Human-animal Contact Research Articles

THE ARTISTIC WORLD OF NESIPBEK DAUITAYULY'S STORY “АЙҒЫРКІСІ”

The great writer Nesipbek Dauitayuly occupies a special place in our literature. Evidence of this is the owner of many literary awards, a sought-after writer. The writer's works, written in the years following independence, are valuable because the problems of Kazakh society are rooted in them. One of the main tasks of the writer is to familiarize himself with the work of national interest. The author takes upon himself the story “Айғыркісі”, which makes this task the main one in terms of content. The article provides an analytical analysis of the story of the writer “Айғыркісі”, based on the laws of the theory of literature. The study of the subject matter, content and form of the story, the system of artistic images, plot and composition, the language of the work, the use of means of expression, grinding has been carried out. The story analyzes the details of modernist, folklore, magical motives. The ways of presenting the author's concept and trends are analyzed. The author explains the purpose of the use of human-animal contact in a work of art. The analysis of the characters helpless aesthetics is carried out. The ways of conveying the concept of good and evil in the content of the story are analyzed. Thus, they determined the aesthetic value, the artistic world, and the stylistic nature of the narrative.

Alpaca and llama behaviour during handling and its associations with caretaker attitudes and human-animal contact

The behaviour of new world camelids towards humans has received little research attention so far. Our aims were to assess the response of alpacas and llamas to handling, and to investigate its associations with caretaker attitudes and handling practices (i.e., the reported amount of contact to the animals at different ages). Reactions of 116 alpacas and llamas during handling by a familiar person and during a physical examination by a veterinarian were observed on 20 animal holdings. The 20 main caretakers completed or partially completed a questionnaire on their attitudes and their amount of contact to their animals. Data were analysed at farm level by means of Spearman rank correlations. Animals were generally very easy to lead by a familiar person, but a higher proportion showed fear and stress related behaviour, predominantly freezing, during the physical examinations. Associations between caretaker attitudes, amount of contact, and animal behaviour were found. For instance, if the caretakers found tactile contact more pleasant, a lower percentage of animals attempted to flee during leading (rs = -0.51, p < 0.05, n = 18). Likewise, a higher percentage of animals showed no rising or freezing during the physical examination, if the caretakers rated talking to the animals as more important (rs = 0.57 / 0.49, p < 0.05, n = 17), and a higher percentage of animals did not scream and / or squeal, if caretakers rated training as more pleasant (rs = 0.77, p < 0.001, n = 18). Out of the 12 participants rearing young animals, those stroking their animals more frequently in early life had a higher percentage of non-balking animals during leading (rs = 0.64, p < 0.05, n = 12). A higher percentage of animals with handling difficulties and /or attempts to flee was associated with lower frequencies of touching in later life (rs = -0.80, p < 0.01, n = 11). The overall results suggest similar sequential relationships between caretaker attitudes, amount of gentle contact with the animals and the animals’ behaviour, as in other species.

Patterns of human social contact and contact with animals in Shanghai, China

East Asia is as a principal hotspot for emerging zoonotic infections. Understanding the likely pathways for their emergence and spread requires knowledge on human-human and human-animal contacts, but such studies are rare. We used self-completed and interviewer-completed contact diaries to quantify patterns of these contacts for 965 individuals in 2017/2018 in a high-income densely-populated area of China, Shanghai City. Interviewer-completed diaries recorded more social contacts (19.3 vs. 18.0) and longer social contact duration (35.0 vs. 29.1 hours) than self-reporting. Strong age-assortativity was observed in all age groups especially among young participants (aged 7–20) and middle aged participants (25–55 years). 17.7% of participants reported touching animals (15.3% (pets), 0.0% (poultry) and 0.1% (livestock)). Human-human contact was very frequent but contact with animals (especially poultry) was rare although associated with frequent human-human contact. Hence, this densely populated area is more likely to act as an accelerator for human-human spread but less likely to be at the source of a zoonosis outbreak. We also propose that telephone interview at the end of reporting day is a potential improvement of the design of future contact surveys.

