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Background and objectives According to the law on the protection and exploitation of forests and pastures, any exploitation of natural resources by natural or legal persons must be done with the approval and permission of the country's natural resources and watershed management organization. Issuing grazing and grazing permits is one of the most important permits in the natural resources sector, which has its own implementation process. The evidence shows that there are various issues and problems in the process of issuing this license, and it is necessary to conduct a pathological scientific investigation to improve and correct the said process. The aim of the current research is to identify and categorize the existing damages in the process of issuing and renewing livestock grazing permits in pastures. Methodology This research is qualitative in nature and the technique of interviewing with focus groups has been used, in this research 96 beneficiaries and 31 experts from 6 provinces of Kerman, Isfahan, Hamadan, Kurdistan, Mazandaran and Semnan were purposefully selected and their opinions about the process and issues of livestock grazing licensing were analyzed using questionnaires and interviews, and the results were collected and analyzed using the content analysis technique. Results The results of this survey led to the identification and confirmation of 30 types of damage and problems in the process of issuing and renewing livestock grazing licenses in the form of three main categories (systemic, legal, and structural-executive), which in the branch of systemic problems, the component of multiple systems and the lack of a system integrated and intelligent, in the branch of legal obstacles, the component of time-consuming investigation of legal violations of applicants for grazing license renewal, division of grazing license among the children after the death of the owner of the grazing license, and in the branch of structural problems, the component of the weakness of monitoring and monitoring systems, lack of update of livestock and pasture statistical information, the low motivation of audit experts of natural resources departments and the lack of provincial credits have played the biggest role in the process of issuing grazing permits. Based on the results of this study, the issuing process in the investigated provinces takes 15 steps and 73 days, and the process of renewing the license is done in 8 days. Conclusion In a general formulation and based on the findings and considering the problems that were stated before, in order to improve the process of issuing and renewing the Kera license, there is a need to take measures, for this purpose, it is necessary to create an integrated system, optimize the notification system, and automatically renew. Grazing license should be prioritized for responsible livestock farmers, updating information on livestock, pastures and determining the exact boundary of pastures and correcting or removing disturbing rules and instructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on study of effect of environmental conditions on feed intake and corn-and barley feed steer activities and beef cattle production. Topics discussed include altered stress animal behavior during cold and feed consumption increase with decrease in average daily gain (ADG), need of meeting energy demands of feedlot cattle and steer behavior affected by diet and environmental condition.

In this article I examine the role of the Pehuenches in a regional economy characterized by strong inter-ethnic and trans-Andean developments. Within an increasingly violent frontier context on both sides of the Andes Mountains, and new market dynamics, the Pehuenches of Cuyo and Neuquén were key actors in the ranching industry, supplying cattle to the Chilean and Mapuche markets. The lonkos administered access to multiethnic actors to its land, guaranteeing resources, protection and security. This phenomenon also helped the Pehuenches maintain their autonomy. By analyzing diverse state sources, indigenous correspondence and the literature on the subject, this article examines the multiple economic logics of the people involved in the productive and demographic development of the region under study. Furthermore, it contributes to the dialogue between Argentine and Chilean literatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objectives of this study were to perform a systematic review of genomic regions associated with various behavioral traits in the main farmed mammals and identify key candidate genes and potential causal mutations by contrasting the frequency of polymorphisms in cattle breeds with divergent behavioral traits (based on a subjective clustering approach). A total of 687 (cattle), 1391 (pigs), and 148 (sheep) genomic regions associated with 37 (cattle), 55 (pigs), and 22 (sheep) behavioral traits were identified in the literature. In total, 383, 317, and 15 genes overlap with genomic regions identified for cattle, pigs, and sheep, respectively. Six common genes (e.g., NR3C2, PITPNM3, RERG, SPNS3, U6, and ZFAT) were found for cattle and pigs. A combined gene-set of 634 human genes was produced through identified homologous genes. A total of 313 out of 634 genes have previously been associated with behavioral, mental, and neurologic disorders (e.g., anxiety and schizophrenia) in humans. Additionally, a total of 491 candidate genes had at least one statistically significant polymorphism (p-value < 0.05). Out of those, 110 genes were defined as having polymorphic regions differing in greater than 50% of exon regions. Therefore, conserved genomic regions controlling behavior were found across farmed mammal species and humans.

In the mid-latitudes, pigs and poultry are kept predominantly in confined livestock buildings with a mechanical ventilation system. In the last decades, global warming has already been a challenge which causes hat stress for animals in such systems. Heat stress inside livestock buildings was assessed by a simulation model for the indoor climate, which is driven by meteorological parameters. Besides the meteorological conditions, the thermal environment inside the building depends on the sensible and latent energy release of the animals, the thermal properties of the building and the ventilation system and its control unit. For a site in Austria in the north of the Alpine Ridge, which is representative for confined livestock buildings for growing-fattening pigs in Central Europe, meteorological data between 1981 and 2017 were used for the model calculations of heat stress measures. This business-as-usual simulation over these 37 years resulted in an increase of the mean relative annual heat stress parameters in the range between 0.9 and 6.4% per year since 1981. In order to minimise the negative economic impact as the consequence of this positive trend of heat stress, adaptation measures are needed. The calculations for growing-fattening pigs show that such a simulation model for the indoor climate is an appropriate tool to determine the level of heat stress of livestock inside confined livestock buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of monthly air temperature and rainfall variations on the reproductive performance and lambing distribution of the Jezersko-Solčava breed in northwestern Croatia during 7 years period from 2010 until 2016. At 11 medium-scale sheep farms, the sheep were kept on a pasture in a semi-intensive environment with access to the stables. The anomalies of rainfall observed on a monthly basis during monitoring were statistically significant. Non-parametric test showed that the percentages of lambing differ among the months during the year (P = 0.0001). By using regression analysis, it was found that the percentages of pregnant sheep were linearly associated with the sequential number of the month. The seasonal distribution of lambings were 53.85% of ewes delivered in winter (n = 1296), 21.13% in spring (n = 509), 8.91% in summer (n = 215) and 16.11% in autumn (n = 387). Sexual activity was lowest during spring and early summer (from March to May) with a peak from the end of July to October. The conception rate during year 2011 was significantly lower (89.74%), and the litter size was the lowest (1.05) than in other years of the observation. Average conception rate was 92.85% and average litter size 1.21. Despite being a seasonally polyoestrous, the distribution of matings and lambings of this breed of sheep was not uniform throughout the seasons. There were established a positive or negative correlations between the air temperature and