Journey length and high temperatures: effects on rabbit welfare and meat quality

The transport of domestic animals by road can increase levels of stress and decrease meat quality, especially in unfavourable climates. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of journey duration and vertical position on the transport truck on some physiological indicators of stress and on instrumental meat quality parameters in commercial rabbits. In the summer months (June and July, 2003), 78 rabbits were subjected to either long (7 h) (LJ) or short (1 h) (SJ) journeys (3 replicates each, n = 6) between the farm and an abattoir in northern Spain. The position (top, middle, or bottom) occupied by the rabbits on the Multi-Floor cage Rolling Stand (MFRS) of the transport truck was recorded. Blood samples were collected at sticking and meat pH was measured at 24 h post-mortem (pH24). At 48 h post-mortem, samples of the M. longissimus dorsi were used to determine water-holding capacity (WHC) and instrumental tenderness using an INSTRON machine. The levels of corticosterone, glucose, lactate, and creatine kinase were slightly higher in LJ than in SJ samples, but the difference was not statistically significant (p < or = 0.10). Independent of journey length, rabbits in the middle and bottom of the MFRS showed higher levels (p < or = 0.05) of glucose and creatine kinase (middle), and corticosterone (bottom) than the rabbits located at the top floor. The pH 24 and WHC values of the SJ and LJ rabbits did not differ significantly. Journey length had a significant effect (p < or = 0.01) on meat tenderness. The meat from rabbits subjected to LJ had higher values of maximum stress and total toughness than did the SJ rabbits (p < or = 0.05). There were similar differences (p < or = 0.05) between LJ and SJ rabbits in their stress values of compression at 20% and 40% (measures of the tenderness of raw meat). In hot weather, the position on the transport truck appeared to have a greater effect on rabbit welfare than the duration of the journey.     

Ixodid ticks parasitizing Iberian red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) and European wild boar (Sus scrofa) from Spain: geographical and temporal distribution

Commercial hunting of Spanish wild ungulates has made them an important economic resource. Wild ungulates may have an important role in the maintenance of ixodid tick populations, and also as reservoirs of pathogens. We studied the ixodid ticks that parasitize Iberian red deer and European wild boar from Spain. Ixodid ticks (n=6,336) were collected from 431 Iberian red deer and 142 wild boar in different regions of Spain. We found 10 different ixodid tick species parasitizing Iberian red deer, mainly Hyalomma marginatum marginatum (63.7%), Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus (7.9%) and R. bursa (7.5%). R. (Boophilus) annulatus was only collected in the province of Cádiz (southern Spain). We found 8 ixodid tick species on the wild boar, mainly Hy. m. marginatum (68.7%), R. bursa (14.6%) and Dermacentor marginatus (9.3%). We found one adult Hy. marginatum rufipes and one adult Hy. anatolicum excavatum parasitizing wild boar from south-central Spain. Mean prevalence of ixodid ticks was 41.3+/-0.08% (n=475) and 31+/-0.09% (n=284) and intensity of parasitization was 13.9+/-0.2 (n=283) and 13.6+/-0.3 (n=130) ticks/animal for Iberian red deer and wild boar, respectively. Only 5 of the 13 ixodid tick species found were shared by Iberian red deer and wild boar. This finding could indicate a host preference when Iberian red deer and wild boar share common habitats. In both Iberian red deer and wild boar from south-central Spain the monthly relative frequencies of Hy. m. marginatum and R. bursa presented an inverse pattern. The highest Hy. m. marginatum relative frequencies coincided with the lowest R. bursa relative frequencies along the year. R. bursa and I. ricinus were present in areas from northern to southern Spain while Hyalomma sp. and D. marginatus were exclusively collected in the two southern thirds of Spain. Haemaphysalis sp. and D. reticulatus were collected in northern Spain. Hy. m. marginatum and R. bursa were present during the whole year in red deer and wild boar from south-central Spain, showing more than one life cycle per year. These results are important for understanding the role of wild ungulates in the maintenance of tick infestations and to improve tick control programmes.     

Variation in free jumping technique within and among horses with little experience in show jumping

OBJECTIVE: To quantify variation in the jumping technique within and among young horses with little jumping experience, establish relationships between kinetic and kinematic variables, and identify a limited set of variables characteristic for detecting differences in jumping performance among horses. ANIMALS: Fifteen 4-year-old Dutch Warmblood horses. PROCEDURE: The horses were raised under standardized conditions and trained in accordance with a fixed protocol for a short period. Subsequently, horses were analyzed kinematically during free jumping over a fence with a height of 1.05 m. RESULTS: Within-horse variation in all variables that quantified jumping technique was smaller than variation among horses. However, some horses had less variation than others. Height of the center of gravity (CG) at the apex of the jump ranged from 1.80 to 2.01 m among horses; this variation could be explained by the variation in vertical velocity of the CG at takeoff (r, 0.78). Horses that had higher vertical velocity at takeoff left the ground and landed again farther from the fence, had shorter push-off phases for the forelimbs and hind limbs, and generated greater vertical acceleration of the CG primarily during the hind limb push-off. However, all horses cleared the fence successfully, independent of jumping technique. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Each horse had its own jumping technique. Differences among techniques were characterized by variations in the vertical velocity of the CG at takeoff. It must be determined whether jumping performance later in life can be predicted from observing free jumps of young horses.     

Ecological impacts of small hydropower plants on headwater stream fish: from individual to community effects

Hydroelectricity is increasingly used worldwide as a source of renewable energy, and many mountain ranges have dozens or hundreds of hydropower plants, with many more being under construction or planned. Although the ecological impacts of large dams are relatively well known, the effects of small hydropower plants and their weirs have been much less investigated. We studied the effects of water diversion of small hydropower plants on fish assemblages in the upper Ter river basin (Catalonia, NE Spain), which has headwater reaches with good water quality and no large dams but many of such plants. We studied fish populations and habitat features on control and impacted reaches for water diversion of 16 hydropower plants. In the impacted reaches, there was a significantly lower presence of refuges for fish, poorer habitat quality, more pools and less riffles and macrophytes, and shallower water levels. We also observed higher fish abundance, larger mean fish size and better fish condition in the control than in impacted reaches, although the results were species‐specific. Accordingly, species composition was also affected, with lower relative abundance of brown trout (Salmo trutta) and Pyrenean minnow (Phoxinus bigerri) in the impacted reaches and higher presence of stone loach (Barbatula quignardi) and Mediterranean barbel (Barbus meridionalis). Our study highlights the effects of water diversion of small hydropower plants from the individual to the population and community levels but probably underestimates them, urging for further assessment and mitigation of these ecological impacts.     

Urinary glycosaminoglycans in horse osteoarthritis. Effects of chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine

Our objectives were to characterize the urinary excretion of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in horse osteoarthritis, and to investigate the effects of chondroitin sulfate (CS) and glucosamine (GlcN) upon the disease. Urinary GAGs were measured in 47 athletic horses, 20 healthy and 27 with osteoarthritis. The effects of CS and GlcN were investigated in mild osteoarthritis. In comparison to normal, urinary GAGs were increased in osteoarthritis, including mild osteoarthritis affecting only one joint. Treatment with CS+GlcN led to a long lasting increase in the urinary CS and keratan sulfate (KS), and significant improvement in flexion test of tarsocrural and metacarpophalangeal joints was observed. In conclusion, urinary CS and KS seems to reflect the turnover rates of cartilage matrix proteoglycans, and the measurement of these compounds could provide objective means of evaluating and monitoring joint diseases.