Vector-borne zoonotic pathogens in cats

Cats and dogs are the most popular pets. However, pets can transmit various pathogens and their close proximity to humans may lead to human infections – zoonoses. Transmission of zoonotic pathogens occurs through direct human-animal contact and/or arthropod vectors, such as ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, etc. The emergence of vector-borne zoonotic diseases may occur through international movement of owners with companion animals, which could be infected with pathogens and through spreading and subsequent establishment of disease vectors from endemic to non-endemic areas. The complex ecology of vector-borne zoonotic infections poses both a challenge to and opportunities for surveillance and control. Rising occurrence of vector-borne zoonotic diseases, their relevance to human health, and the relative lack of scientific researches related to feline VBDs point to the necessity to summarize and systemize information on the prevalence of agents of these diseases in populations of domestic cats. This review describes the main vector-borne zoonotic diseases in cats and provides an overview of the main pathogens isolated from cats, which have the potential to cause diseases in cats and humans.

Human-animal interactions and bat coronavirus spillover potential among rural residents in Southern China

Human interaction with animals has been implicated as a primary risk factor for several high impact zoonoses, including many bat-origin viral diseases. However the animal-to-human spillover events that lead to emerging diseases are rarely observed or clinically examined, and the link between specific interactions and spillover risk is poorly understood. To investigate this phenomenon, we conducted biological-behavioral surveillance among rural residents in Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guangdong districts of Southern China, where we have identified a number of SARS-related coronaviruses in bats. Serum samples were tested for four bat-borne coronaviruses using newly developed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Survey data were used to characterize associations between human-animal contact and bat coronavirus spillover risk. A total of 1,596 residents were enrolled in the study from 2015 to 2017. Nine participants (0.6%) tested positive for bat coronaviruses. 265 (17%) participants reported severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) and/or influenza-like illness (ILI) symptoms in the past year, which were associated with poultry, carnivore, rodent/shrew, or bat contact, with variability by family income and district of residence. This study provides serological evidence of bat coronavirus spillover in rural communities in Southern China. The low seroprevalence observed in this study suggests that bat coronavirus spillover is a rare event. Nonetheless, this study highlights associations between human-animal interaction and zoonotic spillover risk. These findings can be used to support targeted biological behavioral surveillance in high-risk geographic areas in order to reduce the risk of zoonotic disease emergence.

Avoidance Distance in Sheltered Cows and Its Association with Other Welfare Parameters.

Simple SummaryAvoidance distance is an indicator of the welfare of farmed animals, which is routinely included in contemporary animal welfare assessments. Determination of this parameter for cows in traditional Indian shelters is important because the shelters owe their existence due to the concept of non-violence and compassion to animals, which is held by the Hindu majority population in India. These cows have outlived their economic value due to old age, reproductive problems, and/or subsequent abandonment by their owners. Their slaughter is prohibited by law in most Indian states. The avoidance distance test measures the closest distance that a person can approach a cow, which is a measure of whether stockpersons handling the cows in shelters have had a humane and positive relationship with these cows. Association of the avoidance distance was observed with the cows’ health, in particular their dirtiness and extent of musculoskeletal, digestive, and respiratory problems. This study provides information to justify monitoring this critical—but often neglected—aspect of cow shelter management for a sustainable improvement in sheltered cow welfare.The human–animal relationship is an important welfare parameter in animal welfare assessment in cows, and the avoidance distance of cows to a stranger at the feed bunk is measured to assess this relationship. The assessment of the human–animal relationship in cow shelters in India, where old, unproductive, and abandoned cows are sheltered, is important to explore the welfare of cows in these shelters. The cows observed were of indigenous Indian breeds and breeds which were crosses between indigenous breeds and pure bred exotic cows. The human–animal contact in this context is of particular interest for welfare assessment as traditional Indian farming and sheltering systems involves regular close human–animal contact. In a cross-sectional study across 6 states, 54 cow shelters were visited and 30 cows in each shelter were randomly selected (1620 in total) for the assessment of avoidance distance and other cow-based (27 parameters) and resource-based (15 parameters) welfare parameters. Avoidance distance was assessed 1 h after morning feeding. Cows standing at the feeding manger were approached from the front at a rate of one step/s, starting 2 m away from the manger. The distance between the assessor’s hand and the cow’s head was estimated at the moment the cow moved away and turned its head, using a four-point scale (0, touched; 1, 0–50 cm; 2, 51–100 cm; and 3, >100 cm). The majority, 52%, of the cows allowed touch by the assessor and another 32% allowed approach within 50 cm, demonstrating tolerance, or even solicitation of close human–animal relationships by the cows. Avoidance distance increased with the proportion of cows with dirty hind limbs, tarsal joint swellings, and hair loss, and the extent of rumen fill. There was also evidence of reduced avoidance distances in cows with high levels of body condition score (BCS), dirty flanks, tarsal joint ulceration, carpal joint injuries, diarrhoea, hampered respiration, lesions on the body due to traumatic injuries, and body coat condition, probably as a result of moving difficulties. The avoidance distance was thus related to the health and welfare of the cows, providing a vital insight into the factors affecting human–animal contact in the shelters.

