Pub Date : 2024-04-25DOI: 10.3389/fanim.2024.1329061
Stephane Alverina Briguente da Motta, Joyce Barcellos, Antônio Carlos Macedo Lourenço, Bruno Teixeira Ramos, Ideraldo L. Lima, Brian Mike, L. N. Rennó, M. Hannas
The corn-based ethanol production industry provides co-products with potential value as animal feed. However, the nutritional value of these co-products should be adequately determined for their sustainable implementation in swine diets. Therefore, a study was conducted to determine the concentration of amino acids (AA), apparent ileal digestible amino acids (AID), standardized ileal digestible amino acids (SID), and crude protein (CP) in corn distillers dried grains with high protein content (corn HP-DDG) for pigs. Six growing pigs (initial body weight: 46.30 ± 2.14 kg) were surgically fitted with a T-cannula at the distal ileum and allotted to a duplicate 2 × 3 incomplete Latin Square Design. Diets containing corn HP-DDG as the only AA source and a nitrogen-free diet (NFD) were formulated. Corn HP-DDG was used as a test ingredient to replace 40% of the starch in NFD, and titanium dioxide (0.5%) was added as an indigestible marker to both diets. Pigs were fed between 08:00 and 18:00 h during five days of adaptation and a sequence of two days of ileal digesta collection. On an as-fed basis, the chemical composition of corn HP-DDG was 40.41% CP, 1.39% lysine, 1.57% methionine + cysteine, 1.61% threonine, 0.23% tryptophan, and 2.15% valine. The AID and SID values of corn HP-DDG were 74.04% and 80.87% for CP; 76.32% and 79.15% for lysine; 84.75% and 86.52% for methionine + cysteine; 71.97% and 78.30% for threonine; 83.86% and 92.44% for tryptophan; and 76.34% and 80.47% for valine, respectively. In conclusion, the SID CP and AA in corn HP-DDG were within the previously published values, and the determined SID coefficients should be used to formulate accurate diets for pigs.
{"title":"Determination of apparent and standardized ileal digestibility of amino acids in corn HP-DDG fed to growing pigs","authors":"Stephane Alverina Briguente da Motta, Joyce Barcellos, Antônio Carlos Macedo Lourenço, Bruno Teixeira Ramos, Ideraldo L. Lima, Brian Mike, L. N. Rennó, M. Hannas","doi":"10.3389/fanim.2024.1329061","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fanim.2024.1329061","url":null,"abstract":"The corn-based ethanol production industry provides co-products with potential value as animal feed. However, the nutritional value of these co-products should be adequately determined for their sustainable implementation in swine diets. Therefore, a study was conducted to determine the concentration of amino acids (AA), apparent ileal digestible amino acids (AID), standardized ileal digestible amino acids (SID), and crude protein (CP) in corn distillers dried grains with high protein content (corn HP-DDG) for pigs. Six growing pigs (initial body weight: 46.30 ± 2.14 kg) were surgically fitted with a T-cannula at the distal ileum and allotted to a duplicate 2 × 3 incomplete Latin Square Design. Diets containing corn HP-DDG as the only AA source and a nitrogen-free diet (NFD) were formulated. Corn HP-DDG was used as a test ingredient to replace 40% of the starch in NFD, and titanium dioxide (0.5%) was added as an indigestible marker to both diets. Pigs were fed between 08:00 and 18:00 h during five days of adaptation and a sequence of two days of ileal digesta collection. On an as-fed basis, the chemical composition of corn HP-DDG was 40.41% CP, 1.39% lysine, 1.57% methionine + cysteine, 1.61% threonine, 0.23% tryptophan, and 2.15% valine. The AID and SID values of corn HP-DDG were 74.04% and 80.87% for CP; 76.32% and 79.15% for lysine; 84.75% and 86.52% for methionine + cysteine; 71.97% and 78.30% for threonine; 83.86% and 92.44% for tryptophan; and 76.34% and 80.47% for valine, respectively. In conclusion, the SID CP and AA in corn HP-DDG were within the previously published values, and the determined SID coefficients should be used to formulate accurate diets for pigs.","PeriodicalId":503755,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Animal Science","volume":"10 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140653795","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-19DOI: 10.3389/fanim.2024.1296203
Pauline M. Mwangi, Richard Eckard, I. Gluecks, Lutz Merbold, D. Mulat, J. Gakige, Svenja Marquardt, C. Pinares-Patiño
Ruminant production systems in the arid and semi-arid regions of Sub-Saharan Africa confront severe challenges due to recurring droughts and the intensifying effects of climate change (CC). These systems grapple with numerous stress factors, including poor animal nutrition, water scarcity, gastrointestinal (GIT) parasite burdens, and heat stress, which contribute to below optimal animal productivity and a high environmental footprint. Addressing these issues urgently, by creating livestock systems resilient to CC that also promote better animal health, enhanced productivity, and reduced environmental impact, is paramount to safeguarding the livelihoods of the rural population. This 50-day study aimed to evaluate the effects of improved feeding and nutritional management in sheep, focusing on GIT parasite infections, feed intake and digestibility, liveweight (LW) gain, and enteric methane (CH4) emissions. We investigated the legume forage tree, Calliandra (Calliandra calothyrsus), as a high-quality feed source because of its rich crude protein content and its