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The present study aimed to investigate in the field the effect of the presence of cattle on red deer behavioural patterns, in order to provide information that could be used to improve land management strategies. The research was carried out in a summer range at 1500 m a.s.l. in the Italian Central Alps. Observations were conducted at dawn and at dusk from June to September for four consecutive years. Using a focal animal sampling technique, 179 focal observations were made on deer for 10 min each. On the summer range, overall deer spent most of their time feeding (52.86% of time) and moving (24.95% of time), showing that the study site was used principally as a feeding area. The proportion of time dedicated to resting and comfort behaviours (lying, ruminating and self-grooming) was very low. The general presence of cattle on the summer range did not affect most behavioural patterns of deer, except for the percentage of time spent alert, which was higher in the presence of cattle (P<0.05). Deer observed in the same square grid unit (GU; 6.25 ha) with cattle spent more time standing (P<0.01), moving (P<0.001) and alert (P<0.05) and less time feeding (P<0.001) than deer further away from cattle. The time spent performing resting and comfort behaviours was higher when deer were far from cattle, although these differences were not statistically significant. Despite this, when cattle were present on the summer range, about one third of the deer were observed close to them. Independently from the contingent presence or absence of cattle or from their proximity, deer spent more time feeding (P<0.001) and less time moving (P<0.001) and standing (P<0.001) in areas subjected to higher cattle grazing pressure (with an index of presence of cattle higher than 0.5 animals/h/ha), suggesting that these areas were preferred for feeding activity, probably due the fact that cattle grazing helps to improve the quality of the pasture. Only six “aggressive” interactions without physical contact and one “play” interaction were recorded between deer and cattle over the whole study period. Deer were never observed to win an interaction with cattle, possibly due to their smaller body size. Despite modifications to red deer behaviour in response to cattle proximity, the general disturbance produced by cattle is limited and their presence may be tolerated by deer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Investigates the prevalence of cilia-associated respiratory (CAR) bacillus infection in rabbits reared for meat production in Italy. Correlation between presence of CAR bacillus and inflammatory lesions of respiratory tract; Warthin-Starry method.

This study was conducted within the context of the Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) project and the underlying scientific motivation for the development of the study was the scarcity of data regarding inter-observer reliability (IOR) of welfare indicators, particularly given the importance of reliability as a further step for developing on-farm welfare assessment protocols. The objective of this study is therefore to evaluate IOR of animal-based indicators (at group and individual-level) of the AWIN welfare assessment protocol (prototype) for dairy goats. In the design of the study, two pairs of observers, one in Portugal and another in Italy, visited 10 farms each and applied the AWIN prototype protocol. Farms in both countries were visited between January and March 2014, and all the observers received the same training before the farm visits were initiated. Data collected during farm visits, and analysed in this study, include group-level and individual-level observations. The results of our study allow us to conclude that most of the group-level indicators presented the highest IOR level ('substantial', 0.85 to 0.99) in both field studies, pointing to a usable set of animal-based welfare indicators that were therefore included in the first level of the final AWIN welfare assessment protocol for dairy goats. Inter-observer reliability of individual-level indicators was lower, but the majority of them still reached 'fair to good' (0.41 to 0.75) and 'excellent' (0.76 to 1) levels. In the paper we explore reasons for the differences found in IOR between the group and individual-level indicators, including how the number of individual-level indicators to be assessed on each animal and the restraining method may have affected the results. Furthermore, we discuss the differences found in the IOR of individual-level indicators in both countries: the Portuguese pair of observers reached a higher level of IOR, when compared with the Italian observers. We argue how the reasons behind these differences may stem from the restraining method applied, or the different background and experience of the observers. Finally, the discussion of the results emphasizes the importance of considering that reliability is not an absolute attribute of an indicator, but derives from an interaction between the indicators, the observers and the situation in which the assessment is taking place. This highlights the importance of further considering the indicators' reliability while developing welfare assessment protocols.