Tuberculosis at the animal–human interface in the Ugandan cattle corridor using a third-generation sequencing platform: a cross-sectional analysis study

IntroductionMycobacterial diseases are a significant source of disease burden, with Mycobacterium tuberculosis being the most common infectious cause of death worldwide. Given this, the emergence of antibiotic resistance in these...

Animal-assisted interventions: Social work practice for older adults with dementia

Many older persons experience neurocognitive impairments as they age, experiencing cognitive and behavioral symptoms which may cause serious disruptions and lead to residential placements. As there is no cure, these care facilities strive to manage symptoms and provide comfortable and supportive care. Numerous therapeutic approaches have been used to manage cognitive and behavioral disturbances in older persons with dementia with mixed success. Animal-assisted interventions (AAI) are emerging as an innovative therapeutic modality which holds benefit for minimizing distressing behaviors experienced by older persons. Human-animal contact has been shown to positively benefit the quality of life of older adults. Specific research on the use of AAI in social work practice is limited. An exhaustive review of the literature was conducted to summarize relevant research, identify the practice of AAI, and determine implications for social work practitioners who work to enhance the lives of older adults in various settings. This unique article integrates these benefits as they relate to older people with dementia and aims to provide concrete strategies for implementation of animal-assisted interventions. Key Practitioners Message Animal-assisted interventions (AAI) shows promise as a therapeutic modality for social workers Social workers can utilize AAI to assist in addressing cognitive, social and behavioral issues with older adults AAI can be beneficial to social workers at the micro and meso levels Integration of AAI into existing treatment plans may decrease agitation, depression, and isolation among older adults with dementia

Zoonotic Rift Valley fever virus prevalence and risk factors in the Lake Zone of Tanzania

Zoonotic Rift Valley fever virus prevalence and risk factors in the Lake Zone of Tanzania

Representing Zoo Animals: The Other-than-Anthropocentric in Anthony Browne's Picture Books

Abstract 8/28/2018 This essay examines the representation of zoo animals in Anthony Browne’s picturebooks: Gorilla (1983), Zoo (1992), and Little Beauty (2008), focusing on how representations of animal others can provide a venue for engaged questioning of topics of ethical importance for young readers, and whether the depth and breadth of depicted zoo animal experience can challenge human-centered cultural norms and values. I argue that Browne’s representation of zoo animals enacts a posthuman ethics regarding animal others by teasing out an exchange between humans and zoo animals through an imaginative gaze that offers an embodied sense of humanimal ambivalence. Anthropomorphism, emerging from such artistic practice as a trope of human-animal contact, designates a space where aesthetics and ethics can meet, resulting in outlandish intersections with nonhuman others. Keywords: Anthony Browne, zoo ethics, anthropomorphism, gaze, posthuman Original abstract: This essay focuses on the humanimal ethics of anthropomorphism in Anthony Browne’s picturebooks: Gorilla (1983), Changes (1990), Zoo (1992), and Little Beauty (2008). My analysis of the selected picturebooks affirms that Browne’s artistic practice consists of a combination of an aesthetics as directly expressed in images of anthropomorphic and metamorphic nonhuman beings conjured, and an ethics as indirectly manifest in the visual reconceptualization of human and nonhuman boundaries and the environmental care his picturebooks imply. In particular, the interchange of human-animal gaze, and the anti-metaphorical act of becoming-other in Browne’s picturebooks, wrought through anthropomorphism as a trope of human-animal contact, heralds the advent of what can be now addressed through the lens of posthumanism as posthuman subjectivity. Together the figural representation and its implications for reframing the boundaries of humanity designate a space where poetics and ethics of anthropomorphism meet, resulting in outlandish intersections with nonhuman others. Keywords: Anthony Browne, ethics, anthropomorphism, gaze, posthuman Previously: A Poetics of the Outlandish: Conceptualizing a Contact Zone in Anthony Browne’s Picturebooks This essay examines a poetics of the outlandish in Anthony Browne’s picturebooks that display features of curious mobility and ontological instability. Such poetic practice is the combination of aesthetics that is directly expressed in images of anthropomorphic and metamorphic nonhumans conjured, and ethics as indirectly manifest in the artist’s visual reconceptualization of human and nonhuman boundaries and the environmental justice and care it implies. Browne’s images of the hybrid, wrought through the use of metamorphosis and anthropomorphism, herald the advent of what can be now addressed as posthuman subjectivity through the lens of posthumanism. My analysis of Changes , Gorilla and Zoo affirms that his portrayal of human-animal identity is more or less characterized by a multiplicity of human-nonhuman visions in blurring boundaries of human self and animal other, nature and culture, body and mind the visual dynamics entails. Together the figural representation and its implication of reframing the boundaries of the humanity designate a space of encountering where poetics and ethics meet, an outlandish yet intersecting reality. Keywords: Anthony Browne, ethics, anthropomorphism, contact zone, metamorphosis

