ScienceDaily (Sep. 22, 2011) — African ranchers often prefer to keep wild grazers like zebra off the grass that fattens their cattle. But a new study by UC Davis and Kenyan researchers shows that grazing by wild animals doesn't always harm -- and can sometimes benefit -- cattle. The results are published Sept. 23 in the journal Science.
"Although savanna rangelands worldwide are managed on the premise that cattle and wildlife compete for food, there is little scientific information to support this assumption," said Wilfred Odadi, a researcher at the Mpala Research Centre in Kenya.
"Our findings provide further evidence that biodiversity conservation and economic development can be simultaneously achieved in human-occupied savanna landscapes," he said.
Truman Young, a professor of plant sciences at UC Davis and senior author of the study, said the interaction between cattle and wildlife is more complicated than has been appreciated.
"When we look at the effect of wildlife on cattle, we find that they sometimes do suppress weight gain by cattle, but also sometimes enhance it," Young said.
"Generally the decision has been to exclude wild animals, but we're saying that things are not that simple," he said.
The researchers enclosed 10-acre plots of savanna rangeland inside fences to exclude wild animals (principally zebra). Then they weighed the cattle grazing inside and outside the fences to measure how much weight they put on at different times of the year.
The research team found that during the dry season, cattle that grazed with wild animals had reduced weight gain -- the bottom line for ranchers. But in the wet season, cattle actually put on more weight when they grazed alongside wildlife.
The explanation is that during the wet season, grass can grow long and become rank, inaccessible and poor in nutritional value.
"When the grass grows very fast and is at risk of becoming rank, having zebras is beneficial," Young said. "They are more than willing to knock back the rank grass."
That means higher-quality, fresher grass for the cattle.
It's not yet clear whether there is a net benefit over a whole year or series of years, Young said, because conditions can vary considerably from year to year. Ranchers are beginning to explore additional ways to control rank grass, such as controlled burns.
The other coauthors of the study are Moses Karachi, Egerton University, Kenya and Shaukat Abdulrazak, National Council for Science and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya. The work was funded by the Smithsonian Institution, the National Geographic Society, the National Science Foundation, the African Elephant Program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the International Foundation for Science.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110922141900.htm
Showing posts with label cattle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cattle. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Cows Clock-In for Monitored Mealtimes
ScienceDaily (Aug. 1, 2011) — Electronic ear tags are being used to provide an early warning system that will help farmers identify sick animals within a herd.
The new system, being trialled by scientists at Newcastle University, tracks the feeding behaviour of each individual animal, alerting farmers to any change that might indicate the cow is unwell.
Using RFID (radio frequency identification) technology -- similar to that used in the Transport for London Oyster card -- each calf is 'clocked' in and out every time they approach the trough, with the time spent feeding being logged by a computer.
Ollie Szyszka, a PhD student in Newcastle University's School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, who is leading the project with Professor Ilias Kyriazakis, said the aim was to help farmers spot any illness in the herd much earlier on and treat the animals more effectively.
"Just as we know when we are sickening for something because we perhaps lose our appetite or feel more lethargic, animals also demonstrate subtle changes in behaviour when unwell," explains Ollie.
"Like any animal, the earlier you can spot and start treating an infection or disease the better chance there is of it making a full recovery. You also reduce the risk of the infection spreading if you can identify and isolate a sick animal but for a farmer with a herd of maybe 500 cattle it is easy to miss any early signs of disease.
"By giving each calf a unique code and tracking its feeding pattern our system is able to alert farmers to small -- but significant -- changes in behaviour which might indicate the animal is unwell."
The project is part of Newcastle University's drive to improve animal welfare on farms and research ways in which agriculture can become more sustainable. Published in the Annual Proceedings of the British Society for Animal Science Conference 2011, the work is being trialled at the University's Cockle Park farm, in Northumberland.
The tracking system -- developed by Newcastle University computing technician Steven Hall -- uses RFID chips fitted into the ear tag of each animal and short-range antennae mounted to their feeding troughs. The antennae pick up a signal every time the animal approaches to feed. The signal is blocked when the animal moves away.
The animals have also been fitted with pedometers which allow the Newcastle team to measure posture, relaying information about how active the calf is and how much time they spend lying down.
The results so far have shown that cattle suffering from an underlying health 'challenge' or infection do show significant changes in their behaviour.
Professor Kyriazakis adds: "Modern farming systems have minimised the contact between the animal and its keeper so we need to constantly look for ways to re-address the balance.
"What we are trying to do here at Newcastle is find ways to detect early infection or deterioration of an individual -- regardless of the size of the herd -- so the farmer can intervene at an early stage.
"In the light of recent outbreaks of diseases such as Foot and Mouth and TB, finding ways of detecting changes in behaviour before there are any obvious signs of disease, is becoming increasingly more important."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110727204407.htm
Cattle fitted with "RFID" ear tags to monitor changes in feeding behavior which may indicate the early signs of disease. Part of a research project by the School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development at Newcastle University's Cockle Park Farm in Northumberland, UK. (Credit: Newcastle University)
The new system, being trialled by scientists at Newcastle University, tracks the feeding behaviour of each individual animal, alerting farmers to any change that might indicate the cow is unwell.
Using RFID (radio frequency identification) technology -- similar to that used in the Transport for London Oyster card -- each calf is 'clocked' in and out every time they approach the trough, with the time spent feeding being logged by a computer.
Ollie Szyszka, a PhD student in Newcastle University's School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, who is leading the project with Professor Ilias Kyriazakis, said the aim was to help farmers spot any illness in the herd much earlier on and treat the animals more effectively.
"Just as we know when we are sickening for something because we perhaps lose our appetite or feel more lethargic, animals also demonstrate subtle changes in behaviour when unwell," explains Ollie.
"Like any animal, the earlier you can spot and start treating an infection or disease the better chance there is of it making a full recovery. You also reduce the risk of the infection spreading if you can identify and isolate a sick animal but for a farmer with a herd of maybe 500 cattle it is easy to miss any early signs of disease.
"By giving each calf a unique code and tracking its feeding pattern our system is able to alert farmers to small -- but significant -- changes in behaviour which might indicate the animal is unwell."
The project is part of Newcastle University's drive to improve animal welfare on farms and research ways in which agriculture can become more sustainable. Published in the Annual Proceedings of the British Society for Animal Science Conference 2011, the work is being trialled at the University's Cockle Park farm, in Northumberland.
The tracking system -- developed by Newcastle University computing technician Steven Hall -- uses RFID chips fitted into the ear tag of each animal and short-range antennae mounted to their feeding troughs. The antennae pick up a signal every time the animal approaches to feed. The signal is blocked when the animal moves away.
The animals have also been fitted with pedometers which allow the Newcastle team to measure posture, relaying information about how active the calf is and how much time they spend lying down.
The results so far have shown that cattle suffering from an underlying health 'challenge' or infection do show significant changes in their behaviour.
Professor Kyriazakis adds: "Modern farming systems have minimised the contact between the animal and its keeper so we need to constantly look for ways to re-address the balance.
"What we are trying to do here at Newcastle is find ways to detect early infection or deterioration of an individual -- regardless of the size of the herd -- so the farmer can intervene at an early stage.
"In the light of recent outbreaks of diseases such as Foot and Mouth and TB, finding ways of detecting changes in behaviour before there are any obvious signs of disease, is becoming increasingly more important."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110727204407.htm
Friday, June 10, 2011
China Genetically Modifying Cows To Produce Human Breast Milk
Updated: Friday, 10 Jun 2011, 8:06 AM EDT
Published : Wednesday, 08 Jun 2011, 7:54 AM EDT
BY NEWSCORE
BEIJING - Chinese scientists have genetically modified dairy cows to produce human breast milk, and hope to be selling it in supermarkets within three years.
The milk produced by the transgenic cows is identical to the human variety, with the same immune-boosting and antibacterial qualities as breast milk, scientists at China's Agricultural University in Beijing said.
