Carnivores Research Articles

Eating a plant-based burger makes me feel proud and cool: An online survey on food-evoked emotions of plant-based meat

Positive emotions are critical for the success of food products in the marketplace. Yet, little is known about the emotional response to plant-based meat alternatives. This study investigated food-evoked emotions of plant-based burgers and meat burgers, and their associations with liking and choice for either of the burgers. In an online survey, 279 Dutch adults (meat eaters and flexitarians) were shown pictures of a plant-based burger and a meat burger in random order. They were asked to imagine eating the burgers, and then to rate the expected experience of 13 food-evoked emotions and liking for each burger on a 7-point Likert scale. Participants also had to indicate which of the two burgers they would choose to eat. Results showed that participants expected to feel more ‘proud’ and ‘cool’ and less ‘guilty’ and ‘worried’ when eating a plant-based burger compared to a meat burger (p < 0.05). In contrast, they expected to feel more ‘happy’ and less ‘bored’ when eating a meat burger (p < 0.05). Anticipated emotions ‘satisfied’ (B = 0.30), ‘anxious’ (B = 0.22) and ‘worried’ (B = −0.30) were significantly related to the expected liking of the plant-based burger; choosing a plant-based burger was mainly influenced by being flexitarian (B = 0.28) (all p < 0.05). This study provided valuable new insights in the anticipated emotional response to plant-based and meat burgers and identified potential emotional targets to encourage people to switch meat for plant-based alternatives. Future research should investigate whether (interventions to reinforce) anticipated food-evoked emotions impact actual food choice behaviour and liking of plant-based meat alternatives.

What do meat scientists think about cultured meat?

The aim of the study was to evaluate the acceptance and perception of meat scientists (n = 51) towards cultured meat. As professional experts, the opinion of meat scientists is of paramount importance. This is the first report on the perception of cultured meat using meat scientists as the respondents. The majority of the meat scientists were male (70 %), ate meat at least twice a month (86 %) and preferred red meat (80 %). About 25 % of the respondents supported the development of cultured meat and also chose it as the preferred meat whereas the majority (49 %) preferred conventional meat. While 38 % were willing to try cultured meat at least once, only a small percentage of the respondents agreed to purchase it regularly (6 %), pay a higher price (6 %) and were willing to replace conventional meat with it (6 %). Liking conventional meat (58 %), fear of new untested technological products (21 %) and high cost (19 %) were the main reasons for unwillingness to try cultured meat. The majority agreed that cultured meat is good for the environment (42 %) and animal welfare (42 %) but perceived it as unnatural (46 %) and reducing the natural quality of meat (46 %). The meat scientists believed it does not seem to be healthier than regular meat (44 %) as its benefits are often grossly overstated (61 %), society should not rely on this type of production (76 %) and quick transition can be risky (58 %). The meat scientists agreed that it does not pose a health hazard (34 %) nor does it seem to be harmful to health (38 %) but there is not enough scientific evidence yet to prove its safety (61 %), low carbon footprint (61 %) and is not likely to replace the conventional meat production anytime sooner (52 %). These results about these crucial aspects of cultured meat bear importance for policymakers, researchers and industry.

The Heat about Cultured Meat in Poland: A Cross-Sectional Acceptance Study.

Cultured meat, produced by culturing animal cells in vitro, is gaining increasing interest. The first products obtained using this technology were authorized for human consumption in Singapore and the United States, and more are likely to follow in other parts of the world. Therefore, it is important to assess the attitudes toward such meat in various populations and understand the grounds for its acceptance and rejection. The present cross-sectional online study of adult Poles (n = 1553) aimed to evaluate knowledge of cultured meat, the main reasons and fears associated with its production and consumption, and willingness to buy it and factors influencing such willingness. Most respondents (63%) were familiar with the concept of cultured meat, and 54% declared to purchase it when available. However, concerns over safety were expressed by individuals accepting (39%) and rejecting (49%) such meat. The main motivations for choosing it included limiting animal suffering (76%) and environmental impacts of meat consumption (67%), although over half of responders willing to buy these products were driven by curiosity (58%). Multiple logistic regression revealed that odds (OR; 95%CI) for accepting cultured meat were significantly increased for adults aged 18-40 (1.8; 1.2-2.7); women (1.8; 1.2-2.7); meat eaters (8.7; 5.6-13.6); individuals convinced that animal farming adversely affects the climate (7.6; 3.1-18.3), surface waters (3.1; 1.2-8.1), and air quality (3.0; 1.2-7.6); those familiar with cultured meat concept (4.2, 2.2-8.4); and those revealing high openness to experience (1.7; 1.2-2.4). The results highlight that the Polish population may be moderately ready to accept cultured meat and identify the groups resistant to accepting it. Well-designed and transparent promotion of these products is required to increase the general public's understanding of the potential benefits and challenges of cultured meat technology.

