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Volume 75 (2004)
- Issue 4 Pages 493-
- Issue 3 Pages 345-
- Issue 2 Pages 165-
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Volume 75, Issue 4
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Commentary
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Katsuji UETAKE2004 Volume 75 Issue 4 Pages 493-512
Published: 2004
Released on J-STAGE: July 26, 2006
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSIn the European Union (EU), the Council Directive 98/58/EC provides member states with general rules for the protection of animals kept for farming purposes such as the production of food, wool, skin or fur or for other farming purposes, including fish, reptiles of amphibians. The member states can adopt more stringent rules under the condition that they cover the provisions of the Treaty. At the present, the United Kingdom (UK) is one of the most radical member states. Newly-adopted legislation there concerning the welfare conditions of farm animals becomes obsolete in a few years in this age of rapid progress. The European Commission of the EU and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) of the UK government financially support animal welfare research as part of a policy-orientated approach. Both policy makers consider all up-to-date scientific evidence and consult many different stakeholders such as farmers, industry, consumers, animal welfare groups and retailers in order to draft legislation and other proposals. Initially, the research was conducted mainly as part of the agriculture and fisheries program, but is now likely to have its place under the food quality and safety thematic priority. The Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC), established by UK government in 1979, plays an important role in reviewing the welfare of farm animals on farms, at market, in transit and at slaughter. The State Veterinary Service (SVS) under the DEFRA carries out welfare inspections for all stages of animal production in cooperation with local authorities and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). Farm Assurance Schemes encourage producers who work in all the stages to raise welfare conditions of farm animals and, additionally, provide recognition of welfare standards to consumers. ‘Freedom Food’ is the first scheme set up by the RSPCA in 1994. To date nine schemes are operated under the Freedom Food Limited based on the species specific RSPCA farm animal welfare standards for pigs, dairy cows, sheep, beef cattle, laying hens, broilers, turkeys, ducks and salmon.View full abstractDownload PDF (2528K)
Original Articles
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Jia SHI, Haisheng QIAO, Eiji HOSOI, Shinobu OZAWA2004 Volume 75 Issue 4 Pages 513-519
Published: 2004
Released on J-STAGE: July 26, 2006
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSStudies on the genetic diversity of Qinghai Yellow cattle herds maintained on the East Tibetan Plateau were carried out and their diversity was compared to Japanese cattle. Total DNA was extracted from each hair sample collected from 27 Qinghai Yellow cattle, and its nucleotide sequence of the D-loop region of mitochondrial DNA was determined. Obtained results showed that lineages of the Qinghai Yellow cattle were divided into three major groups such as Bos grunninens (Yak), B. indicus and B. taurus. The number of animals classified into each group was 4, 2 and 21, respectively. Among 21 animals that belonged to the B. Taurus group, 17 haplotypes were found. It was revealed, therefore, that the Qinghai Yellow cattle had extremely high genetic diversity. The dendrogram of the 17 haplotypes of the B. Taurus Qinghai Yellow cattle showed that they could be divided into 3 clusters : East Asian, African and European group. Japanese Black cattle are considered to have common ancestors with Qinghai Yellow cattle, except for African type, which was not found from the Japanese Black cattle in the present study.View full abstractDownload PDF (865K) -
Takefumi OOSAWA, Mio HASEGAWA, Keigo KUCHIDA, Satoshi HIDAKA, Mitsuo S ...2004 Volume 75 Issue 4 Pages 521-526
Published: 2004
Released on J-STAGE: July 26, 2006
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThe purposes of this study were to investigate the relationship among major muscle areas, subcutaneous fat (SF) and intermuscular fat (INF) of carcass cross section by image analysis, and to predict genetic parameters of those traits. Digital images of carcass cross section, grading records, and pedigree records for 404 Japanese Black steers in progeny testing were used. Areas and marbling percentages (MAP) in M. longissimus dorsi (LONG), M. trapezius (TRAP) and M. latissimus dorsi (LATIS), and sectioned areas of SF and INF were measured by the image analysis method. Percentages of each area to the entire cross sectional area were also calculated. Heritability estimates of the percentages for SF (0.58∼0.72) and INF (0.37∼0.71) ranged from moderate to high. Genetic correlation between the percentages for SF and INF was low (0.15). Genetic correlations between SF and MAP in LONG, which has a strong relationship with the BMS number, were negative (-0.28∼-0.08), while those between the percentages for MAP in LONG and INF were positive (0.17∼0.22).View full abstractDownload PDF (972K) -