rainfall precipitation variations with tested reproductive performances of Jezersko-Solčava breed sheep in the Northwestern part of Croatia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: Grazing by domestic livestock is ubiquitous in the sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) biome of western North America. Widespread, long‐term population declines in greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) have elicited concern about negative effects of livestock grazing on sage‐grouse populations. Hypothesized relationships, mostly untested, between livestock and sage‐grouse nesting ecology have played a prominent role in shaping public land livestock grazing policy and broader discussions about management of grazing in sagebrush ecosystems. We tested predictions arising from several commonly hypothesized mechanisms by which livestock may affect nesting habitat quality for sage‐grouse in a grazed landscape in central Montana, USA. We employed Bayesian variable selection methods to identify factors related to both nest site selection and nest success, focusing on indices of livestock use at local and pasture scales and including other factors known to influence nesting ecology such as anthropogenic features and weather. In spite of some evidence nest survival was positively associated with senesced vegetation height, evidence for effects of livestock presence and indices of local livestock use on nest site selection and survival was equivocal at best. In contrast, we found strong evidence that females selected nest sites based on relatively static features such as sagebrush cover and distance from gravel and paved roads, whereas nest failure was driven primarily by extended periods of heavy precipitation. Management of sage‐grouse nesting habitat in this region should focus on conserving areas of adequate shrub cover and preventing further fragmentation by roads. © 2018 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lameness is a clinical symptom associated with a number of sheep diseases around the world, having adverse effects on weight gain, fertility, and lamb birth weight, and increasing the risk of secondary diseases. Current methods to identify lame animals rely on labour intensive visual inspection. The aim of this current study was to determine the ability of a collar, leg, and ear attached tri-axial accelerometer to discriminate between sound and lame gait movement in sheep. Data were separated into 10 s mutually exclusive behaviour epochs and subjected to Quadratic Discriminant Analysis (QDA). Initial analysis showed the high misclassification of lame grazing events with sound grazing and standing from all deployment modes. The final classification model, which included lame walking and all sound activity classes, yielded a prediction accuracy for lame locomotion of 82%, 35%, and 87% for the ear, collar, and leg deployments, respectively. Misclassification of sound walking with lame walking within the leg accelerometer dataset highlights the superiority of an ear mode of attachment for the classification of lame gait characteristics based on time series accelerometer data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing temperatures associated with global climate change threaten to disrupt agricultural systems such as beef production, yet relatively little is known about the use of natural tree shade to mitigate the negative effects of heat stress on beef cattle. In this study, we evaluated how temperature and time of day influenced the utilization of tree shade in relation to coloration, orientation, and behavior of beef cattle in a pasture system. Temperatures in shade and direct sunlight were measured using black globe temperature (BGT) data loggers. Time-lapse images from game cameras were used to obtain counts of shade usage, coloration, orientation, and behavior of cattle throughout the daytime hours. In general, we found that shade utilization and most of the predominating orientations and behaviors differed significantly ( P < 0.05) by both time of day (Hour) and BGT in direct sunlight (BGT), while interactions between these two effects (Hour × BGT) were often nonsignificant. The mean percentage of the herd using shade was highest in mid-morning (87-96%) and early afternoon (97%), but also increased with BGT regardless of the time of day; these trends were similar for both dark- and light-colored cattle. Lying down was the dominant behavior exhibited in the shade, while foraging was the most prevalent behavior in the sun. When herd shade usage was lowest in mid- to late-afternoon (<1%) we also observed an increase in the use of heat-mitigating orientations in the sun (37-47%). We discuss some practical implications of these results, including the potential use of temperature thresholds to interpret cattle behaviors and shade usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pygmy bluetongue lizard ( Tiliqua adelaidensis ) inhabits burrows originally dug by spiders in a few remaining fragments of native Australian grassland. These fragments are typically invaded by exotic plant species and subject to livestock grazing. We predicted that lizards prefer burrows in areas with reduced vegetation cover that will allow them to bask and see their invertebrate prey. We applied alternative grazing regimes to six experimental paddocks and found that sheep reduced vegetation density proportionally to the grazing intensity. Within each paddock, independent of the level of grazing, and in seven of the eight surveys, lizard burrows were in locations with lower vegetation density than random points However lizards moving between burrows in spring showed a tendency to choose burrows with relatively more surrounding vegetation. Our initial hypothesis that lizards would prefer burrows with an intermediate level of grazing that produced some reduction of vegetation cover was not completely supported, probably because lizards often choose burrows early in spring when grasslands have denser vegetation cover, and then tend to remain in the same burrow as grazing or seasonal drying reduces vegetation cover. Changes in vegetation do not seem to induce lizard movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explains habitat use by Swainson’s SpurfowlPternistis swainsoniion maizeZea maysand livestock farms on the Highveld south-east of Johannesburg, South Africa. The purpose is to describe habitat modification methods to manipulate the abundance of Swainson’s Spurfowl on Highveld farms where maize is produced. Field observations were conducted along a 100 km road transect during June 2014–May 2015. A hierarchical habitat analysis with three spatial levels was applied. The location of adult male Swainson’s Spurfowl was used as an indicator of habitat use. Females breed and rear broods in male territories. The micro (2.5-m-radius plot around the birds) and macro (>2.5-m-radius plot) habitats and landscape features were recorded for each sighting. Spurfowl moved within landscapes on a seasonal basis. A micro/macro combination linked with landscape features was a reliable indicator of spurfowl habitat preferences. Micro- and macro-habitats within landscapes can potentially be modified at a single spatial level, or a combination of levels, to manipulate spurfowl abundance on Highveld farms with maize production and livestock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southern Africa’s grassland biodiversity is threatened by habitat transformation such as commercial forestry. Ecological networks (ENs) have been instigated to alleviate the pressure of habitat transformation on local biodiversity. ENs are large scale webs of corridors and patches of natural vegetation criss-crossing production landscapes that can simulate conditions in protected areas (PAs). Many ENs have lost many native large mammal species, which have been replaced by domestic livestock to retain natural grazing dynamics, which could have an impact on the long-term value of ENs for insects. Here we compared dung beetle, butterfly and grasshopper diversity in ENs across a landscape mosaic of timber plantations, where 1) wild megaherbivores were maintained, 2) in ENs where these herbivores were replaced by livestock and, 3) in a nearby World Heritage PA which retained its natural complement of megaherbivores. Sites in the PA far from any plantation were similar in composition to those in the wild grazed EN. Presence of the wild grazers improved the alpha- and beta-diversity of all focal insect taxa when compared to domestic grazing. Furthermore, species composition shows significant differences between the two grazing systems indicating that an assemblage of