potential as a remedy for gastrointestinal tract (GIT) parasite infections, attributed to its high condensed tannin (CT) content. Twenty-eight Dorper lambs underwent random allocation across four treatments, each consisting of seven lambs. These treatments combined either a trickle infection or no infection with Haemonchus contortus with a supplementation (40% of diet on a dry matter basis or lack thereof) of the basal diet (Rhodes grass hay) with dried Calliandra leaflets. The treatments were: UnHay (uninfected, fed on hay-only), InHay (infected, fed on hay-only), InHay+Cal (infected, fed on hay plus Calliandra), and InHay+Cal+PEG [infected, fed on hay, Calliandra, and polyethylene glycol (PEG)]. The latter was to evaluate the potential effects of Calliandra’s condensed tannins. The results show that lambs in the InHay+Cal treatment exhibited a higher packed cell volume (PCV) and lower faecal egg counts (FEC) compared to the InHay group. No effects of infection on the other measured variables were observed in unsupplemented lambs. Calliandra supplementation increased total feed dry matter intake (DMI) by 20% (61.8 vs. 51.7 g DM/kg LW0.75) (InHay+Cal vs. InHay) and enhanced LW gain (7.2 g/d) in the InHay+Cal group, whereas the unsupplemented infected group (InHay) experienced LW loss (-26.6 g/d). Calliandra supplementation to infected lambs reduced daily CH4 emission by 15% (13.9 vs. 16.2 g/d) and CH4 yield (g/kg DMI) by 30% (18.7 vs. 26.5 g/kg DMI), compared to emissions from unsupplemented infected lambs. Nonetheless, Calliandra supplementation decreased the digestibility of crude protein and fibre and raised the faecal nitrogen (N) output to N intake (FN/NI) ratio. The effects of PEG supplementation on CT activity remained inconclusive. The study concludes that a 40% replacement of a protein-deficient basal diet with Calliandra may be excessive. However, the findings underscore the conside
{"title":"Supplementation of a tropical low-quality forage with Calliandra calothyrsus improves sheep health and performance, and reduces methane emission","authors":"Pauline M. Mwangi, Richard Eckard, I. Gluecks, Lutz Merbold, D. Mulat, J. Gakige, Svenja Marquardt, C. Pinares-Patiño","doi":"10.3389/fanim.2024.1296203","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fanim.2024.1296203","url":null,"abstract":"Ruminant production systems in the arid and semi-arid regions of Sub-Saharan Africa confront severe challenges due to recurring droughts and the intensifying effects of climate change (CC). These systems grapple with numerous stress factors, including poor animal nutrition, water scarcity, gastrointestinal (GIT) parasite burdens, and heat stress, which contribute to below optimal animal productivity and a high environmental footprint. Addressing these issues urgently, by creating livestock systems resilient to CC that also promote better animal health, enhanced productivity, and reduced environmental impact, is paramount to safeguarding the livelihoods of the rural population. This 50-day study aimed to evaluate the effects of improved feeding and nutritional management in sheep, focusing on GIT parasite infections, feed intake and digestibility, liveweight (LW) gain, and enteric methane (CH4) emissions. We investigated the legume forage tree, Calliandra (Calliandra calothyrsus), as a high-quality feed source because of its rich crude protein content and its potential as a remedy for gastrointestinal tract (GIT) parasite infections, attributed to its high condensed tannin (CT) content. Twenty-eight Dorper lambs underwent random allocation across four treatments, each consisting of seven lambs. These treatments combined either a trickle infection or no infection with Haemonchus contortus with a supplementation (40% of diet on a dry matter basis or lack thereof) of the basal diet (Rhodes grass hay) with dried Calliandra leaflets. The treatments were: UnHay (uninfected, fed on hay-only), InHay (infected, fed on hay-only), InHay+Cal (infected, fed on hay plus Calliandra), and InHay+Cal+PEG [infected, fed on hay, Calliandra, and polyethylene glycol (PEG)]. The latter was to evaluate the potential effects of Calliandra’s condensed tannins. The results show that lambs in the InHay+Cal treatment exhibited a higher packed cell volume (PCV) and lower faecal egg counts (FEC) compared to the InHay group. No effects of infection on the other measured variables were observed in unsupplemented lambs. Calliandra supplementation increased total feed dry matter intake (DMI) by 20% (61.8 vs. 51.7 g DM/kg LW0.75) (InHay+Cal vs. InHay) and enhanced LW gain (7.2 g/d) in the InHay+Cal group, whereas the unsupplemented infected group (InHay) experienced LW loss (-26.6 g/d). Calliandra supplementation to infected lambs reduced daily CH4 emission by 15% (13.9 vs. 16.2 g/d) and CH4 yield (g/kg DMI) by 30% (18.7 vs. 26.5 g/kg DMI), compared to emissions from unsupplemented infected lambs. Nonetheless, Calliandra supplementation decreased the digestibility of crude protein and fibre and raised the faecal nitrogen (N) output to N intake (FN/NI) ratio. The effects of PEG supplementation on CT activity remained inconclusive. The study concludes that a 40% replacement of a protein-deficient basal diet with Calliandra may be excessive. However, the findings underscore the conside","PeriodicalId":503755,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Animal Science","volume":" 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140683792","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-19DOI: 10.3389/fanim.2024.1367210