Rei SAKOYAMA, Yukio TANIGUCHI, Masayuki KITAGAWA, Takahisa YAMADA, Yos ...2004 Volume 75 Issue 4 Pages 527-533
Published: 2004
Released on J-STAGE: July 26, 2006
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSIt is desirable to establish a prognostic method which predicts degree of marbling, economically important trait for bovine, before or at early stage of fattening. In order to find a clue to the prognostic method, this study was designed to examine age-dependent expression patterns of adipogenic transcription factors, CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP)α, C/EBPβ, C/EBPδ and Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)γ, in Musculus longissimus tissue. We compared the patterns of the Japanese Black breed destined genetically for rich marbling with those of the Holstein breed for poor marbling. Musculus longissimus was biopsied from 3animals of each breed every two months from 2-through 16-months of age. Quantification of the expression levels of C/EBPα, C/EBPβ, C/EBPδ and PPARγ was performed by competitive PCR using glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) mRNA as an internal control. The peculiar patterns to the Japanese Black were observed, in which expression of C/EBPδ first increased (P<0.01 for 6months) to reach a peak at 6-months of age, C/EBPβ expression next increased (P<0.01 for 8months) in concord with a decrease of C/EBPδ expression following its peak, and finally PPARγ expression enhanced (P<0.01 for 16months) after fattening, more extensively as compared to those of the Holstein. Identification of gene(s) of which expression changes are associated with degree of marbling is thought to contribute to establishment of prognosis for marbling. Thus, C/EBPβ and C/EBPδ may be nominated as possible candidates for this purpose.View full abstractDownload PDF (916K) -
Hiroki MATSUYAMA, Ken-ichi HORIGUCHI, Toshiyoshi TAKAHASHI, Takeo KAYA ...2004 Volume 75 Issue 4 Pages 535-541
Published: 2004
Released on J-STAGE: July 26, 2006
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThis experiment was conducted to determine the effects of ruminal dosing of mechanical stimulating brush (RF) on chewing activity, ruminal contraction, ruminal passage rate on liquid and solid phases and ruminal fermentation status in steer fed high concentrate diet. Three Holstein steers (average weight : 519kg) fitted with rumen fistula were used as experimental animals. All animals were fed enough to meet their required metabolizable energy on 2 × the maintenance level with timothy hay cut at 10cm length as roughage, and rolled barley and soybean meal as concentrate. The experimental diet had a ratio of 1 : 9 roughage and concentrate, and fed twice daily in equal portion at 10 : 00am and 05 : 00pm. Two treatments were set up, non-dosing (Control) and dosing of RF (RF-dosing). Steers were dosed with three RF per head through the rumen fistula. The following results were obtained : 1) RF-dosing enhanced the increase of rumination time significantly (P<0.05). Moreover, the frequency of ruminal contraction tended to increase in RF-dosing (P<0.10) (1,463 and 1,968 times/day in control and RF-dosing, respectively). 2) The ruminal passage rate on both liquid phase and solid phase (P<0.05 and P<0.10, respectively). 3) RF-dosing had no effect on pH and volatile fatty acid concentration and its composition in rumen liquor. These results suggested that the increase in rumination time would have a connection with the frequency of ruminal contraction increased on Holstein steers dosed with RF. Also, it was suggested that saliva secreted with rumination caused to increase ruminal passage rate on liquid phase.View full abstractDownload PDF (1011K) -
Narito ASANUMA, Tsuneo HINO2004 Volume 75 Issue 4 Pages 543-550
Published: 2004
Released on J-STAGE: July 26, 2006
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSBecause there is a possibility that augmentation of lactate utilization in the rumen prevents rumen acidosis and reduces methane production, whether introduction of lactate-utilizing bacteria into the in vitro cultures of mixed ruminal microbes stimulates lactate utilization and reduces methanogenesis was examined. Addition of Selenomonas ruminantium subsp. lactilytica resulted in increased lactate utilization and decreased methane production. When Megasphaera elsdenii was added, stimulation of lactate utilization was greater than when S. ruminantium was added. However, addition of M. elsdenii increased methane production, which suggested that H2 production increased due to increased cell number of M. elsdenii. Coculture of M. elsdenii with methanogens confirmed that H2 produced by M. elsdenii was utilized for methane production. Lactate utilization and fermentation products by M. elsdenii were not affected by the coexistence of methanogens. On the other hand, M. elsdenii was shown to be the major lactate-utilizing bacteria in the rumen of goats, whereas the cell number of S. ruminantium subsp. lactilytica was much less than M. elsdenii. Therefore, stimulation of the growth of S. ruminantium subsp. lactilytica in the rumen, or introduction of this bacterium as a probiotic, may reduce lactate accumulation and methanogenesis simultaneously.View full abstractDownload PDF (986K) -