native large mammals facilitates insect diversity conservation. We support the maintenance or introduction of large native mammals in ENs or similar conservation areas in production landscapes to simulate the ecological conditions and natural heterogeneity in nearby PAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The North American beaver ( Castor canadensis) builds dams that pond water on streams, which provide crucial ecological services to aquatic and riparian ecosystems and enhance biodiversity. Consequently, there is increasing interest in restoring beavers to locations where they historically occurred, particularly in the arid western United States. However, despite often intensive efforts to reintroduce beavers into areas where they were severely reduced in numbers or eliminated due to overharvesting in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, beavers remain sparse or missing from many stream reaches. Reasons for this failure have not been well studied. Our goal was to evaluate certain biotic factors that may limit the occurrence of dam-building beavers in northern New Mexico, including competitors and availability of summer and winter forage. We compared these factors at primary active dams and at control sites located in stream reaches that were physically suitable for dam-building beavers but where none occurred. Beaver dams mostly occurred at sites that were not grazed or where there was some alternative grazing management, but were mostly absent at sites within Forest Service cattle allotments. Results indicated that cattle grazing influenced the relation between vegetation variables and beaver presence. The availability of willows ( Salix spp.) was the most important plant variable for the presence of beaver dams. We conclude that grazing by cattle as currently practiced on Forest Service allotments disrupts the beaver-willow mutualism, rendering stream reaches unsuitable for dam-building beavers. We recommend that beaver restoration will require changes to current livestock management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is desirable to increase the frequency between livestock welfare assessments to enhance problem identification and consumer confidence in livestock welfare management. However, animal welfare is difficult to monitor in practice, due to the inefficiencies involved in manually documenting and determining, animal behaviour, social interaction and health condition of large numbers of animals. Furthermore, the effectiveness of a welfare assessment relies on the intuition of the observer which may vary considerably between assessors. Hence, this review investigates the application of machine vision systems to recognise and monitor the behaviour of animals in a quantitative manner. Behaviour-recognition concepts, techniques, and current behaviour monitoring systems are reviewed. Findings indicate that further research is required to develop systems that can monitor the behaviour and welfare of animals' more efficiently and effectively in commercially realistic environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: We investigated the attitude of pets or livestock owning households in a university community to animal health care services and assessed the knowledge and awareness level of the residents on zoonoses. Materials and Methods: Structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on demography, pet or livestock ownership, animal health care seeking behavior, awareness and knowledge of zoonoses from 246 households. We did descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis to determine the level of association in discrete variables between owners and non-owners of pets or livestock at a significant level of p<0.05. Results: Of the 246 respondents, 80 (32.5%) were either pet or livestock owners. The animal health care seeking behavior of the 80 pets or livestock owners in terms of treatment and vaccination was 70%. Of the 56 (70%) who provided health care services for their animals, about 48 (85.7%) engaged the services of a veterinarian. Dog owning households (42) had the highest frequency of treating their pets against endoparasites (97.6%); ectoparasites (81%) and vaccination against diseases (73.8%). Of the 246 respondents, only 47 (19.1%) have heard of the term zoonoses. Of the considered zoonoses; their awareness of rabies (79.3%) was the highest, followed by Lassa fever (66.3%), the least was pasteurellosis with 18.7%. Having pets or livestock was significantly associated (p=0.04) with rabies awareness. However, there is no significant difference in the level of awareness of zoonoses; knowledge of zoonoses, knowledge of prevention of zoonoses and knowledge of risk of zoonoses between owners and non-owners of pets or livestock. Conclusion: The animal health care seeking behavior of households with pets or livestock is good and should be encouraged. Public education should be created for other zoonoses aside from rabies, Lassa fever, and avian influenza. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of green Brazilian propolis on behavioral patterns and feather condition of heat stressed broiler chickens. Five hundred and four (504) male Ross 708 broiler chicks at 15-day old were randomly allotted to six dietary treatments containing 0 (control), 100, 250, 500, 1000 and 3000 mg kg −1 propolis, respectively. Each treatment consisted of four replicates of 21 birds each. Heat stress at 32 °C was applied daily from 08:00 am to 17:00 pm from day 15–42. Twelve birds per treatment were randomly taken and marked with livestock color for behavioral observation. Treatment effects on behavioral patterns were recorded using direct observation instantaneous scan sampling technique. At the end of the experiment (42 days of age) the three birds used for behavioral observation were feather scored (from 1 to 5); while all birds (504) were individually scanned for primary feather abnormalities. The results indicated that the effects of using propolis as a feed additive for broilers reduced heat stress behavior, especially dietary treatment with 250 or 3000 mg kg −1 propolis, by increasing bird walking activities and reducing panting behaviors ( P < 0.05, respectively). Moreover, 250 mg kg −1 propolis ( P < 0.05) increased standing behavior also. Walking activities was also increased in the birds fed with 100 mg kg −1 propolis ( P < 0.05). There were no significant ( P > 0.05) treatment effects on sitting, preening, feeding, drinking, wing elevations and feather pecking activities. Propolis at current doses did not significantly ( P > 0.05) improve feather scoring, but reduced ( P = 0.048) abnormal shape of primary feathers. The current results support that propolis treatment may be considered as a protective management practice in broiler chickens to alleviate the negative effects of heat stress, but further investigations may requested to determine the best type, dose, time and duration of its administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This literature review documents behavioural differences in organic and conventional sheep and goats in Norway. Increased indoor space results in increased lying time, more synchronized lying behaviour, less displacements and higher milk yield in sheep, and increased lying time and lower frequency of agonistic behaviour in goats. Sheep and goats spend 45–50% of their time outdoors when given access to an outdoor yard during winter. Under normal thermal conditions, fully fleeced sheep do not need solid floors of welfare reasons in Norway. Neither do dairy goats in insulated buildings. The significance of different milk feeding strategies in goat kids is poorly documented, but studies on lambs and calves show that suckling increases the growth rate, gives better social competence and more exploratory behaviour. Thus, the organic regulations in Norwegian sheep and goat production have some positive impact on behavioural indicators of sheep and goat welfare, especially during winter housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of animal behavior are crucial to understanding animal-ecosystem interactions, but require substantial efforts in visual observation or sensor measurement. We investigated how classifying behavioral states of grazing livestock using global positioning data alone depends on the classification approach, the preselection of training data, and the number and type of movement metrics. Positions of grazing cows were collected at intervals of 20 seconds in six upland areas in Switzerland along with visual observations of animal behavior for comparison. A total of 87 linear and cumulative distance metrics and 15 