Positioning Animal Welfare in the One Health Concept through Evaluation of an Animal Welfare Center in Skopje, Macedonia

The Animal Welfare Center (AWC) in Macedonia was established in 2009. The objectives of the center are animal welfare (AW) education, research, raising public awareness of AW, and increasing cooperation between the stakeholders. One Health (OH) was not the major focus of the AWC work initially, but, rather, a focus that evolved recently. The objective of this study was to evaluate the AWC from the OH perspective as an example case for positioning the AW within the overall OH concept. Three types of evaluation were performed: (1) assessment of OH-ness, by quantitative measurement of the operational and infrastructural aspects of the AWC; (2) impact evaluation, by conducting quantitative surveys on stakeholders and students; and (3) transdisciplinary evaluation, using semi-quantitative evaluation of the links of cooperation between the AWC and the stakeholders in society by the custom designed CACA (Cooperation, Activities, Communication, and Agreement) scoring system. Results for the OH-ness of the AWC showed relatively high scores for OH thinking, planning and working and middle scores for OH learning and sharing dimensions, i.e., dominance of the operational over infrastructural aspects of the AWC. The impact evaluation of the AWC shows that familiarity with the OH concept among stakeholders was low (44% of the respondents). However, there was a commonality among stakeholder’s interest about AW and OH. According to the stakeholders’ and students’ opinions, the influence of AW on Animal, Environmental, and Human Health is relatively high (in the upper third of the 1–10 scale). The transdisciplinary evaluation of the AWC indicated the presence of transdisciplinarity work by the AWC, with a higher focus on the Universities and Research Institutions and some governmental institutions, and less linked with the Non-Governmental Organizations and Professional Associations (Chambers), e.g., the Veterinary Chamber in Macedonia. The evaluations conducted indicated that the AWC’s work is closely dedicated to improving animal, environmental, and human health and has a considerable OH role among the stakeholders in the society. This study describes the significant role and importance that AW has in OH

Dermanysuss gallinae attacks humans. Mind the gap

ABSTRACTDermanyssus gallinae is a haematophagous ectoparasite primarily known as a pest of domestic and wild birds. It occasionally feeds on a range of mammals, and, more importantly, is of growing..

Prevalence and clinical signs of postpartum dysgalactia syndrome at the first day after farrowing in farmed sows in the Republic of Macedonia

The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence of postpartum dysgalactia syndrome (PDS) and associated clinical signs in farmed sows in the Republic of Macedonia (RM) in the first 12-24 h postpartum. A total of 202 sows of different parity and different genetic lines from 5 pig farms in RM were included in the study. The sows and their litters were clinically examined 12-24 hours after farrowing. Postpartum dysgalactia syndrome was detected in 23.3% of all clinically examined sows, while prevalence between farms ranged from 14.8% to 38.1%. Altered piglet’s behavior was the most frequent clinical pattern observed in 68.1% of the PDS–affected (PDSA) sows. Regarding the clinical signs in PDSA sows detected among farms, significant differences were observed in the altered piglet’s behavior (p lt 0.05) and hypogalactia (p lt 0.05). Endometritis was more often detected in older sows (90%) compared to endometritis in younger animals (44.4%). In addition, fever was also more frequently diagnosed in higher parity (≥3 parity) sows (55.0%) in contrast to other PDSA sows (22.2%). This study has demonstrated the presence of PDS in farmed sows in RM. High frequency of altered piglet’s behavior found in this study could be an useful indicator for early detection of lactation problems in sows. Frequent pathological vaginal discharge in older sows indicates that endometritis plays an important role in the clinical manifestation of PDS. Further investigations should be conducted in order to identify specific risk factors associated with clinical PDS in farmed sows in RM

Homologous Seminal Plasma and Glutathione Promote Pre-capacitation Motility and Structural Stability of Cryopreserved Ram Spermatozoa

Reduced glutathione (GSH) and homologous ram seminal plasma (HSP), used as additives in cryopreserving (CP) media prior to freezing, showed conflicting results in retaining structural integrity and progressive motility in post-thawed ram spermatozoa. The aims of this research were (1) to assess the effect of GSH and/or HSP supplementation via soybean-lecithin CP extender on cryopreserved ram spermatozoa viability, morphology and motility pattern; and (2) to assess the effect of incubation in the context of the previous aim. Quantitatively and qualitatively, homogenized and pooled ram ejaculates (N=10) were extended with one of the following extenders Control (C)-tris-based, GSH and HSP-free, experimental-1 (E1)-C + GSH 5 mM, experimental-2 (E2)-C + HSP 20 % and experimental-3 (E3)-GSH 5 mM + HSP 20 %. Following thawing, samples were taken at 0-A nd 3-hours from each group (n=10) and were assessed for spermatozoa viability, morphology, and motility pattern. C-0h samples yielded a spermatozoa population with low viability, altered head morphology and highly deviated motility pattern. E3-3h samples yielded spermatozoa with unaffected viability, head morphology and high progressive motility. In conclusion, E3 extender added to cryopreserved-thawed ram spermatozoa is most efficient in obtaining high viability, unaltered head morphology, and progressive motility