A. Köck, L. Dale, A. Werner, M. Mayerhofer, F. Auer, C. Egger-Danner
Milk analysis using mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIR) is a fast and inexpensive way of examining milk samples on a large scale for fat, protein, lactose, urea and many other novel traits. A new indicator trait for ketosis, KetoMIR, which is based on clinical ketosis diagnoses and MIR-predicted traits, was developed by the Regional State Association for Performance and Quality Inspection in Animal Breeding of Baden Württemberg in 2015. The KetoMIR result is available for each cow at milk recording during the first 120 days in milk and presented to farmers in three classes: 1 = low ketosis risk, 2 = moderate ketosis risk and 3 = high ketosis risk. The aim of the current study was to analyze the phenotypic relationships between KetoMIR and milk yield, fertility and health at the herd level. Annual herd reports from 12,909 herds with an average herd size of 27 cows were available for the analyses. Overall, the mean incidence of ketosis (KetoMIR risk class 2 or 3) at the herd level was 14.0%. Farms with the lowest ketosis risk (≤10% of cows in the herd with a moderate or high ketosis risk) differed in all variables from the farms with the highest ketosis risk (>50% of cows in the herd with a moderate or high ketosis risk). The increased ketosis risk based on KetoMIR was associated with lower average herd milk yield (-1,975 kg milk). Mean herd somatic cell count in first and higher lactations was increased by 60,500 and 134,400 cells/ml, respectively. The interval from calving to first service was prolonged by +36.5 days, as was the calving interval with +58.2 days. The newly developed KetoMIR trait may be used in ketosis prevention programs.
{"title":"Ketosis risk derived from mid-infrared predicted traits and its relationship with herd milk yield, health and fertility","authors":"A. Köck, L. Dale, A. Werner, M. Mayerhofer, F. Auer, C. Egger-Danner","doi":"10.3389/fanim.2024.1367210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fanim.2024.1367210","url":null,"abstract":"Milk analysis using mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIR) is a fast and inexpensive way of examining milk samples on a large scale for fat, protein, lactose, urea and many other novel traits. A new indicator trait for ketosis, KetoMIR, which is based on clinical ketosis diagnoses and MIR-predicted traits, was developed by the Regional State Association for Performance and Quality Inspection in Animal Breeding of Baden Württemberg in 2015. The KetoMIR result is available for each cow at milk recording during the first 120 days in milk and presented to farmers in three classes: 1 = low ketosis risk, 2 = moderate ketosis risk and 3 = high ketosis risk. The aim of the current study was to analyze the phenotypic relationships between KetoMIR and milk yield, fertility and health at the herd level. Annual herd reports from 12,909 herds with an average herd size of 27 cows were available for the analyses. Overall, the mean incidence of ketosis (KetoMIR risk class 2 or 3) at the herd level was 14.0%. Farms with the lowest ketosis risk (≤10% of cows in the herd with a moderate or high ketosis risk) differed in all variables from the farms with the highest ketosis risk (>50% of cows in the herd with a moderate or high ketosis risk). The increased ketosis risk based on KetoMIR was associated with lower average herd milk yield (-1,975 kg milk). Mean herd somatic cell count in first and higher lactations was increased by 60,500 and 134,400 cells/ml, respectively. The interval from calving to first service was prolonged by +36.5 days, as was the calving interval with +58.2 days. The newly developed KetoMIR trait may be used in ketosis prevention programs.","PeriodicalId":503755,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Animal Science","volume":" 52","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140683456","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-18DOI: 10.3389/fanim.2024.1343680
Sandriele Goes de Campos Deboleto, Camila Aparecida do Nascimento, Jean Carlos Souza Melo, A. Conceição, Ana Paula Fernandes Araujo, Clemente Batista Soares Neto, Robert Neil Gerard Miller, F. G. de Siqueira, Simone Mendonça, Cláucia Aparecida Honorato
Gossypol is a terpene-polyphenolic compound specific to cotton plants. Considered as an anti-nutritional factor, monogastric livestock show greater sensitivity to this metabolite than ruminants. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the toxicological effects of gossypol-containing and biodetoxified cottonseed-cake on hepatic function in rats. Biodetoxification of cottonseed cake was performed by the macrofungi Fistulina hepatica BRM 047114 and Pleurotus ostreatus BRM 055505 in a solid-state cultivation process. A toxicological study was performed using albino Wistar rat males (Rattus norvergicus). A feed assay was conducted using the macrofungi cultivated on cottonseed cake (5%, 15%, and 25%). Animal growth, feed conversion, hemogram, serum biochemical analyses and histopathology were evaluated. For biodetoxified cottonseed cake treatments with both macrofungi, concentrations of feed up to 15% resulted in animal development similar to that of the untreated group. Histopathological analysis after feeding with biodetoxified cottonseed cake presented an unaltered cordonal arrangement. Nevertheless, the group fed with cottonseed cake biodetoxified using F. hepatica BRM 047114 showed discrete inflammatory infiltrate, vacuolization, and pyknotic nuclei in hepatocytes. P. ostreatus BRM 055505 resulted in efficient reduction in toxic effects of free gossypol, with regular animal growth, maintenance of normal liver activities, and a reduction in circulating cholesterol levels. In conclusion, P. ostreatus and F. hepatica were able to minimize the toxic effects of free gossypol in rat diets, representing an important contribution for feed-formulation development for non-ruminants.