Human and farm influences on dairy cows´ responsiveness towards humans - a cross-sectional study.

The human-animal relationship can have a major impact on cow welfare and stockpersons´ work safety and quality. This cross-sectional study investigated possible effects of stockperson and farm related factors on cows´ behaviour towards humans in different test situations on a range of farm types including farms with automatic milking system. On 32 dairy farms, cows´ avoidance distances (AD), tolerance to tactile interactions (TTI), behavioural reactions during and after release from restraint (RB) and expressive behaviour by means of qualitative behaviour assessment (QBA) were recorded. Multiple regressions were calculated to analyse associations between the cows´ responses towards humans and factors of stockpersons´ attitudes, factors of human-animal contact and further herd and management characteristics. Positive attitudes towards cows were significantly associated with calmer cows in all test situations. Furthermore, different herd and management factors were related to individual variables of cows´ behaviour towards humans: for instance, the percentage of dehorned cows in the herd was associated with more fearful cows; the frequency of human-animal contact, manual feed provision, or selection for docility were associated with calmer cows. Explained variances were highest for the outcome variables AD and QBA. Directly or indirectly all factors remaining in the final models may be related to the amount and quality of human-animal contacts. Thus, the results suggest that on a broad range of different farm types a positive attitude and frequent human-animal contact can contribute to calmer cows in different interactions with humans in the barn.

Companion animals and human health: benefits, challenges, and the road ahead for human-animal interaction.

There is ample evidence that human-animal interaction (HAI) is associated with health. Studies encompass three general categories: those that compare companion animal owners with individuals who do not own companion animals, those examining brief, 'one-off' contacts with animals, and those that review animal-assisted interventions. The health benefits demonstrated typically include reductions in depression and loneliness, while enhancing social interaction or social skills, and decreasing anxiety and arousal. Other health benefits associated with companion animals include the promotion of exercise or physical activity. The types of human-animal contact that have been evaluated include visual contact, physical contact, and looking at images of animals. The species used in interventions include dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, goats, hamsters and crickets. Despite these benefits, HAIs are also associated with problems, including allergies, asthma, zoonoses, animal bites and scratches, and human falls. Other problems include grief and negative emotions when a companion animal is injured or dies. Companion animal ownership is also expensive. Inconsistent policies concerning keeping animals in housing and enabling service animals to access public places make it difficult to live with companion animals or keep service animals in some circumstances. Additional research is needed to provide an evidence base to evaluate the efficacy of particular types of HAI using a given type of animal. This will document specific outcomes for an individual with certain characteristics and assist in promoting the future use of HAI to enhance human and animal health and well-being.

