Public awareness in New Zealand of animal welfare legislation relating to cats

Abstract

AIMS: To ascertain the levels of awareness of legislation governing the welfare of cats, and provision of basic care, including vaccination, by cat-owners within two locations in New Zealand. To assess the ability of respondents to differentiate between the terms ‘stray’ and ‘feral’.

METHODS: A face-to-face questionnaire, consisting of 12 questions in three sections, was distributed by volunteers within Auckland (n=255) and Kaitaia (n=99) to gather information pertinent to the study's aims. Section 1 covered respondents’ personal details; Section 2, ownership and care of cats, including whether or not the cats were vaccinated against feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukaemia virus (FeLV); and Section 3, awareness of legislation and differences between the terms ‘stray’ and ‘feral’.

RESULTS: Overall, fewer than half of respondents were aware of the animal welfare legislation within New Zealand or the semantic differences between the terms ‘stray’ and ‘feral’ as they appear in the dictionary. Respondents ≥41 years old, and individuals employed in the animal-related sector, were significantly more likely to be aware of the legislation and make the correct distinction between the terms compared with those aged ≤40, and those working in a non-animal-related profession.

A significantly greater percentage of cat-owners (42%) provided care for cats they did not own compared with non-owners (26%). Results also indicated a large majority of cat-owners may consider standard annual vaccinations to include vaccination against FIV and FeLV.

CONCLUSION: Dissemination of information about animal welfare legislation is important for the care of cats within New Zealand, and the definitions of the terms ‘stray’ and ‘feral’ need to be more clearly stated in order to prevent confusion. This is especially important when cats may be controlled using lethal measures under different legislative precedents that are not necessarily consistent with one another.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Veterinary clinics may act as a primary source for the dissemination of information about relevant welfare acts as well as preventative health care, thus improving the welfare of cats. Cat-owners need to be better educated about the diseases covered by annual vaccination.     

Harvesting and extraction impacts on Eucalyptus grandis × E. urophylla coppicing potential and rotation-end volume in Zululand,South Africa

From the early 2000s there has been a general shift in South Africa in harvesting and extraction systems from the use of semi- to fully-mechanised systems. Any increase in mechanisation, as is occurring in Zululand, will need to take into consideration damage to stumps and the subsequent ability to regenerate by coppice. In 2002, four types of harvesting and extraction systems, arranged in a randomised complete block design, were used to clearfell a stand of E. grandis × E. urophylla. A motor-manual harvesting system was used to carry out the manual harvesting system (Man). The fully mechanised system (Mech) consisted of a single-grip harvesting head used with a tracked excavator to carry out all felling and processing operations. Two additional systems (Man_Mech_3W and Man_Mech_Flexi) had increased levels of mechanisation over that of the Man treatment. Both these harvesting systems made use of a Bell debarker, with loading carried out by a Bell three-wheeled loader in the Man_Mech_3W, and by a Flexiloader in the Man_Mech_Flexi treatments. Data collected from these four treatments were used to determine the effects of mechanised harvesting systems on type and severity of stump damage, coppicing potential and coppice growth over the rotation. Irrespective of harvesting system, more damage occurred to the top than bottom half of the stump, with a significant decrease in coppice regrowth with increasing stump damage. Most damage and least coppice regrowth occurred in the extraction rows where the damage recorded could be attributed to vehicle movement, tear-outs and/or log stripping. There was no significant difference between the harvesting systems in terms of stump mortality, final stem stocking and rotation-end volume. Thus, individual components within each harvesting system can have a larger impact than the overall harvesting system used. Future research should focus on these components, and where associated damage occurs for a specific component, this should be lessened through management intervention, training or technological improvements.     