The transgenic herd of 300 was bred by inserting human genes into cloned cow embryos which were then implanted into surrogate cows. The technology used was similar to that used to produce Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be cloned by scientists, in Scotland.
The milk is still undergoing safety tests, but with government permission it will be sold to consumers as a more nutritious dairy drink than cow's milk.
Workers at the university's dairy farm have already tasted the milk -- and said it is sweeter and stronger than the bovine variety, according to Sky News .
"It's good," said worker Jiang Yao. "It's better for you because it's genetically modified."
The scientists have also produced animals that are resistant to mad cow disease, as well as beef cattle that are genetically modified to produce more nutritious meat.
The director of the research project, Professor Li Ning, said Western concerns about the ethics of genetic modification are misplaced.
"There are 1.5 billion people in the world who don't get enough to eat," he said. "It's our duty to develop science and technology, not to hold it back. We need to feed people first, before we consider ideals and convictions."
UPDATE: Argentine Scientists Claim To Have Created Herd To Produce Breast Milk
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/china-genetically-modifying-cows-to-produce-human-breast-milk-20110608-ncx
Published : Wednesday, 08 Jun 2011, 7:54 AM EDT
BY NEWSCORE
BEIJING - Chinese scientists have genetically modified dairy cows to produce human breast milk, and hope to be selling it in supermarkets within three years.
The milk produced by the transgenic cows is identical to the human variety, with the same immune-boosting and antibacterial qualities as breast milk, scientists at China's Agricultural University in Beijing said.
The transgenic herd of 300 was bred by inserting human genes into cloned cow embryos which were then implanted into surrogate cows. The technology used was similar to that used to produce Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be cloned by scientists, in Scotland.
The milk is still undergoing safety tests, but with government permission it will be sold to consumers as a more nutritious dairy drink than cow's milk.
Workers at the university's dairy farm have already tasted the milk -- and said it is sweeter and stronger than the bovine variety, according to Sky News .
"It's good," said worker Jiang Yao. "It's better for you because it's genetically modified."
The scientists have also produced animals that are resistant to mad cow disease, as well as beef cattle that are genetically modified to produce more nutritious meat.
The director of the research project, Professor Li Ning, said Western concerns about the ethics of genetic modification are misplaced.
"There are 1.5 billion people in the world who don't get enough to eat," he said. "It's our duty to develop science and technology, not to hold it back. We need to feed people first, before we consider ideals and convictions."
UPDATE: Argentine Scientists Claim To Have Created Herd To Produce Breast Milk
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/china-genetically-modifying-cows-to-produce-human-breast-milk-20110608-ncx
Sunday, June 5, 2011
New strain of MRSA superbug found in cows
3 June 2011
By Pallab Ghosh
Science correspondent, BBC News
A new strain of the MRSA "superbug" has been found in British cows and is believed to be infecting humans.
Environmental campaigners say the new strain has emerged because of the over-use of antibiotics by dairy farmers.
Dr Mark Holmes of Cambridge University, who led the research, said this was a "credible hypothesis".
The researchers, writing in the Lancet Infectious Diseases Journal, say there is no additional health risk from eating milk and dairy products.
'Financial pressure'
MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is a drug-resistant form of a usually harmless bacterium which can be deadly when it infects wounds.
The 35 or so strains of antibiotic-resistant superbugs are genetically fairly similar. However, this new variety is very different and it is thought that it might have first emerged from cows.
Its discoverers have dubbed it "New MRSA"
Antibiotics are widely used by dairy farmers to treat cows with mastitis. However over-use means some bacteria become resistant and difficult to treat if humans become infected.
Dr Holmes said the problem might be exacerbated by financial pressures on diary farmers.
"If you drive your cows harder to produce more milk you get more mastitis," he told reporters at a news conference.
The Soil Association has called for a complete ban on routine use of antibiotics in farming.
Soil Association director Helen Browning said: "Dairy systems are becoming ever more antibiotic-dependent. We need to get farmers off this treadmill, even if that means that milk has to cost a few pennies more".
National Farmers' Union chief dairy adviser Rob Newberry said the health and welfare of cows were of "paramount importance" to British dairy farmers.
"In the interests of human and animal health, and animal welfare, it is important that veterinary medicines are administered as little as possible but as much as necessary," he said.
"Any antibiotic or veterinary medicine being administered to a food producing animal has strict conditions of use, including milk and meat withdrawal times, and in general, under European law, would only be available under prescription."
Dr Holmes and his colleague Dr Laura Garcia-Alvarez discovered the new strain while studying a bacterium known to cause mastitis in cows.
They found that, like other MRSA strains, it was resistant to the most commonly used antibiotics. However, the bug was found to be genetically very different.
Subsequent research showed that the strain was also present in humans.
Dr Garcia-Alvarez says that finding a new strain in both in humans and cows is "very worrying".
"Workers on dairy farms are at higher risk of carrying MRSA but we don't yet know if this translates to a higher risk [of them becoming ill]," she said.
'Very low risk'
Dr Holmes said very few people had been infected with the new strain, probably fewer than 100 a year in the UK. "But it does appear that the numbers are rising," he says.
The Health Protection Agency said the risk of becoming infected with the new strain was "very low".
Dr Holmes and Dr Garcia-Alvarez will now investigate the prevalence of the new strain and whether it is more or less harmful than current strains.
They also plan to conduct studies on farms to look for more MRSA strains of this type and explore any potential risks to farm workers.
MRSA is often found in hospitals and was linked to 1,593 deaths in 2007.
Since then the number of suspected fatal cases has fallen dramatically. There were 1,290 in 2008 and 781 in 2009.
A Department of Health spokesman said: "From the available evidence, we understand this new form of MRSA is rare in the UK and is not causing infections in humans.
"However, our expert committee, ARHAI, will be reviewing this issue at their next meeting and will consider potential medical, veterinary and food safety issues."
A Food Standards Agency spokesman said the study did not provide direct evidence that humans were being infected with MRSA from cattle.
"The risk of contracting this new strain of MRSA through drinking milk is extremely low because the vast majority of cows' milk is pasteurised and the pasteurisation process destroys all types of MRSA," he added.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13632369
By Pallab Ghosh
Science correspondent, BBC News
A new strain of the MRSA "superbug" has been found in British cows and is believed to be infecting humans.
Environmental campaigners say the new strain has emerged because of the over-use of antibiotics by dairy farmers.
Dr Mark Holmes of Cambridge University, who led the research, said this was a "credible hypothesis".
The researchers, writing in the Lancet Infectious Diseases Journal, say there is no additional health risk from eating milk and dairy products.
'Financial pressure'
MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is a drug-resistant form of a usually harmless bacterium which can be deadly when it infects wounds.
The 35 or so strains of antibiotic-resistant superbugs are genetically fairly similar. However, this new variety is very different and it is thought that it might have first emerged from cows.
Its discoverers have dubbed it "New MRSA"
Antibiotics are widely used by dairy farmers to treat cows with mastitis. However over-use means some bacteria become resistant and difficult to treat if humans become infected.
Dr Holmes said the problem might be exacerbated by financial pressures on diary farmers.
"If you drive your cows harder to produce more milk you get more mastitis," he told reporters at a news conference.
The Soil Association has called for a complete ban on routine use of antibiotics in farming.
Soil Association director Helen Browning said: "Dairy systems are becoming ever more antibiotic-dependent. We need to get farmers off this treadmill, even if that means that milk has to cost a few pennies more".
National Farmers' Union chief dairy adviser Rob Newberry said the health and welfare of cows were of "paramount importance" to British dairy farmers.
"In the interests of human and animal health, and animal welfare, it is important that veterinary medicines are administered as little as possible but as much as necessary," he said.
"Any antibiotic or veterinary medicine being administered to a food producing animal has strict conditions of use, including milk and meat withdrawal times, and in general, under European law, would only be available under prescription."
Dr Holmes and his colleague Dr Laura Garcia-Alvarez discovered the new strain while studying a bacterium known to cause mastitis in cows.
