ASPECTS CONCERNING THE BREEDING OF LIMOUSIN CALVES IN ALTERNATIVE SYSTEM

The aim of the research was to monitor the growth process of the Limousin calves from birth to weaning (six months old). The research was performed on S.C.TAOS.S.R.L situated in Covasna. In this farm, the rearing of the calves was not made by a technological guide. The maintaining system was outdoor, during summer on pasture, and in the winter season, in free stabulation. The calves had been grown along with the mother cows, having free access to the paddock. The base of feeding was represented by semi-hay, corn silage, barley straw and cereals (barley, wheat and corn) and grazing is made on lowland meadow. The introduction of vegetal food into the calves ration is done at 3 weeks old. In the first period (first month old), the daily gain was 666.7 g at heifers and 800 g at calves. In the second period (from one month old until weaning), the daily gain was 1120 g at heifers and 1200 g at calves. The stress of weaning was present only to the young females; for ten days, these were restless, having the desire for sucking and the appetite for feed has decreased. Their bodyweight has decreased with 12%, the differences being significantly (p ≤ 0.05)

Entomofagy – A Viable Solution for Supporting Food Security

Entomophagy or the practice of eating insects has been known and practiced for millennia by people around the world, and being taken into account in countries where insect consumption is considered to be exotic behavior or the evolution of society begins to impose it. Food security is a prerequisite for the welfare of the population and can be achieved by appropriately capitalizing on the natural resources available to Romania’s agriculture. Its approach and development must be in two directions, strongly interrelated with each other, namely a quantitative one and a qualitative one. The quantitative aspect regards as a matter of priority the provision of the necessary amount of food to meet the physiological needs of a reference population, while the quality aspect focuses on the nutritional value of foods consumed by the population so that its health is not affected or compromised. Considering the two above-mentioned aspects, we consider that the practice of consuming edible insects presents several advantages, both quantitative and qualitative, which should not be neglected in ensuring food security. Innovation must be implemented throughout the agri-food chain, and entomophagy can be one of the viable solutions to support food security. In order to emphasize the importance of entomophagy in ensuring food security, the paper brings to the fore a series os aspects regarding the review of the scientific literature in the field, the nutritional value of insects, the impact of insect food production on the environment, and consumer attitudes towards entomophagy. At the end of the paper, a small attempt is made to assess to what extent Romanian consumers are prepared to accept edible insects in their foo

The prevalence of Giardia infection in dogs and cats, a systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence studies from stool samples

Giardia has a wide range of host species and is a common cause of diarrhoeal disease in humans and animals. Companion animals are able to transmit a range of zoonotic diseases to their owners including giardiasis, but the size of this risk is not well known. The aim of this study was to analyse giardiasis prevalence rates in dogs and cats worldwide using a systematic search approach. Meta-analysis enabled to describe associations between Giardia prevalence and various confounding factors. Pooled prevalence rates were 15.2% (95% CI 13.8-16.7%) for dogs and 12% (95% CI 9.2-15.3%) for cats. However, there was very high heterogeneity between studies. Meta-regression showed that the diagnostic method used had a major impact on reported prevalence with studies using ELISA, IFA and PCR reporting prevalence rates between 2.6 and 3.7 times greater than studies using microscopy. Conditional negative binomial regression found that symptomatic animals had higher prevalence rates ratios (PRR) than asymptomatic animals 1.61 (95% CI 1.33-1.94) in dogs and 1.94 (95% CI 1.47-2.56) in cats. Giardia was much more prevalent in young animals. For cats >6 months, PRR=0.47 (0.42-0.53) and in dogs of the same age group PRR=0.36 (0.32-0.41). Additionally, dogs kept as pets were less likely to be positive (PRR=0.56 (0.41-0.77)) but any difference in cats was not significant. Faecal excretion of Giardia is common in dogs and slightly less so in cats. However, the exact rates depend on the diagnostic method used, the age and origin of the animal. What risk such endemic colonisation poses to human health is still unclear as it will depend not only on prevalence rates but also on what assemblages are excreted and how people interact with their pets