Free‐Roaming Dogs in Nepal: Demographics,Health and Public Knowledge,Attitudes and Practices

In Nepal, most dogs are free to roam and may transmit diseases to humans and animals. These dogs often suffer from malnutrition and lack basic health care. Minimal information is available about their demographics and about public attitudes concerning dogs and diseases. We carried out a study in Chitwan District (central Nepal), to collect baseline data on free‐roaming owned dog demographics, assess knowledge, attitudes and practices of dog owners concerning dogs and rabies, evaluate rabies vaccination coverage and anthelmintic treatment of dogs, measure dogs' response to rabies vaccination and assess dog health through body condition scores and parasites. We conducted household interviews with owners of free‐roaming female dogs (n = 60) and administered dogs with rabies vaccination and anthelmintics. Dog owners regularly fed free‐roaming dogs but provided minimal health care; 42% of respondents did not claim ownership of the dog for which they provided care. We collected skin, faecal and blood samples for parasite identification and for measuring rabies virus‐specific antibodies. Ninety‐two per cent of dog owners were aware of the routes of rabies virus transmission, but only 35% described the correct post‐exposure prophylaxis (PEP) following a dog bite. Twenty‐seven per cent of the dogs had measurable rabies virus‐specific antibody titres and 14% had received anthelmintics in the previous year. Following rabies vaccination, 97% of dogs maintained an adequate antibody titre for ≥6 months. Most dogs appeared healthy, although haemoprotozoans, endoparasites and ectoparasites were identified in 12%, 73% and 40% of the dogs, respectively. Poor skin condition and parasite load were associated. Seventy‐four per cent of the females had litters in 1 year (mean litter size = 4.5). Births occurred between September and February; we estimated 60% mortality in puppies. We concluded that vaccination coverage, PEP awareness and anthelmintic treatment should be emphasized in educational programmes focussed on animal welfare, veterinary and public health.     

Annual survival and site fidelity of free‐ranging white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus): comparative demography before (1983–1992) and after (1993–2005) spatial confinement

Survival and movement are important demographic variables influencing the dynamics of large herbivores with implications for management and evolution of life‐history strategies. Management practices such as spatial confinement and harvest regulation attempt to control survival and movement for the sustainability of harvested deer populations, but a paucity of long‐term data exists on these management practices. We examined annual survival and site fidelity of free‐ranging white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) over 10 years (1983–1992) to compare demographic parameters after spatial confinement (1993–2005). We used capture records (n = 174; 104 females, 70 males), marked deer recaptures (n = 42), and dead recoveries (n = 68) to estimate sex‐specific, age‐specific and time‐specific parameters. We found that annual female survival was 50% from 1983–1987 during a period of intense harvest, but increased to 93.7% after intense harvesting was eliminated. Prior to spatial confinement, annual survival of marked male deer averaged 36.7%–42.5%. After spatial confinement, annual survival increased on average for males (58%–99%) and females (77%–98%). Females showed high levels of site fidelity (>99%) prior to spatial confinement, whereas males showed much less site fidelity (≤4.5% for the 2 top‐ranking models). During spatial confinement, the semi‐impermeable fence effectively increased site fidelity of males (≥56%). These results stem from long‐term study (23 years) of a large herbivore experiencing changes to life‐history, resulting from changes in management that were applied to the population and aimed at altering population demographics, for sustainability of a harvestable population of deer.     

黄猄蚁饥渴耐受能力的初步研究

在实验室恒温条件下,通过完全饥渴、清水和蜂蜜水处理3种方式对黄猄蚁工蚁进行了饥渴耐受能力的测定。结果表明,完全饥渴处理的黄猄蚁工蚁平均存活时间为81.38h(24～132h),清水处理的黄猄蚁工蚁平均存活时间为92.25h(48～156h),两者差异显著(P<0.05)。蜂蜜水处理死亡的黄猄蚁工蚁平均存活时间为118.43h(60～156h),与完全饥渴和清水处理的黄猄蚁工蚁存活时间差异极显著(P<0.01)。在试验观察结束(156h)时,完全饥渴和清水处理的黄猄蚁工蚁全部死亡,而蜂蜜水处理的黄猄蚁工蚁仍有75存活。     

Village Poultry Production Systems in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia

Participatory rural appraisal (PRA), supported by checklists and intensive case studies on individual households, was carried out in three villages at three different altitudes in the central highlands of Ethiopia. The chicken production system in each village is described and the problems are discussed. More than 60% of the families kept chickens, and in most cases the women owned and managed the birds and controlled the cash from the sales. The production systems followed were mainly low-input and small-scale, with 7–10 mature birds per household, reared in the back yards with inadequate housing, feeding and health care. The average egg production per clutch was 15–20, with 3–4 clutches per year. The mean number of eggs set per bird was 12.9±2.2 (n = 160), depending on the size of the bird and season, and the hatching rate was 80.9%±11.1%, range 44%–100% (n = 160). Poultry meat and eggs were generally accepted and appreciated in all three villages. In addition to the small amount of cash income they provide, scavenging chickens have nutritional, cultural and social functions. The flock composition, price of poultry and poultry products, disease outbreaks and hatching of chicks were strongly affected by season. Disease was cited as the most important problem by most of the members of the community, followed by predation, lack of feed, poor housing, insufficient water and parasites. Disease periodically decimated the flocks, and consequently, about 50% of the eggs produced were incubated in order to replace the birds that had died. The major source of loss in the system was the high mortality of chicks (61%) that occurred between hatching and the end of brooding at 8 weeks of age. The system was characterized by no or few inputs and a low output level. The major input was the cost of foundation stock, but after that virtually no cost was involved. The major source of feed for the birds was from the scavenging feed resource base, which comprised table leftovers, small grain supplements and anything edible from the immediate environment.     