They found that, like other MRSA strains, it was resistant to the most commonly used antibiotics. However, the bug was found to be genetically very different.
Subsequent research showed that the strain was also present in humans.
Dr Garcia-Alvarez says that finding a new strain in both in humans and cows is "very worrying".
"Workers on dairy farms are at higher risk of carrying MRSA but we don't yet know if this translates to a higher risk [of them becoming ill]," she said.
'Very low risk'
Dr Holmes said very few people had been infected with the new strain, probably fewer than 100 a year in the UK. "But it does appear that the numbers are rising," he says.
The Health Protection Agency said the risk of becoming infected with the new strain was "very low".
Dr Holmes and Dr Garcia-Alvarez will now investigate the prevalence of the new strain and whether it is more or less harmful than current strains.
They also plan to conduct studies on farms to look for more MRSA strains of this type and explore any potential risks to farm workers.
MRSA is often found in hospitals and was linked to 1,593 deaths in 2007.
Since then the number of suspected fatal cases has fallen dramatically. There were 1,290 in 2008 and 781 in 2009.
A Department of Health spokesman said: "From the available evidence, we understand this new form of MRSA is rare in the UK and is not causing infections in humans.
"However, our expert committee, ARHAI, will be reviewing this issue at their next meeting and will consider potential medical, veterinary and food safety issues."
A Food Standards Agency spokesman said the study did not provide direct evidence that humans were being infected with MRSA from cattle.
"The risk of contracting this new strain of MRSA through drinking milk is extremely low because the vast majority of cows' milk is pasteurised and the pasteurisation process destroys all types of MRSA," he added.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13632369
Friday, May 6, 2011
Mass culling for foot-and-mouth 'may be unnecessary'
6 May 2011
By Pallab Ghosh
Science correspondent, BBC News
The mass cull of farm animals to control the spread of foot-and-mouth disease may be unnecessary if there is a new outbreak, scientists suggest.
A new analysis of disease transmission suggests that future outbreaks might be controlled by early detection and killing only affected animals.
The scientists said their findings did not suggest the mass slaughter policy during the 2001 UK outbreak was wrong.
The research, by a UK team, is reported in the journal Science.
Until now, vets had assumed animals could be infectious while they carried the virus that causes foot-and-mouth, which may be for between four and eight days.
However, by exposing calves to infected cattle and closely monitoring them, researchers from the Institute for Animal Health in Surrey and Edinburgh University discovered that the period of infection was less than two days.
Perhaps more importantly, the researchers also discovered that animals were not infectious until they showed symptoms of the disease.
Scientists had previously thought animals were infectious for hours or even days before manifesting any symptoms.
These results suggest that any future outbreak could be brought under control by closely monitoring animals and slaughtering them as soon as they become ill.
This approach is in contrast to the policy adopted to bring the 2001 epidemic under control.
Too drastic
Ten years ago, the UK Government slaughtered not only all the animals on infected farms but also all animals on adjacent farms, regardless of whether infection had been reported there.
The policy of "contiguous culling" was adopted following scientific advice that this was the only way of controlling the epidemic.
It led to the slaughter of 6.5 million cattle, sheep and pigs, some of which were burned on open air pyres.
Many vets and farmers felt at the time - and still argue - that the policy was far too drastic, and that a more targeted approach would have been sufficient to bring the outbreak under control.
Dr Bryan Charleston, of the Institute for Animal Health, was among those asked to undertake the new study in response to public concern about the use of contiguous culling.
The research, he says, "doesn't say that this policy was wrong" - but it does suggest that mass culling could be avoided in the future.
Writing in Science, his team says: "These results imply that controversial pre-emptive control measures may be unnecessary.
"Instead, efforts should be directed at early identification of infection and rapid intervention."
Dr Charleston also told BBC News it would be worth developing simple test kits to detect herds that are infected before the onset of clinical signs, and also to detect herds that are not infected "so they would not need to be culled".
Targeted approach
So if mass culling could be avoided in the future, why was it not "wrong" in 2001, as Dr Charleston argues?
Professor Neil Ferguson, of Imperial College London, was among those advising government on how to control the epidemic a decade ago.
He said the more targeted approach suggested by the new research would have been impossible by the time government had realised that there was a major outbreak.
"The biggest problem in 2001 was that by the time we realised what was happening, there were something between 30 and 50 infected farms," he said.
"It took a huge amount of effort to deal with that, and so very intensive surveillance of infected areas proved impossible from the outset."
But government agencies are now much better placed to detect new infections much earlier.
That being the case, the implications of this paper are that in future, vets will be able to nip foot-and-mouth outbreaks in the bud.
Indeed, this is what happened in 2007 when there was a small outbreak as a result of a leak of foot-and-mouth virus from a laboratory in Surrey.
That outbreak was confined to a small area, and so vets were able to monitor closely and test herds that were in close proximity to infected animals.
Those that were found to have the virus were culled; those that tested negative were not.
This approach was sufficient to bring the 2007 outbreak under control. But such a scheme could not be applied to a larger outbreak, according to Professor Ferguson.
He said: "When the outbreak is very small, it becomes more feasible to pick up any signs of infection on a farm as soon as possible; and this research suggests that might be very effective at stopping onward transmission.
"But in 2001, really rapid diagnosis proved to be challenging.
"If you have a lot of animals on a lot of farms, it's hard to inspect them all every day. So although the general conclusion is that rapid diagnosis might have a big effect in practice, it might be hard to achieve (once the outbreak exceeds a certain size)."
The research also suggests that vets should not be wary of using vaccination to control any future outbreak, as they were in 2001.
Then, there was concern that vaccination would lead to animals becoming infected at a very low level without displaying symptoms, and that these animals could in turn have infected animals in other farms.
The new research, however, suggests that this kind of subclinical infection is not a worry.
It indicates that if an animal does not show symptoms, it is not infectious; so vaccinating in the face of an outbreak might be more effective than scientists previously thought.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13299666
By Pallab Ghosh
Science correspondent, BBC News
The mass cull of farm animals to control the spread of foot-and-mouth disease may be unnecessary if there is a new outbreak, scientists suggest.
A new analysis of disease transmission suggests that future outbreaks might be controlled by early detection and killing only affected animals.
The scientists said their findings did not suggest the mass slaughter policy during the 2001 UK outbreak was wrong.
The research, by a UK team, is reported in the journal Science.
Until now, vets had assumed animals could be infectious while they carried the virus that causes foot-and-mouth, which may be for between four and eight days.
However, by exposing calves to infected cattle and closely monitoring them, researchers from the Institute for Animal Health in Surrey and Edinburgh University discovered that the period of infection was less than two days.
Perhaps more importantly, the researchers also discovered that animals were not infectious until they showed symptoms of the disease.
Scientists had previously thought animals were infectious for hours or even days before manifesting any symptoms.
These results suggest that any future outbreak could be brought under control by closely monitoring animals and slaughtering them as soon as they become ill.
This approach is in contrast to the policy adopted to bring the 2001 epidemic under control.
Too drastic
Ten years ago, the UK Government slaughtered not only all the animals on infected farms but also all animals on adjacent farms, regardless of whether infection had been reported there.
The policy of "contiguous culling" was adopted following scientific advice that this was the only way of controlling the epidemic.
It led to the slaughter of 6.5 million cattle, sheep and pigs, some of which were burned on open air pyres.
Many vets and farmers felt at the time - and still argue - that the policy was far too drastic, and that a more targeted approach would have been sufficient to bring the outbreak under control.
Dr Bryan Charleston, of the Institute for Animal Health, was among those asked to undertake the new study in response to public concern about the use of contiguous culling.
The research, he says, "doesn't say that this policy was wrong" - but it does suggest that mass culling could be avoided in the future.
Writing in Science, his team says: "These results imply that controversial pre-emptive control measures may be unnecessary.
"Instead, efforts should be directed at early identification of infection and rapid intervention."