An epizootiological survey of sheep pox in Greece from 1982 to 1998

Sheep pox outbreaks in Greece during the last 17 years are reviewed. It is believed that the disease is mostly introduced from eastern neighboring countries. The transmission of the virus is connected to the movements and contact of sheep flocks. It is also attributed to human-animal contacts. Disease foci appeared in several central and northeastern areas of the country. Between 1982 and 1986 the country remained sheeppox free. The first outbreak appeared in the island of Lesbos in 1987. In 1988 sheeppox outbreaks did occur in the Evros prefecture. In 1994 one new outbreak occurred in Evros. During the 1995-1998 period several outbreaks occurred in Evros and other regions, such as in Thessaloniki (1995), Larissa, Xanthi, Rodopi, Kavala, Magnissia, and Lemnos island (1996), Kavala, Magnissia, Halkidiki, and Samothraki island (1997). In 1998 the cases of sheeppox were reduced and occurred only in prefecture of Evros.

Behaviour of gilts before and at parturition after intensified human-animal contact, training to be driven, or exposure to a farrowing pen

During rearing and until first insemination, housing conditions of gilts are relatively constant and the few human-animal interactions negative. Around first parturition, however, gilts experience intensified contact with stockpersons and are subjected to new management procedures such as being driven individually and exposed to an unknown housing system that includes separation from the peers, the farrowing pen. In the present study, we investigated whether pre-exposure to these procedures during rearing has positive effects on indicators of calmness and maternal behaviour in the farrowing pen.In Experiment 1, gilts were subjected to intensified human-animal contact during rearing (n=18), during pregnancy (n=9) or not at all (control: n=24). In Experiment 2, trained gilts (n=18) were driven singly through a passageway three times, 4 weeks, 3 weeks and 2 weeks before expected parturition, whereas untrained gilts (n=23) were not. In Experiment 3, twelve gilts were individually introduced to a training farrowing pen for 24h about four weeks before parturition, whereas nine control gilts could not gain experience in this environment before farrowing.In all three experiments, lying behaviour and comfort behaviour as indicators for calmness as well as nest-building behaviour and interactions with piglets as indicators of maternal quality were observed. Observations took place by video at first farrowing, both during the first 24h after they had entered the farrowing pen and from 1h before parturition until 1h after completed parturition.Around parturition, the proportion of lying in lateral recumbency when lying decreased from control gilts to gilts with intensified human contact during rearing and gilts with intensified human contact during pregnancy. It was smaller in gilts exposed to the farrowing pen before parturition compared to control gilts, and did not differ between gilts trained to be driven and control gilts. Gilts habituated to the farrowing pen displayed more nest-building behaviour and more interactions towards their piglets in comparison with control gilts. These behaviours were not influenced significantly by intensified human-animal contact or a training to be driven (experiments 1 and 2).In conclusion, the treatments had rather little effect on calmness and maternal behaviour of the sows. Early exposure to the farrowing pens seems to be the most promising treatment to be further studied, with potential effects on the frequency of nest-building behaviour and interactions with piglets.

Rethinking Human-Nonhuman Primate Contact and Pathogenic Disease Spillover.

Zoonotic transmissions are a major global health risk, and human-animal contact is frequently raised as an important driver of transmission. A literature examining zooanthroponosis largely agrees that more human-animal contact leads to more risk. Yet the basis of this proposition, the term contact, has not been rigorously analyzed. To understand how contact is used to explain cross-species spillovers, we conducted a multi-disciplinary review of studies addressing human-nonhuman primate (NHP) engagements and pathogenic transmissions and employing the term contact. We find that although contact is frequently invoked, it is employed inconsistently and imprecisely across these studies, overlooking the range of pathogens and their transmission routes and directions. We also examine a related but more expansive approach focusing on human and NHP habitats and their spatial overlap, which can potentially facilitate pathogenic transmission. Contact and spatial overlap investigations cannot, however, explain the processes that bring together people, animals and pathogens. We therefore examine another approach that enhances our understanding of zoonotic spillovers: anthropological studies identifying such historical, social, environmental processes. Comparable to a One Health approach, our ongoing research in Cameroon draws contact, spatial overlap and anthropological-historical approaches into dialog to suggest where, when and how pathogenic transmissions between people and NHPs may occur. In conclusion, we call for zoonotic disease researchers to specify more precisely the human-animal contacts they investigate and to attend to how broader ecologies, societies and histories shape pathogen-human-animal interactions.

