Loomade heaolu : õpik kõrgkoolidele

KõrgkooliõpikKui ma 1993. aasta jaanuaris esimest korda Eestisse tulin ja rääkisin toona peamiselt piimalehmade heaolust, siis leiti, et see teema ei vääri tähelepanu. Inimesed ütlesid mulle, et see on küll kena mõte, kuid mitte eriti konkreetne ja pärsiks kõigele lisaks põllumajandustegevuse kasumlikkust. Mäletan, et aretusühistu juht kutsus mind kõrvale ja ütles: „David, see kõik on väga kena, kuid meie maal püsib põllumajandussektor vaevu elus, meil ei ole rahalisi vahendeid loomade heaolu pärast muretsemiseks.“ Minu vastulause, et põllumajandusloomade heaoluga arvestamine ei pea ilmtingimata kasumlikkust vähendama, kõlas selles kontekstis üsna haledalt. Tollest ajast saadik on palju muutunud ja ajal, kui ma seda kõike siin kirjutan (jaanuarikuus 2018), ilmus Kanada teadlase Marianne Villettaz Robichaud’ ja tema kolleegide aruanne, milles näidati, et parimate heaolunäitajatega piimafarmid pole vähem tootlikud ega vähem kasumlikud. Paljud meie farmerid on nüüdsel ajal huvitatud nii oma loomade heaolu hindamisest kui ka parandamisest. Osalt on see muidugi õiguslike meetmete ja kontrolli teene, kuid samas on kasvanud veendumus, et meie hoole all olevate loomade heaolu parandamine on tähtis. Veterinaaria ja loomakasvatuse õppekavad peavad nüüd kaasama loomade heaolu õppe ning igaüks, kes soovib töötada loomadega ükskõik millises Euroopa nurgas, peab näitama, et tal on baasteadmised loomade heaolu kohta. See nõue hõlmab nii loomakasvatajaid, lihunikke ja loomaaia töötajaid kui ka laboris katseloomadega eksperimenteerijaid. Töötades Eesti Maaülikooli tudengitega ja külastades Eesti koole, selgub, et noored inimesed peavad loomade heaolu tähtsaks. Praegused noored on meie tulevik. Sageli öeldakse, et kuivõrd tavainimestel ei ole loomapidamise kohta eriti palju teadmisi, on ootused loomade heaolu saavutamiseks ebarealistlikud. See raamat käsitleb mainitud teemasid – arutletakse spetsiifiliste probleemide ja loomade hooldamise praktika hetkeseisu üle. 1990. aastate algusest saadik on ka minu enda huvidering laienenud. See hõlmab nüüd eetikat ning peale põllumajandusloomade ka laboriloomade, lemmikloomade, metsloomade ning spordis ja meelelahutuses kasutatavate loomade heaolu. Ka käesolev raamat käsitleb loomade heaolu väga erinevas kontekstis, sealhulgas kalade heaolu, mille üle olen eriti rõõmus, sest viimatinimetatu on tihtipeale heaolu käsitlevates raamatutes kõrvale jäetud. Samuti lisasime peatüki Eestis 6 I Loomade heaolu kehtivast loomade heaolu valdkonna seadusandlusest. Seadusandlus on jällegi ala, mida kiputakse välja jätma. Raamat on esimene omataoline eesti keeles, see tutvustab meile loomade kasutamise maailma eestlase vaatenurgast. Koostasime ja kirjutasime raamatu, mis on sama hästi huvitav nii tavalisele lugejale kui ka kasutatav õpikuna koolides ja ülikoolides. Eessõna alguses kirjutasin, et ajad on 1993. aastast saadik muutunud. Kõigele vaatamata kohtame siiski nii Eestis kui ka mujal neid, kes põllumajanduses ja muudes loomadega seotud valdkondades töötades leiavad, et loomade heaolu arvestamine pärsib kasumlikkust. Raamatu kaasautorid, toimetajad, toetajad ja ma ise loodame, et see raamat aitab meil ühiskonnana paremini arvesse võtta meie hoole all olevate loomade vajadusi ning näidata nende suhtes üles suuremat lugupidamist. David Arney, PhD Eesti Maaülikooli loomade heaolu professorÕpik on valminud SA Archimedes ja Haridus- ja Teadusministeeriumi programmi „Eestikeelsed kõrgkooliõpikud 2013–2017“ raames