Air quality measurements in laying hens housing

Ensuring good environmental conditions of the poultry houses can be costly for the farmers, but without it losses due to poor bird health and performance due to poor air quality can be much more detrimental to net returns. The goal of this study was to investigate the variations in air quality in various areas inside the laying hen houses. Ten houses with laying hen conventional battery cages were measured for O2, H2S, CO, NH3, temperature, relative humidity, CO2, airflow and luminance. The results of the physical measures showed that temperatures in the houses were between 15.31–25.6°C, the relative humidity 48.03-81.12%, while the luminance rarely exceeded 8 lux. As for the gasses, the values for NH3 rarely exceeded 8 ppm, although at some measuring points it reached 26 ppm. O2 was generally at 20.9 %, and the levels of CO2 were very low. No presence of H2S and CO was detected. In this study it was concluded that the measurement of the air quality in a house can vary depending of the places this measures are taken. Multiple measurement points are important because they may make the staff aware of the problems connected to low ventilation and culmination of harmful gases. The air quality in different positions in the houses is of great importance not only for the animal welfare, but also for the safety of the staff

Screening of selected indicators of dairy cattle welfare in Macedonia

The welfare state of cattle in dairy farms in Macedonia has never been assessed previously. The objective of this study was to perform screening analysis of dairy cows welfare and to test the practical implementation of the Welfare Quality® Assessment protocol for cattle in dairy farms in Macedonia. In ten small scale and large scale tie stall farms 23 measures were recorded related to 9 welfare criteria of 4 welfare principles (WP) described in the Welfare Quality® Assessment protocol for dairy cows. The mean percentage of very lean cows was 40.5±9.1%. All assessed farms were not providing access to pasture and an outdoor loafing area. Regarding cleanliness, the presence of dirty udder, upper leg/flank and lower leg was 65.2±9.0%, 85.5±8.0% and 86.5±5.8%, respectively. The overall prevalence of lameness was 5.6±5.0%, and for mild and severe alterations it was 30.8±5.8% and 54.1±4.6%, respectively. The ocular and vulvar discharge, diarrhea, dystocia, percentage of downer cows and mortality rate exceeded the warning and alarm threshold. The avoidance – distance test classified 70.4±6.8% as animals that can be touched or approached closer than 50cm, with overall score of 42.9±3.5. This screening reveals that the most welfare concerns are found in the WP Good Feeding and Good Housing. The on-farm welfare assessment using the full protocol on a representative sample of farms in the country is highly recommended for emphasizing the key points for improving the animal welfare in Macedonian dairy farms

Uticaj rase, pola, reproduktivnog statusa i izvora nabavke na strahove prouzrokovane bukom u populaciji pasa u Beogradu

The prevalence of canine noise-related fears was studied by the questionnaire method of dogs' owners from different part of Belgrade. Dog-owners (N=147) were chosen from a variety of sources (permissive municipal areas and parks for walking of dogs, dog shows and exhibitions and veterinary surgeries for small animal practice). Owners indicated noise-related fears in 59 dogs (40.14%). Twenty-six (17.69%) of them were mixed breed dogs and 33 (22.45%) were pure breed dogs. Noise-related fears were indicated in 25 females (17.01%) and in 34 (23.13%) males and, in 27 (18.37%) intact and 32 (21.77%) neutered dogs. From 59 dogs with noise-related fears 13 of them (8.84%) were directly purchased from breeders and 46 (31.30%) were obtained from other sources. There was a statistically significant difference (p lt 0.001) in the rate of noise-related fears between the dogs directly purchased from breeders and dogs obtained from other sources.U ovoj studiji je proučavana zastupljenost strahova kod pasa u Beogradu primenom upitnika za njihove vlasnike u različitim delovima Beograda. Vlasnici uključeni u istraživanje (n=147), odabrani su sa različitih mesta kao što su: dozvoljene javne površine i parkovi za šetanje pasa, izložbe pasa I veterinarske ambulante. Vlasnici 59 pasa (40,14%) su naznačili prisustvo strahova usled buke kod svojih ljubimaca. U ovoj grupi pasa bilo je 26 mešanaca (17,69%) i 33 (22,45%) rasna psa. Strah usled buke uočen je kod 25 ženki (17,01%) i 34 mužjaka (23,13%). Broj pasa koji nisu bili sterilisani je bio 27 (18,37%), a sterilisanih 32 (21,77%). Od 59 pasa sa strahovima od buke 13 pasa (8,84%) je bilo kupljeno direktno od odgajivača, dok je 46 pasa (31,30%) nabavljeno iz drugih izvora. Utvrđena je statistički značajna razlika (p lt 0,001) u zastupljenosti strahova usled buke između grupe pasa kupljenih direktno od odgajivača i grupe pasa poreklom iz drugih izvora nabavke