Plant communities and food webs

Recent theoretical work has provided major new insights into the ways that species interactions in food webs are organized in ways that permit the coexistence of significant numbers of species. But, we seem to have forgotten about trees! Not the phylogenetic ones that are increasingly important for dissecting the evolutionary structure of food webs, but the trees, shrubs and grasses that are the basal species in all terrestrial ecosystems. Many of the food webs available for analysis over the last 30 years were based on freshwater or marine systems where algae were the main plants. Trees are very different from algae; they can live for centuries, while annually producing leaves, fruits and seeds that provide nutrients for a diversity of species on higher trophic levels. In sharp contrast to algae, they are only partly consumed by herbivores and usually compensate or recover from herbivory. Most of the biomass in terrestrial systems is in the plants, this again contrasts with aquatic systems, where most of the biomass is in primary and secondary consumers. Moreover, each individual tree supports its own food web of species that are only partially coupled to those of surrounding trees. If we are going to apply our theoretical understanding of food-web structure to species-rich terrestrial ecosystems in ways that are insightful for conservation, then we need a deeper examination of the role that higher plants play in food webs. While community ecology has developed an increasingly detailed understanding of the ways plant communities are organized, this seems to have evolved almost independently of the food-web literature. In this article, we make a plea to more sharply consider higher plants in food webs and to do this by combining recent theoretical work on food webs, with recent empirical and theoretical work on plant communities. Ultimately, we argue for a deeper integration of plant community ecology into studies of food webs.

Feeding and biological differences induce wide variation in legacy persistent organic pollutant concentrations among toothed whales and polar bear in the Arctic

Polar bear and toothed whales in the Arctic exhibit orders of magnitude differences in concentrations of legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs), which may be attributed to comparisons made across regions and different time frames. These interspecific differences could also be influenced by variations in biological susceptibility, including differences in xenobiotic biotransformation between polar bear, from the order Carnivora, and toothed whales, from the order Artiodactyla, as well as ecological factors, such as variation in feeding patterns. Here, we analyzed samples from subsistence-harvested toothed whales and polar bear in East Greenland collected between 2012 and 2021 and quantitatively compared interspecific differences in blubber/adipose polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and organochlorine (OC) pesticide concentrations. We further determined fatty acid (FA) signatures as dietary tracers to evaluate how feeding patterns influence POP concentrations relative to the influence of biological differences between taxa. Killer whale exhibited the highest mean concentrations of ΣPCBs (57.0 ± 14.0 mg/kg lw), Σdichlorodiphentlytrichloroethanes (ΣDDTs; 55.7 ± 13.1 lw), and Σchlordanes (ΣCHLs; 23.1 ± 5.6 mg/kg lw), while polar bear showed the second highest concentrations for ΣPCBs (12.5 ± 1.3 mg/kg lw), but comparable or even lower levels of all OCs relative to narwhal and pilot whale. Linear models using FA patterns as explanatory variables for POP concentrations demonstrated that, for ΣPCBs, diet differences explained most of the variation. Conversely, biological differences explained more of the variation for most OCs, especially for DDT, for which polar bear showed the lowest concentrations despite feeding on similarly high trophic position prey as killer whale. This novel quantitative comparison confirms that significant differences in legacy POP concentrations occur among Arctic marine mammal predators. Furthermore, the drivers of these differences are contaminant-specific, with feeding patterns primarily influencing PCB concentrations, taxa-specific biological characteristics (e.g., in xenobiotic biotransformation capacity) affecting DDT concentrations, and both factors contributing to variation in other OCs.