Mingi (Mustela vision) emalooma ja poegade käitumisest

https://www.ester.ee/record=b5465002*es

The survival of captive-born animals in restoration programmes - case study of the endangered European mink Mustela lutreola

As part of a conservation initiative, captive-bred individuals of the endangered European mink Mustela lutreola were released to a Baltic island 'sanctuary', Hiiumaa Island (Estonia), and their survival was monitored over eight years. Altogether, 54 released mink were equipped with radio-collars between 2000 and 2003 and their survival and causes of death were studied as a function of sex, age, housing conditions before release and number of generations in captivity. Mortality was greatest (~50%) during 1-1.5 months following release. The survival of males was significantly higher than that of females (25% decline in 21 days, and 10 days, for males and females, respectively). Releasing pregnant females appeared to be an unsuccessful strategy. There was no evidence that the number of generations for which the lineage of the released individuals had been bred in captivity had any effect on survival. The main cause of death was other carnivores and raptors, although this broad categorization may conceal a diversity of fatal scenarios. We recommend for the future that the European mink being prepared for release should be maintained in large naturalistic enclosures beforehand, that a preponderance of females should be released, and that the indications that younger animals make better candidates for release should be investigated

Mustela lutreola

peer reviewe

Noninvasive monitoring of female reproductive hormone metabolites in the endangered European mink (Mustela lutreola)

This study examined the reproductive physiology of female European mink (Mustela lutreola) to augment the available information on estrus, ovulation, and pregnancy with the long-term goal of supporting ex situ breeding management of this highly endangered species. Fecal reproductive hormone metabolites were measured using EIAs for estrogen and 20-oxo-pregnane metabolites. Seasonal hormone profiles were established. A comparison of hormone fluctuations in pregnant and nonpregnant females showed that both estrogen and 20-oxo-pregnane metabolites were significantly elevated during gestation, which is 42 days in length. Delayed implantation or embryonic diapause does not occur in this species. Litter size was correlated with 20-oxo-pregnane levels but not with estrogen concentrations. During lactation, 20-oxo-pregnane metabolite levels remained higher than in nonpregnant females. The breeding season was characterized by peaks in vaginal cornified cells and fecal estrogen metabolite levels. Up to four peaks in estrogen levels were identified and confirmed that European mink are seasonally polyestrous. The results of 20-oxo-pregnane measurements indicated that hCG can be applied to induce ovulation. With the establishment of this noninvasive method, we present a new tool to support population management of this species.201

Data from: Bayesian analysis of hybridization and introgression between the endangered european mink (Mustela lutreola) and the polecat (Mustela putorius)

Human-mediated global change will probably increase the rates of natural hybridization and genetic introgression between closely related species, and this will have major implications for conservation of the taxa involved. In this study, we analyse both mitochondrial and nuclear data to characterize ongoing hybridization and genetic introgression between two sympatric sister species of mustelids, the endangered European mink (Mustela lutreola) and the more abundant polecat (M. putorius). A total of 317 European mink, 114 polecats and 15 putative hybrid individuals were collected from different localities in Europe and genotyped with 13 microsatellite nuclear markers. Recently developed Bayesian methods for assigning individuals to populations and identifying admixture proportions were applied to the genetic data. To identify the direction of hybridization, we additionally sequenced mtDNA and Y chromosomes from 78 individuals and 29 males respectively. We found that both hybridization and genetic introgression occurred at low levels (3% and 0.9% respectively) and indicated that hybridization is asymmetric, as only pure polecat males mate with pure European mink females. Furthermore, backcrossing and genetic introgression was detected only from female first-generation (F1) hybrids of European mink to polecats. This latter result implies that Haldane’s rule may apply. Our results suggest that hybridization and genetic introgression between the two species should be considered a rather uncommon event. However, the current low densities of European mink might be changing this trend

data file DRYAD

This file contains the final DNA sequence assembly. DNA sequences: Genbank accession numbers, FJ556592 (Mlh-DDX3Y5); FJ556591 (Mph-DDX3Y5); FJ556593-FJ556597 (mtDNA haplotypes: Mlh1-Mlh17, Mustela lutreola; Mph25-Mph28, Mustela putorius); FJ589734 (mtDNA haplotype for Mustela sibirica); FJ589735 (mtDNA haplotype for Neovison vison)