New Zealand veterinary journal最新文献

Aims: To survey New Zealand dairy farmers and veterinarians on their attitude and use of reproductive hormones in treating cows identified as non-cyclers. Whilst hormones have been identified as effective tools in assisting reproduction in dairy cattle, there is widespread but anecdotal concern about their cost-effectiveness and a lack of high-quality information on the attitude and practices around hormone use on New Zealand dairy farms.

Methods: Electronic links to separate farmer and veterinary survey forms were sent to all dairy clients and all veterinary employees of five, convenience-selected veterinary practices across New Zealand. Using closed, open, and Likert-style questions, the surveys covered cost-effectiveness of hormonal interventions, value judgements on their use, and impact on the public perception of dairy farming.

Results: Usable surveys were returned by 424 farmers and 70 veterinarians. Response rates are not known as denominator data were not sought. Of the farmers, 253/424 (60%) reported using hormone treatments, with 153 (36%) primarily using them before mating started. However, only 163 (38%) thought treatment was cost-effective, compared to 65/70 (93%) veterinarians. Beliefs around cost-effectiveness affected use: 8/171 (5%) farmers who never used hormones believed they were cost-effective, compared to 38/94 (40%) who used hormones occasionally and 117/159 (74%) who used them routinely. Other reasons put forward by farmers for not using hormones included "breeding infertility", "not natural", and "not treating the cause". Farmer and veterinary opinion also varied around the trajectory of hormone use. Amongst veterinarians, 12/70 (17%) thought use should decrease compared to 271/424 (64%) farmers, while 19/70 (27%) veterinarians thought use should increase compared to 21/424 (5%) of farmers.

Conclusions: The results suggest a disconnect around hormone use between the participating veterinarians and farmers. Many farmers did not believe hormone use was cost-effective, despite strong evidence to the contrary. As other reasons for not using hormones were also cited, and as most farmers believed hormone use should decrease, it seems unlikely that further education on cost-effectiveness will change practice. Rather, it could increase the proportion who think veterinarians benefit financially more from hormone use.

Clinical relevance: Veterinary focus on maximising synchronisation use and efficacy is bypassing a significant proportion of dairy farmers. There is an opportunity for veterinarians to focus on what their clients want and work with them to improve herd fertility without relying on hormones to fix management problems.

Aim: To examine the attitudes of pet owners towards roaming cats in New Zealand.

Materials and methods: Data was used from a survey of New Zealand residents aged over 18 conducted online between January and March 2019. Along with demographic questions, the respondents were asked, "Do you think that roaming pet dogs and cats are a problem?" (yes, no, never thought about it) and if they answered "yes", were invited to explain their answers. Thematic analysis was applied to open-text responses focused on cats, while quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics.

Results: Of a total of 2,744 participants, 2,292 answered the question regarding roaming pets, with 72% (n = 1,654) viewing roaming pets as problematic. While gender, ethnicity, and rural upbringing showed no significant association with this view, age, education level, place of residence, and pet ownership did. Explanations for their choice of answer were given by 1,479 respondents and highlighted key concerns about free-roaming pets including cats: compromised animal welfare due to risks and neglect; the need for more responsible pet ownership and owner education; calls for stricter regulations and enforcement, including mandatory microchipping and desexing, and regulating cats similarly to dogs; the negative influence of social media; the importance of desexing to control populations and improve behaviour; increased risks to the roaming animals themselves, other animals, humans, and the environment; nuisance behaviours; and differing opinions on whether roaming cats or dogs are more of an issue.

Conclusion: The findings align with previous research indicating a growing but inconsistent public awareness of animal welfare and environmental impacts associated with free-roaming cats. They highlight the need for education and targeted policy to address inconsistencies in attitudes and promote responsible cat ownership.

Clinical relevance: Addressing these issues through enhanced public education and policy measures will help to balance animal welfare with community safety and environmental protection.Abbreviations: NZCAT: New Zealand Companion Animal Trust.

Aims: To evaluate in a range of abattoirs in Australia, the effect of a fully nylon-lined, noise-reducing restraint box on animal handling practices during pre-slaughter handling with a view to improving animal welfare by facilitating the movement of animals through the race into restraint for stunning.

Methods: Data were collected from eight meat processors in Australia, with pre- and post-installation data available for four, and post-installation data available for all eight. Two separate analyses were conducted: one to compare pre- and post-installation data to evaluate the impact of the noise-reducing restraint box on animal handling practices, and another to investigate the variability between processors in the handling interventions required post-installation of the noise-reducing restraint box. Individual handling parameters (physical intervention/aid or noise, such as whistling or hitting the race to help animals move forward) were measured for each processor.

Results: Overall, there was a noticeable reduction in almost all handling parameters, with a few exceptions. For both physical and noise interventions, there was a significant interaction between treatment and processors (p < 0.01). Cattle received less handling aid post-installation compared to pre-installation (marginal mean (MM) number of events = 1.64 (95% CI = 1.47-1.84) vs. 3.14 (95% CI = 2.90-3.41); p < 0.01). However, handling noise was increased post-installation compared to pre-installation (MM = 1.08 (95% CI = 0.94-1.22) vs. 0.70 (95% CI = 0.61-0.81); p < 0.01). Thus, the use of the noise-reducing restraint box led to a reduction in the use of physical handling methods, but there was an increase in the use of other less stressful forms of coercion such as staff vocalisations. Post-installation analysis showed that handling interventions (aid and noise) varied significantly among processors (p < 0.05).

