Circular 87

High rates of female breeding success and offspring survival are the two major factors in productivity of any commercial livestock industry. To im prove breeding success and offspring survival, the herd m anager will establish selection criteria and choose which males and females will breed. The genetics or characteristics of future animals will reflect their parentage. Selection pressure is evident in both wild and captive populations of herbivores. Predators, environment, and human harvest strategies are a few forces which influence the characteristics of freeranging populations of reindeer, caribou, moose, wapiti, etc. In livestock production systems, herd managers often breed for specific characteristics such as larger body size, high birth and growth rates, leanness, etc. A single color or combination of colors has been another characteristic often selected by purebred cattle producers as well as reindeer herders

Sustainable agriculture and wildlife resources in Sub Saharan Africa: the relationship to country foods and food security

Presented at the 9th international wildlife ranching symposium: wildlife - the key to prosperity for rural communities, held on 12-16 September 2016 at Hotel Safari & the Safari Court, Windhoek, Namibia.The World Health Organization defines food security when all people have sustained access to good food to maintain life and can do so in socially and culturally acceptable ways. The food should be good in quantity and quality to maintain a healthy life. However, Sub Saharan Africa is entangled and controlled by a rain-fed agricultural scenario. Food insecurity and poverty cannot be tackled without first addressing the issues of sustainable agriculture and rural development in this region. Conversion of agricultural development agendas and wildlife management strategies into genuine action on the ground requires total political and resource commitment. Socioeconomic and technological characteristics of country food Ag-innovation strategies probably hold part of the answer to mitigation and adaptation to nutritional problems of the region. From Nigeria to southern Africa, many people rely on cattle and wildlife production for their economic livelihoods and nutritional stasis, however overuse of the communal grazing areas and suboptimal grazing practices threaten the long-term viability of the land and contribute to persistent food insecurity. To increase the productivity of livestock and other animals using the land, programs must be designed to help communities improve their livestock practices, address rangeland degradation, add shelf stability to country food processing methods, and improve market access and most importantly feed people. This presentation will discuss how the adaptation ag-innovation and the use of ready to eat processing technology will be applied to improve the sustainability of resources in target central and southern African regions. However, application of technology will go hand-in-hand with personal and cultural empowerment. Lessons learned in similar circumstance of food insecurity in Canada’s Arctic will be applied in projects in Sub Saharan Africa

Relationships between carcass characteristics, meat quality, age and sex of free-ranging Alaskan reindeer: a pilot study

Twenty-four reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) carcasses from male and female animals that ranged in age from calves to adults were purchased from Bering Sea Reindeer Products (BSRP), Nunivak Island, Alaska, USA. Preslaughter and abattoir procedures were observed and evaluated. Carcasses were split in half, weighed, and broke into wholesale primal cuts of chuck, rib, loin, and hindquarter. Each primal cut was weighed, boxed, and frozen. Each half carcass of primal cuts was later dissected into lean tissue, bone, and the three compartments of fat: subcutaneous, intermuscular, and peritoneal. A portion of the loin was collected from each animal in order to obtain data on pH and shear force. Sensory panel analysis was performed on loin steaks. Due to management and environmental effects, pH values were high and the meat was dark in colour. Carcasses from adult male reindeer contained significantly lower levels of fat than carcasses of adult females. Data indicated that yearling reindeer are of greatest economic value for meat production

Circular 99

We initiated this study to develop a single small scale boiling tank and test a drying technique on samples of velvet antler

Circular 100

Factors influencing calf survival are predation, insects, weather, diseases, and-ultimately-dam condition. In addition, reindeer calves on the Seward Peninsula are also subjected to annual herding and handling. The effects of any of these factors were unknown in reindeer herds on the Seward Peninsula. Our objectives were to determine the causes of mortality, particularly through purportedly high grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) predation; and to determine the survival rates of reindeer calves in one herd and provide management recommendations, based on a simple model, attempting to increase the herd numbers

Circular 86

Reindeer in western Alaska have been described as a free-ranging, semi-domesticated animal. Herd management is minimal and animals are less tractable when compared to domestic livestock. Consequently, when reindeer are moved through a corral system they are more susceptible to stress. Stress can occur as a result of circumstances that are related to nutritional, social (crowding), induced psychological or physiological trauma, and parasitic problems, all of which can be interrelated. Excessive stress can reduce herd productivity by lowering reproductive rates, weight gains, survivorship, and immune response. Stress during corralling can result in trauma from overcrowding and trampling, inadequate food and water, disturbance of normal behavioral patterns, and exhaustion. Proper corral design and its operation play a vital role in both prevention of injury and the level of stress the reindeer experience

Country foods development initiative in the Arctic: a resource sustainability and value-added processing strategy for Aboriginal people

Presented at the 9th international wildlife ranching symposium: wildlife - the key to prosperity for rural communities, held on 12-16 September 2016 at Hotel Safari & the Safari Court, Windhoek, Namibia.Food insecurity in northern aboriginal communities has been identified. The WHO defines food security when all people have access to good food to maintain life. An Inuit Health survey in 2007-08 has shown that about 68-69% of preschool children lived in food insecure homes. In order to achieve a level of food security where people have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food is a problem circumpolar. Most often, food insecurity results from a lack of access to food rather than one of availability. Quality, acceptability (in terms of traditions and culture), and long-term stability are also considered important aspects of food security. Natural food resources are an important cultural aspect of life for circumpolar aboriginal communities. An abundance of fish, sea mammals, birds, and berries exist for sustainable harvest, however, residents often lack the tools and training to turn these resources into hygienic, nutritious food products for community nutrition and markets. However, through value-added processing an even wider product spectrum can be manufactured in regional communities. At the same time, residents do not have the skills - both hard and soft - to operate such facilities in northern settings to meet the taste requirements of their palates. Initiatives have been implemented in the Arctic north to assist Inuit to become more food secure using country foods. Resource development in the north generally involves harvest of raw material for individual households or village use. There is minimal amount of extra value applied to material through further processing and packaging because such facilities and trained personnel are lacking. In order to maintain healthy and sustainable fish and wildlife stocks, there is a need to harvest sufficient numbers of a species in order to maintain a balance between a population and its’ food resources. However, without the ability to process product, there is an inability to often fill the available quotas and maintain resource balance. Asa result, opportunity is lost economically, ecologically, nutritionally, and culturally. This paper will discuss how Alaska, Arctic Canada (in conjunction with Palace Hillside Farm Group), Greenland, Scandinavia, and Russia have addressed these challenges

Relationships between carcass characteristics, meat quality, age and sex of free-ranging Alaskan reindeer: a pilot study

Twenty-four reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) carcasses from male and female animals that ranged in age from calves to adults were purchased from Bering Sea Reindeer Products (BSRP), Nunivak Island, Alaska, USA. Preslaughter and abattoir procedures were observed and evaluated. Carcasses were split in half, weighed, and broke into wholesale primal cuts of chuck, rib, loin, and hindquarter. Each primal cut was weighed, boxed, and frozen. Each half carcass of primal cuts was later dissected into lean tissue, bone, and the three compartments of fat: subcutaneous, intermuscular, and peritoneal. A portion of the loin was collected from each animal in order to obtain data on pH and shear force. Sensory panel analysis was performed on loin steaks. Due to management and environmental effects, pH values were high and the meat was dark in colour. Carcasses from adult male reindeer contained significantly lower levels of fat than carcasses of adult females. Data indicated that yearling reindeer are of greatest economic value for meat production