Dr Charleston also told BBC News it would be worth developing simple test kits to detect herds that are infected before the onset of clinical signs, and also to detect herds that are not infected "so they would not need to be culled".
Targeted approach
So if mass culling could be avoided in the future, why was it not "wrong" in 2001, as Dr Charleston argues?
Professor Neil Ferguson, of Imperial College London, was among those advising government on how to control the epidemic a decade ago.
He said the more targeted approach suggested by the new research would have been impossible by the time government had realised that there was a major outbreak.
"The biggest problem in 2001 was that by the time we realised what was happening, there were something between 30 and 50 infected farms," he said.
"It took a huge amount of effort to deal with that, and so very intensive surveillance of infected areas proved impossible from the outset."
But government agencies are now much better placed to detect new infections much earlier.
That being the case, the implications of this paper are that in future, vets will be able to nip foot-and-mouth outbreaks in the bud.
Indeed, this is what happened in 2007 when there was a small outbreak as a result of a leak of foot-and-mouth virus from a laboratory in Surrey.
That outbreak was confined to a small area, and so vets were able to monitor closely and test herds that were in close proximity to infected animals.
Those that were found to have the virus were culled; those that tested negative were not.
This approach was sufficient to bring the 2007 outbreak under control. But such a scheme could not be applied to a larger outbreak, according to Professor Ferguson.
He said: "When the outbreak is very small, it becomes more feasible to pick up any signs of infection on a farm as soon as possible; and this research suggests that might be very effective at stopping onward transmission.
"But in 2001, really rapid diagnosis proved to be challenging.
"If you have a lot of animals on a lot of farms, it's hard to inspect them all every day. So although the general conclusion is that rapid diagnosis might have a big effect in practice, it might be hard to achieve (once the outbreak exceeds a certain size)."
The research also suggests that vets should not be wary of using vaccination to control any future outbreak, as they were in 2001.
Then, there was concern that vaccination would lead to animals becoming infected at a very low level without displaying symptoms, and that these animals could in turn have infected animals in other farms.
The new research, however, suggests that this kind of subclinical infection is not a worry.
It indicates that if an animal does not show symptoms, it is not infectious; so vaccinating in the face of an outbreak might be more effective than scientists previously thought.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13299666
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Badger vaccine pilot planned by National Trust in Devon
20 April 2011
By Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News
The National Trust is to vaccinate badgers against TB this summer in a bid to curb the disease in cattle - the first UK landowner to do so.
The trust hopes its £320,000, four-year project on Devon's Killerton estate will make the case for vaccination as an alternative to culling.
Cattle (or bovine) tuberculosis costs the UK about £100m each year.
The government is set to approve badger culling in England soon, and the Welsh Assembly Government also plans a cull.
Research published last year showed the vaccine lowers infection in badgers.
Some cattle herds contract TB through contact with badgers, which carry the bacterium, although infection from other cattle is more significant.
Badger culling is a controversial option and although the trust is not opposed to it in principle, it is troubled by research showing it could do more harm than good - hence the vaccination scheme.
"This is a pilot project - it's not research, not a trial - we know the vaccine works, and we're going for it," said David Bullock, the trust's head of nature conservation.
"The driver is that we want to reduce the risk of bovine TB breakdowns in cattle herds belonging to our tenant farmers, 18 of whom are involved in this project - and we also want to see that the vaccine is considered nationwide."
Last December, scientists with the government-owned Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) published the results of a four-year field trial using an injectable TB vaccine.
It showed that vaccination reduced the incidence of TB in badgers by 74%, but did not look for any impact on infection levels in cattle.
The Labour government had planned five subsequent pilot vaccination projects, but the coalition reduced that to one, and Killerton was among the sites axed.
So at a cost of £80,000 per year, the National Trust is picking up the project, making use of the fact that some of the preliminary research (such as mapping out badger setts) has already been done.
Across about 20 sq km (8 sq miles) of the site, badgers will be lured into cages with bait and trapped.
Trained and licensed Fera staff will then deliver a dose of vaccine and release the badger, first marking it so it does not subsequently receive a second shot.
Dozens of setts have been identified, and the trust believes many hundreds of badgers will be vaccinated.
Promises made
The Conservative Party made badger culling a plank of their general election campaign last year.
The National Farmers' Union (NFU) has demanded it for a long time and after the election Agriculture Minister Jim Paice - a farmer himself - announced a public consultation into how it should be implemented in England.
While supporting the trust's decision to carry out the pilot programme, the NFU said vaccines formed part of the long-term solution but did not address the "desperate plight" that many farmers currently found themselves in.
"Current vaccination methods of injecting badgers is costly, and practically challenging with the benefits remaining unclear, and unproven," Melanie Hall, the NFU's regional director for South-West England told BBC News.
"As the vaccine is preventative, [it is] unlikely to impact positively on infected badgers."
Nationwide, nearly 35,000 cattle were slaughtered last year and there is no vaccine yet that can be used in cattle.
The government believes a cull would reduce disease incidence in cattle by 16% over nine years.
A spokesman for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affair (Defra) welcomed the National Trust's plans to run a vaccine pilot project.
He added: "There's no one solution to tackling TB, and the badger vaccine we developed is one of the tools we have available.
"We will be announcing a comprehensive and balanced TB Eradication Programme for England as soon as possible."
Ministers were expected to publish their plans to deal with bovine TB in the national herd in February; but amid turmoil over the disposal of nationally-owned forests, the announcement was postponed, and is now expected next month.
Meanwhile, the Welsh Assembly Government has announced new plans for a pilot cull in Pembrokeshire this year, after a legal ruling derailed similar plans last year.
Animal rights campaigners are to challenge the new plans in the courts.
Scientific cloud
Behind the issue lie conflicting interpretations of scientific evidence on the effectiveness of culling.
The Westminster and Cardiff governments and the NFU argue that culling can markedly reduce bovine TB incidence in cattle.
But the major UK investigation, the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (also called the Krebs trial), showed culling only produced a benefit if conducted rigorously and systematically over large areas, ideally with hard boundaries that badgers could not cross.
Otherwise, the social structure of badger groups broke down when some were killed, and the animals ranged further afield - infecting more cattle and leading to increased TB incidence.
"We're not against culling badgers if it's going to be effective in curbing bovine TB, but you can't apply the criteria everywhere that would make it effective," Mr Bullock told BBC News.
"Unless you have boundaries, you may have this effect where badgers move around and spread TB - we know from the science that this does happen."
Scientists who ran the Krebs trial have warned the government that its plan to allow shooting of badgers as they roam was likely to be less effective than the trap-and-shoot method deployed during the trial.
On that basis, they said, culling "risks increasing rather than reducing the incidence of cattle TB".
In the Irish Republic, culling has been practised for many years and does appear to have curbed bovine TB; but scientists involved with that programme say the disease will not be eradicated without vaccination.
The National Trust argues that vaccination could prove to be a more effective option than culling, in conjunction with tightened regulations designed to prevent cattle-to-cattle transmission.
This would also, of course, avoid killing badgers, which are a protected species under UK and EU laws.
Eventually, the aim is to have an oral vaccine that badgers would simply eat, avoiding any need for trapping; but that is thought to be five years away.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13121520
(Via Dawn Holloway)
By Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News
The National Trust is to vaccinate badgers against TB this summer in a bid to curb the disease in cattle - the first UK landowner to do so.
The trust hopes its £320,000, four-year project on Devon's Killerton estate will make the case for vaccination as an alternative to culling.
Cattle (or bovine) tuberculosis costs the UK about £100m each year.
The government is set to approve badger culling in England soon, and the Welsh Assembly Government also plans a cull.
Research published last year showed the vaccine lowers infection in badgers.
Some cattle herds contract TB through contact with badgers, which carry the bacterium, although infection from other cattle is more significant.
Badger culling is a controversial option and although the trust is not opposed to it in principle, it is troubled by research showing it could do more harm than good - hence the vaccination scheme.