Influences on the avoidance and approach behaviour of dairy goats towards an unfamiliar human—An on-farm study

The human-animal relationship (HAR) is an important factor for successful animal husbandry and animal welfare. Thus, the HAR is included in on-farm assessments to evaluate overall welfare. For dairy goats, validated tests to assess the HAR are lacking. The aim of the present study was to evaluate several tests of the HAR for on-farm assessment regarding validity and feasibility. We visited 43 dairy farms in Austria and Germany and conducted one test with a stationary human (approach test in the pen—APP) and three tests with a moving human (avoidance test at the feed barrier—AvF, avoidance distance test at the feeding place—ADF, avoidance test in the pen—AvP). In addition, milker behaviour towards goats was observed, stockpeople’s attitudes towards interacting with goats were assessed via questionnaire and information was recorded about other potential influencing factors such as management, herd and housing characteristics. Convergent validity was investigated by (1) inter-test associations using a principal components analysis (PCA) and (2) by analysing associations of tests with potential influencing factors by use of multiple linear regression. Feasibility is described in terms of practicability of the tests in different farm designs and of time requirements. Variation between farms was high in all four tests. PCA revealed three factors including (1) all but one variable of the tests with a moving human, (2) all and only variables of the approach test, and (3) variables of AvF, AvP and APP where animals accepted touch or approached (nearly) to touch. Regression analyses revealed that the percentage of negative milker interactions (NegProportion) was the predominant influencing factor, being a predictor in seven of nine models: The higher NegProportion, the more avoidance and the less approach behaviour towards the unfamiliar test person were observed in all four tests (P≤0.001 in 4 models, P≤0.01 in one, P≤0.05 in one and P=0.16 in one model with a beta of |0.3| to |0.8|). Measures of AvF and AvP were explained best by human behaviour and were hardly influenced by confounding factors with an explained variance up to 80%. While feasibility of AvP was high, AvF and ADF could not be performed on about 30% of the farms due to unsuitable feeding equipment. However, AvF can be modified to improve feasibility. Avoidance tests at the feeding place and in the pen can validly assess the human-animal relationship on dairy goat farms as shown by the strength of inter-test associations and of the association with human-animal contact variables. A combination of avoidance tests at the feeding barrier and in the pen is recommended.

Rift Valley fever: current challenges and future prospects.

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a zoonotic, mosquito-borne viral disease that affects human health and causes significant losses in the livestock industry. Recent outbreaks have led to severe human infections with high mortality rates. There are many challenges to applying effective preventive and control measures, including weak infrastructure of health facilities, lack of capacity and support systems for field logistics and communication, access to global expert organizations, and insufficient information on the epidemiological and reservoir status of the RVF virus. The health systems in East African countries are underdeveloped, with gaps in adaptability to new, more accurate and rapid techniques, and well-trained staff that affect their capacity to monitor and evaluate the disease. Surveillance and response systems are inadequate in providing accurate information in a timely manner for decision making to deal with the scope of interrupting the disease transmission by applying mass animal vaccination, and other preventive measures at the early stage of an outbreak. The historical vaccines are unsuitable for use in newborn and gestating livestock, and the recent ones require a booster and annual revaccination. Future live-attenuated RVF vaccines should possess lower safety concerns regardless of the physiologic state of the animal, and provide rapid and long-term immunity after a single dose of vaccination. In the absence of an effective vaccination program, prevention and control measures must be immediately undertaken after an alert is generated. These measures include enforcing and adapting standard protocols for animal trade and movement, extensive vector control, safe disposal of infected animals, and modification of human–animal contact behavior. Directing control efforts on farmers and workers who deal with, handle, or live close to livestock, and focusing on areas with populations at high risk of an epidemic are desirable. Consideration of prevention methods as a first-line strategy against RVF is practical owing to the absence of a human vaccine, particularly under the current high environmental risks and expanding global travel and animal trade. Universal platforms are needed to support coordinated efforts; alert and response operations; exchange of expertise; and disease detection, diagnosis, control, and prevention.

Rat-atouille: A Mixed Method Study to Characterize Rodent Hunting and Consumption in the Context of Lassa Fever.