An Aptian sponge-associated decapod crustacean assemblage from Cal Cassanyes (Catalonia, north-east Iberian Peninsula): Taxonomy and palaeoecological implications

A highly diverse decapod crustacean fauna is described from the classic Aptian outcrop of Cal Cassanyes (Castellet i la Gornal) in Catalonia. Although decapod crustaceans are a minor component of the rich invertebrate assemblages at that locality, the just over fifty specimens collected comprise sixteen taxa assignable to the Macrura, Anomura and Brachyura. Of these, the last-named are the most prominent group, comprising eleven species, representing seven families, inclusive of one representative of the Eubrachyura. On the basis of this material, two new genera and five new species are erected, namely Pagurus? garrafensis sp. nov., Garrafosopon gen. nov. angustus (Wright and Collins, 1972) comb. nov., Vectis blesai sp. nov., Mesodromilites prietoi sp. nov., Necrocarcinus mariae sp. nov. and Iberodorippe vinea gen. nov., sp. nov. In addition, Hoploparia sp., an indeterminate axiid and one paguroid, as well as one indeterminate galatheoid are recorded here. Material of Distefania incerta (Bell, 1863), the commonest species at the study site by far, of Goniodromites laevis (Van Straelen, 1940) and of Etyxanthosia fossa (Wright and Collins, 1972) represents the first Aptian and stratigraphically oldest records for these taxa. Added to this list are also Eodromites sp., Paranecrocarcinus? sp. and Pseudonecrocarcinus? sp. The high decapod crustacean diversity at Cal Cassanyes establishes this locality as the richest Aptian assemblage from the Iberian Peninsula, but also one of the richest in the world. The faunal assemblages here are dominated by sponges, and the varied composition of the decapod crustacean faunas can be linked to upwelling currents which provided abundant nutrients. In fact, the establishment of sponge communities played a crucial role in activating the food chain and functioned similarly to a patch reef, creating a relatively sheltered environment that facilitated the colonisation of other invertebrate communities, including decapod crustaceans. The latter occupied various trophic levels as both primary and secondary consumers. Current knowledge of Early Cretaceous decapod crustaceans is scant and hinders a thorough palaeobiogeographical analysis. The present study emphasises the challenges surrounding the identification of endemic taxa, thus impacting our understanding of decapod crustacean palaeobiogeography of the late Early Cretaceous.

Production of nutrient-rich foods for carnivorous animals: a sustainable approach using Amazonian by-products of fishing and fishing processing

The animal feed manufacturing industry faces ongoing challenges in providing nutritionally balanced diets for a wide range of species, particularly carnivorous animals. The prevalent use of plant-based ingredients in commercial feeds often leads to significant nutritional limitations for these species, driven by cost and availability considerations. This study aims to develop an innovative process for producing nutrient-rich feed for carnivorous animals using Amazonian by-products of fishing and fishing processing as the primary source of high-quality animal-derived nutrients. Additionally, it evaluates the feasibility and effectiveness of this process, examining its impacts on the health and growth of animals fed with these diets. Furthermore, it explores the environmental and economic benefits arising from the intelligent utilization by-products of fishing and fishing processing in the animal feed industry. The research involved the formulation and production of animal feed utilizing by-products of fishing and fishing processing through pelletization and extrusion techniques. These feeds were then subjected to comprehensive nutritional analysis and performance evaluations with carnivorous species. The study also considered the cost-effectiveness of this approach by assessing raw material costs. The research successfully demonstrated the production of nutrient-rich feeds with elevated utilization of animal-derived nutrients, contributing to improved nutrition for carnivorous animals. The experimental diets showed promising results in terms of animal health, growth, and survival rates during the preliminary performance evaluation.

Littoral sediment arsenic concentrations predict arsenic trophic transfer and human health risk in contaminated lakes.

Lake sediments store metal contaminants from historic pesticide and herbicide use and mining operations. Historical regional smelter operations in the Puget Sound lowlands have resulted in arsenic concentrations exceeding 200 μg As g-1 in urban lake sediments. Prior research has elucidated how sediment oxygen demand, warmer sediment temperatures, and alternating stratification and convective mixing in shallow lakes results in higher concentrations of arsenic in aquatic organisms when compared to deeper, seasonally stratified lakes with similar levels of arsenic pollution in profundal sediments. In this study we examine the trophic pathways for arsenic transfer through the aquatic food web of urban lakes in the Puget Sound lowlands, measuring C and N isotopes-to determine resource usage and trophic level-and total and inorganic arsenic in primary producers and primary and secondary consumers. Our results show higher levels of arsenic in periphyton than in other primary producers, and higher concentrations in snails than zooplankton or insect macroinvertebrates. In shallow lakes arsenic concentrations in littoral sediment are similar to deep profundal sediments due to arsenic remobilization, mixing, and redeposition, resulting in direct arsenic exposure to littoral benthic organisms such as periphyton and snails. The influence of littoral sediment on determining arsenic trophic transfer is evidenced by our results which show significant correlations between total arsenic in littoral sediment and total arsenic in periphyton, phytoplankton, zooplankton, snails, and fish across multiple lakes. We also found a consistent relationship between percent inorganic arsenic and trophic level (determined by δ15N) in lakes with different depths and mixing regimes. Cumulatively, these results combine to provide a strong empirical relationship between littoral sediment arsenic levels and inorganic arsenic in edible species that can be used to screen lakes for potential human health risk using an easy, inexpensive sampling and analysis method.