turning angle metrics across multiple time steps were used to classify position data into the behavioral states of walking, grazing, and resting. Five random forest classification models, a linear discriminant analysis, a support vector machine, and a state-space model were evaluated. The most accurate classification of the observed behavioral states in an independent validation dataset was 83%, obtained using random forest with all available movement metrics. However, the state-specific accuracy was highly unequal (walking: 36%, grazing: 95%, resting: 58%). Random undersampling led to a prediction accuracy of 77%, with more balanced state-specific accuracies (walking: 68%, grazing: 82%, resting: 68%). The other evaluated machine-learning approaches had lower classification accuracies. The state-space model, based on distance to the preceding position and turning angle, produced a relatively low accuracy of 64%, slightly lower than a random forest model with the same predictor variables. Given the successful classification of behavioral states, our study promotes the more frequent use of global positioning data alone for animal behavior studies under the condition that data is collected at high frequency and complemented by context-specific behavioral observations. Machine-learning algorithms, notably random forest, were found very useful for classification and easy to implement. Moreover, the use of measures across multiple time steps is clearly necessary for a satisfactory classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Cattle removed similar proportions of forage from plots in all habitats. [•] GPS data indicated cattle preferred to occupy uncut forest but avoided clear cuts and in-block haul roads. [•] Spatial use patterns of cattle among habitats did not differ with cattle stocking rates. [•] Cattle forage use across the landscape was positively related to forage quality and biomass. [•] Cattle forage use was negatively related to slash cover, sapling density, and distance to water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Play behavior has been proposed as a new potential indicator of animal welfare. Animals play only if they are in a relaxed state. Play may improve adaptability to challenging environments which may be of interest in the breeding objective. Little information is available on play behavior in livestock species. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether play behavior in post-weaned piglets can be induced instantly in the presence of additional space and whether play markers are body weight, sex, and litter dependent. It is investigated whether playfulness is elicited by the moment or if this measure is consistent over different days. Methods: Thirty two piglets from four litters were released into a corridor and video recorded for eight min at 37, 41, 44 and 48 d of age. The first test was considered as an adjustment period and was not included in the analysis. In the second to the fourth test, joyful brusque movements (jumping, turning and running) were recorded with a camera and total number of movements (JOY#) and total time (JOYtime) were estimated individually. Animals were weighed at 41 d of age. Results: Females had higher scores of JOY# and JOYtime than males but this was significant only for JOY# at 41 d of age (P < 0.05). The effect of age was highly significant both for JOY# and JOYtime (P < 0.01). Animals with a higher JOY# and JOYtime also expressed a higher JOY# and JOYtime in the other tests, but this was significant only between 44 and 48 d of age (P < 0.01). Body weight at 41 d of age was not significantly related to JOY# and JOYtime in any of the tests. Conclusions: Locomotor play was induced instantly by the provision of increased space allowance. Litter origin had a significant effect on play behavior. In addition, locomotor play scores were consistent between two of the three tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We surveyed 1972 households in a 7449-km2 area around five Western Ghats reserves. [•] 64% of households growing cotton, sugarcane, coffee and rice reported crop loss. [•] 15% of households grazing animals inside parks lost livestock. [•] 31% of households received compensation especially for elephant incidents. [•] For 13 reported mitigation measures none appeared to lower crop or livestock loss. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The microclimate can potentially impact the health and welfare of livestock exported by ship. Within-pen microclimatic conditions were recorded and the effects of ammonia on sheep behavior investigated on a voyage from Australia to the Middle East. Ammonia, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide as well as wet-bulb, dry-bulb, and dew-point temperature and air speed were mapped in 20 open-deck focal pens, with the focus on the behavior and location of a marked sheep in each pen. Air speed was highly variable in most pens, with pockets of high but transient concentrations of ammonia (30.7 to 44.2 mg/m³) in 20% of pens that had no or minimal air flow. Carbon dioxide concentrations varied in some pens, but overall concentrations of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide were low. Sheep in pens previously identified to have high ammonia concentrations, high wet-bulb temperatures, and low wind speed stood longer (P = 0.003) and spent less time feeding (P = 0.01 ) and ruminating (P = 0.004) than those in pens previously identified with low ammonia, low wet-bulb temperature, and high wind speed. Moreover, sheep exposed to increased ammonia concentrations held their head higher (P = 0.004) to avoid the greater ammonia concentrations at lower heights, and these sheep had more conjunctivitis (P < 0.001). Sheep movement around the pen was limited. Increased time spent lying down (P = 0.04) and more rhythmical behavior in the second half of the voyage indicated that the sheep adjusted to shipboard conditions over time. It is concluded that high, transient concentrations of ammonia existed in some pens, which adversely affected the behavior of sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semi-natural grasslands are an important habitat for endangered plant and animal species. In grasslands, low-intensity livestock grazing is frequently applied as a tool for nature conservation. We aim to investigate how different livestock species in various densities influence the state and flower production of a single plant species by selective defoliation and/or trampling. We hypothesized that (1) moderate stocking densities would cause more damage than low, and that (2) horses would cause more damage than cattle due to their higher activity. The experiment took place in a salt marsh in the Netherlands where grazing treatments with horses and cattle in two stocking densities were installed. Damage to individual Aster tripolium plants and number of flower heads were recorded at the end of the grazing season in late September. We found (1) more damage and fewer flower heads in moderate stocking densities compared to low densities. However, a reduction of flower heads by higher stocking densities was less clear with cattle. No clear difference (2) between livestock species was found, due to opposite trends in moderate and low densities. At low stocking densities, cattle caused more damage by selective defoliation. At moderate densities, horses caused more damage, because of their higher mobility, which led to damage by trampling. We conclude that the response of Aster to grazing is strongly affected by behavioral differences between livestock species. Grazing experiments and management schemes for semi-natural grasslands should therefore not only consider stocking densities, but also livestock species to reach desired conservation goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We studied riparian vegetation change following grazing removal. [•] Riparian vegetation communities respond quickly to passive restoration. [•] Carex species and species diversity recovered quickly from grazing release. [•] Salix species did not recover quickly after being released from livestock grazing. [•] Spontaneous succession may not yield measurable increases in instream wood. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The study was conducted to assess the technical feasibility of studying the spatial and temporal interaction of traditionally herded livestock and wildlife using global positioning system (GPS) tracking technology in Northern Kenya. Two types of collars were used on nine cows: radio frequency and global system for mobile communications (GSM) collars and GPS-satellite (SAT) collars. Full results of cattle tracking were available for eight cows (3 GSM and 5 SAT) tracked between July 2008 and September 2010. A cumulative total of 1556 tracking days was recorded over the 17 month period. On average cows walked 10,203m/day (average total monthly distance walked was 234km). Significant seasonal differences were found; on average cows walked 9.607m and 10,392m per day in the rainy and the dry seasons, respectively. This difference was also significant for total monthly and daily distance walked between the dry and the rainy season. On average cows walked daily 9607m and 10,392m on the rainy and the dry season respectively. During the dry months a 48h cycle was observed with cows walking 15–25km to water every 2nd day but only 5–8km/day between watering days. There was a 24% overlap of cattle range with both elephants and zebras. This study demonstrated the feasibility of tracking cattle using radio collars. It shows the complexity of spatial use by cattle and wildlife. Such information can be used to understand the dynamics of disease transmission between livestock and wildlife. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] We progressively altered elements within an upland grazing system. [•] Lamb productivity is improved if grazing by suckler cattle is introduced. [•] Grazing does not become competitive at higher sheep:cattle ratios. [•] Mixed grazing did not increase the heterogeneity of improved permanent pasture. [•] Utilisation of Molinia was similar by traditional and modern breeds of cattle. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Shrub cover has increased in semi-arid regions worldwide. This change has generally been viewed as land degradation, due to shrub-induced declines in pastoral productivity. As a consequence, widespread management treatments to reduce shrub density have been applied in many pastoral areas. These treatments, however, often do not have long-term positive benefits for forage production. Alternative uses for shrub-encroached lands have received little consideration, but a recent move towards economic incentives for carbon (C) storage could lead to financially viable alternative land management strategies. We examined changes in above- and belowground C storage following 20 years of factorial land management treatments (grazing/no grazing and shrub removal/no removal) in an Australian semi-arid woodland. Disturbance by shrub removal (root ploughing) and/or livestock grazing significantly reduced the amount of soil organic carbon (SOC). The most disturbed treatment (grazed and ploughed) contained the least SOC (15.30MgCha−1) while protection from grazing and shrub removal led to the greatest SOC (28.49MgCha−1). Declines in SOC in shrub removal treatments (with and without grazing) were compensated, in part, by enhanced aboveground C accumulation, derived mainly from woody plants. Destocking currently grazed shrublands for two decades resulted in a net C accretion, over 20 years, in the order of 6.5Mgha−1, almost entirely through increasing belowground C. At the current price for C in Australia, the economic benefit for C accumulation from removing livestock grazing would be similar to the economic benefit of grazing. The results suggest that C farming in this semi-arid woodland system may offer an economically viable alternative management strategy to grazing, although uncertainties in future climate, C credit value, and assessment protocols present hurdles for implementing alternative management aimed at C farming. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Behavioural adaptation of farm animals to environmental changes contributes to high levels of production under a wide range of farming conditions, from highly controlled indoor systems to harsh outdoor systems. The genetic variation in livestock behaviour is considerable. Animals and genotypes with a larger behavioural capacity for adaptation may cope more readily with varying farming conditions than those with a lower capacity for adaptation. This capacity should be exploited when the aim is to use a limited number of species extensively across the world. The genetics of behavioural traits is understood to some extent, but it is seldom accounted for in breeding programmes. This review summarizes the estimates of genetic parameters for behavioural traits in cattle, pigs, poultry and fish. On the basis of the major studies performed in the last two decades, we focus the review on traits of common interest in the four species. These concern the behavioural responses to both acute and chronic stressors in the physical environment (feed, temperature, etc.) and those in the social environment (other group members, progeny, humans). The genetic strategies used to improve the behavioural capacity for adaptation of animals differ between species. There is a greater emphasis on responses to acute environmental stress in fish and birds, and on responses to chronic social stress in mammals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Data regularly recorded in commercial herds have been used extensively for estimation of disease incidence rates, for inferences regarding genetic and phenotypic associations between traits, or for developing predictive models for economically important traits. Some studies have also used field data to investigate potential causal relationships between variables. However, inferring causal effects from observational data is complex due to potential confounding effects and careful analyses using specific statistical and data mining techniques as well as different sets of assumptions are required. Nonetheless, although virtually unknown in the agricultural research community, such methods are available and have been used in many other fields. In this paper, we review and discuss the analysis of observational data using field-recorded information and its potential utility in the study of causal effects in livestock. It is our postulation that there is much to be learned from such data, which can be used either to explicitly investigate causal relationships between variables or to generate hypotheses for further investigation using controlled experiments or additional field-recorded data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With migrationbeing one of the strategies adopted for poverty reduction, livelihood activities of migrants have become a topic of particular interest. One of the key issues relates to whether at destination migrants maintain the same livelihood activities of their places of origin or they engage in entirely different ventures. Using the DFID Sustainable Livelihood Framework, the paper examines the livelihood activities of Ghanaians who migrate from the northern parts of the country to two municipal areas in the south. Some 508 migrants who were heads of households (HH) participated in the study in two selected municipalities. The results indicated that prior to migration, the main livelihood activity of the migrants had been agriculture but at destinations they were mostly engaged in non-agricultural activities such as petty trade, employment in the civil service, and working in the mining sector It emerged that the background characteristics of the migrants, to a greater extent, influenced their choice of livelihood activities at destination. The differences in terms of livelihood activities engaged in at the places of origin and those at destination could be attributed to differences in 'livelihood capitals'and levels of socioeconomic development between the northern and southern parts of the country. The findings of this paper have implications for population distribution, occupational mobility and patterns of socioeconomic development across Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine how increasing the frequency of co-mingling affected piglets' behavior development before and after weaning. Co-mingling once (CM1), piglets interacted with 1 unfamiliar litter Days 10–18 after birth; co-mingling twice (CM2), piglets interacted with 1 unfamiliar litter Days 10–14; and with another, Days 14–18. Control (CM0) piglets did not interact with unfamiliar litters before Day 18 (n = 16 litters per treatment). The study weighed piglets and recorded ear-injury scores throughout the experiment; however, there were no treatment differences. The CM2 piglets spent less time engaged in aggressive interactions (p < .05) than did CM0 piglets following mixing at weaning. During the social challenge, CM2 piglets spent more time in proximity to one another, had shorter latencies to first aggressive interaction, and spent less time fighting than did CM0 piglets (p < .05). During the social recognition test, CM2 