Positioning Animal Welfare in the One Health Concept through Evaluation of an Animal Welfare Center in Skopje, Macedonia

The Animal Welfare Center (AWC) in Macedonia was established in 2009. The objectives of the center are animal welfare (AW) education, research, raising public awareness of AW, and increasing cooperation between the stakeholders. One Health (OH) was not the major focus of the AWC work initially, but, rather, a focus that evolved recently. The objective of this study was to evaluate the AWC from the OH perspective as an example case for positioning the AW within the overall OH concept. Three types of evaluation were performed: (1) assessment of OH-ness, by quantitative measurement of the operational and infrastructural aspects of the AWC; (2) impact evaluation, by conducting quantitative surveys on stakeholders and students; and (3) transdisciplinary evaluation, using semi-quantitative evaluation of the links of cooperation between the AWC and the stakeholders in society by the custom designed CACA (Cooperation, Activities, Communication, and Agreement) scoring system. Results for the OH-ness of the AWC showed relatively high scores for OH thinking, planning and working and middle scores for OH learning and sharing dimensions, i.e., dominance of the operational over infrastructural aspects of the AWC. The impact evaluation of the AWC shows that familiarity with the OH concept among stakeholders was low (44% of the respondents). However, there was a commonality among stakeholder’s interest about AW and OH. According to the stakeholders’ and students’ opinions, the influence of AW on Animal, Environmental, and Human Health is relatively high (in the upper third of the 1–10 scale). The transdisciplinary evaluation of the AWC indicated the presence of transdisciplinarity work by the AWC, with a higher focus on the Universities and Research Institutions and some governmental institutions, and less linked with the Non-Governmental Organizations and Professional Associations (Chambers), e.g., the Veterinary Chamber in Macedonia. The evaluations conducted indicated that the AWC’s work is closely dedicated to improving animal, environmental, and human health and has a considerable OH role among the stakeholders in the society. This study describes the significant role and importance that AW has in OH

Factors affecting fin damage of farmed rainbow trout

The aims of this study were to determine the influence of the factors affecting fin damage under different rainbow trout production systems and to compare the findings with the known experimental reports. The study was based on a questionnaire that included information about the main factors i.e. oxygen level in exit water, water temperature, stocking density, daily feed ration, number of meals and grading frequency on seven rainbow trout farms. Standard multiple regression analysis, based on a previously published fi n damage dataset, was used to assess the relationship between the level of fin damage per fin and the factors. Daily feed ration received the strongest weight in the model for the caudal, anal and both pectoral fins, whereas number of meals received the strongest weight in the model for both pelvic fins. Grading frequency received the strongest weight only in the dorsal fin model. Lower levels of daily feed ration and number of meals combined with higher water temperature increased the level of fin damage, whereas stocking density had no effect. The results conform to the experimental research on fin damage in rainbow trout. The research model contributes to the overall assessment of fish welfare and the regression analysis used in this study could be used on rainbow trout farms to evaluate the effect of the main factors on the level of fin damage

Prevalence and Clinical Signs of Postpartum Dysgalactia Syndrome at The First Day after Farrowing in Farmed Sows in The Republic of Macedonia

The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence of postpartum dysgalactia syndrome (PDS) and associated clinical signs in farmed sows in the Republic of Macedonia (RM) in the first 12-24 h postpartum. A total of 202 sows of different parity and different genetic lines from 5 pig farms in RM were included in the study. The sows and their litters were clinically examined 12-24 hours after farrowing. Postpartum dysgalactia syndrome was detected in 23.3% of all clinically examined sows, while prevalence between farms ranged from 14.8% to 38.1%. Altered piglet’s behavior was the most frequent clinical pattern observed in 68.1% of the PDS–affected (PDSA) sows. Regarding the clinical signs in PDSA sows detected among farms, significant differences were observed in the altered piglet’s behavior (p lt 0.05) and hypogalactia (p lt 0.05). Endometritis was more often detected in older sows (90%) compared to endometritis in younger animals (44.4%). In addition, fever was also more frequently diagnosed in higher parity (≥3 parity) sows (55.0%) in contrast to other PDSA sows (22.2%). This study has demonstrated the presence of PDS in farmed sows in RM. High frequency of altered piglet’s behavior found in this study could be an useful indicator for early detection of lactation problems in sows. Frequent pathological vaginal discharge in older sows indicates that endometritis plays an important role in the clinical manifestation of PDS. Further investigations should be conducted in order to identify specific risk factors associated with clinical PDS in farmed sows in RM