Leptospirosis is an important zoonotic disease diffused worldwide, and wildlife species are commonly considered to be important epidemiological carriers. Four-hundred and forty-one serological and 198 renal samples from red deer, roe deer and chamois collected in the Province of Sondrio were analysed using the microscopic agglutination test and histopathologic examination. Positive serological findings were found only in 15 red deer and 19 positive serologic reactions were recorded. The most frequent serovars were Bratislava and Grippotyphosa, followed by Pomona, Hardjo and Copenhagheni. Twenty-two per cent of renal samples from seropositive red deer were affected by mild to moderate multifocal chronic lymphoplasmacytic and fibrosing tubulo-interstitial nephritis, mainly involving the cortical parenchyma. In this study, antibodies to Leptospira spp. were infrequent in wild ruminants, and only red deer seemed to be sensitive to the infection. Given the low presence and the fact that there was no record of Leptospira spp. infections in cattle, sheep, goats and also hunters in area during the study period, wild ruminants in Alpine environments cannot be considered as reservoirs or important sources of Leptospira spp. infection for humans or domestic animals.

The aim of this investigation was to compare the prevalence of indicators of poor welfare among 5 Italian cattle breeds (Italian Holstein-Friesian, Italian Bruna, Pezzata Rossa Italiana, Grigia Alpina, and Pezzata Rossa d'Oropa) kept in tie-stalls in the Italian Alps under similar housing and management conditions. We recorded the presence of integument alterations (hairless patch areas, lesion/swollen areas, or overgrown claws) and lameness in 612 cows. Additionally, we checked 834 cows for the presence of physical malformations ("open" shoulders). In general, the prevalence of welfare problems showed a decreasing trend from the more productive to the less productive breeds. Local breeds (Grigia Alpina and Pezzata Rossa d'Oropa) showed a significantly lower prevalence of welfare problems compared with the other 3 breeds, whereas Italian Holstein-Friesian usually had the highest percentage of individuals with problems. No differences were found between Pezzata Rossa Italiana and Italian Bruna, both of which showed fewer problems than Italian Holstein-Friesian. The effect of the breed significantly affected the welfare of dairy cows in tie-stalls in alpine traditional husbandry systems. The prevalence of the negative welfare indicators studied was lower in local breeds, which are better adapted to local breeding conditions. Our results indicate an urgent need to promote changes in the criteria used for genetic selection in the dairy industry and underline the importance of maintaining the diversity of local breeds, which should be carefully chosen for each specific environmental condition., (Copyright © 2011 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The present study monitored daily and seasonal variations of rectal temperature in response to different environmental temperatures in alpacas bred in the Italian Apennines at 300 m a.s.l. In each season, the rectal temperature of 33 clinically healthy alpacas was measured three times/day (morning, midday, afternoon). Ambient temperatures were also recorded. Rectal temperatures ranged from a minimum value of 35.1 to a maximum of 39.4°C, with a maximum daily thermal excursion (ΔT(rec)) of 3.2°C. Temperatures increased throughout the day, with highly significant differences recorded in both young and adult animals between all the time bands (P < 0.001). These differences were particularly dramatic for adults in summer, when the mean rectal temperature in the morning was 36.3 ± 0.13°C, probably as a consequence of recent shearing. Significant ΔT(rec) differences were recorded depending on the season in both young and adult animals (P < 0.001), with the highest ΔT(rec) values recorded in summer (although the highest daily ambient excursion value was recorded in winter). In conclusion, similarly to alpacas bred in their natural environment, alpacas bred in Italy show a wide thermal neutrality zone, which is probably an adaptive response, that allows the animals to save energy. In the Italian Apennines, in order to prevent situations of hypothermia, with possible detrimental effects on alpacas' health and welfare, shearing should be carried out only in warm seasons.

Cilia-associated respiratory (CAR) bacillus is an unclassified bacterium that colonizes the ciliated epithelium of airways in laboratory rats, laboratory mice, and laboratory and conventionally reared rabbits, cattle, goats, and pigs. Data on the prevalence of CAR bacillus infection in wild animals are lacking. The present study demonstrated the occurrence of the organism in wild red deer (Cervus elaphus hippelaphus), chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra), and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) from the Val Fontana in northern Italy. Prevalence ranged from 26% for red deer to 56% for chamois, with a statistically significant negative correlation between CAR bacilli infection and the presence of lymphoid follicles.