Assessing the Importance of Natural Behavior for Animal Welfare

The concept of natural behavior is a key element in current Dutch policy-making on animal welfare. It emphasizes that animals need positive experiences, in addition to minimized suffering. This paper interprets the concept of natural behavior in the context of the scientific framework for welfare assessment. Natural behavior may be defined as behavior that animals have a tendency to exhibit under natural conditions, because these behaviors are pleasurable and promote biological functioning. Animal welfare is the quality of life as perceived by the animal. Animals have evolved cognitive-emotional systems (“welfare needs”) to deal with a variable environment. Animals do not only have so-called physiological needs such as the need for food, water, and thermal comfort. They also need to exercise certain natural behaviors such as rooting or nest-building in pigs, and scratching or dust-bathing in poultry. All needs must be taken into account in order to assess overall welfare. The degree of need satisfaction and frustration can be assessed from scientific information about the intensity, duration, and incidence of (welfare) performance criteria such as measurements of behavior and/or (patho)physiology. Positive welfare value relates to how animals are inclined to behave under natural conditions, in preference tests, and in consumer-demand studies. Negative welfare value relates to stress, frustration, abnormal behavior, aggression, and reduced fitness. Examples are given to illustrate how the need to perform natural behaviors can be assessed following the general principles for welfare assessment, providing a first approximation of how different natural behaviors affect animal welfare.     

A proposal to conserve black-footed ferrets and the prairie dog ecosystem

Prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) have been poisoned throughout this century because of grazing competition with livestock. Recent evidence showed these early claims were exaggerated, but animal control was already entrenched in government policy. As a result, ongoing government subsidized poisoning has reduced prairie dogs to about 2% of their former distribution. The reduction of prairie dogs diminished species diversity in the arid grasslands of North America, including the potential extinction of the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes). Cost-benefit analysis revealed that poisoning costs more than any grazing benefits accrued. This analysis did not consider the long-term costs of reversing ecosystem degradation, the intangible value of biological diversity as a public benefit, or the depletion of biotic resources as a loss of actual or potential wealth. The government presently finances the poisoning policy and the preservation of endangered species like the black-footed ferret, two apparently conflicting programs. We, therefore, propose an integrated management plan that considers both interests. We propose that federal monies allocated to the poisoning program be converted into a rebate for ranchers who manage livestock while preserving the prairie dog community. This would redirect funds and personnel already allocated to prairie dog eradication to an incentive for ranchers who manage for livestock and wildlife. Livestock interests and grassland biotic diversity would both benefit.     

Not All Animals are Equal Differences In Moral Foundations For The Dutch Veterinary Policy On Livestock and Animals In Nature Reservations

The Netherlands is a small country with many people and much livestock. As a result, animals in nature reservations are often living near cattle farms. Therefore, people from the agricultural practices are afraid that wild animals will infect domestic livestock with diseases like Swine Fever and Foot and Mouth Disease. To protect agriculture (considered as an important economic practice), very strict regulations have been made for minimizing this risk. In this way, the practice of animal farming has been dominating the practices of nature management completely. If, for instance, Foot and Mouth Disease strikes an agricultural area, all wild pigs and cattle living in the nearby nature reservations have to be killed, whether infected or not. This dominant position of one practice over the other has now become problematic. While the morality of the practice of nature management seems to be very different from the morality of agriculture and agriculture has become less important from an economic point of view, the public as well as those involved in nature management no longer seem to accept the dominant position of agriculture. Besides a literature study, we performed a field study with in-depth interviews with experts from both practices to analyze the dynamics of the internal moralities of both practices in the previous century, in order to clarify the contemporary situation. The conclusion was that the traditionally strong position of agriculture is not only weakening; it also appears that the internal values of agriculture are changing. The experts from both sides agreed that, in case of a disease outbreak, it is neither ethically justified nor necessary (because of the estimated low risk of disease transfer) to destroy the animals in nature reservations as a routine preventive measure. This is a major shift in morality.     

呼兰县畜牧生态环境建设现状及其对策的研究

主要介绍呼兰县近几年畜牧生态环境建设中存在的问题,对主要问题进行科学分析,并提出相应的对策。     

中国农牧交错区土地利用变化空间格局与驱动力分析

以遥感与GIS为技术支撑,运用专家知识,结合实际,从农牧交错区的实质出发,定量地计算出我国的农牧交错区。在此基础上,分析我国农牧交错区近10年的耕地、草地变化的空间格局。整个农牧交错区的耕地以变林地、草地为主。耕地的变化以内蒙古的变化为大,主要分布于它的中、东部地区。草地主要以变耕地、城镇为主,分布于内蒙古与东北三省接壤处。最后探讨这种格局的成因。耕地变化受经济发展、人口增加、农业结构等驱动,主要表现为人文作用。草地变化受人为与自然的驱动,主要为人类活动的影响,表现为经济发展与草地过牧。     

宁夏盐池牧业生产系统的研究

本文采用系统科学的理论方法,详细地分析了盐池县牧业生产系统的内外关系与存在问题及相应的战略对策;结合对现实农业生态系统的能流与物流的定性分析,指出合理运行牧业生产系统,是使盐池县草原恢复、生态维持及农村经济发展的重要途径。     

利用动、植物进行环境监测的探讨

本文对动、植物在环境监测中的应用进行了分析、探讨，把动、植物作为环境监测的重要补充部份，将能更全面、准确的反应环境质量状况。     

我国畜禽品种资源的多样性与畜牧业的可持续发展

在指出畜禽品种资源多样性是保证畜牧业稳定持续发展重要的基本要素的基础上,回顾与评价了近半个世纪国内外对畜禽品种资源进行的主要工作,以及对资源多样性认识的逐步进展。继之阐明了我国畜禽品种资源的多样性及其在国际上的地位和影响。然后指出了我国畜禽品种资源及其多样性面临的困境。进一步论述了六条对策,其中最重要的是从观念上和理论上彻底摈弃长期存在的对畜禽品种资源掠夺的观念和作法。并制定正确的有科学预见的保护决策和措施。     

Atrazine is not readily mineralised in 24 temperate soils regardless of pre-exposure to triazine herbicides

Mineralisation of atrazine in soil has been shown to depend on previous exposure of the herbicide. In this study, 24 Danish soils were collected and screened for potential to mineralise atrazine. Six soils were chosen, because they had never been exposed to atrazine, whereas 18 soils were chosen because of their history of application of atrazine or the related compound terbuthylazine. None of the 24 soils revealed a mineralisation potential of more than 4% of the added atrazine within a 60 day timeframe. In an atrazine adapted French soil, we found 60% mineralisation of atrazine in 30 days. Cattle manure was applied in order to boost the microbial activity, and a 2-3% increase in the atrazine mineralisation was found in some of the temperate soils, while in the highly adapted French soil it caused a 5% reduction.     

红外分光光度法测定水中油类物质吸附方法的比较

吸附处理是红外法测定石油类的一个重要环节.通过实验对吸附柱法和振荡吸附法进行对较,结果表明动植物油质量浓度为0.560 mg/L～145 mg/L的水样,振荡吸附法吸附效率高于吸附柱法.振荡吸附法还具有操作时间短、硅酸镁耗量低、对操作人员危害性小、样品可批量分析的优点.