Automatic technologies based on video image analysis (VIA) to assess lamb carcass value offer an accurate measure of weight of individual carcass components (Rius-Vilarrasa et al., 2008). In addition, VIA systems offer the possibility to record linear and area traits (dimensional measurements) on the carcass. Linear measurements on the body and carcass have been suggested by several authors as good indicators of live weight, conformation score and production traits in beef and sheep (Maiwashe et al., 2002; Janssens et al., 2004). Therefore, the aims of this study were (1) to estimate genetic parameters for VIA dimensional measurements (VIA-DM) and (2) to investigate the associations between VIA-DM with carcass conformation and fatness.

The effect of stress on pigs prior to slaughter is of welfare and economic importance, and can negatively impact on meat quality. Strategies to reduce the stress of finishing pigs have previously tended to concentrate on a single breed. This research aims to target this lack of knowledge by assessing differences between genotypes when being handled.

Weaning is a stressful period for the piglet, invariably typified by low voluntary feed intake and reduced performance. Moreover, if siblings are separated and mixed with other litters, stress increases and the learned stimulus of the group to feed is disturbed (Brooks et al., 2003). This experiment was part of a larger investigation into the voluntary feed intake of the piglet in the immediate post weaning period. We investigated the difference between mixed litter origin or sibling groups on latency to initiate feeding and performance to day six post weaning. We hypothesised that mixing litters would increase latency to first feeding and reduce growth rate in the first few days after weaning.

A number of different drinker types are available commercially for pigs. These typically include drinkers where water is dispensed into a bowl or consumed straight from a water nipple. The design of drinkers may influence levels of competition at the drinker, and also levels of water wastage. This latter factor has adverse environmental implications and may arise from pigs switching between drinkers during drinking bouts, or using drinkers for ‘recreational’ purposes. The aim of this study was to assess behavioural differences at the drinker between pigs offered different types of commercially-available drinker.

The social stressors associated with the abrupt weaning process on commercial farms can result in significant welfare issues for pigs; including behavioural problems and aggression, decreased immunological responses, reduced live weight gain and efficiency of feed conversion (van de Weerd and Day, 2008). Slats and slurry systems in commercial housing systems for grower pigs provide a barren environment which may exacerbate these problems. Enriched environments have been shown to reduce aggression in pigs, particularly where devices that have manipulative and destructive properties are used (Scott et al, 2007). However, studies often include a single device that does not permit all animals to interact with the enrichment at any one time. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of multiple metal chain enrichment on levels of aggression in growing pigs.

Compensatory (or ‘catch-up’) growth is an accelerated rate of weight gain in animals allowed ad libitum access to feed after a period of restricted feeding such that these animals reach the weight of those control animals fully fed (Critser et al., 1995). There are conflicting reports on the ability of pigs previously fed on a restricted basis to compensate completely in terms of performance and gross carcass characteristics once re-fed. The compensatory growth index (CDI) is calculated as the ratio of the difference between weight variation at the end of restricted and compensatory growth periods, respectively, relative to the variation at the end of the restricted growth period alone (Hornick et al., 2000) thereby indicating whether the animals have been able to compensate during the period of suggested catch up growth. The hypotheses of the trial reported were that animals re-fed following feed restriction would achieve the liveweights and gross carcass composition of a parallel control group fed ad libitum throughout.

Formulating the inventory of relevant commodities to assess the life cycle of goods or services (LCI) is highly demanding on time and resources (Suh et al., 2004). Collected information is not always satisfactory to take account of all possible sources of environmental burdens (E-burdens) produced in the commodity supply chain. Several pre-assessment methods have been proposed to serve this function, although these have identified limitations; lack of previous experience and use of subjective cut off criteria are the most frequent weaknesses found (Suh, 2006). An objective pre-assessment method was developed as part of a life cycle analysis (LCA) for different pigmeat supply chain (PSC) scenarios.