piglets recognized the stimulus piglet at a faster rate than did CM0 piglets (p < .05). Overall, CM2 resulted in changes to some social behaviors compared with CM0 but not with CM1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ungulates grazing in military training areas may be exposed to non-combusted fragments of various explosives, among which 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene (TNT) and 1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocane (HMX) are two of the most common. This study investigated if sheep react to their pastures being contaminated with TNT or HMX. The experiment was conducted in fenced-in study areas on grass-dominated pasture. The eight sheep studied did not differentiate between clean pasture and contaminated pasture when choosing freely between plots containing TNT, HMX or no contamination. The results indicate that sheep grazing military training areas are unlikely to have behavioural responses reducing time spent grazing sites where TNT or HMX are present as fragments in the field layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This article suggests a method for classifying sows’ activity types performed in farrowing house. Five types of activity are modeled using multivariate dynamic linear models: high active (HA), medium active (MA), lying laterally on one side (L1), lying laterally on the other side (L2) and lying sternally (LS). The classification method is based on a Multi-Process Kalman Filter (MPKF) of class I. The performance of the method is validated using a Test data set. Results of activity classification appear satisfying: 75–100% of series are correctly classified within their activity type. When collapsing activity types into active (HA and MA) vs. passive (L1, L2, LS) categories, results range from 96 to 100%. In a second step, the suggested method is applied on series collected for 19 sows around the onset of farrowing, including 9 sows that received bedding materials (57 sow days in total) and 10 sows that received no bedding material (61 sow days in total). Results indicate that there is a marked (i) increase of active behaviours (HA and MA, p <0.001) and (ii) decrease of lying laterally (L1 and L2) behaviours starting 20–16h before the onset of farrowing; during the last 24h before parturition, the averaged time spent lying laterally in a row decreases and the number of changes of activity types for HA and MA increases. These behavioural changes occur for sows both with and without bedding material, but are more marked when bedding material is provided. Straightforward perspectives for applications of this classification method for monitoring activity types are, e.g. automatic detection of farrowing and detection of health disorders. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Restoration of degraded alpine meadow caused by overgrazing is directly related to land sustainable and economical development in the Tibetan Plateau. The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in vegetation and soil characteristics in areas under overgrazing and exclosed for 5 to 10 years for grazing in a degraded alpine meadow on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Results showed that excluding livestock grazing resulted in significant increases in vegetation coverage and plant biomass by enhancing development of perennial grasses and sedges. Soil organic carbon and total nitrogen in the 0-10 cm soil layer increased significantly with increasing exclosure time. Soil clay and water contents were higher in the exclosed sites than in the grazed site. The results suggested that the degraded alpine meadow due to overgrazing in this region can be reversed and significant increases in soil fertility, vegetation diversity, cover, and biomass can be achieved by implementing adequate protecting practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Claw lesions in lactating sows on 3 commercial farms were assessed in 6 areas of each of a sow''s 8 claws to investigate the relationship between claw lesions and stage of lactation. In addition, the relationships between claw lesions and postural behavior, reproductive performance or culling risk were investigated. We used a 5-point score method (0, 1, 2, 3 or 4) for each claw area and overgrown heel was additionally scored. Total sow-lesion score (TSLS) for each sow was obtained by summing the scores for the 6 areas of the 8 claws. The highest claw lesion score for each sow was defined as the highest claw lesion score (HCLS) recorded in the 48 claw areas. We recorded the relative frequency (%) of postural behavior by point sampling at 15-min intervals over a 6h period. Linear mixed-effects models were used for statistical analyses. Of the 308 sows observed, mean TSLS was 17.3±0.40. Proportions of sows with HCLS 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 were 0.0, 43.5, 50.6, 4.9 and 1.0%, respectively. The heel area had the highest proportions of claw-lesion score 2 or higher between the 6 areas (P<0.05). There were more claw-lesion scores of 2, 3, and 4 in the hind limbs of lateral claws than in the front limbs (P<0.05). High TSLS or HCLS was not related to the stage of lactation and no differences were found between HCLS groups or TSLS groups for overall culling risk after weaning (P>0.10). There were no differences between TSLS groups for adjusted 21-day litter weight, preweaning mortality or weaning-to-first-mating interval (P>0.10). No differences were found between HCLS groups for the sow performance (P>0.10), although sows in the high TSLS group had a higher farrowing percentage than those in the low TSLS group (P<0.05). There were no differences between HCLS groups for postural behavior (P>0.10), but sows in the high-TSLS group had the highest relative frequency of lying posture and the lowest frequency of standing posture (P<0.05). In summary, claw lesions in lactating sows were not related to negative reproductive performance and culling risk, but there was a relationship with postural behavior. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the investigation 22 groups of sows (with a total number of 73 sows, being partially observed repeatedly) were consecutively observed for 96h with the aid of video technology after the introduction of 5 new sows into a group of 10 resident sows, thus creating a dynamic group of 15 animals. The aim was to analyse the frequency of agonistic interactions (AI) and the lying behaviour of new and resident sows. Additionally, the lying behaviour three weeks after the introduction of new sows was recorded in half of the 22 groups. The number of AI per group was 45.2 on the first day and decreased significantly to 30.0 AI/group on the fourth day after the introduction. Between 82.4 and 87.9% of all AI included the participation of at least one new sow. Including all days of observation 2.3 AI per dyad occurred between resident and new sows (n =50 dyads), 0.5 AI/dyad within the subgroup of resident sows (n =45 dyads) and 1 AI/dyad within the subgroup of new sows (n =10 dyads). Altogether 12,454 lying events were recorded from which 6134 occurred clearly either next to a member of the own subgroup (resident and resident, new and new) or next to a member of the other subgroup (resident and new or vice versa). On the 1st day new sows showed significantly more lying events than resident sows (21.2/24h, 14.9/24h, respectively). By the 21st day this number decreased significantly (13.9/24h) no longer showing significant differences to the number observed for resident sows (14.2/24h). On the 1st day resident as well as new sows lay down significantly more often next to a member of the own subgroup (new sows 94.3%; resident sows 96.8%). The number of lying events next to a member of the own subgroup decreased significantly within 3 weeks after the introduction of new sows, indicating the advancing integration of new sows into the dynamic group (new: 1st day 94.3%, 21st day 46.0%; resident: 1st day 96.8%, 21st day 74.6%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work was to assess the dairy cows' welfare in small farms in the region of North-Eastern Transylvania (Romania) based on several animal associated parameters: body condition score (BCS), body hygiene (cleanliness), lameness, skin injuries, fur condition and flight distance, respectively. Four hundred and seventy three dairy cows housed in tie-stalls in 52 small farms were assessed (5-20 cows/farm). The indicator parameters were determined through specific methods. Among the 473 evaluated cows 267 (56.45%) had a BCS between 1.5 - 2 being considered thin cows; 162 (34.25%) had dull hair on their back; 68 (14.38%) showed