Uterine infection with bovine herpesvirus type 4 in dairy cows

Diseases of the reproductive tract are a frequent problem in dairy herds. Herpesviruses are uterine pathogens also involved in other clinical diseases; for example, bovine herpesvirus type 4 BoHV‐4 induces abortion, enteritis, metritis, pneumonia and vaginitis, but it can also be detected in healthy cows. The role of BoHV‐4 in the development of clinical endometritis (CE) or subclinical endometritis (SE) has not clearly been described. Therefore, the objective of this study was to describe the prevalence of uterine BoHV‐4 infection and its relationship with clinical, bacteriological and cytological findings in dairy cows 20–30 days after calving. The experiment was performed as a completely randomized block design, with farm (n = 10) as blocking criterion and with cow (n = 397) as the experimental unit. Logistic regression models were used to assess the effect of BoHV‐4 infection on CE, SE and reproductive performance. Proportion of cows infected with BoHV‐4 was 5.8% (n = 23/397). BoHV‐4 was isolated in 11.0% (n = 12/109), 4.8% (n = 4/84) and 3.6% (n = 7/194) of cows diagnosed as CE, SE or healthy, respectively. A logistic model revealed that BoHV‐4 infection showed a tendency to increase the risk for CE (AOR = 2.17; p = .10) but significantly reduced both, the odds for artificial insemination within 80 days post‐partum (dpp) (AOR = 0.37; p = .035) and for pregnancy within 200 dpp (AOR = 0.13; p = .004). Furthermore, BoHV‐4 infection increased the chance for intrauterine infection with Trueperella pyogenes (AOR = 5.55; p < .001) and vice versa (AOR = 5.79, p < .001). In conclusion, BoHV‐4 infection is associated with reduced chances for insemination and pregnancy by 200 dpp and showed a trend to be associated with increased risk for CE. Furthermore, BoHV‐4 and Trueperella pyogenes infections are strongly related.     

Effect of hCG on Early Luteal Serum Progesterone Concentrations in PG600‐Treated Gilts

Gilt oestrus and ovulation responses to injection of a combination of equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG) and human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) (PG600) can be unpredictable, possibly reflecting inadequate circulating LH activity. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of PG600 followed by supplemental hCG on gilt ovarian responses. In experiment 1, 212 Hypor gilts (160 day of age) housed on two farms in Spain received intramuscular (i.m.) injections of PG600 (n = 47), or PG600 with an additional 200 IU hCG injected either concurrently (hCG‐0; n = 39), or at 24 h (hCG‐24; n = 41) or 48 h (hCG‐48; n = 45) after PG600. A further 40 gilts served as non‐injected controls. Ovulation responses were determined on the basis of initial blood progesterone concentrations being <1 ng/ml and achieving >5 ng / ml 10 d after the PG600 injection. The incidence of ovulating gilts having progesterone concentrations >30 ng/ml were recorded. During the study period, 10% of control gilts ovulated whereas 85–100% of hormone‐treated gilts ovulated. There were no significant differences among hormone groups for proportions of gilts ovulating. The proportions of gilts having circulating progesterone concentrations >30 ng/ml were increased (p ≤ 0.02) in all hCG treated groups compared with the PG600 group. In experiment 2, a total of 76 Hypor gilts at either 150 or 200 days of age were injected with PG600 (n = 18), 400 IU eCG followed by 200 IU hCG 24 h later (n = 20), PG600 followed by 100 IU hCG 24 h later (n = 17), or 400 IU eCG followed by 300 IU hCG 24 h later (n = 21). Blood samples were obtained 10 days later for progesterone assay. There were no effects of treatment or age on incidence of ovulation, but fewer 150‐day‐old gilts treated with PG600 or 400 IU eCG followed by 200 IU hCG had progesterone concentrations >30 ng / ml. We conclude that hCG treatment subsequent to PG600 treatment will generate a higher circulating progesterone concentration, although the effect is not evident in older, presumably peripubertal, gilts. The mechanism involved and implications for fertility remain to be determined.     