The high nutritional value of fish makes it an ideal component of a healthy and balanced diet. Elevated levels of heavy metals in fish represent both an ecological and human health concern. Fish species are often the top consumers in aquatic ecosystems and thus metal concentrations in fish can act as an indicator of the state of the aquatic environment. Fish are known to bio-accumulate metals and are considered as one of the most indicative factors, in freshwater systems, for the estimation of trace metals pollution potential (Rashed, 2001). Histopathology can be an indicator of the effects of various anthropogenic pollutants on organisms and so could be used as a reflection of the overall health of the entire population in an ecosystem. This study aimed to assess the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in gills and muscles and their effects on histopathology of gills of Oreochromis mossambicus from the Indus River, Pakistan which receives potential pollutants from the domestic, municipal and agricultural runoffs.

Fish has been regarded as a source of nutritious and highly desirable food. This is due to its high quality meat which is rich in essential amino acids, beneficial fatty acids, calcium, phosphorus and vitamins. However, the pollution of the aquatic environment with heavy metals has become a serious health concern for fish and human populations. Industrial and agricultural discharges are considered as the primary source of metal poisoning of fish (Pandey, 2003). The aim of this study was to assess the bioaccumulation of trace metals in samples of skin, scales, gills and fins of fish to monitor freshwater pollutions. This information may help adopt practices to avoid the impacts of these pollutants on the aquatic and human populations.

The ability of a species to adapt to their captive conditions depends on how well the enclosure resembles its natural environment (Mallapur and Choudhury, 2003). Enabling captive animals to exert some control over their environment (e.g. feeding habits) allows for high animal welfare standards which has recently been achieved through environmental ‘enrichment’ using complex and diverse enclosure designs (Carlstead, 1996). The principal method of assessing a captive animal’s welfare is by observing their behaviours and comparing it to its wild relatives (Carlstead, 1996). Building on previous work (Williams and Litten-Brown, 2008), the objective of this study was to determine whether enclosure design has an effect on the behaviours of captive common squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus).

Sericulture has been an important agricultural industry since 2650 BC (Seidavi et al. 2006). There are about 10 million farmers and 0.5 million related industrial workers in the world. The present capacity of silkworm eggs production in Iran is about 70000 boxes per year which are distributed among 40000 silkworm house holders. Annual cocoon production in Iran is about 6000 metric tons which is small in comparison with production in previous centuries. Silkworm breeding using selection systems can improve line and hybrid performance. Individual selection based on cocoon weight in GGP generation (great grandparent) improved GP (grandparent) and P (parent) parental line generation (Seidavi et al. 2007), but it did not consider the effects on resistance performance of hybrid generation. In this experiment, the effects of two phenotypic selections of GGP parents on vitality (percentage of survival pupae) and resistance properties in six of their hybrids (including 31×32, 32×31, 103×104, 104×103, 107×110 and 110×107) were studied.

Recently, there has been an interest in shortening the non-income-producing dry period (DP). Retrospective analysis of farm data and planned experiments both indicate about a 5 to 6% loss in milk yield during the subsequent lactation when the DP is reduced by approximately 30 d (Rastani et al., 2005). Additional milk produced during the extra 30 d of lactation can compensate for some of the loss in the subsequent lactation. There are, however, some advantages to reducing the dry period length, including increased income from milk in the current lactation, simplified management of dry cows through movement toward a one-group nutritional strategy, decreased metabolic disorders, and reduced strain on dry cow facilities. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of dry period length on milk production and composition in early lactating Holstein cows.

Revenue from dairy farms is directly dependent upon reproductive efficiency because it affects milk production and the number of calves born (Thurmond et al., 1990). Pregnancy loss can have devastating effects on economical success in dairy farms. Normal annual abortion risks have been cited to be 3–5%, once cows are beyond 42 days of pregnancy (Hovingh, 2002), or similarly an observable 2–5% in most dairies (Kirk, 2003). Although, there is little or no indication that milk production is a risk factor for increased pregnancy losses in dairy cattle (Santos et al., 2004), there is little information on the effect of pregnancy losses on subsequent milk production. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of different calving classes including eutocia, dystocia, stillbirth and abortion in the first calving on subsequent milk production in Iranian Holstein dairy cows.