Modelling thermal sensitivity in the full phenological distribution: A new approach applied to the spring arboreal caterpillar peak

Abstract Advances in spring phenology are among the clearest biological responses to climate warming. There has been much interest in how climate impacts on phenology because the timings of key events have implications for species interactions, nutrient cycling and ecosystem services. To date most work has focused on only one aspect of population phenology, the effects of temperature on the average timing. In comparison, effects of temperature on the abundance of individuals and their seasonal spread are understudied, despite their potential to have profound impacts on species interactions. Here we develop a new method that directly estimates the effect of spring temperatures on the timing, height and width of the phenological distribution and apply it to temperate forest caterpillars, a guild that has been the focus of much research on phenology and trophic mismatch. We find that warmer spring conditions advance the timing of the phenological distribution of abundance by −4.96 days °C−1 and increase its height by 34% °C−1 but have no significant effect on the duration of the distribution. An increase in the maximum density of arboreal caterpillars with rising temperatures has implications for understanding climate impacts on forest food chains, both in terms of herbivory pressure and the resources available to secondary consumers. The new method we have developed allows the thermal sensitivity in the full phenological distribution to be modelled directly from raw data, providing a flexible approach that has broad applicability within global change research. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Arterial Blood Supply to the Cerebral Arterial Circle in the Selected Species of Carnivora Order from Poland.

Carnivores are a wide, diverse group of mammals whose representatives live all over the world. The study presents the results of the analysis of the arterial vascularization of the blood supply to the cerebral arterial circle of selected species in the Caniformia suborder living in Poland. The selected group consists of wild and farm animals-105 animals in total. Three different methods were used-latex preparation, corrosion cast, and cone-beam computed tomography angiography. The main source of blood for encephalon in the described species is the internal carotid artery, and the second one is the vertebral artery. The results were discussed in relation to the current knowledge of this field of research. Information on the potential physiological meaning of such vascular pattern has been provided.

Simulation of encounter rates between zooplankton organisms and microplastics in a tropical estuary.

Coastal estuarine systems may hold a large number of microplastic particles, which predators often mistake for prey. This study estimated the encounter rates between microplastics (alleged prey) and zooplankton having different feeding modes, trophic positions, swimming velocities, and perception distances, under calm and turbulent conditions, and during two seasons. Surface water samples were taken at 10/12 sites of the Sontecomapan lagoon, southern Gulf of Mexico, to quantify microplastic concentration. Zooplankton organisms considered were copepods, chaetognaths, and luciferids, common organisms in the lagoon. In June, at surface waters and during calm conditions, mean encounter rates were 1.5, 2450, and 980 particles per individual per hour, that is, for copepods, chaetognaths, and luciferids, respectively. When the wind blows (0.8 m s-1) encounter rates were 1.2, 1.4, and 2.6 times higher than in calm conditions. In October, mean encounter rates under calm conditions were 0.2, 355, and 142 particles per individual per hour, for copepods, chaetognaths, and luciferids; these values increase 1.3, 1.6, and 3.3 times when the wind blows (1.12 m s-1). The major number of encounters in June was due to a higher concentration of microplastics, despite the lower turbulent velocity. Regarding their trophic position, we propose that secondary consumers (chaetognaths and luciferids) are more affected because they could eat microplastics via contaminated prey or accidentally ingest them owing to confusion in the motion signals, especially under turbulent conditions. Another consequence of encounters could be the entanglement of microplastics in the body of the animals, especially in those with complex morphology, such as crustaceans. Encounters between zooplankton and microplastics do not always result in ingestion or entanglement, but the encounters are the first step in the case of occurrence.

