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This paper was prepared to show the damage that feral/stray dogs cause to wildlife that uses or are forced to uses forest ecosystems or their surroundings as a habitat in Turkey. It is also aimed to detect the damage of these animals to wildlife and to develop solution proposals for them. The original data of the article was obtained using the semi-structured interview technique and the content analysis method. Using the semi-structured interview technique, the feral/stray dogs problem in forest areas and the strategies to be applied in this context have been evaluated with 6 different stakeholder groups and 56 stakeholder representatives. Official institutions do not hold the records of damage caused to wildlife by feral/stray dogs in Turkey. For this reason, media news was analyzed using the content analysis technique to determine the damage of feral dogs to wildlife. The news of the internet was examined in Turkey in the 2006-2020 years by the content analysis technique and in this context 66 news were found. According to this information, A total of 89 wild animals were damaged, including 53 roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), 17 gazelle (Gazella gazella), 9 wild goats (Capra aegagrus), 8 fallow deer (Cervus elaphus), 1 caretta (Caretta caretta), and 1 rabbit (Lepus europaeus). As a result, all of the stakeholder group representatives agree that feral/stray dogs should not be in forest ecosystems in terms of sustainable natural resource management. According to this, a feral/stray dog action plan individually identifying the actions and methods of struggle of all stakeholders in forest ecosystems should be urgently prepared. For the successful implementation of this plan, firstly, all stakeholders should cooperate with each other, later, public institutions and municipalities should support stakeholders in terms of infrastructure, organization, cost, and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of problem animals in Australia is often framed in language that has nothing to do with either science or conservation management, but is rather about nationalism and popular culture. The need to attract funding for conservation can often lead to framing problems as 'national', yet caring for nature can be done on many scales, and ecological systems is seldom work on national scales. This paper considers both ecological scales (regulated by the animal or plant under consideration) and personal scales (scales meaningful to the conservation manager). The idea that only certain sorts of conservationists can 'care' can itself become the problem where conservation groups care, but care differently, and spend time and effort fighting each other, rather than improving ecological outcomes for the animals and plants they care about. Examples discussed include kangaroos in Canberra and cane toads in northern Australia. Changing some inflammatory language and finding more productive uses for the animals culled may enable more inclusive conservation efforts, and engage more hands to help. Macho and military eradication efforts may get in the way of caring for the country, or the animals displaced by invaders. Wasteful practices give conservation a bad name. Better 'metaphors for environmental sustainability' (Larson, 2011) can lead to better outcomes for the environment and for those who care for it. The task of conservation demands more than science: it is rewarding for many of the people who undertake it. Conservation is an opportunity for service that many volunteers welcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental estrogens originate from a variety of sources including sewage treatment plant (STP) effluents and adverse physiological effects (endocrine disruption) have been observed in several fish species sampled downstream of STP discharges. In this study we examined common carp ( Cyprinus carpio ) and roach ( Rutilis rutilis ) for signs of exposure to environmental estrogens in the iconic Yarra River, Melbourne, Australia. The Yarra River flows through the city of Melbourne and more than 2 million people live within the catchment. Two STPs discharge water into the Yarra River within the middle reaches, and the areas immediately downstream of these discharge locations were the focus of this study. Carp and roach were chosen as test species since both have been utilised extensively for endocrine disruption research throughout Europe, North America and Asia, and data from various international studies was used for comparison with the results of the present study. Neither species showed evidence of exposure to environmental estrogens, with no elevation of plasma vitellogenin levels in males and no incidence of intersex gonads. Most physiological endpoints in both species from this study were within ranges reported in carp and roach from reference sites in other studies, however some degenerative histological changes in both male and female gonads were observed. Surface water samples showed no estrogenic activity (measured by the yeast-estrogen screen, YES), but did display strong anti-estrogenic and weak androgenic activity (measured by the yeast-androgen screen, YAS). Whilst the results show no evidence of impacts from environmental estrogens in the Yarra River, the presence of both anti-estrogenic and androgenic activity in water samples, as well as some gonadal changes in carp is concerning and indicates that our focus needs to broaden, in order to look for biological impacts in resident fauna that might be due to environmental pollutants other than environmental estrogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our complex and contradictory relationships with animals is demonstrated in our relationships with donkeys Equus asinus.The Australian context exemplifies these conflicting attitudes: once exploited as a beast of burden in the Outback in colonial times, the donkey has since been constructed as a pest to farmers, a feral animal that does not belong, and vermin to be exterminated.The latest incarnation is interesting as the donkey is once again proving'valuable' as the guardian animal of choice for some farmers and pastoralists seeking to protect their flocks from wild dogs Corn's lupus familiaris. There is an interesting inter-relationship between the domestic animals in this context the sheep Ovis aries (valuable to humans), the wild animals: the dogs, (valued as the usual favoured companion but in this context as a pest to be destroyed) and the donkeys (valuable again in their guardian role rather than a feral pest to be shot). To add to the irony of this situation, some of the donkeys employed in this way are feral donkeys, which blurs the lines even further. What are the deciding factors in the status we assign to animals? I contend that utilitarian economic considerations outweigh any other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article cites a study which examined disease risks in feral wild boar population in Saskatchewan. Topics discussed include analysis of boar carcasses, tissue samples, and serum by the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC); detection of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Lawsonia intracellularis, and Salmonella strains in some of the samples; and the high seroprevalence of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotype 14.