Several studies have indicated that reducing the length of the dry period to less than 60 days had a more detrimental effect between the first and second lactation than between later lactations (Annen et al., 2004). Other studies demonstrated that a dry period less than 40 days reduces milk yield in the subsequent lactation (Sørensen and Enevoldsen., 1991). Several experiments designed to examine the effects of reducing the days dry to approximately 4 weeks have shown no difference in milk production and/or fat corrected milk in the subsequent lactation (Gulay et al., 2003). The aim of the present experiment was to determine the effect of days dry (from 10 to 90 days, 10 days interval) on subsequent milk production and fertility of high producing Iranian Holstein cows.

For profitable production of milk, a nonlactating or dry period is established between lactations of dairy cow. There has been substantial recent interest in shortening dry periods. Physiological studies show that the changes the udder goes through to prepare for the next lactation take about three weeks, and yet current advice is that the most appropriate dry period for a modern dairy cow is 45 to 60 days. More recent studies show good reason to question that advice, and suggest dry periods of 30 to 35 days have no detrimental effect on production, but information relating the effects of dry period to subsequent reproductive performance of lactating cows is sparse (Grummer, 2007). Also, the effect of this management change on follicular dynamic has not been adequately evaluated. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to determine the effects of dry period length on follicular dynamics in early lactating Holstein cows.

Visible and near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (Vis-NIR) has been widely used by the industry research-base for large-scale meat quality evaluation to predict the chemical composition of meat quickly and accurately. Meat tenderness is measured by means of slow and destructive methods (e.g. Warner-Bratzler shear force). Similarly, sensory analysis, using trained panellists, requires large meat samples and is a complex, expensive and time-consuming technique. Nevertheless, these characteristics are important criteria that affect consumers’ evaluation of beef quality. Vis-NIR technique provides information about the molecular bonds (chemical constituents) and tissue ultra-structure in a scanned sample and thus can indirectly predict physical or sensory parameters of meat samples. Applications of Vis-NIR spectroscopy in an abattoir for prediction of physical and sensory characteristics have been less developed than in other fields. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test the on-line Vis-NIR spectroscopy for the prediction of beef quality characteristics such as colour, instrumental texture, water holding capacity (WHC) and sensory traits, by direct application of a fibre-optic probe to the M. longissimus thoracis with no prior sample treatment.

The dearth of animal protein in the diets of persons living in developing countries has been an issue of concern to Governments and individuals over the years. This is because what is obtained from the major sources of meat apply can no longer sustain the growing demand due to increases in human population (Vietmeyer, 1985). In order to bridge the gap between demand and supply of animal protein, preservations of meat is therefore very necessary. ‘Kundi’ is a dry meat product traditionally produced in the northern part of Nigeria. It is conventionally produced unseasoned from camel meat. Therefore the aim of this study is to improve on the traditional method, to increase the organoleptic properties and to produce ‘Kundi’ from other animal like beef.

Ruminant feeding regimes that include grass finishing are known to increase the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFA) content of beef and lamb. By contrast, concentrate finishing produces meat with increased n-6 PUFA concentrations. There is strong evidence that increasing the ratio of n-3: n-6 PUFA in the diet has beneficial effects for human health. In Northern Ireland, it is likely that feeding regimes are predominantly grass-based; therefore beef and lamb could contain appreciable amounts of n-3 PUFA. However, an analysis of types of finishing diets used by farms in Northern Ireland has not been done. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of grass and concentrate finishing in farms in Northern Ireland.

Mixing of cattle prior to slaughter which results in aggressive activity (Mohan Raj et al 1992) leads to glycogen depletion pre-slaughter and subsequently meat with a higher ultimate pH (pHu). Purchas et al (1990) reported a quadratic relationship between pHu and tenderness with highest shear force values recorded between pHu 5.8 to 6.2. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of fasting and mixing of steers prior to slaughter on the meat eating quality of longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle.

Previous work has suggested that dimensional data obtained from digital image analysis (DIA) has potential to predict the slaughter liveweights of finished beef cattle (Hyslop et al, 2008). Both farmers and cattle buyers may benefit from being able to select animals to meet slaughter specifications more accurately on-farm. The objective of the current study was to assess the feasibility of an on-farm DIA system to predict a number of characteristics in beef steers at slaughter.