{"title":"Toxicological, biochemical, and histopathological evaluation of rats fed with macrofungal-treated cottonseed cake","authors":"Sandriele Goes de Campos Deboleto, Camila Aparecida do Nascimento, Jean Carlos Souza Melo, A. Conceição, Ana Paula Fernandes Araujo, Clemente Batista Soares Neto, Robert Neil Gerard Miller, F. G. de Siqueira, Simone Mendonça, Cláucia Aparecida Honorato","doi":"10.3389/fanim.2024.1343680","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fanim.2024.1343680","url":null,"abstract":"Gossypol is a terpene-polyphenolic compound specific to cotton plants. Considered as an anti-nutritional factor, monogastric livestock show greater sensitivity to this metabolite than ruminants. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the toxicological effects of gossypol-containing and biodetoxified cottonseed-cake on hepatic function in rats. Biodetoxification of cottonseed cake was performed by the macrofungi Fistulina hepatica BRM 047114 and Pleurotus ostreatus BRM 055505 in a solid-state cultivation process. A toxicological study was performed using albino Wistar rat males (Rattus norvergicus). A feed assay was conducted using the macrofungi cultivated on cottonseed cake (5%, 15%, and 25%). Animal growth, feed conversion, hemogram, serum biochemical analyses and histopathology were evaluated. For biodetoxified cottonseed cake treatments with both macrofungi, concentrations of feed up to 15% resulted in animal development similar to that of the untreated group. Histopathological analysis after feeding with biodetoxified cottonseed cake presented an unaltered cordonal arrangement. Nevertheless, the group fed with cottonseed cake biodetoxified using F. hepatica BRM 047114 showed discrete inflammatory infiltrate, vacuolization, and pyknotic nuclei in hepatocytes. P. ostreatus BRM 055505 resulted in efficient reduction in toxic effects of free gossypol, with regular animal growth, maintenance of normal liver activities, and a reduction in circulating cholesterol levels. In conclusion, P. ostreatus and F. hepatica were able to minimize the toxic effects of free gossypol in rat diets, representing an important contribution for feed-formulation development for non-ruminants.","PeriodicalId":503755,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Animal Science","volume":" 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140686200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-15DOI: 10.3389/fanim.2024.1377908
Janice C. Swanson
{"title":"Editorial: Animal welfare and economic sustainability of farms","authors":"Janice C. Swanson","doi":"10.3389/fanim.2024.1377908","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fanim.2024.1377908","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":503755,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Animal Science","volume":"56 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140701113","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-09DOI: 10.3389/fanim.2024.1378350
Douglas M. Neil, Endre Putyora, A. Albalat
Decapod crustaceans provide a valuable food source worldwide, both through wild capture and captive rearing. They are also used extensively in scientific research, both as subjects for the investigation of basic biological processes and as model organisms for the detection of environmental changes. There is now an increasing acceptance that decapod crustaceans are sentient, and legislation is being introduced in numerous countries to ensure crustacean welfare when they are harvested or held captive. Moreover, methods for the humane slaughter of these animals are being developed, and of these electrical stunning is a prime candidate. Optimisation of electrical stunning is underway for a range of commercially-exploited or scientifically-important species, and the present study contributes to that process by examining further crab (Carcinus maenas) and lobster (Homarus gammarus) species using a rigorous neurophysiological approach. By recording nerve activity in both the central and peripheral nervous systems, we have found that electrical stunning with a standard commercial instrument arrests nerve activity in both these species at all levels: sensory, motor and central, rendering the animals neurologically insensible. This methodology is the most direct and effective way to establish if insensibility is successfully achieved. However, ultimately the routine monitoring of effective stunning in commercial and laboratory settings will have to depend on simple, yet reliable physiological or behavioural indicators, following their calibration against neurological methods. Monitoring heartbeat is used widely to establish metabolic activity, locomotory performance, agonistic interactions and responses to environmental conditions. We have therefore assessed the potential to use cardiac activity as an indicator for the state of sensibility. We recorded the heartbeat in both C. maenas and H. gammarus before and after electrical stunning, but find that in many cases even though nerve activity has ceased both centrally and peripherally, cardiac activity actually continues (though at a reduced rate) for a substantial time (>1h). The heartbeat is therefore not a reliable indicator of the state of sensibility, making it an unsuitable indicator of effective stunning. Possible reasons for these findings, and ways to validate behavioural measures that may be more appropriate for routinely establishing effective electrical stunning, are discussed.
