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Problemem, z który boryka się wielu opiekunów kotów, jest nieprawidłowe korzystanie zwierząt z kuwety. Mikcja i defekacja poza kuwetą są jednymi z częściej podawanych zachowań przyczyniających się do oddawania kotów do schronisk. Podstawowymi cechami kuwety wymagającymi uwagi są: wielkość, konstrukcja, lokalizacja, dostępność, zapach, czystość i materiał, którym wypełniona jest kuweta. Rynek zoologiczny oferuje wiele rodzajów żwirku, jednak nie każdy wydaje się być odpowiedni. Celem pracy była próba oszacowania preferencji kotów względem dwóch rodzajów podłoża. Obserwacje przeprowadzono w schronisku dla zwierząt na dwóch grupach kotów (wykastrowane i niewykastrowane), podczas dwóch sesji dziennych i dwóch sesji nocnych. Rejestrowano liczbę mikcji i defekacji w kuwetach różniących się rodzajem zastosowanego podłoża. Średnia liczba mikcji i defekacji zrealizowanych w kuwetach o podłożu bentonitowym była większa niż w przypadku podłoża z drewnianego pelletu i dotyczyła obu grup kotów.

The objective of the study was to determine the effects of some factors on the breeding and performance championship results of Hucul horses. The study material were results of the national finals of the breeding and performance championships for Hucul horses held during 2009-2015. These included breeding champion, the Hucul path as well as the endurance-condition tests. The one-way ANOVA and GLM procedure (multivariate ANOVA with interaction effects) were employed to estimate the impact of the analysed variables on the results of the breeding and performance assessment. The current results were, for the Hucul path and endurance-condition tests, significantly lower than for 2013. Individuals that were held in the foothills and mountain areas attained significantly higher scores at the breeding and performance championships. Strong impacts of breeding environment on levels of inbreeding were only observed in cases where the scores in respect of horse movement were at walk (η2 p=0.13; P=0.04), trot (η2 p=0.17; P=0.003) and the results for Hucul path (η2 p=0.18, P=0.002). By far the strongest impact on the assessment for type (η2 p=0.36, P=0.000) and conformation (η2 p=0.32, P=0.006) was exercised by the interaction of age with male line and breeding environment, but in case of rating for movement at walk and trot, it was for the interaction of age with inbreeding and the breeding environment, namely η2 p=0.31, P=0.04; η2 p=0.33, P=0.01 respectively. Dependencies between components of assessment for Hucul horses were correlated at low and medium levels.

The adoption of nonfilial offspring is a rare phenomenon in animals, especially in equines. The case in the study is a spontaneous adoption of a foal by hucul mare in a herd held in natural conditions. The uniqueness of this case is derived from the fact that the foal was accorded maternal care by two mares, the mother and the wet nurse (allosuckler), throughout the rearing period. Suckling frequency for the privileged foal was less than for other foals in the early rearing period. This was, however, higher from the third month with the differences being statistically significant (P

The aim of the studies was an attempt to define dependences between the scores for horses exterior assessment and indicators of movement in walk and trot as well as results for courage test. Exterior assessment is an obligatory test component for Hucul breeds. The assessment covers type, body conformation, movement in walk and trot as well as overall impression and preparedness for exhibition. 116 horses were entered for the 2010 Hucul’s championships in Hawlowice and Rudawka for which 348 judges’ grades were awarded. The highest grade awarded was for overall impression and preparedness for exhibition while the lowest was for trot movement. Analysis of the various components of conformation showed significant variation between the lines. The tests for courage involved measuring length of steps, their frequency and rate in walk and trot. The length for steps in walk was 15.91m, for frequency was 15.86 steps in 15 seconds, with a rate of 25.08m while for trot it was 22.91m, 24.50 steps and 55.60m respectively. A positive correlation between the scores for components of conformation and length of steps in walk was observed. This tendency was distinctively noticeable in the group of individuals representing the Pietrosu and Hroby stallion lines. Among the group of individuals representing Polan stallion line, however, significant positive correlation was observed between scores for type and rate in trot (0.975; p = 0.025) as well as between scores for conformation and rate in walk (0.993; p = 0.007).

Human-dog interactions not only shape interspecies relationships in the social context, but also affect the emotional and psychological state of both man and animal. One consequence of living in a developed and urbanized environment is an increase in the occurrence of civilization diseases, which include psychological and emotional disorders occurring not only in humans, but also in animals. The aim of the study was to analyze selected behavioral problems of dogs in the context of their equivalents among human mental illnesses. Such similarities have been demonstrated in early-development disorders, affective disorders, personality disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorders. The development of knowledge about emotional disorders manifested by dogs may have significant importance in the prevention and treatment of human mental illnesses by providing information about their genesis, neurophysiological basis and heritability.

Badania naukowe na zwierzętach są świadomym i celowym procesem, który pozwala poznawać i wyjaśniać zjawiska wielu dziedzin nauk biologicznych, a przede wszystkim medycznych. Mimo doskonalenia metod badawczych, stosowania technik zastępczych ograniczających populację eksperymentalną zwierząt, ich wykorzystanie w doświadczeniach jest nieuniknione, bez nich nie byłoby postępu w nauce. Kontrowersyjny problem tkwi w aspekcie etycznym, w przyjętych standardach dotyczących ich humanitarnego traktowania – są to przecież istoty żywe, zdolne do odczuwania cierpienia i bólu. Bezpośrednio z przedstawionym problemem związane jest zagadnienie uboju rytualnego, który przez ostatnie lata był przedmiotem dyskusji wielu gremiów. Ubój rytualny posiada bezwzględnie charakter obrzędu religijnego w judaizmie i islamie. Jego akceptacja przez Trybunał Konstytucyjny w Polsce w 2014 r. dała wyraz realizacji jedności wiary Izraela i krajów muzułmańskich. Nauka katolicka Kościoła dopuszcza zadawanie cierpień zwierzętom w takim stopniu, jakim konieczne jest zabezpieczenie potrzeb człowieka przy zachowaniu zasad etycznych i moralnych. W tej kwestii o konieczności prowadzenia dialogu międzyreligijnego i naukowego odnosi się przesłanie zawarte w Encyklice Laudato si’ w numerach: 10, 11, 14, 25, 42, 64, 69, 76, 77, 92, 110, 130, 132, 133, 221.