"This is a pilot project - it's not research, not a trial - we know the vaccine works, and we're going for it," said David Bullock, the trust's head of nature conservation.
"The driver is that we want to reduce the risk of bovine TB breakdowns in cattle herds belonging to our tenant farmers, 18 of whom are involved in this project - and we also want to see that the vaccine is considered nationwide."
Last December, scientists with the government-owned Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) published the results of a four-year field trial using an injectable TB vaccine.
It showed that vaccination reduced the incidence of TB in badgers by 74%, but did not look for any impact on infection levels in cattle.
The Labour government had planned five subsequent pilot vaccination projects, but the coalition reduced that to one, and Killerton was among the sites axed.
So at a cost of £80,000 per year, the National Trust is picking up the project, making use of the fact that some of the preliminary research (such as mapping out badger setts) has already been done.
Across about 20 sq km (8 sq miles) of the site, badgers will be lured into cages with bait and trapped.
Trained and licensed Fera staff will then deliver a dose of vaccine and release the badger, first marking it so it does not subsequently receive a second shot.
Dozens of setts have been identified, and the trust believes many hundreds of badgers will be vaccinated.
Promises made
The Conservative Party made badger culling a plank of their general election campaign last year.
The National Farmers' Union (NFU) has demanded it for a long time and after the election Agriculture Minister Jim Paice - a farmer himself - announced a public consultation into how it should be implemented in England.
While supporting the trust's decision to carry out the pilot programme, the NFU said vaccines formed part of the long-term solution but did not address the "desperate plight" that many farmers currently found themselves in.
"Current vaccination methods of injecting badgers is costly, and practically challenging with the benefits remaining unclear, and unproven," Melanie Hall, the NFU's regional director for South-West England told BBC News.
"As the vaccine is preventative, [it is] unlikely to impact positively on infected badgers."
Nationwide, nearly 35,000 cattle were slaughtered last year and there is no vaccine yet that can be used in cattle.
The government believes a cull would reduce disease incidence in cattle by 16% over nine years.
A spokesman for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affair (Defra) welcomed the National Trust's plans to run a vaccine pilot project.
He added: "There's no one solution to tackling TB, and the badger vaccine we developed is one of the tools we have available.
"We will be announcing a comprehensive and balanced TB Eradication Programme for England as soon as possible."
Ministers were expected to publish their plans to deal with bovine TB in the national herd in February; but amid turmoil over the disposal of nationally-owned forests, the announcement was postponed, and is now expected next month.
Meanwhile, the Welsh Assembly Government has announced new plans for a pilot cull in Pembrokeshire this year, after a legal ruling derailed similar plans last year.
Animal rights campaigners are to challenge the new plans in the courts.
Scientific cloud
Behind the issue lie conflicting interpretations of scientific evidence on the effectiveness of culling.
The Westminster and Cardiff governments and the NFU argue that culling can markedly reduce bovine TB incidence in cattle.
But the major UK investigation, the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (also called the Krebs trial), showed culling only produced a benefit if conducted rigorously and systematically over large areas, ideally with hard boundaries that badgers could not cross.
Otherwise, the social structure of badger groups broke down when some were killed, and the animals ranged further afield - infecting more cattle and leading to increased TB incidence.
"We're not against culling badgers if it's going to be effective in curbing bovine TB, but you can't apply the criteria everywhere that would make it effective," Mr Bullock told BBC News.
"Unless you have boundaries, you may have this effect where badgers move around and spread TB - we know from the science that this does happen."
Scientists who ran the Krebs trial have warned the government that its plan to allow shooting of badgers as they roam was likely to be less effective than the trap-and-shoot method deployed during the trial.
On that basis, they said, culling "risks increasing rather than reducing the incidence of cattle TB".
In the Irish Republic, culling has been practised for many years and does appear to have curbed bovine TB; but scientists involved with that programme say the disease will not be eradicated without vaccination.
The National Trust argues that vaccination could prove to be a more effective option than culling, in conjunction with tightened regulations designed to prevent cattle-to-cattle transmission.
This would also, of course, avoid killing badgers, which are a protected species under UK and EU laws.
Eventually, the aim is to have an oral vaccine that badgers would simply eat, avoiding any need for trapping; but that is thought to be five years away.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13121520
(Via Dawn Holloway)
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Mad cow drags police officer along country road
Stand-off as animal now penned inside field ...
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
A cow ran down four people, including a police officer, after it escaped from a market and ran wild along a busy road in the Republic of Ireland
The animal had escaped from the market on the Quin Road, Ennis, Co Clare, and was so dangerously out of control that efforts by a vet to put it down were abandoned for safety reasons.
The cow was eventually herded back to the mart but it failed to calm down. Several farmers later forced the animal in to a nearby field.
Earlier, a garda who had been trying to corral the cow was knocked over and dragged along the road by the animal.
Several members of the public who had also tried to bring the animal under control were also knocked over.
The garda and three others sustained only minor injuries and did not require hospital treatment. Last night the cow remained penned inside the field but concerns that it could escape and cause further chaos remained.
ISPCA animal welfare officer Frankie Coote refused to rule out the possibility that the cow would have to be put down.
Mr Coote, who was also called to the scene, said: "This cow was rogue and was out of control. This was a serious situation and rogue animals like this can be extremely dangerous. Members of the public should never try to approach an agitated animal like this. I was shocked to see the people ignore warnings from the guards to get out of the way.
"People should consider their own safety first, take cover and raise the alarm."
One local woman said: "I have never seen anything like that in my life. I thought it was a bull but it goes to show that a cow can be just as dangerous. I can't believe no one was killed."
Source Irish Independent
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/republic-of-ireland/mad-cow-drags-police-officer-along-country-road-15064542.html
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
A cow ran down four people, including a police officer, after it escaped from a market and ran wild along a busy road in the Republic of Ireland
The animal had escaped from the market on the Quin Road, Ennis, Co Clare, and was so dangerously out of control that efforts by a vet to put it down were abandoned for safety reasons.
The cow was eventually herded back to the mart but it failed to calm down. Several farmers later forced the animal in to a nearby field.
Earlier, a garda who had been trying to corral the cow was knocked over and dragged along the road by the animal.
Several members of the public who had also tried to bring the animal under control were also knocked over.
The garda and three others sustained only minor injuries and did not require hospital treatment. Last night the cow remained penned inside the field but concerns that it could escape and cause further chaos remained.
ISPCA animal welfare officer Frankie Coote refused to rule out the possibility that the cow would have to be put down.
Mr Coote, who was also called to the scene, said: "This cow was rogue and was out of control. This was a serious situation and rogue animals like this can be extremely dangerous. Members of the public should never try to approach an agitated animal like this. I was shocked to see the people ignore warnings from the guards to get out of the way.
"People should consider their own safety first, take cover and raise the alarm."
One local woman said: "I have never seen anything like that in my life. I thought it was a bull but it goes to show that a cow can be just as dangerous. I can't believe no one was killed."
Source Irish Independent
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/republic-of-ireland/mad-cow-drags-police-officer-along-country-road-15064542.html
Mad cow drags police officer along country road
Stand-off as animal now penned inside field ...
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
A cow ran down four people, including a police officer, after it escaped from a market and ran wild along a busy road in the Republic of Ireland
The animal had escaped from the market on the Quin Road, Ennis, Co Clare, and was so dangerously out of control that efforts by a vet to put it down were abandoned for safety reasons.
The cow was eventually herded back to the mart but it failed to calm down. Several farmers later forced the animal in to a nearby field.
Earlier, a garda who had been trying to corral the cow was knocked over and dragged along the road by the animal.
Several members of the public who had also tried to bring the animal under control were also knocked over.
The garda and three others sustained only minor injuries and did not require hospital treatment. Last night the cow remained penned inside the field but concerns that it could escape and cause further chaos remained.
ISPCA animal welfare officer Frankie Coote refused to rule out the possibility that the cow would have to be put down.