{"title":"Towards the humane slaughter of decapod crustaceans: identifying the most effective indicators of insensibility following electrical stunning","authors":"Douglas M. Neil, Endre Putyora, A. Albalat","doi":"10.3389/fanim.2024.1378350","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fanim.2024.1378350","url":null,"abstract":"Decapod crustaceans provide a valuable food source worldwide, both through wild capture and captive rearing. They are also used extensively in scientific research, both as subjects for the investigation of basic biological processes and as model organisms for the detection of environmental changes. There is now an increasing acceptance that decapod crustaceans are sentient, and legislation is being introduced in numerous countries to ensure crustacean welfare when they are harvested or held captive. Moreover, methods for the humane slaughter of these animals are being developed, and of these electrical stunning is a prime candidate. Optimisation of electrical stunning is underway for a range of commercially-exploited or scientifically-important species, and the present study contributes to that process by examining further crab (Carcinus maenas) and lobster (Homarus gammarus) species using a rigorous neurophysiological approach. By recording nerve activity in both the central and peripheral nervous systems, we have found that electrical stunning with a standard commercial instrument arrests nerve activity in both these species at all levels: sensory, motor and central, rendering the animals neurologically insensible. This methodology is the most direct and effective way to establish if insensibility is successfully achieved. However, ultimately the routine monitoring of effective stunning in commercial and laboratory settings will have to depend on simple, yet reliable physiological or behavioural indicators, following their calibration against neurological methods. Monitoring heartbeat is used widely to establish metabolic activity, locomotory performance, agonistic interactions and responses to environmental conditions. We have therefore assessed the potential to use cardiac activity as an indicator for the state of sensibility. We recorded the heartbeat in both C. maenas and H. gammarus before and after electrical stunning, but find that in many cases even though nerve activity has ceased both centrally and peripherally, cardiac activity actually continues (though at a reduced rate) for a substantial time (>1h). The heartbeat is therefore not a reliable indicator of the state of sensibility, making it an unsuitable indicator of effective stunning. Possible reasons for these findings, and ways to validate behavioural measures that may be more appropriate for routinely establishing effective electrical stunning, are discussed.","PeriodicalId":503755,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Animal Science","volume":"46 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140722489","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-05DOI: 10.3389/fanim.2024.1359650
J. Maselyne, Eva Maes, T. Van De Gucht, Chari Vandenbussche, Ingrid Zwertvaegher, Stephanie Van Weyenberg
Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) has the potential to address some of the societal concerns regarding intensive livestock production, such as those with regard to animal health and welfare. However, information on the attitudes of consumers towards PLF is scarce. An online survey with a Discrete Choice Experiment was conducted in Flanders, Belgium to determine whether type of animal health monitoring (visual assessment without PLF, PLF at group level, PLF at individual animal level), animal welfare label (4 levels) and price influence the preference for filet mignon of consumers. In total, 454 respondents participated in the survey, of which 250 purchased filet mignon themselves. The characteristics gender, frequency of buying filet mignon, attitude towards organic and attitude towards welfare labels affected the utility (or “preferences”) of the meat. The utility was highest for female respondents, for respondents who bought filet mignon less than once a month, for those who consciously bought organic meat and those with a positive attitude towards labels guaranteeing animal welfare and health. The utility of filet mignon was not affected by the type of animal health monitoring, whereas animal welfare label and price had a significant effect. Respondents were willing to pay more for filet mignon carrying a welfare label, ranging from 15.2 €/kg (Label 1) up to 18.1 €/kg (Label 3) compared to a reference price of 12 €/kg (No label). For the use of PLF for automated health monitoring, it should be further researched if consumers are neutral towards the use of PLF, or whether the technology might be relatively unknown.