Influence of forest type on the diversity, abundance, and naïve occupancy of the mammal assemblage in the southeastern Brazilian Atlantic Forest

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest has the highest rate of native vegetation destruction, which is one of the principal drivers of mammal extinctions. Therefore, reducing information gaps regarding diversity patterns, abundance, and habitat use is crucial to understand mammal persistence in fragmented landscapes. Our objective was to establish the γ diversity and to assess the extent to which the α, and β diversity, the relative abundance, and naïve occupation of medium and large-sized mammal communities differ between seasonal and ombrophilous forests. Between January 2019 and March 2020, we placed 22 camera traps in the Atlantic Forest of Minas Gerais. We calculate Hill's numbers using iNEXT.4steps package, the β-diversity with the Betapart package, as well as the relative abundance index (RAI), and naïve occupancy (PAO). We used Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney statistical tests to compare the RAIs between different species and forest types. Finally, we calculated the correlation between the RAIs and PAOs. We found 32 species, principally from the orders Carnivora and Artiodactyla. The alpha diversity and evenness profiles were not different between the two forest types (seasonal q0 = 0.91, q1 = 0.99, q2 = 1, J = 0.83; ombrophilous q0 = 0.96, q1 = 0.99, q2 = 1, J = 0.85). The beta diversity was low (βJAC = 0.37) which was mostly associated with species turnover (βJTU = 0.34), while nestedness was almost non-existent (βJNE = 0.02). The RAIs varied among mammalian species (H = 115.24, P = 0.000), with the highest values for Didelphis aurita (RAI = 4.55 ± 7.66) and Cuniculus paca (RAI = 2.35 ± 3.73) and the minor values for Speothos venaticus (RAI = 0.04 ± 0.24) and Galictis cuja (RAI = 0.06 ± 1.19). The RAIs of species was not significantly different between forests (U = 453.5; Z = 0.37; P = 0.70), and only Leopardus wiedii showed significant differences between forests (U = 84.5; P = 0.01). Most of the mammalian species had restricted occupancy to a few localities (&lt; 50 %). The species Eira barbara and Didelphis aurita had the highest PAOs in both forests (&gt; 50 %), and the species Tayassu pecari, Tamandua tetradactyla, and Speothos venaticus, the lowest values (5 %). We found a correlation of 75 % between the average RAI and naïve occupancy. The γ diversity was representative and consistent with the species found in the Atlantic Forest, and the relative abundance and naïve occupancy reflected the rarity of most species in the area. Additionally, the only difference between the two forests corresponds to species turnover. Therefore, we must conserve native remnants of both forests to ensure the existence of native mammals, mainly the most threatened species, to prevent more dramatic scenarios of local extinction in Minas Gerais.

The diasporic meatscapes of the Tamil community in Toronto: how immigrants reconfigure food environments and infrastructures to secure a taste of home

ABSTRACT Although scholars have studied how people navigate their foodscapes, little research has addressed together the way immigrants experience and shape their food environments. This article explores how the members of the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora eat and purchase meat in Toronto, and how they reconfigure the food infrastructures in the city. Unpacking the intertwined politics and practices of food consumption and distribution, it contributes to a dynamic and relational approach to migrant food environments. Drawing on observations and open-ended interviews with members of the Tamil community and with Tamil food entrepreneurs, I argue that, in Toronto, Tamils give specific materialities and meanings to their food environments and food practices, turning what I call “culinary affordances” into suitable meat and meatscapes for the community. Diasporic foodscapes connect different locations – real or fantasized, close or distant, endured or lamented – notably through immigrants’ quest for home specific foods.

Neanderthal coexistence with Homo sapiens in Europe was affected by herbivore carrying capacity.

It has been proposed that climate change and the arrival of modern humans in Europe affected the disappearance of Neanderthals due to their impact on trophic resources; however, it has remained challenging to quantify the effect of these factors. By using Bayesian age models to derive the chronology of the European Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition, followed by a dynamic vegetation model that provides the Net Primary Productivity, and a macroecological model to compute herbivore abundance, we show that in continental regions where the ecosystem productivity was low or unstable, Neanderthals disappeared before or just after the arrival of Homo sapiens. In contrast, regions with high and stable productivity witnessed a prolonged coexistence between both species. The temporal overlap between Neanderthals and H. sapiens is significantly correlated with the carrying capacity of small- and medium-sized herbivores. These results suggest that herbivore abundance released the trophic pressure of the secondary consumers guild, which affected the coexistence likelihood between both human species.