In many countries completing the performance test requirements is obligatory only for stallions, but some breeders also decide for the assessment of their mares’ performance under standardized conditions. This study is aimed the evaluation of sex related effects on behavioral and physiological reactivity in fearfulness test and performance test scores in Polish warmblood horses of Małopolska breed (22 mares and 34 stallions) assessed at the training station. Equine reactivity to potentially frightening stimuli was assessed in the fearfulness test by behavior scoring and heart rate monitoring. Horses of both sexes were assessed in standardized performance tests accordingly to the rules of performance tests given in the Breeding Program for the Małopolski Horse Breed by the Polish Horse Breeders Association. The mares showed a signifi cantly more quiet response in the fearfulness test in comparison to stallions. A relation among some reactivity and performance traits in both sexes was found. The behavior scores of the fearfulness test were positively correlated with character and temperament only in mares. However, the better the scores for temperament and character the stallions received, the lower the heart rate before testing. The present study demonstrates that temperament and character assessment, as a part of the standardized performance test, should involve not only a subjective trainer’s evaluation, but also a horse reactivity assessment based on objective behavioral tests and heart rate monitoring. The results showed that sex has an effect on behavioral reactivity of horses. Thus, it is important to consider the horses’ sex during selection for a particular type of riding, and performance assessment should be obligatory for both sexes. The assessment of the same performance traits in both, stallions and mares, signifi cantly improves good breeding practice. U mnogim zemljama obavezan je performans test samo za pastuve ali se neki uzgajivači odlučuju da obave i procenu performansi kobila u standardizovanim uslovima. Ispitivanje je vršeno radi procene uticaja pola na ponašanje i reakciju na strah kao i na rezultate performans testa kod poljskih punokrvnjaka (22 kobile i 34 pastuva). Ispitivanja su obavljena na lokaciji gde konji treniraju. Procenjivane su reakcije konja na potencijalnu opasnost, a rezultati testa ponašanja i praćenja srčanog rada prikazani su putem skora. Životinje oba pola su procenjivane na osnovu performans testa, standarizovanog prema kriterijumima Asocijacije odgajivača poljskih konja. Kobile su značajno mirnije reagovale u testu reakcije na opasnost (strah) u poređenju sa pastuvima. Uočena je povezanost pojedinih reakcija kod oba pola. Pozitivna korelacija skora ponašanja i temperamenta u testu opasnosti (strah), uočena je samo kod kobila. Međutim, bolji skorovi za temperament i karakter kod pastuva su uočeni kod životinja sa nižim vrednostima pulsa. Ova studija prikazuje da procena temperamenta i karaktera, kao deo standardizovanog performans testa, treba da obuhvata ne samo subjektivnu procenu trenera nego i objektivnu, testom procenjenu reaktivnost konja, zasnovanu na monitoringu ponašanja i srčanog rada. Na osnovu dobijenih rezultata može se zaključiti da pol ima uticaja na reaktivnost konja. Otuda je važno da se u obzir uzme i pol životinje prilikom odabira za određene tipove jahanja i da performans test bude obavezan za oba pola. Procena istih performans karakteristika za oba pola - pastuve i kobile, značajno poboljšava dobru praksu u uzgoju konja.

The aim of the study was to compare the levels of selected toxic elements in hair of horses of two breeds, held in areas free of industrial pollution. The research was conducted on free range Hucul mares (n=40) and Purebred Arabian mares (n=40) kept in a mixed stable-pasture system. The content of 9 elements (arsenic, barium, cadmium, mercury, germanium, lithium, lead, tin and strontium) was determined in each trial. The hair of Purebred Arabian mares was characterized by significantly higher levels of arsenic, barium, mercury, lead, tin and strontium. The differences were statistically significant. Cadmium and germanium, on the other hand, were significantly higher in the hair of Hucul mares. Lithium was found to be on a similar level in both breeds i.e., 0.150 mg kg–1 of dry mass in Hucul horses and 0.142 mg kg–1 of dry mass in Purebred Arabian horses. There was a significant positive correlation between the levels of mercury and arsenic observed in the hair of horses of both breeds. Arabian mares displayed a very high correlation between the levels of barium and lead, barium and tin, and between tin and lead.

The objective of the study was to assess the degree of preparation of Hucul horses for performance trials during 2009 and 2010. Trials for performance for this breed are regarded as universal and well organized. The field trials of performance consist of conformation ratings and Hucul’s path. The minimum score needed to pass the trials is 85 points for mares and 95 for stallions. 222 and 191 horses were registered for the performance trials in 2009 and 2010, respectively. It was observed that mare families of Żyrka, Gurgul, Laliszka and Polanka as well as the male line of Pietrosu were less represented in 2010. In 2010 the stallions were poorly prepared for the trials (as 20% and 13.2% did not pass the trials in 2010 and 2009, respectively) while mares performed better, with 10.2% and 20.1%, respectively. In the assessment of the horse’s exterior, in 2009, greater differentiation was observed, which was statistically corroborated. Similar final scores in subsequent years were observed in horses representing the Gurgul stallion line and in the mares representing the families of Polanka, Wolga and Wyderka. Path analysis results show that mares obtained higher scores in 2010.