. As we have recently seen on TV in Australia, the fate they meet at destination (in that instance, Indonesia) is horrendous.

flight of the friesians
 

This article is from an Oz agricultural TV show - Flight of the friesians - Landline - ABC. They flew the in calf heifers from Melbourne to Russia, they simply couldn't spend months on a ship due to being expectant. The operator is AirBridgeCargo.

The things you learn when you grow up on a farm! :D

Hang on...

No-one has mentioned the 300 bales of hay the shipper also wanted to put on-board for in-flight food.

When the LM refused to load them on weight & balance grounds, the shipper said "Oh, it's OK... the cattle eat the hay!"


Exit stage left. ;)