Kanji OKANO, Reiko KITAO, Satoko MIKI2004 Volume 75 Issue 4 Pages 551-557
Published: 2004
Released on J-STAGE: July 26, 2006
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSP. eryngii and P. salmoneostramineus were cultivated on corncob meal media to investigate the effects of fungi, filling densities and cultivation periods on fruit-body yields and on digestibility and cell wall constituents of the media. The medium was prepared by mixing corncob meal and rice bran at air-dry weight at 9 : 1 ratio and added with Ca(OH)2 at 0.5% of the mixture’s weight. An 850ml culture bottles for mushrooms were filled with 540g or 440g of the medium, sterilized and inoculated with the spawns of P. eryngii and P. salmoneostramineus. The culture was carried out at 20°C in an incubation room until the spawn running, and the emergence of fruit-bodies was then enhanced at 15°C for P. eryngii and at 20°C for P. salmoneostramineus. Samples were obtained from the media with different fungi, filling densities and cultivation periods. The fruit-body yield, cell wall constituents, in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD), in vitro neutral detergent fiber digestibility (IVNDFD) and in vitro gas production (IVGP) of the medium were measured. Before sterilization, the IVOMD and the IVNDFD of medium were 65% and 61%, respectively. When P. eryngii and P. salmoneostramineus were cultivated for 112 and 113days, respectively, in the media with the low filling density, and fruit-bodies were yielded, the IVOMD and IVNDFD of those media increased to 90% and 86% respectively, together with IVGP. When P. salmoneostramineus was cultivated for 43days in the media with the low filling density, the IVOMD increased by only 2%, the IVNDFD decreased by 4% together with IVGP even though fruit-bodies were yielded. There was no difference in the cell wall constituents, IVOMD, IVNDFD and IVGP in the media with the high filling density cultivated for 106days and 218days in which fruit-body of P. salmoneostramineus was not yielded. The contents of hemicellulose and lignin were low, the IVOMD and IVCWD were high, and the IVGP increased in the media cultivated for 148days with the high filling density in which fruit-bodies of P. eryngii were yielded, compared with the media cultivated for 128days.View full abstractDownload PDF (957K) -
Bayaru ERUDEN, Takehiro NISHIDA, Hiroki MATSUYAMA, Kenji HOSODA, Shige ...2004 Volume 75 Issue 4 Pages 559-566
Published: 2004
Released on J-STAGE: July 26, 2006
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThe nutritive value of green tea grounds silage and the influence of the addition of Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) on nitrogen and energy metabolism in 6 Holstein steers were investigated. The steers were divided into three groups of two : control group (given basic diet) ; tea group (given basic diet with green tea grounds silage at 20% of dry matter) ; and PEG group (PEG was added at a 1/5 rate of the diet crude protein of the tea group). The digestion trial was carried out by the 3×3 Latin square method. The estimated total digestible nutrient, digestible energy and metabolizable energy of green tea grounds silage were 69.8%, 13.0MJ/kgDM, 10.5MJ/kgDM, respectively. Compared to the tea group, the digestibility of crude fat significantly (P<0.01) decreased and the digestibility of crude protein significantly (P<0.05) increased in the PEG group. There was no difference in nitrogen retention between the tea group and the PEG group. However, nitrogen excretion was lower in the PEG group’s feces, and higher in their urine, as compared to the tea group. Energy loss in feces of PEG group was higher than that of tea group, but there was no difference in energy retention between the two groups.View full abstractDownload PDF (1059K) -
Makoto MIYAJI, Koichiro UEDA, Fumihiro YAMADA, Yasuo KOBAYASHI, Hirosh ...2004 Volume 75 Issue 4 Pages 567-572
Published: 2004
Released on J-STAGE: July 26, 2006
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSDigestibility, chewing activity, particle size distribution of feces and mean retention time (MRT) of digesta in the total tract, were determined on Hokkaido native horse fed timothy hay or timothy silage. Both the hay and silage were given in a long form at level of 2.2% of body weight as dry matter (DM). There were no significant differences in digestibility of DM, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) between hay and grass silage. The number of chews per DM intake for grass silage was significantly (P<0.05) greater than for hay (5.3 vs. 4.6chews/gDM). However, the proportion of large particle (retained on 5.6mm and 2.36mm sieves) in feces was significantly (P<0.05) higher for grass silage than for hay (51 vs. 29%), and the proportion of small particle (retained on 0.6mm and 0.3mm sieves) in feces was significantly (P<0.05) lower for grass silage than for hay (23 vs. 35%). The total tract-MRT of liquid- and solid- phases in horses fed silage diet was significantly shorter compared with hay (16.9 vs. 21.1h, P<0.01 ; 21.8 vs. 23.7h, P<0.05). The total tract-MRT of liquid-phase was shorter than that of solid-phase both for hay and silage diet (P<0.01). The total tract-MRT did not significantly differ between leaf and stem both for hay and silage diet.View full abstractDownload PDF (845K) -