Corpus luteum Function and Pregnancy Outcome in Buffaloes during the Transition Period from Breeding to Non‐Breeding Season

The aim in this study was to investigate corpus luteum function and embryonic loss in buffaloes mated by artificial inseminations (AI) during the transitional period from breeding to non‐breeding season. The study was carried out using 288 multiparous Italian Mediterranean Buffalo cows at 110 ± 4 days in milk. The buffaloes were mated by AI after synchronization of ovulation by the Ovsynch‐TAI protocol 25 days after AI buffaloes underwent trans‐rectal ultrasonography to assess embryonic development. Pregnancy diagnosis was confirmed on Days 45 and 70 after AI by rectal palpation. Buffaloes pregnant on Day 25 but not on Day 45 were considered to have undergone late embryonic mortality (LEM), whilst buffaloes pregnant on Day 45 but not on Day 70 were considered to have undergone foetal mortality (FM). Corpus luteum size and blood flow were determined by real‐time B‐mode/colour‐Doppler on day 10 after AI in 122 buffaloes. The resistive index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI) were recorded at the time. Milk samples were collected on Days 10, 20 and 25 after AI in all inseminated buffaloes for the assay of whey P4 concentrations. Data were analysed by anova . Pregnancy rate on Day 25 after AI was 48.6% (140/288) and declined to 35.4% (102/288) and 30.6% (88/288) by Day 45 and Day 70 respectively. The incidences of LEM and FM were respectively 27.1% (38/140) and 13.7% (14/102). Pregnant buffaloes had greater (p < 0.01) whey concentrations of P4 from Day 20 onwards than buffaloes which showed LEM, whilst P4 in buffaloes that showed FM did not differ from the other two groups on Day 10 and Day 20. Corpus luteum blood flow on Day 10 after AI showed higher RI (p < 0.05) and PI (p = 0.07) values in buffaloes that subsequently were not pregnant on Day 25 compared with pregnant buffaloes. Buffaloes that were not pregnant on Day 45 also had a higher (p = 0.02) RI value on Day 10 than pregnant buffaloes, whilst PI values on Day 10 did not differ for the two groups of buffaloes. It was concluded that blood flow to the corpus luteum on Day 10 after AI influences corpus luteum function as judged by P4 secretion and also embryonic development and attachment in buffaloes.     

Identification of toxigenic Pasteurella multocida in atrophic rhinitis of pigs by in vitro characterisation

Toxigenic strains of Pasteurella multocida were readily differentiated from non-toxigenic strains by an agarose overlay method using bovine turbinate cells or bovine lung cells. Cells which were young and densely confluent were best suited to this assay. The incubation period required to distinguish toxigenic strains was dependent on the confluence of the monolayers, which was affected by the seeding rate, cell passage level and growth time prior to overlay. The agarose overlay method correctly identified 11 of 11 reference strains of Pasteurella multocida, and visible cytotoxic changes were present in the monolayers after 48 to 65 h. Outbreaks of the enzootic form of atrophic rhinitis in 2 New South Wales piggeries were associated with the isolation of toxigenic type D strains of P. multocida.     

The physiological effects of natural variation in growth hormone gene copy number in ram lambs

The effects of natural variation in the number of copies of the growth hormone (GH) gene on growth parameters, plasma GH profiles, and the response to GHRH challenge were compared in Coopworth ram lambs from selection lines differing in body composition and GH levels. Different genotypes at the GH locus carried two, three, or four copies of the GH gene and GH secretion was studied under ad libitum feeding conditions and in the fasted state. There were no significant effects of GH genotype on any parameters of growth or body composition. Basal serum GH concentration, GH pulse frequency, and GH pulse amplitude differed significantly with selection line and fasting, but did not differ significantly between the GH genotypes. Significant differences of subtle nature were found between the GH genotypes in their responsiveness to GHRH. For the ad libitum-fed Lean selection line animals, the first GHRH challenge resulted in a higher mean maximum response for GH1/GH1 than GH2/GH2 (P < 0.05). Between the first and the second challenges there was a decrease in maximum response for the GH1/GH1 genotype and an increase for the GH2/GH2 genotype (P < 0.05 for GH genotype main effect). The differences between GH genotypes in response to GHRH challenge suggest that polymorphism in the number of GH gene copies in sheep may have physiological implications for the function of the GH axis, which may be manifested in growing lambs only under specific genotype-environment combinations.