skin lesions in different body zones; 69 (14.59%) showed fear at the observer's approach; 23 (4.86%) were moderately lame. The percentage for scores of 3 and 4 in body cleanliness was 11% at the level of the lower legs, 14% in the udder region and 19% in the area of the flank and upper legs. The obtained results indicate that more than half of the assessed cows are thin, which has a negative impact on their health and welfare. The main factors that affect the dairy cows' welfare in North-Eastern Transylvania are inappropriate feeding and the tied housing system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The study of judgement biases in animals has attracted interest as a way of potentially measuring emotional states by being able to detect pessimistic-like or optimistic-like evaluations of their environment. While judgement biases have been successfully identified in laboratory species, no such research has been reported in livestock species. Twenty ewes were trained to learn a spatial location task that required a go/no-go response according to the location of a bucket in a pen. One bucket location was associated with a feed reward, and the other associated with a negative reinforcer (no food and the presentation of a dog). Ten sheep were then subjected to a 6h restraint and isolation stress (RIS), for three consecutive days. Following RIS on each day, all sheep were tested for biases in judgement by measuring their response to three previously unseen bucket locations and the learnt locations. Serum cortisol, haematological parameters, and behaviour of the sheep in an open field test were also recorded. Restrained and isolated sheep were more likely to approach the ambiguous bucket locations compared to control sheep (P =0.008), suggesting RIS-treated animals had a more optimistic-like judgement bias. This was despite serum cortisol concentrations showing that sheep were highly stressed by the RIS treatment (P =0.019). This finding provides evidence that it is possible to measure judgement biases in a livestock species. When released from RIS the sheep may have had a more positive emotional state, or a lesser perception of risk, than that exhibited by control sheep. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2) is the primary etiological agent of postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS), one of the most economically important emerging swine diseases worldwide. Virulent PCV2 was first identified following nearly simultaneous outbreaks of PMWS in North America and Europe in the 1990s and has since achieved global distribution. However, the processes responsible for the emergence and spread of PCV2 remain poorly understood. Here, phylogenetic and cophylogenetic inferences were utilized to address key questions on the time scale, processes, and geographic diffusion of emerging PCV2. The results of these analyses suggest that the two genotypes of PCV2 (PCV2a and PCV2b) are likely to have emerged from a common ancestor approximately 100 years ago and have been on independent evolutionary trajectories since that time, despite cocirculating in the same host species and geographic regions. The patterns of geographic movement of PCV2 that we recovered appear to mimic those of the global pig trade and suggest that the movement of asymptomatic animals is likely to have facilitated the rapid spread of virulent PCV2 around the globe. We further estimated the rate of nucleotide substitution for PCV2 to be on the order of 1.2 x 10-3 substitutions/site/year, the highest yet recorded for a single-stranded DNA virus. This high rate of evolution may allow PCV2 to maintain evolutionary dynamics closer to those of single-stranded RNA viruses than to those of double-stranded DNA viruses, further facilitating the rapid emergence of PCV2 worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The costs of wildlife conservation distribute unequally across society. Compensation can potentially redress inequities and raise local tolerance for endangered wildlife that damage property. However, the rules for payments generate controversy, particularly as costs mount and species recover. In Wisconsin (USA), gray wolf damage payments grew notably over 28 years and eventually undermined budgets for conserving other endangered species. We measured attitudes to compensation among 1,364 state residents, including those who voluntarily contributed funds and those likely to receive compensation, and we interviewed elected officials about the politics of payment rules. Most respondents endorsed compensation for wolf damages to livestock-even when wolves are no longer endangered-but opposed payments for wolf damage to hunting dogs on public land. Most donors opposed killing wolves and over one-fourth unconditionally rejected a wolf hunt. We predict the latter donors would stop contributing funds for compensation if the state were to implement a proposed wolf hunt. Controversy over payment rules reveals clashing values regarding wildlife between those receiving and those paying for compensation. Moreover, the costs of compensation ratchet up as endangered species recover and claims of entitlement expand. Hence we recommend conservationists use sunset clauses and an adaptive management of compensation programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Group-living animals travel together to collectively exploit the resources of their environment. This study investigates how social relationships and individual temperament traits affect movement orders in domestic cattle and sheep. We analysed spontaneous group movements occurring at pasture after a resting period in a group of 15 18-month-old Charolais heifers and a group of 19 1-year-old Romane ewe-lambs. For each species, animals had similar social experience and no kinship ties. Before that, animals were observed within the group to establish their social status (e.g. dominance and preferential relationships, and sociability), then in individual tests in order to assess their emotional traits. In both species, most individuals could initiate a group movement but some individuals were more successful than others in recruiting the rest of the group. Ewe-lambs, and to a lesser extent heifers, held preferential positions during travel. We did not find any significant correlations in either species between animal order and their position in the dominance hierarchy (heifers: P 50.438; ewe-lambs: P = 0.574) while individuals linked by preferential bonds frequently followed each other during group movements (heifers: P <0.001; ewe-lambs: P <0.001). With regard to social traits, heifers with a low cohesion index, and with a lower number of partners with whom they develop frequent affinitive interactions, acted more frequently as 'first movers' (P = 0.040 and 0.023, respectively), as well as did ewe-lambs with a high spatial independency index (P = 0.002). Ewe-lambs with the highest cohesion indices were more frequently observed in front of the group while moving halfway between departure and arrival (P = 0.028). We did not find significant correlations between individual positions during group movements and emotional traits such as reactivity, boldness and fearfulness. We conclude that preferential bonds and individual traits related to social dependence were more influential in spontaneous group movements at pasture than were emotional traits and dominance status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the effects of overgrazing on the foraging behavior of livestock on a Mongolian steppe, by quantifying some behaviors of cattle, sheep and goats foraging in a lightly and a heavily grazed area in summer and winter. All animal species showed higher walking velocity and tended to show higher step/bite ratio when they foraged in the heavily grazed area than in the lightly grazed area. The effect of overgrazing on the step/bite ratio was greater in sheep and goats than in cattle, and the effect on the walking velocity was stronger in winter than in summer. The results indicate that heavy grazing altered the foraging behavior of animals imposing higher foraging costs, which varied among the animal species and between the seasons. The declined quantity of preferred species in the heavily grazed area required high searching efforts and decreased the bite rate, for selecting acceptable plants and better feeding sites. The stronger effects on sheep and goats than on cattle and in winter than in summer may reflect different foraging behavior potentials among the animals and different food availabilities between the seasons. We suggest that the ongoing increase in the number of goats in Mongolia is problematic