Keigo KUCHIDA, Kenichiro TAKAHASHI, Mio HASEGAWA, Toshifumi SAKAI, Yos ...2004 Volume 75 Issue 4 Pages 573-579
Published: 2004
Released on J-STAGE: July 26, 2006
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThe purposes of this research were to investigate the macroscopic feature of carcass cross section with a large individual variation for the BMS number independently assigned by 16judges, and to predict BMS number using image analysis traits. Clear images of carcass cross section between the 6-7th rib of 100 Japanese Black steers were used to assign the BMS number. The average, mode and median of BMS numbers from 16judges, and the average of judgment values excluding the higher and lower 3, 2 BMS values from 16judges, and the highest and lowest BMS values were obtained and their correlation coefficients were calculated. Ratio of marbling area to rib eye area (FATPER), overall coarseness of marbling (O_COARSE), coarseness of the largest marbling particle in rib eye (M_COARSE), coarseness of single marbling particle (S_COARSE), ratio of minor and major axis of rib eye (MM_RATIO), and complexity of rib eye shape (COMP) were calculated by image analysis. The factor of the variation of the BMS judgment was investigated. As extremely high correlation coefficients (0.938∼1.000) were found among all variables related to the judgment value of the BMS number, average BMS was adopted as a variable representing the judgment values. M_COARSE and MM_RATIO significantly influenced the dispersion of the BMS in the analysis of factor on the variation in BMS judgment value (P<0.05). Multiple regression equation with the average BMS assigned by 16judges as the dependent variable were obtained by the AIC method starting with 10 independent covariates for image analysis traits. Rib eye area, FATPER, O_COARSE and M_COARSE were selected in the multiple regression equation, and the coefficient of determination of the prediction equation was very high (0.895). Dispersion in the judgment of the BMS number might be due to the rough marbling particle in the rib eye or flattened rib eye of the carcass.View full abstractDownload PDF (1184K) -
Aorigel, Ken-ichi TAKEDA, Kanji MATSUI2004 Volume 75 Issue 4 Pages 581-586
Published: 2004
Released on J-STAGE: July 26, 2006
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSTwenty-six Japanese Black cows were investigated for number of pest flies and grooming behaviour against flies. We discuss whether individual differences exist, and relationship to temperament of the cows was analysed. Number of pest flies and grooming behaviour of focal cows were observed twice for 5min/cow/observation, and temperament score of focal cows was recorded separately for four categories. Maximum numbers of pest flies and grooming behaviour were 415 flies/observation and 95.5times in 5min, respectively. Minimum numbers of pest flies and grooming behaviour were 38 flies/observation and 19times in 5min, respectively. Individual differences were found in the numbers of pest flies and the times of grooming behaviour (P<0.001). Grooming behaviour of focal cows whose temperament score was 3 (restless) or 4 (nervous) occurred more often than cows with a temperament score of 1 (mild). However, no difference in number of pest flies was observed. These results suggest that nervous cows groom themselves more frequently than that of other temperaments.View full abstractDownload PDF (916K) -
Masahiro TAKAHASHI2004 Volume 75 Issue 4 Pages 587-598
Published: 2004
Released on J-STAGE: July 26, 2006
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThis study examined the use of detergent analysis to evaluate decomposition of organic matter during composting. Compost comprising swine feces and rice hulls with slaked lime was used as a test material. The content and decomposition ratio of organic cellular contents (OCC), acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), NDF-ADF, acid detergent lignin (ADL), and neutral detergent lignin (NDL) were monitored during the composting process. The addition of slaked lime decreased the contents of both lignin and fiber, whereas the fractions with higher decomposition ratio increased. The addition of slaked lime did not increase the total amount of decomposable organic matter in 12months, but it hastened their decomposition. Two weeks after its addition, NDF-ADF decomposition showed marked progress ; it turned out to have the highest decomposition ratio. The ADL hardly decomposed, whereas NDL decomposed a little. Consequently, their values reversed. NDF-ADF and NDL began decomposing almost simultaneously after two weeks. Almost 100% of NDF-ADF in swine feces decomposed after four weeks, whereas NDF-ADF in rice hulls showed a decomposition ratio of only around 30% even after 12months. Only ADL hardly decomposed in swine feces, as did NDF, NDL, ADF, and ADL in rice hulls. Organic matter in rice hulls that was soluble in acid detergent (AD) was difficult to decompose. Results indicate the possibility of evaluating characteristics of organic matter decomposition during compost processing of a mixture of swine feces and rice hulls using detergent analysis.View full abstractDownload PDF (2364K)
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