Lassa fever is a zoonotic hemorrhagic illness predominant in areas across Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, and southern Mali. The reservoir of Lassa virus is the multimammate mouse (Mastomys natalensis), a highly commensal species in West Africa. Primary transmission to humans occurs through direct or indirect contact with rodent body fluids such as urine, feces, saliva, or blood. Our research draws together qualitative and quantitative methods to provide a fuller and more nuanced perspective on these varied points of human–animal contact. In this article, we focus on the hunting, preparation, and consumption of rodents as possible routes of exposure in Bo, Sierra Leone. We found that the consumption of rodents, including the reservoir species, is widespread and does not neatly tally against generational or gender lines. Further, we found that the reasons for rodent consumption are multifactorial, including taste preferences, food security, and opportunistic behavior. We argue that on certain topics, such as rodent consumption, establishing trust with communities, and using qualitative research methods, is key to investigate sensitive issues and situate them in their wider context. To conclude, we recommend ways to refine sensitization campaigns to account for these socio-cultural contexts.

Influence of an early exposure to the calving pen on lying behavior at calving and avoidance distance of dairy heifers

Dairy heifers are confronted with a number of changes in their environment before their first parturition. In this study, we examined the influence of an early exposure to a calving pen 4 weeks prepartum, combined with increased human–animal contact, on behavior around calving and avoidance distance of heifers. Data were collected on 65 Brown Swiss heifers on five Swiss dairy farms. On each farm heifers were randomly assigned to two treatment groups. Thirty-four treated heifers were singly housed for 24h in the calving pen 4 weeks before expected calving, a procedure that also involved handling by a human. Heifers of the control group (n=31) were housed for the first time in the calving pen on the days before and during parturition. Lying behavior was recorded using data loggers, and a human avoidance test involving a familiar and an unfamiliar person was conducted 4 weeks prepartum and 1 week postpartum. Additionally, interventions during parturition were logged. Neither the proportion of time spent lying observed for either 48 or 12h around birth nor the number of lying bouts observed for 48 around birth differed significantly between treated and control heifers (all P>0.20). In the period of 6h before to 6h after calving, the number of lying bouts decreased with number of days that heifers had spent in the calving pen before parturition for the treated heifers and increased for the control heifers (interaction P=0.019). The avoidance distance was higher for the unfamiliar than for the familiar person (P<0.001), tended to decrease from before to after calving (P=0.07), and did not differ between treated and control heifers (P=0.14). There was no significant difference in the risk of an intervention between treated and control heifers (P=0.24). In conclusion, these results do not provide evidence that an early exposure of dairy heifers to the calving pen had a positive effect on their lying behavior around parturition and avoidance distance. However, additional time in the calving pen pre-partum seemed to have a calming effect as reflected by the number of lying bouts in the treated but not the control heifers.

Assessment of key parameters for gunshot used on cattle: a pilot study on shot placement and effects of diverse ammunition on isolated cattle heads

AbstractThere have been many improvements regarding transport conditions, pre-slaughter handling, and captive-bolt stunning of cattle at commercial abattoirs, but many challenges still exist. Animals unaccustomed to human-animal contact, such as free-range beef cattle, may be especially difficult to handle on the day of slaughter. Shifting of the slaughter process from the abattoir to the animals’ familiar environment could improve animal welfare at slaughter. In 2011, the German government passed an amendment allowing farmers to slaughter free-range cattle, on-farm, using a rifle. A proper stun is vital when employing this method but neither sufficient practical experience nor scientific knowledge are in place to allow this. Thus, this study aimed to examine shot placement and the effect of diverse ammunition by means of shooting at cattle heads, post mortem, with a rifle. Impact was assessed using brain tissue damage observed from skull dissections. Placing the shot frontally at the forehead resulted in severe brain damage significantly more frequently than targeting laterally. A precise frontal shot, utilising both large and small bore calibres, caused severe brain damage that would almost certainly have led to immediate unconsciousness and death. One of the small bore calibres caused minimal brain damage apart from the trajectory. However, this was the only calibre not passing straight through. Due to the fact that the bullet remains within the skull, thus transferring all of its energy to the skull and brain, the impact of this calibre on the brain would also be expected to be rapidly fatal. A projectile that does not exit the skull would also be advantageous as regards safety.