{"title":"Influence of automated animal health monitoring and animal welfare label on consumer preferences and willingness-to-pay for filet mignon","authors":"J. Maselyne, Eva Maes, T. Van De Gucht, Chari Vandenbussche, Ingrid Zwertvaegher, Stephanie Van Weyenberg","doi":"10.3389/fanim.2024.1359650","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fanim.2024.1359650","url":null,"abstract":"Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) has the potential to address some of the societal concerns regarding intensive livestock production, such as those with regard to animal health and welfare. However, information on the attitudes of consumers towards PLF is scarce. An online survey with a Discrete Choice Experiment was conducted in Flanders, Belgium to determine whether type of animal health monitoring (visual assessment without PLF, PLF at group level, PLF at individual animal level), animal welfare label (4 levels) and price influence the preference for filet mignon of consumers. In total, 454 respondents participated in the survey, of which 250 purchased filet mignon themselves. The characteristics gender, frequency of buying filet mignon, attitude towards organic and attitude towards welfare labels affected the utility (or “preferences”) of the meat. The utility was highest for female respondents, for respondents who bought filet mignon less than once a month, for those who consciously bought organic meat and those with a positive attitude towards labels guaranteeing animal welfare and health. The utility of filet mignon was not affected by the type of animal health monitoring, whereas animal welfare label and price had a significant effect. Respondents were willing to pay more for filet mignon carrying a welfare label, ranging from 15.2 €/kg (Label 1) up to 18.1 €/kg (Label 3) compared to a reference price of 12 €/kg (No label). For the use of PLF for automated health monitoring, it should be further researched if consumers are neutral towards the use of PLF, or whether the technology might be relatively unknown.","PeriodicalId":503755,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Animal Science","volume":"16 1‐12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140736748","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-03DOI: 10.3389/fanim.2024.1331723
Ulrike Höne, Lars Schrader, Richard Hölscher, I. Traulsen, E. T. Krause
Pigs try to separate their lying area from the dunging area. However, due to several factors such as pen design, increasing ambient temperatures, or lack of space, pigs often lie in the dunging area or defaecate in the lying area, resulting in increased pen and animal soiling. Besides poor hygienic conditions, this may also lead to increased ammonia emissions. Thus, proper changes to support the structure of conventional pens may help facilitate better elimination behaviour of pigs and establish and maintain their functional areas, including dunging areas. In this study, we investigated the effect of measures to help pigs use pre-defined functional areas. The study was done on a conventional farm in pens with fully slatted floors. Pen and animal soiling was recorded by a scoring scheme in a total of 37 pens during two fattening periods. In the first fattening period (baseline period), the pen design remained unchanged to evaluate the status quo. In the second fattening period (treatment period), certain changes in 16 test pens were done to structure the pen into a designated dunging and a resting area. The remaining 21 pens served as control pens. Changes included installation of LED spotlights, partly open pen partitions, and re-arrangement of nipple drinkers and hay racks. To compare the soiling of pens, the difference in pen soiling was calculated both between the baseline and the treatment periods and the control and test pens. As a first step, the difference in pen soiling between the control and test pens within both fattening periods was compared. Additionally, to control for changes in pen soiling over time, the differences between the pen soiling of the control pens during the baseline period and the treatment period were compared. The same comparison was done for the test pens. In the treatment period, no significant difference in the pen soiling between the control pens and test pens was found. However, over time, i.e., comparing the soiling of test pens and control pens between the baseline and the treatment periods, pigs soiled the designated dunging areas more in the treatment period. The fattening pigs in both the test and the control pens were very clean during both fattening periods. Our pen modification treatment that combined changes in LED spotlights, drinker locations, roughage locations, and partly open pen partitions did not result in clear effects. However, we can not rule out that these features can help to structure the pens in a positive way.