Mr Coote, who was also called to the scene, said: "This cow was rogue and was out of control. This was a serious situation and rogue animals like this can be extremely dangerous. Members of the public should never try to approach an agitated animal like this. I was shocked to see the people ignore warnings from the guards to get out of the way.
"People should consider their own safety first, take cover and raise the alarm."
One local woman said: "I have never seen anything like that in my life. I thought it was a bull but it goes to show that a cow can be just as dangerous. I can't believe no one was killed."
Source Irish Independent
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/republic-of-ireland/mad-cow-drags-police-officer-along-country-road-15064542.html
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
A cow ran down four people, including a police officer, after it escaped from a market and ran wild along a busy road in the Republic of Ireland
The animal had escaped from the market on the Quin Road, Ennis, Co Clare, and was so dangerously out of control that efforts by a vet to put it down were abandoned for safety reasons.
The cow was eventually herded back to the mart but it failed to calm down. Several farmers later forced the animal in to a nearby field.
Earlier, a garda who had been trying to corral the cow was knocked over and dragged along the road by the animal.
Several members of the public who had also tried to bring the animal under control were also knocked over.
The garda and three others sustained only minor injuries and did not require hospital treatment. Last night the cow remained penned inside the field but concerns that it could escape and cause further chaos remained.
ISPCA animal welfare officer Frankie Coote refused to rule out the possibility that the cow would have to be put down.
Mr Coote, who was also called to the scene, said: "This cow was rogue and was out of control. This was a serious situation and rogue animals like this can be extremely dangerous. Members of the public should never try to approach an agitated animal like this. I was shocked to see the people ignore warnings from the guards to get out of the way.
"People should consider their own safety first, take cover and raise the alarm."
One local woman said: "I have never seen anything like that in my life. I thought it was a bull but it goes to show that a cow can be just as dangerous. I can't believe no one was killed."
Source Irish Independent
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/republic-of-ireland/mad-cow-drags-police-officer-along-country-road-15064542.html
Saturday, January 15, 2011
200 Dead Cows Found In Wisconsin Field
January 15, 2011 10:01 AM
TOWN OF STOCKTON, Wis. (AP) — An investigation is under way after 200 dead cows were found in a field in the Town of Stockton.
The Portage County sheriff’s office says the owner of the cattle has been working with a local veterinarian and it’s believed the animals died from the IBR/BVD virus. The virus can cause respiratory and reproductive problems.
WSAW reports samples from the dead cows have been sent to Madison for testing.
Authorities say there is no threat to humans or other animals.
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/01/15/200-dead-cows-found-in-wisconsin-field/
(Submitted by D.R. Shoop)
TOWN OF STOCKTON, Wis. (AP) — An investigation is under way after 200 dead cows were found in a field in the Town of Stockton.
The Portage County sheriff’s office says the owner of the cattle has been working with a local veterinarian and it’s believed the animals died from the IBR/BVD virus. The virus can cause respiratory and reproductive problems.
WSAW reports samples from the dead cows have been sent to Madison for testing.
Authorities say there is no threat to humans or other animals.
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/01/15/200-dead-cows-found-in-wisconsin-field/
(Submitted by D.R. Shoop)
200 Dead Cows Found In Wisconsin Field
January 15, 2011 10:01 AM
TOWN OF STOCKTON, Wis. (AP) — An investigation is under way after 200 dead cows were found in a field in the Town of Stockton.
The Portage County sheriff’s office says the owner of the cattle has been working with a local veterinarian and it’s believed the animals died from the IBR/BVD virus. The virus can cause respiratory and reproductive problems.
WSAW reports samples from the dead cows have been sent to Madison for testing.
Authorities say there is no threat to humans or other animals.
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/01/15/200-dead-cows-found-in-wisconsin-field/
(Submitted by D.R. Shoop)
TOWN OF STOCKTON, Wis. (AP) — An investigation is under way after 200 dead cows were found in a field in the Town of Stockton.
The Portage County sheriff’s office says the owner of the cattle has been working with a local veterinarian and it’s believed the animals died from the IBR/BVD virus. The virus can cause respiratory and reproductive problems.
WSAW reports samples from the dead cows have been sent to Madison for testing.
Authorities say there is no threat to humans or other animals.
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/01/15/200-dead-cows-found-in-wisconsin-field/
(Submitted by D.R. Shoop)
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Two-headed calf born in Georgia
Story Published: Jan 7, 2011 at 8:59 AM PST
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) - A cow in Georgia has given birth to a two-headed calf.
Farmer Irakli Dzhgarkava, shown with the calf on Imedi television, says the cow is refusing to allow her strange offspring to suckle, so they are giving it milk from a bottle.
He says the calf eats with both heads.
Friday's television report says people have been coming to the village of Martvili to see the grayish-brown calf since it was born Jan. 2.
The village is located in western Georgia, about 280 kilometers (170 miles) from the capital, Tbilisi.
http://www.keprtv.com/news/offbeat/113078174.html
Two-headed calf born in Georgia
Story Published: Jan 7, 2011 at 8:59 AM PST
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) - A cow in Georgia has given birth to a two-headed calf.
Farmer Irakli Dzhgarkava, shown with the calf on Imedi television, says the cow is refusing to allow her strange offspring to suckle, so they are giving it milk from a bottle.
He says the calf eats with both heads.
Friday's television report says people have been coming to the village of Martvili to see the grayish-brown calf since it was born Jan. 2.
The village is located in western Georgia, about 280 kilometers (170 miles) from the capital, Tbilisi.
http://www.keprtv.com/news/offbeat/113078174.html
Friday, January 7, 2011
Rare panda cow born on farm near Campion
 |
Reporter-Herald/Tom Hacker Chris Jessen holds Ben, a newborn miniature panda calf, on Friday as its mother, Bella, alowline Angus cow, stands by in her stall on Jessen’s farm east of Campion. |
It is safe to say that Ben is the last miniature panda cow born anywhere in 2010.
In fact, he has few peers, being a calf and one of only 24 of the scarce breed in the world.
At just after 8 a.m. Friday, on a farm east of Campion, Ben entered the world after mother Bella, a lowline Angus cow, spent a zero-degree night in labor in her stall.
Two hours later, still wet and shivering, the tiny calf snuggled against his diminutive mother.
“We’ll get him bundled up pretty soon,” said Chris Jessen, who has miniature donkeys, other miniature cattle breeds and even a wallaby — a miniature kangaroo — on his hobby farm.
“We’ve got a regular petting zoo, here,” wife Pam Jessen said.
It could have been even more so, with the Jessens having explored the idea of raising reindeer, and even camels, on their acreage.
Ben’s namesake is Chris Jessen’s brother, also born on New Year’s Eve.
“He was the first person I called this morning,” he said.
The miniature panda cow is the result of 44 years of genetic manipulation by Richard Gradwohl, a farmer in Covington, Wash., about 20 miles southeast of Seattle.
A white belt encircling the animal’s midsection, and the white face with black ovals around the eyes, give the cow an appearance that is very much panda-like.
“We had a Chinese delegation visit our farm, and they were fascinated,” Gradwohl said in a telephone interview Friday. “They want them in China, so we’re going to be exporting.”
He describes the breed that he has trademarked as an eight-breed composite, drawing on previous strains of miniature cattle that he also developed.
“There are 26 breeds of miniature cattle in the world, and we developed 18 of them,” said Gradwohl who has seven of the existing 24 panda cows on his Happy Mountain Farm.
Miniature panda calves sell for as much as $30,000 from Gradwohl’s online clearinghouse for mini-cow aficionados. While Chris Jessen said he’ll likely sell Ben, his price has not been set.
As a small entourage cleared the gate leading to the stall where Ben and Bella were recovering from their ordeal, Molly and Bacco, the two miniature donkeys, greeted them.
“They get a little nippy,” Jessen said. “They like to tug at you.”
Right on cue, one of the donkeys grabbed a sleeve and gave it a gentle pull.
Bella and Ben stood together while the sire, a miniature panda bull named Donovan, watched from an adjacent stall.