Mycobacterial Interspersed Repeat Unit-Variable Number Tandem Repeat Typing of Mycobacterium avium Strains Isolated from the Lymph Nodes of Free-Living Carnivorous Animals in Poland.

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are ubiquitous organisms, of which some, especially those of the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), may be opportunistic animal and human pathogens. Infection with NTM can interfere with tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis and induce zoonoses, especially in immunocompromised individuals. Diseases caused by NTM have become more readily recognized; however, they are likely still underestimated. In this study, we identified and genotyped Mycobacterium avium strains that were isolated during TB monitoring among free-living carnivorous animals from southeastern Poland. In 2011-2020, lymph node samples from 192 such animals were tested for mycobacteria. A total of 41 isolates of M. avium strains were detected with the use of IS901, IS900, IS1245, and mycobacterial interspersed repeat unit-variable number tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR) identification. Thirty-three were identified as M. avium subsp. avium. These strains were derived from 1 beech marten (Martes foina), 1 common buzzard (Buteo buteo), 2 European badgers (Meles meles), 3 wolves (Canis lupus), and 26 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). One strain isolated from a wolf was identified as M. avium subsp. hominissuis. The results show the widespread occurrence of MAC bacilli in the studied environment and additionally comprise new data on the molecular characteristics of M. avium subspecies carried by free-living southeastern Polish carnivores.

Trace Elements and Consequent Ecological Risks in Mining-Influenced Streams of Appalachia.

Appalachian (eastern USA) coal surface mines fracture geologic materials, causing release of both major ions and trace elements to water via accelerated weathering. When elevated above natural background, trace elements in streams may produce adverse effects on biota via direct exposure from water and sediment and via dietary exposure in food sources. Other studies have found elevated water concentrations of multiple trace elements in Appalachia's mining-influenced streams. Except for Se, trace-element concentrations in abiotic and biotic media of Appalachian mining-influenced streams are less well known. We analyzed environmental media of headwater streams receiving alkaline waters from Appalachian coal mines for eight trace elements (Al, As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Sr, V, and Zn) and assessed the potential consequent ecological risks. Streamwater, particulate media (sediment, biofilm, leaf detritus), and benthic macroinvertebrates (primary consumers, secondary consumers, crayfish) were sampled from six mining-influenced and three reference streams during low-flow conditions in two seasons. Dissolved Cu, Ni, and Sr were higher in mining-influenced streams than in reference streams; Ni, Sr, and Zn in fine sediments and Ni in macroinvertebrates were also elevated relative to reference-stream levels in samples from mining-influenced streams. Seasonal ratios of mining-influenced stream concentrations to maximum concentrations in reference streams also demonstrated mining-influenced increases for several elements in multiple media. In most media, concentrations of several elements including Ni were correlated positively. All water-column dissolved concentrations were below protective levels, but fine-sediment concentrations of Ni approached or exceeded threshold-effect concentrations in several streams. Further study is warranted for several elements (Cd, Ni, and Zn in biofilms, and V in macroinvertebrates) that approached or exceeded previously established dietary-risk levels. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;42:2651-2665. © 2023 SETAC.

How bad is it to eat an intelligent chicken? Children's judgments of eating animals are less ‘self‐serving’ than adults

AbstractResearch shows that adult meat eaters strategically distort or disregard information about animals (e.g., their intelligence) that is problematic for meat consumption. However, the development of such behaviours is not well understood. Two studies tested whether primary‐school‐age children exhibit motivated use of information about food animals as adults do (N = 148 children, 410 adults). Using experimental methods that manipulated participants’ perceptions of the intelligence (high vs. low) of food animals versus non‐food animals (Study 1) and the perspective taken (self vs. other; Study 2), it was found that, compared to adult omnivores, children tend to hold stronger moral views about the wrongness of harming animals to use as food. Only adults exhibited motivated non‐use of intelligence information and self‐other distinctions in their moral‐concern judgments. Children's judgments of eating animals did not exhibit the strategic, self‐serving processes characteristic of adult meat eaters. Psychological explanations for these developmental differences are discussed.

Trichinellosis dissemination among wild carnivores in the Republic of Kazakhstan: A 10-year study.