猪会尽量将其躺卧区与排粪区分开。然而，由于栏舍设计、环境温度升高或空间不足等多种因素，猪经常躺在排粪区或在躺卧区排便，导致栏舍和动物脏污增加。除了卫生条件差之外，这还可能导致氨气排放量增加。因此，适当改变传统猪圈的结构有助于改善猪的排泄行为，并建立和维护猪的功能区，包括排粪区。在这项研究中，我们调查了帮助猪使用预定功能区的措施的效果。这项研究是在一个传统猪场的全板条地板猪圈中进行的。在两个育肥期，我们对总共 37 个猪圈的猪粪和动物粪便进行了评分记录。在第一个育肥期（基线期），栏舍设计保持不变，以评估现状。在第二个育肥期（处理期），对 16 个试验猪栏进行了一些改动，将猪栏划分为指定的排粪区和休息区。其余 21 个猪栏作为对照组。改动包括安装 LED 射灯、部分开放隔栏以及重新布置乳头饮水器和干草架。为了比较牛栏的脏污情况，计算了基线期与处理期、对照组与试验组牛栏的脏污差异。首先，比较两个育肥期对照组和试验组栏舍的脏污差异。此外，为了控制粪便随时间的变化，还比较了对照组和试验组在基线期和处理期的粪便差异。试验猪栏也进行了同样的比较。在治疗期间，对照组和测试组的笔弄脏情况没有明显差异。然而，随着时间的推移，即比较试验猪舍和对照猪舍在基线期和处理期的粪便弄脏情况，猪在处理期弄脏指定排粪区的情况更多。试验猪栏和对照猪栏中的育肥猪在两个育肥期都非常干净。我们结合 LED 射灯、饮水器位置、粗饲料位置和部分开放的猪栏隔板的变化对猪栏进行了改造，但效果并不明显。不过，我们不能排除这些功能有助于以积极的方式调整圈舍结构的可能性。
{"title":"Measures to affect the elimination behaviour of fattening pigs in a conventional housing system","authors":"Ulrike Höne, Lars Schrader, Richard Hölscher, I. Traulsen, E. T. Krause","doi":"10.3389/fanim.2024.1331723","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fanim.2024.1331723","url":null,"abstract":"Pigs try to separate their lying area from the dunging area. However, due to several factors such as pen design, increasing ambient temperatures, or lack of space, pigs often lie in the dunging area or defaecate in the lying area, resulting in increased pen and animal soiling. Besides poor hygienic conditions, this may also lead to increased ammonia emissions. Thus, proper changes to support the structure of conventional pens may help facilitate better elimination behaviour of pigs and establish and maintain their functional areas, including dunging areas. In this study, we investigated the effect of measures to help pigs use pre-defined functional areas. The study was done on a conventional farm in pens with fully slatted floors. Pen and animal soiling was recorded by a scoring scheme in a total of 37 pens during two fattening periods. In the first fattening period (baseline period), the pen design remained unchanged to evaluate the status quo. In the second fattening period (treatment period), certain changes in 16 test pens were done to structure the pen into a designated dunging and a resting area. The remaining 21 pens served as control pens. Changes included installation of LED spotlights, partly open pen partitions, and re-arrangement of nipple drinkers and hay racks. To compare the soiling of pens, the difference in pen soiling was calculated both between the baseline and the treatment periods and the control and test pens. As a first step, the difference in pen soiling between the control and test pens within both fattening periods was compared. Additionally, to control for changes in pen soiling over time, the differences between the pen soiling of the control pens during the baseline period and the treatment period were compared. The same comparison was done for the test pens. In the treatment period, no significant difference in the pen soiling between the control pens and test pens was found. However, over time, i.e., comparing the soiling of test pens and control pens between the baseline and the treatment periods, pigs soiled the designated dunging areas more in the treatment period. The fattening pigs in both the test and the control pens were very clean during both fattening periods. Our pen modification treatment that combined changes in LED spotlights, drinker locations, roughage locations, and partly open pen partitions did not result in clear effects. However, we can not rule out that these features can help to structure the pens in a positive way.","PeriodicalId":503755,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Animal Science","volume":"7 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140748394","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-15DOI: 10.3389/fanim.2024.1305462
Adam J. Shriver
The current global food system, and in particular the livestock industry, has been effective at providing low-cost calories to large segments of the population, but it also causes significant harms and poses serious risks. In particular, the global food system currently likely causes billions of animals to suffer every year, significantly contributes to climate change, and threatens public health via the possibility of zoonotic disease. There are many other problems that have been identified with the livestock industry, but these three threats, which I refer to as the Big Three, are among the most urgent moral issues in the world. Significant progress could be made to address all three of these risks if the global population moved to a primarily plant-based diet. However, there are reasons to believe this possibility is unrealistic given current consumer preferences and political realities. As an alternative, one could ask whether an approach relying entirely on novel biotechnology could be used to address the urgent moral challenges of the global livestock industry without substantially changing the consumer experience or facing political backlash. In this paper I consider what such a scenario would look like, and argue that failing to address any one of these three major issues would be a serious moral failing. Though many other suggestions have been made looking at how biotechnology might address individual issues, this paper suggests that in order to avoid the need for difficult behavioral and political changes, biotechnological solutions would ultimately need to be developed that address welfare, environmental, and public health concerns.