“They’re so small that they don’t fit in a calf blanket, so we had to get him a lamb blanket,” Jessen said, preparing to outfit Ben for another frigid day and night.
The mini-cattle are bred solely as pets and can be welcomed into owners’ homes without causing any mayhem.
“Once he feeds, I’ll start working with him,” he said. “Cows are very social animals. They like people. He’ll come into the house eventually.”
In fact, by Friday afternoon, Ben was snug in the Jessens’ laundry room, still drying out.
“He’s good,” Pam Jessen said. “He’s going to be just fine.”
http://www.reporterherald.com/news_story.asp?ID=30617
Rare panda cow born on farm near Campion
|
Reporter-Herald/Tom Hacker Chris Jessen holds Ben, a newborn miniature panda calf, on Friday as its mother, Bella, alowline Angus cow, stands by in her stall on Jessen’s farm east of Campion. |
It is safe to say that Ben is the last miniature panda cow born anywhere in 2010.
In fact, he has few peers, being a calf and one of only 24 of the scarce breed in the world.
At just after 8 a.m. Friday, on a farm east of Campion, Ben entered the world after mother Bella, a lowline Angus cow, spent a zero-degree night in labor in her stall.
Two hours later, still wet and shivering, the tiny calf snuggled against his diminutive mother.
“We’ll get him bundled up pretty soon,” said Chris Jessen, who has miniature donkeys, other miniature cattle breeds and even a wallaby — a miniature kangaroo — on his hobby farm.
“We’ve got a regular petting zoo, here,” wife Pam Jessen said.
It could have been even more so, with the Jessens having explored the idea of raising reindeer, and even camels, on their acreage.
Ben’s namesake is Chris Jessen’s brother, also born on New Year’s Eve.
“He was the first person I called this morning,” he said.
The miniature panda cow is the result of 44 years of genetic manipulation by Richard Gradwohl, a farmer in Covington, Wash., about 20 miles southeast of Seattle.
A white belt encircling the animal’s midsection, and the white face with black ovals around the eyes, give the cow an appearance that is very much panda-like.
“We had a Chinese delegation visit our farm, and they were fascinated,” Gradwohl said in a telephone interview Friday. “They want them in China, so we’re going to be exporting.”
He describes the breed that he has trademarked as an eight-breed composite, drawing on previous strains of miniature cattle that he also developed.
“There are 26 breeds of miniature cattle in the world, and we developed 18 of them,” said Gradwohl who has seven of the existing 24 panda cows on his Happy Mountain Farm.
Miniature panda calves sell for as much as $30,000 from Gradwohl’s online clearinghouse for mini-cow aficionados. While Chris Jessen said he’ll likely sell Ben, his price has not been set.
As a small entourage cleared the gate leading to the stall where Ben and Bella were recovering from their ordeal, Molly and Bacco, the two miniature donkeys, greeted them.
“They get a little nippy,” Jessen said. “They like to tug at you.”
Right on cue, one of the donkeys grabbed a sleeve and gave it a gentle pull.
Bella and Ben stood together while the sire, a miniature panda bull named Donovan, watched from an adjacent stall.
“They’re so small that they don’t fit in a calf blanket, so we had to get him a lamb blanket,” Jessen said, preparing to outfit Ben for another frigid day and night.
The mini-cattle are bred solely as pets and can be welcomed into owners’ homes without causing any mayhem.
“Once he feeds, I’ll start working with him,” he said. “Cows are very social animals. They like people. He’ll come into the house eventually.”
In fact, by Friday afternoon, Ben was snug in the Jessens’ laundry room, still drying out.
“He’s good,” Pam Jessen said. “He’s going to be just fine.”
http://www.reporterherald.com/news_story.asp?ID=30617
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Couple Hunts Serial Cow Killer
Posted: 3:19 pm EDT September 30, 2010Updated: 10:43 am EDT October 1, 2010
HALL COUNTY -- A Hall County family has spent nearly a year searching for answers in the mutilation deaths of their cattle.
Kathy and John Cooper said they discovered their latest dead cow on their pasture on Monday. It was the 20th cow they’ve lost, and once again someone had removed its genitals and udders.
PHOTOS: 20 Cows Mutilated
"It's just frustration like somebody robbed you," John told Channel 2’s Kerry Kavanaugh.
The Coopers said they believe someone is poisoning their cattle then mutilating them in the middle of the night.
"It's almost like a surgically removed cut," Kathy said.
The couple has called the Hall County Sheriff's Office after each incident, but authorities are just as confused. Investigators said they’re stumped because the culprits don't even leave behind any footprints.
"They are like us, they scratch their heads and can't make sense out of it," said John.
The Coopers said they try to ride the pasture more frequently and look for tracks or clues, but so far, they haven't found anything.
"It's a waste. They're 700-800 pound cows laying on the ground that nobody benefits from," said Kathy.
The Coopers are offering a reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information is asked to call the Hall County Sheriff's office at 770-531-6879.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/25228737/detail.html
HALL COUNTY -- A Hall County family has spent nearly a year searching for answers in the mutilation deaths of their cattle.
Kathy and John Cooper said they discovered their latest dead cow on their pasture on Monday. It was the 20th cow they’ve lost, and once again someone had removed its genitals and udders.
PHOTOS: 20 Cows Mutilated
"It's just frustration like somebody robbed you," John told Channel 2’s Kerry Kavanaugh.
The Coopers said they believe someone is poisoning their cattle then mutilating them in the middle of the night.
"It's almost like a surgically removed cut," Kathy said.
The couple has called the Hall County Sheriff's Office after each incident, but authorities are just as confused. Investigators said they’re stumped because the culprits don't even leave behind any footprints.
"They are like us, they scratch their heads and can't make sense out of it," said John.
The Coopers said they try to ride the pasture more frequently and look for tracks or clues, but so far, they haven't found anything.
"It's a waste. They're 700-800 pound cows laying on the ground that nobody benefits from," said Kathy.
The Coopers are offering a reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information is asked to call the Hall County Sheriff's office at 770-531-6879.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/25228737/detail.html
Couple Hunts Serial Cow Killer
Posted: 3:19 pm EDT September 30, 2010Updated: 10:43 am EDT October 1, 2010
HALL COUNTY -- A Hall County family has spent nearly a year searching for answers in the mutilation deaths of their cattle.
Kathy and John Cooper said they discovered their latest dead cow on their pasture on Monday. It was the 20th cow they’ve lost, and once again someone had removed its genitals and udders.
PHOTOS: 20 Cows Mutilated
"It's just frustration like somebody robbed you," John told Channel 2’s Kerry Kavanaugh.
The Coopers said they believe someone is poisoning their cattle then mutilating them in the middle of the night.
"It's almost like a surgically removed cut," Kathy said.
The couple has called the Hall County Sheriff's Office after each incident, but authorities are just as confused. Investigators said they’re stumped because the culprits don't even leave behind any footprints.
"They are like us, they scratch their heads and can't make sense out of it," said John.
The Coopers said they try to ride the pasture more frequently and look for tracks or clues, but so far, they haven't found anything.
"It's a waste. They're 700-800 pound cows laying on the ground that nobody benefits from," said Kathy.
The Coopers are offering a reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information is asked to call the Hall County Sheriff's office at 770-531-6879.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/25228737/detail.html
HALL COUNTY -- A Hall County family has spent nearly a year searching for answers in the mutilation deaths of their cattle.
Kathy and John Cooper said they discovered their latest dead cow on their pasture on Monday. It was the 20th cow they’ve lost, and once again someone had removed its genitals and udders.
PHOTOS: 20 Cows Mutilated
"It's just frustration like somebody robbed you," John told Channel 2’s Kerry Kavanaugh.
The Coopers said they believe someone is poisoning their cattle then mutilating them in the middle of the night.
"It's almost like a surgically removed cut," Kathy said.
The couple has called the Hall County Sheriff's Office after each incident, but authorities are just as confused. Investigators said they’re stumped because the culprits don't even leave behind any footprints.