not only from the viewpoint of grassland deterioration but also from feeding cost of whole livestock animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The amount of space provided to animals governs important elements of their behaviour and, hence, is critical for their health and welfare. We review the use of allometric principles and equations to estimate the static space requirements of animals when standing and lying, and the space required for animals to feed, drink, stand-up and lie-down. We use the research literature relating to transportation and intensive housing of sheep and cattle to assess the validity of allometric equations for estimating space allowances. We investigated these areas because transportation and intensive housing provide points along a continuum in terms of the duration of confinement, (from hours to months) and spatial requirements are likely to increase with increasing duration of confinement, as animals will need to perform a greater behavioural repertoire for long-term survival, health and welfare. We find that, although there are theoretical reasons why allometric relationships to space allowances may vary slightly for different classes of stock, space allowances that have been demonstrated to have adverse effects on animal welfare during transportation correlated well with an inability to accommodate standing animals, as estimated from allometry. For intensive housing, we were able to detect a space allowance below which there were adverse effects on welfare. For short duration transportation during which animals remain standing, a space allowance per animal described by the allometric equation: area (m2)=0.020W 0.66, where W =liveweight (kg), would appear to be appropriate. Where it is desirable for all animals to lie simultaneously, then a minimum space allowance per animal described by the allometric equation: area (m2)=0.027W 0.66 appears to permit this, given that animals in a group time-share space. However, there are insufficient data to determine whether this allowance onboard a vehicle/vessel would enable animals to move and access food and water with ease. In intensive housing systems, a minimum space allowance per animal described by the allometric equation: area (m2)=0.033W 0.66 appears to be the threshold below which there are adverse effects on welfare. These suggested space allowances require verification with a range of species under different thermal conditions and, for transportation, under different conditions of vehicular/vessel stability. The minimum length of trough per animal (L in m) required for feeding and drinking can be determined from L =0.064W 0.33, with the number of animals required to feed/drink simultaneously taken into account, together with any requirement to minimise competition. This also requires verification with a range of species. We conclude that allometric relationships are an appropriate basis for the formulation of space allowances for livestock. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Behavior is a complex trait and, therefore, understanding its genetic architecture is paramount for the development of effective breeding strategies. The objective of this study was to perform traditional and weighted single-step genome-wide association studies (ssGWAS and WssGWAS, respectively) for yearling temperament (YT) in North American Angus cattle using haplotypes. Approximately 266 K YT records and 70 K animals genotyped using a 50 K single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) panel were used. Linkage disequilibrium thresholds (LD) of 0.15, 0.50, and 0.80 were used to create the haploblocks, and the inclusion of non-LD-clustered SNPs (NCSNP) with the haplotypes in the genomic models was also evaluated. WssGWAS did not perform better than ssGWAS. Cattle YT was found to be a highly polygenic trait, with genes and quantitative trait loci (QTL) broadly distributed across the whole genome. Association studies using LD-based haplotypes should include NCSNPs and different LD thresholds to increase the likelihood of finding the relevant genomic regions affecting the trait of interest. The main candidate genes identified, i.e., ATXN10, ADAM10, VAX2, ATP6V1B1, CRISPLD1, CAPRIN1, FA2H, SPEF2, PLXNA1, and CACNA2D3, are involved in important biological processes and metabolic pathways related to behavioral traits, social interactions, and aggressiveness in cattle. Future studies should further investigate the role of these candidate genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An understanding of livestock movement is critical to effective disease prevention, control and prediction. However, livestock movement in Ireland has not yet been quantified. This study has sought to define the survival and dispersal of a defined cohort of cattle born in Co. Kerry during 2000. The cohort was observed for a maximum of four years, from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2004. Beef and dairy animals moved an average 1.31 and 0.83 times, respectively. At study end, 18.8% of the beef animals remained alive on Irish farms, including 6.7% at the farm-of-birth, compared with 48.6% and 27.7% for dairy animals respectively. Beef animals werae dispersed to all Irish counties, but mainly to Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Galway. Dairy animals mainly moved to Cork, Limerick, and Tipperary, with less animals going to Galway, Meath and Kilkenny. The four-year survival probability was 0.07 (male beef animals), 0.25 (male dairy), 0.38 (female beef), and 0.72 (female dairy). Although there was considerable dispersal, the number of moves per animal was less than expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Good nutrition is one of the most fundamental requirements for all animals and has been identified by Australian livestock farmers as the biggest contributor to animal welfare on farms. Ruminant livestock utilize their extensive fermentation capacity in their forestomach to digest coarse roughages that could not provide adequate nutrients for the welfare of monogastric animals. They are therefore most often kept on rangelands, with a diverse range of feeds of low quality and characterized by a large seasonal variability in growth and quality. However, the variation in feed quality and quantity can be partly buffered by the ability of domesticated ruminant livestock to store food energy as fat tissue, for example in the hump of Bos indicus cattle and fat tail of sheep, to be utilised when feed availability is low. It is important to determine when ruminant livestock are malnourished so that corrective action can be taken. We propose that this occurs when normal functioning of the animal, including behaviour, physiology and reproduction, is adversely affected by an inadequate supply of nutrients. The sensation of hunger is central to the concept that an animal suffers during malnutrition but is also adaptive to motivate the animal to locate the necessary nutrients. It is concluded that a better understanding of malnutrition in ruminant livestock is essential to maintain high welfare standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One hundred and eight commercial Holstein cows were divided into three groups: high productive, low productive, and dried to study the behavior of dairy cows suplemented with citrus husk in shade pens. Each group was of 36 animals, distributed in a completely randomized design with factorial fit 3x5 (three groups of animals and five hours of observation). The animals were observed while stay in shade pens, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., having fresh citrus husk and water ad libitum. When the activities were analyzed per observation hour, the time for intake and drinking was higher (P < 0.05) in the first hour, and the rest of the time was kept constant there were no differences in the total time devoted by the three groups to eating citrus. The high productive group of cows devoted longer time (P < 0.01) to drinking. The activities of rumination and resting while lying down had more importance, since the second hour, for the high and low productive groups, and, since the third, for the dried. It is concluded that the management had higher influence that the intake of humid citrus husk on the behavior of the cows in shade pens. This is due to the animals devoted longer time to intake during the first hour without differences per group in the total time for the activity of intake and then, the activities related to resting and rumination were more important because the observation time coincided with the period of highest daytime temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]