{"title":"Biotechnological fixes and the Big Three urgent moral challenges facing the global livestock industry","authors":"Adam J. Shriver","doi":"10.3389/fanim.2024.1305462","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fanim.2024.1305462","url":null,"abstract":"The current global food system, and in particular the livestock industry, has been effective at providing low-cost calories to large segments of the population, but it also causes significant harms and poses serious risks. In particular, the global food system currently likely causes billions of animals to suffer every year, significantly contributes to climate change, and threatens public health via the possibility of zoonotic disease. There are many other problems that have been identified with the livestock industry, but these three threats, which I refer to as the Big Three, are among the most urgent moral issues in the world. Significant progress could be made to address all three of these risks if the global population moved to a primarily plant-based diet. However, there are reasons to believe this possibility is unrealistic given current consumer preferences and political realities. As an alternative, one could ask whether an approach relying entirely on novel biotechnology could be used to address the urgent moral challenges of the global livestock industry without substantially changing the consumer experience or facing political backlash. In this paper I consider what such a scenario would look like, and argue that failing to address any one of these three major issues would be a serious moral failing. Though many other suggestions have been made looking at how biotechnology might address individual issues, this paper suggests that in order to avoid the need for difficult behavioral and political changes, biotechnological solutions would ultimately need to be developed that address welfare, environmental, and public health concerns.","PeriodicalId":503755,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Animal Science","volume":"117 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139776690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-15DOI: 10.3389/fanim.2024.1305462
Adam J. Shriver
The current global food system, and in particular the livestock industry, has been effective at providing low-cost calories to large segments of the population, but it also causes significant harms and poses serious risks. In particular, the global food system currently likely causes billions of animals to suffer every year, significantly contributes to climate change, and threatens public health via the possibility of zoonotic disease. There are many other problems that have been identified with the livestock industry, but these three threats, which I refer to as the Big Three, are among the most urgent moral issues in the world. Significant progress could be made to address all three of these risks if the global population moved to a primarily plant-based diet. However, there are reasons to believe this possibility is unrealistic given current consumer preferences and political realities. As an alternative, one could ask whether an approach relying entirely on novel biotechnology could be used to address the urgent moral challenges of the global livestock industry without substantially changing the consumer experience or facing political backlash. In this paper I consider what such a scenario would look like, and argue that failing to address any one of these three major issues would be a serious moral failing. Though many other suggestions have been made looking at how biotechnology might address individual issues, this paper suggests that in order to avoid the need for difficult behavioral and political changes, biotechnological solutions would ultimately need to be developed that address welfare, environmental, and public health concerns.
{"title":"Biotechnological fixes and the Big Three urgent moral challenges facing the global livestock industry","authors":"Adam J. Shriver","doi":"10.3389/fanim.2024.1305462","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fanim.2024.1305462","url":null,"abstract":"The current global food system, and in particular the livestock industry, has been effective at providing low-cost calories to large segments of the population, but it also causes significant harms and poses serious risks. In particular, the global food system currently likely causes billions of animals to suffer every year, significantly contributes to climate change, and threatens public health via the possibility of zoonotic disease. There are many other problems that have been identified with the livestock industry, but these three threats, which I refer to as the Big Three, are among the most urgent moral issues in the world. Significant progress could be made to address all three of these risks if the global population moved to a primarily plant-based diet. However, there are reasons to believe this possibility is unrealistic given current consumer preferences and political realities. As an alternative, one could ask whether an approach relying entirely on novel biotechnology could be used to address the urgent moral challenges of the global livestock industry without substantially changing the consumer experience or facing political backlash. In this paper I consider what such a scenario would look like, and argue that failing to address any one of these three major issues would be a serious moral failing. Though many other suggestions have been made looking at how biotechnology might address individual issues, this paper suggests that in order to avoid the need for difficult behavioral and political changes, biotechnological solutions would ultimately need to be developed that address welfare, environmental, and public health concerns.","PeriodicalId":503755,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Animal Science","volume":"45 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139836186","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：