A survey on perinatal mortality in young mink

The incidence of perinatal mortality in mink was investigated in commercial farms in Argentina. Of a total of 2122 kits, 548 of those that were born alive died within the first four weeks of life (25.8% mortality) and there were also 62 stillborn kits. Death resulted from a variety of causes of which septicaemia, starvation and hypothermia were the most common conditions. The highest mortality occurred within the first week of life (61.9%). The lesions found in young kits at post-mortem examination are described and related to contributory factors such as weight, litter size and age at death.Dr Villar died on 26 September 1989     

Resistance of genetically different common carp, Cyprinus carpio L., families against experimental bacterial challenge with Aeromonas hydrophila

The objective of this study was to determine the differences in disease resistance against artificial infection with Aeromonas hydrophila between genetically different common carp families. Four strains differing in their origin and breeding history were selected from the live gene bank of common carp maintained at the Research Institute for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Irrigation (HAKI, Szarvas, Hungary) to establish families with wide genetic background: Szarvas 15 (15), an inbred mirror line; Tata (T) scaly noble carp; Duna (D), a Hungarian wild carp and Amur (A), an East Asian wild carp. A diallele mating structure was used to allow the assessment of genetic variation within and between the tested 96 families for a variety of traits. The existing technologies of fertilization and incubation of carp eggs, as well as larval and fingerling rearing had been modified because of the large number of baseline populations. Two challenge trials of the 96 families of carp with Aeromonas hydrophila were done. The 10 most resistant and 10 most susceptible families to A. hydrophila were identified from these two challenges. The crosses that produced the most resistant families were mainly those having parents from Tata and Szarvas 15 domesticated strains, while the most susceptible families were from the wild strains Duna and Amur.     

母猪产程过长的原因及应对措施的研究

母猪产程过长导致仔猪死产率高是母猪生产力低下的主要原因之一。论文讨论母猪产程和仔猪死产率的关系,分析现代母猪的基因型和饲养制度对母猪产程的影响。客观评价了缩宫素催产、诱发分娩、分娩母猪体力的补充、预防便泌、增加母猪的运动量等缩短产程的措施。指出改进饲养方式、增加母猪的运动量、改善母猪体质是缩短母猪产程从而降低死产率的根本出路。     

舍温对母猪行为与仔猪保温箱利用率的影响

为分析分娩猪舍温度与保温箱温度对母猪行为和哺乳仔猪保温箱利用率的影响,设置了高温(30.4℃)和低温( 15.3℃)2个组,选取12头约克夏母猪(每组6头)进行了现场试验.结果表明,低温组的仔猪保温箱利用率(62.4％)较高,而高温组的仔猪保温箱利用率仅为1％:低温与高温组母猪从站立到躺卧的行为转换时间分别为4.0和3.4 s(P＜0.05).低温组母猪坐立-腹卧或腹卧-坐立的行为转换频次比高温组母猪的低(P＜0.01).低温组未有仔猪被压死,而高温组的仔猪压死率达15.2％ (P＜0.001).低温组的仔猪增重也相对较快.维持保温箱与分娩舍间适宜温差有利于提高仔猪的保温箱利用率,实现降低仔猪压死率的目的.     

The effects of fixed salmon Salmo salar nets on guillemot Uria aalge and razorbill Alca torda in Northeast Scotland in 1992

Guillemots Uria aalge and razorbills Alca torda were the main seabird species killed in salmon Salmo salar bag nets in northeast Scotland in 1992, with guillemots out-numbering razorbills two- to three-fold. Sexually immature birds were more likely to become entangled compared with breeding adults, probably because they spend more time on the sea close inshore or have not learned to avoid nets. The total number of auks drowned in northeast Scotland in 1992 was estimated to be around 2400 (1700 guillemots, 700 razorbills). While these deaths are obviously to be regretted, our preliminary estimates suggested that losses were relatively small in relation to the total number of auks present in the area. Losses of breeding birds were estimated to represent <0·5% of the breeding population of the two species and c. 0·6% of sexually immature guillemots. Similar calculations for a stretch of coastline where conflict between seabirds and the fishery is considered to be potentially serious indicated that c. 1·2% of breeding auks and 6·0% of sexually immature guillemots were drowned. The latter figure was almost certainly an overestimate because no allowance was made for immatures from other colonies being present in the area. The Scottish salmon fixed net fishery has declined greatly in recent years and its impact on marine birds is therefore likely to be reduced. Any revival in the fishery or change of practice should be accompanied by an assessment of its effect on seabirds.