Search

The risk of accidental poisoning of birds may be reduced by adding an aversive-tasting chemical to granular pesticides. The efficacy of eight taste repellents in deterring consumption was therefore evaluated in a game species, the northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus). Avoidance was measured using a two-cup preference test in which treated feeds were paired with untreated feeds in one experiment, and against other treated feeds in another experiment. All repellents tested were significantly avoided without evidence of habituation during the 5-d test period. The most effective repellents were d-pulegone and quinine hydrochloride. Methyl anthranilate, 2-heptanone, and lithium chloride also performed reasonably well, whereas sucrose octaacetate and cinnamaldehyde performed relatively poorly. The d-pulegone was further evaluated using a one-cup test with treated clay granules. The effects of adding d-pulegone and/or a red dye (erythrosine) were evaluated with a two-way factorial design. Addition of d-pulegone strongly reduced consumption of granules (p

This part updates the underlying report: The welfare of chickens kept for meat production (2000, available at http://ec.europa.eu/food/fs/sc/scah/out39_en.pdf).