"They are like us, they scratch their heads and can't make sense out of it," said John.
The Coopers said they try to ride the pasture more frequently and look for tracks or clues, but so far, they haven't found anything.
"It's a waste. They're 700-800 pound cows laying on the ground that nobody benefits from," said Kathy.
The Coopers are offering a reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information is asked to call the Hall County Sheriff's office at 770-531-6879.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/25228737/detail.html
Monday, August 23, 2010
Spain anti-bullfighting groups protest in Bilbao
Sunday August 22, 06:43 AM
MADRID (Reuters) - About 100 almost naked anti-bullfighting campaigners lay down outside the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao on Saturday in a protest coinciding with the start of the northern Spanish city's annual bullfight festival.
The demonstration followed the Catalan parliament's decision last month to ban bullfighting in that region from 2012, outlawing the centuries-old spectacle for the first time in mainland Spain.
The activists from the animal welfare groups AnimaNaturalis, Equanimal and CAS International lay down in the shape of a bull, their bodies smeared with black or red paint to simulate blood.
"Catalonia has been the first Spanish region to ban bullfighting and will be an example for others," said Aida Gascon, director of AnimaNaturalis in Spain.
The Catalan move was seen as partly driven by separatist sentiment in a region which is keen to differentiate itself from Spain.
Bilbao is the main city in Spain's Basque Country, which also has a fervent separatist movement but a strong bullfighting tradition. Over the nine-day Bilbao festival, Spain's top matadors will kill 54 bulls.
The bulllight debate was enlivened this week at a festival in the small Navarran town of Tafalla, when a bull vaulted over the ring's barrier into the crowd and hurt about 40 spectators before it was brought under control.
(Reporting by Judy MacInnes and Jesus Buitrago; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
http://nz.entertainment.yahoo.com/100821/5/l2wo.html
MADRID (Reuters) - About 100 almost naked anti-bullfighting campaigners lay down outside the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao on Saturday in a protest coinciding with the start of the northern Spanish city's annual bullfight festival.
The demonstration followed the Catalan parliament's decision last month to ban bullfighting in that region from 2012, outlawing the centuries-old spectacle for the first time in mainland Spain.
The activists from the animal welfare groups AnimaNaturalis, Equanimal and CAS International lay down in the shape of a bull, their bodies smeared with black or red paint to simulate blood.
"Catalonia has been the first Spanish region to ban bullfighting and will be an example for others," said Aida Gascon, director of AnimaNaturalis in Spain.
The Catalan move was seen as partly driven by separatist sentiment in a region which is keen to differentiate itself from Spain.
Bilbao is the main city in Spain's Basque Country, which also has a fervent separatist movement but a strong bullfighting tradition. Over the nine-day Bilbao festival, Spain's top matadors will kill 54 bulls.
The bulllight debate was enlivened this week at a festival in the small Navarran town of Tafalla, when a bull vaulted over the ring's barrier into the crowd and hurt about 40 spectators before it was brought under control.
(Reporting by Judy MacInnes and Jesus Buitrago; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
http://nz.entertainment.yahoo.com/100821/5/l2wo.html
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Cow's underground adventure
13 August 2010A Chinese farmer spent four days searching for his missing cow - only to discover she'd somehow made her way into the sewers under his village.
Locals in Fujian province, eastern China, had been mystified by the sound of mooing coming up from the ground.
But they didn't realise what had happened until the beast popped her head through an open manhole.
Animal lovers kept her busy with handfuls of grass until owner Sheng Hsueh could set up a makeshift winch to haul her back to the surface.
"She didn't seem upset by her ordeal." said local Wang Hsia, 48, "As soon as they cut her free she found a patch of grass and started grazing."
http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Cows_underground_adventure
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Cow Gives Birth To A Pig: Photo
IN Zimbabwe, a cow has given birth to a pig. (You don’t get this with cloned beef, readers!)Mr Tinos Mberi of Chatsworth, Masvingo, was amazed. He regains his composure to tell us:
“The whole body and size was that of a piglet. The nose and mouth was like that of a pig, except that it did not have a hairy body.”
How did this come about? Maybe the piglet as trying to crawl in and not come out? Mr Mberi has his own theory:
“I think it is the work of some black magicians. How can anyone explain such a horrible occurrence? It is the work of black magicians who are trying to scare me off the land.”
Masvingo Provincial Veterinary Officer, Dr Ernest Dzimwasha, offers his version of the happening:
“It was simply a deformed calf that looked like a pig. Some deformed calves may look like monsters and we also have some that are known as bulldog-calves. These may look like a bulldog but it’s all due to deformities, just like in human beings.”
A calf thing looks like bulldog!? It’s the ultimate dog food. Get Kim Jong-Il on the phone. We have a solution!
http://www.anorak.co.uk/255047/strange-but-true/cow-gives-birth-to-a-pig-photo.html
Beef from offspring of clone eaten
3 August 2010 08:45pm
Meat from the offspring of a cloned cow entered the food chain last year and was eaten, the Food Standards Agency has revealed.
And experts have admitted they do not know how many embryos from cloned animals have been imported into Britain.
FSA chief executive Tim Smith stressed that there were no health risks associated with eating meat or drinking milk from the descendants of cloned cows.
Two bulls born in the UK from embryos harvested from a cloned cow have been slaughtered, one of which "will have been eaten" while the other was stopped from entering the food chain.
The revelation came amid an FSA probe into whether any matter from cows born of a clone have been used in food production.
Under European law, foodstuffs, including milk, produced from cloned animals must pass a safety evaluation and gain authorisation before they are marketed. But the FSA said it had neither made any authorisations nor been asked to do so.
An investigation was launched in the wake of claims that a British farmer had admitted using milk in his daily production without labelling it as from the offspring of a cloned cow.The FSA said on Tuesday that it had traced a single animal, Dundee Paradise, believed to be part of a dairy herd, but could not confirm that its milk had entered the food chain.
Mr Smith told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "There's a live investigation going on at the moment and, whilst we have got a first-class cattle tracing scheme, what we don't know is precisely how many embryos have been imported into the country."
He said such a situation was "inevitable", adding: "It's a bit like the police being there and us expecting no crime. However good the system is, it relies on the honesty of those people participating.
"It's impossible for us to stand by each animal and watch it through each phase of its life cycle."
http://latestnews.virginmedia.com/news/uk/2010/08/03/cloned_cow_offspring_in_food_chain
Meat from the offspring of a cloned cow entered the food chain last year and was eaten, the Food Standards Agency has revealed.
And experts have admitted they do not know how many embryos from cloned animals have been imported into Britain.
FSA chief executive Tim Smith stressed that there were no health risks associated with eating meat or drinking milk from the descendants of cloned cows.
Two bulls born in the UK from embryos harvested from a cloned cow have been slaughtered, one of which "will have been eaten" while the other was stopped from entering the food chain.
The revelation came amid an FSA probe into whether any matter from cows born of a clone have been used in food production.
Under European law, foodstuffs, including milk, produced from cloned animals must pass a safety evaluation and gain authorisation before they are marketed. But the FSA said it had neither made any authorisations nor been asked to do so.
An investigation was launched in the wake of claims that a British farmer had admitted using milk in his daily production without labelling it as from the offspring of a cloned cow.The FSA said on Tuesday that it had traced a single animal, Dundee Paradise, believed to be part of a dairy herd, but could not confirm that its milk had entered the food chain.
Mr Smith told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "There's a live investigation going on at the moment and, whilst we have got a first-class cattle tracing scheme, what we don't know is precisely how many embryos have been imported into the country."
He said such a situation was "inevitable", adding: "It's a bit like the police being there and us expecting no crime. However good the system is, it relies on the honesty of those people participating.
"It's impossible for us to stand by each animal and watch it through each phase of its life cycle."
http://latestnews.virginmedia.com/news/uk/2010/08/03/cloned_cow_offspring_in_food_chain
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