Trichinellosis is caused by a species of roundworm called Trichinella and is an invasive disease causing severe medical, veterinary, and socioeconomic problems worldwide. More than 100 mammalian species are Trichinella hosts. Among domestic animals, pigs and dogs are prone to trichinellosis. An essential aspect of controlling the spread of infection is to identify the number and level of infections in wild carnivores in the country. However, the number, habitats, and movements of wild animal Trichinella hosts in Kazakhstan have not been reported yet. This study aimed to monitor the wild animal habitat nearby the settlements for tracking the trichinellosis speading among carnivores. Wild carnivorous animals were captured in seven regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The carcasses of corsacs, wolves, foxes, wild boars, and badgers were studied. Muscle tissue samples from spontaneously infected wild animals were collected. The digestion method in "GASTROS-2M" was used to isolate Trichinella spp. from animal muscles. The species of the parasite was determined by a polymerase chain reaction for 5S spacer of Trichinella ribosomal DNA with subsequent sequencing by Senger. Statistical analysis methods were performed for average value in Microsoft Excel 2010. The results of the research showed that among 155 animals wolves (20.4%) and foxes (26.7%) were the most infected with invasive Trichinella larvae. The invasion intensity was 503.6% in foxes and 289.7% in wolves. However, badgers (164%), wild boars (0%), and corsacs (0%) presented lower invasion levels. Using specific primers, larvae samples were identified as Trichinella nativa. The results of monitoring revealed the spread of trichinosis among wild animals: wolves, foxes, badgers. The Karaganda, Kostanay, Western Kazakhstan, and Akmola regions had the largest distribution of wild animals infected with trichinellosis. In total, 20% of the 155 studied animals were infected. The greatest invasion intensity was typical for wolves, foxes and badgers. It is necessary to monitor the spread of trichinellosis among wild carnivores to control the epidemiological situation and reduce the level of spontaneous infection among animals. Regular monitoring of habitats and carnivores must be conducted within the country and in the border areas.

Echinococcus multilocularis and Alveolar Echinococcosis: Should We Be Concerned?

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a life-threatening zoonotic infection caused by Echinococcus multilocularis, an intestinal cestode of carnivorous animals (mostly canids). Its life cycle includes an adult stage in the intestines of carnivores and a larval stage (metacestode) in tissues of herbivores or omnivores. Humans are accidental/aberrant hosts and harbor the metacestode only. The disease presents as a continuously growing tumor-like liver mass with local or metastatic spread to distant organs, with mortality approaching 90% if untreated or partially treated. Diagnosis is based on characteristic imaging, serology and histopathology, and confirmation by nucleic acid amplification test. The geographical distribution of E. multilocularis covers most of the northern hemisphere, with human cases in Europe, Japan, Central Asia, and now North America. The recent establishment of a new parasite strain that is pathogenic to humans in Canada and the United States poses an emerging medical and public health threat and warrants a reassessment of our approach to this parasite.

Gendered Meat? Cognitive Dissonance and Individual Differences in Meat Eaters

ABSTRACT Complex cognitions are involved in professing to love animals whilst eating them – the “meat paradox.” Meat-related cognitive dissonance varies depending upon the self-identified gender of the individual, with women more likely to report more negative affect and more likely to express a desire to reduce meat consumption than men. In this study, we investigated possible reasons for why gender effects are observed. We hypothesized that there may be an effect across different species – do we feel bad about eating lambs but not chickens? Is it the case that dissonance is most strongly elicited when the meat-animal connection involves animals thought to have less intelligence? What role does identification with particular gender roles play in the justifications that drive the meat paradox? Does the idea that qualities of food are related to the way an animal is killed play a role – this being the concept of magical thinking, which has been demonstrated to be more common in women? In two experiments involving 466 participants, we aimed to better understand the meat paradox in the context of cognitive dissonance, gender, magical thinking, empathy, and gender-role orientation. We found that exposure to information about the intelligence of animals (lamb and chicken) and the slaughter process induced negative affect in comparison with the control condition (apples). We replicated the finding that women who identify with more traditional gender roles experience greater meat-related cognitive dissonance. Further, there was a significant correlation between increased negative affect and higher scores on magical thinking. Finally, experiencing meat-related cognitive dissonance led to an increase in rates of intention to decrease meat consumption. Whilst we replicated several previous findings reported in the literature, we did not show unequivocal relationships between gender, gender roles, and magical thinking and the meat paradox. The ways in which people manage meat-related cognitive dissonance remains an area for further interrogation to better understand these contradictions of thinking and behavior. Understanding the meat paradox has implications for animal welfare and human and planetary health.