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The article discusses a study which examined the parous status and body mass index (BMI) of female feral raccoons (Procyon lotor) that are younger than 24 months. Study authors found that the average BMI in early-born raccoons at 12 months old might have affected their ability to conceive because of body fat deposition.

The article discusses the results of a study that examined the use of external measurements and fat deposition in carcasses of adult feral raccoons, Procyon lotor collected in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan from March 2006 to March 2010. Topics discussed include the external measures including body weight (BW), girth measurement (GM) and body mass index (BMI) and BMI was the most valuable component for the discrimination of Visible Fat Index (VFI) grades.

Copyright of Boletin SAO is the property of Sociedad Antioquena de Ornitologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Projects to restore nature inevitably disrupt the plants and animals that inhabit the land to be restored. This essay addresses the significance of feral animals. Can feral animals remain in a restored nature? I argue that an answer depends on what we mean by nature and restoration. I present several different conceptions of nature and discuss what their differences mean for the goals of restoration. While the presence of feral animals is not compatible with the dualist conception of nature as that which is untouched by humans, other conceptions are more accommodating. Restoration to a benchmark of nature prior to human impact is both practically and conceptually implausible, thus more analysis is needed of alternative conceptions and their impacts on domesticated and feral plants and animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farm children's experience with animals is changing. Farm animal welfare is promoted, pest control still occurs but is less visible than in the past, and environmental messages are pervasive. Differences between farm and urban children's experiences are less distinct than in the past. This article contributes to our understanding of change by studying autobiographies written by farm people since 1990 and provides a baseline of farm children's human-animal relationships to compare with contemporary experiences. Although less focused than interviews with elderly people, the autobiographies provide a holistic view of where animals fit with farm children's other concerns. Farming income in the first half of the twentieth century was often low and the pressure this put on people and animals was evident. A hierarchy of relationships from bonding with pets to domination of production animals and pests was strongly established with children showing gendered responses to many aspects of farm life. The intertwined themes of family and pioneering appear to have shaped what people remembered and what they wished to draw attention to in their books - the nature of autobiographical memory is discussed to assist in interpretation of the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Agro Sur is the property of Universidad Austral de Chile, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article offers information on a study done by Sarah Crowley at the Environment and Sustainability Institute of University of Exeter, England on the environmental and social history of the million-plus feral dromedary camels in Australia. Topics discussed include use of the camels as draft and transport animal, negative impacts on native biodiversity by the camels in the country, and establishment of the Australian Feral Camel Management Project (AFCMP).