Conclusions and clinical relevance: The noise-reducing restraint box reduced the need for physical coercion, potentially improving animal movement through the race and offering improvements in production efficiency, animal welfare and staff morale. However, variation between processors indicates that there are other factors influencing system flow and animal welfare.

Aims: First, to determine via whole genome sequencing the sequence of the hld gene that encodes δ-toxin and elements of the accessory gene regulator (agr) locus that encode quorum sensing in four Staphylococcus pseudintermedius isolates from atopic dogs; second, to assess degranulation of mast cells by synthetic δ-toxin in vitro, and by culture filtrate containing δ-toxin from the S. pseudintermedius isolates in canine skin in vivo; and third, to determine whether the genetic region (RNAIII) encoding the δ-toxin gene is upregulated in response to increasing bacterial density (quorum sensing) in the isolates.

Methods: Four isolates of S. pseudintermedius were obtained from four dogs with pyoderma and canine atopic dermatitis (cAD). All four isolates were sequenced to compare their genomes and the sequences of the agr and hld elements. Synthetic S. pseudintermedius δ-toxin was applied to a mast cell culture from murine fetal liver cells in vitro. Degranulation was assessed using a β-hexosaminidase assay. Filtered supernatants from cultures of the four S. pseudintermedius isolates were tested by mass spectrometry to detect δ-toxin. These filtrates were then injected into the skin of five normal dogs. The injection sites were biopsied 15 minutes later. Degranulation of canine mast cells was assessed and quantified histologically. To assess up-regulation of the genetic region encoding the δ-toxin gene in response to increasing bacterial density in the four S. pseudintermedius isolates, relative expression of RNAIII was assayed using quantitative PCR after 1, 2, 4, 7 and 8 hours of culture.

Results: Synthetic S. pseudintermedius δ-toxin caused comparable degranulation of MC/9 cells to δ-toxin of Staphylococcus aureus. Mast cell degranulation was demonstrated in the skin of all five normal dogs following intradermal injection of a purified supernatant that contained S. pseudintermedius δ-toxin. The genetic elements of the δ-toxins were described. As the cell density of cultures of the S. pseudintermedius isolates from atopic dogs increased, RNAIII expression increased relative to the reference gene (gyrB), suggesting that RNAIII expression may be controlled by a quorum-sensing mechanism.

Conclusions and clinical relevance: S. pseudintermedius isolates from atopic dogs carry genes encoding δ-toxin, a staphylococcal exotoxin that can degranulate murine mast cells in vitro. An agent in filtered S. pseudintermedius culture known to contain δ-toxin causes degranulation of dermal mast cells in vivo and may play a role in the initiation and/or exacerbation of cAD.

Aims: To establish biochemical and haematological 95% reference intervals (RI) for juvenile North Island brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) chicks using parametric analysis.

Methods: Blood samples were collected from healthy 3-4-week-old, captive-reared North Island brown kiwi chicks (n = 32; male = 19, female = 13). Concentrations of total plasma protein (TPP), uric acid, glucose, phosphorus, calcium, albumin, globulin, potassium, and sodium and activities of aspartate aminotransferase and creatine kinase (CK) were measured using an automated VetScan VS2 laboratory analyser and the Abaxis Avian-Reptilian Profile Plus. Total and differential white blood cell counts were determined manually on blood smears prepared with a modified Wright-Giemsa stain. TPP was also measured manually using a refractometer, and packed cell volume (PCV) was measured using microhaematocrit tubes. RI were calculated using parametric and non-parametric methods depending on the distribution of the data. Confidence intervals (90%) around upper and lower bounds of the RI were calculated to assess certainty of the intervals.

Results: Biochemical (n = 28; male = 17; female = 11) and haematological (n = 22; male = 14, female = 8) 95% RI were generated for juvenile North Island brown kiwi. The 90% CI of the upper or lower limits of the majority of the RI generated were > 0.2 times the RI, reflecting the relatively small sample size. There was no evidence of a difference in mean biochemical values collected from sedated vs. un-sedated, and male vs. female chicks. However, the concentration of phosphorus was higher (p = 0.034) in samples that were analysed > 1 hour after collection (2.097 (SD 0.202) mmol/L) compared to samples analysed < 1 hour after collection (1.856 (SD 0.349) mmol/L).

Conclusions: This data provides the first comprehensive biochemical and haematological RI generated for Apteryx spp. chicks carried out under uniform collection and sample handling protocols, making the results robust and applicable to other captive-reared kiwi chicks.

Clinical relevance: In comparison to published RI from adult kiwi (Doneley 2006; Morgan 2008), kiwi chicks in this study had lower PCV, TPP and uric acid concentrations, and higher CK activities, white cell counts and lymphocyte counts. These RI are of value to wildlife veterinarians and conservation managers assessing the health of individual kiwi chicks, and for population-level comparison of birds of different ages and living in different managed or wild habitats.