The microbiology and sensory evaluation of pheasants hung at 5, 10 and 15 degrees C

Pheasants hung for 9 d at 10 °G were found to be more acceptable than those hung for 4 d at 15 °G or for 18 d at 5 °G. The birds stored at 15 °G were tough by comparison with those held for longer at the lower temperatures and the clostridia, including Clostridium welchii, increased considerably in the intestines during the storage period. Microbial growth in the muscle tissue was generally found to occur only in birds in which the gut had been perforated by shot. There is an indication that 9 d at 10 °C produced a more “ gamey “ bird than 18 d at 5 °G or 4 d at 15 °G, but the most “ gamey “ birds, independent of temperature, were those in which the muscle was damaged by shot.     

The spoilage flora and shelf‐life of duck carcasses stored at 2 or ‐ 1°c in oxygen‐permeable or oxygen‐impermeable film

1. A comparison was made of” oven ready “ duck carcasses stored at 2 or — 1 °C and wrapped in either a low‐density oxygen‐permeable polyethylene film or a heat‐shrunk oxygen‐impermeable film.

2. At spoilage the main organisms at 2 and — 1 °C on the carcasses wrapped in the oxygen‐permeable film were pseudomonads, producing unacceptable “off odours” when their numbers were >10⁸/cm². This occurred in about 10 d at 2 °C but in about 19 d at ‐ 1° C.

3. The effect of wrapping in the heat‐shrunk oxygen‐impermeable film was to delay or inhibit the growth of pseudomonads and thus extend the shelf‐life by more than 50% at either temperature. The predominant organisms isolated from the spoiling carcasses were atypical lactobacilli and enterobacteria.

4. Sensory assessment of the carcasses stored at — 1 °C by a trained panel indicated that, although less obvious “ off odours “ were produced by the micro‐organisms growing on the carcasses wrapped in the impermeable film, differences were detected at 33 d when the numbers of bacteria reached about 10⁷/cm² whilst at 41 d the meat was described as rancid.     

Sonographic observations of the peripheral vasculature of the equine thoracic limb

Investigations of the equine peripheral vascular system have been constrained by the lack of a non-invasive method of examining the arteries and veins of the limbs of the conscious horse. Precise correlations were established between the gross anatomical features of the peripheral vessels and their B-mode sonographic appearance in each thoracic limb of 35 horses. A sonographic imaging protocol was established. Additional Doppler sonographic recordings defined the arterial waveforms and demonstrated that blood flow to the foot could be evaluated in the lateral proper digital artery, distal to the level of the coronary band. Valves (with 2-4 cusps) were identified in the lumina of the medial and lateral palmar common digital veins and those of the medial and lateral palmar proper digital veins. Spontaneous echo contrast, a smoke-like haze of echoic blood, was seen in the lateral and medial palmar common digital veins, the distal deep palmar venous arch and communicating branches, and the palmar proper digital veins, and occasionally seen in the distal deep palmar arterial arch and distal proper palmar digital arteries. The value of duplex sonography (B-mode and Doppler) for anatomical and physiological studies of the peripheral vasculature of the horse was clearly established. Such data could be applied to the investigation of diseases affecting the peripheral circulation.     

VAGINAL PROLAPSE IN A SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SEA LION (NEOPHOCA NOVE HOLLANDIA)

SUMMARY A case of vaginal prolapse in a South Australian Sea Lion is described. Conservative treatment proved unsuccessful, and an ovariohysterectomy was performed. Problems concerning anaesthesia, surgery and post-operative management of this marine species are discussed.     

The diets of littoral fish from the Cape Peninsula

Intertidal fish communities in the south·western Cape have a high density and biomass, implying that the fish are important con· sumers in the ntertidal zone. Stomach content analyses of 20 species were undertaken to ascertain which food resources are most heavily exploited and the extent to which the co-existing fish compete for the same food resources. Three prey types, arnphipods, isopods and polychaetes, occur in the diets of almost all the species examined and together comprise more than half the total volume consumed by 14 of the species. Despite the overlap in food types consumed, there was considerable subdivi· sion of the resource, much of which may be explained in terms of horizontal and vertical distribution patterns of the various fish species, their habitat preferences, mouth sizes and changes in diet during growth. The standing stock of food in the pools is thought to be too low to support the resident fish populations, suggesting that some food, at least, is obtained outside the pools while the tide is in. For this reason, the fish are considered to be concentrated in the pools at low tide, indicating that the availability of suitable pool habitats may be important in con· trolling the denSities of intertidal fish communities.     

Comparison of a standard and a detailed postmortem protocol for detecting Mycobacterium bovis in badgers

A standard postmortem protocol, consisting of gross pathology, culture for mycobacteria and limited selective histopathology, was used in the randomised badger culling trial in Great Britain to detect Mycobacterium bovis infection. This standard protocol was compared with a more detailed protocol in which more tissues were examined grossly, more tissues were cultured, more culture slopes were seeded, the culture period was extended and tissues were examined routinely by histopathology. The standard protocol was more sensitive in badgers with gross visible lesions than in badgers with no gross visible lesions. When applied to the study population of badgers, the overall sensitivity of the standard protocol relative to the more detailed protocol was estimated to be 54.6 per cent (95 per cent confidence interval 44.9 to 69.8 per cent). Badgers with tuberculosis (tb) detected by the standard protocol had a mean of 7.6 tissues with microscopic lesions suspicious of tb. The additional badgers detected by the detailed protocol had a mean of 4.4 tissues with microscopic lesions suspicious of tb.