A comparison of biochemical and meat quality variables in red deer (Cervus elaphus) following either slaughter at pasture or killing at a deer slaughter plant.

To investigate effects of pre-slaughter handling on blood and muscle biochemistry and venison quality, paddock-shot (n=8) and commercially slaughtered red deer (n=8) were compared. The deer were kept in two larger groups. One stag per group per day was head-shot, exsanguinated, electrically stimulated then transported 150 m to a deer slaughter premises (DSP) for processing. Prior to each slaughter day one of the groups was mustered into a deer yards and six (including two experimental) deer were selected for commercial handling and processing (including electrical stimulation) at the same DSP. Blood samples taken during exsanguination showed higher levels of cortisol, progesterone, glucose, lactate, albumin, creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase and packed cell volume in the DSP-killed deer compared with the paddock-shot deer (P<0.05). Interpretation of these values indicated that pre-slaughter handling created moderate stress and high levels of muscular exertion or damage, possibly related to antagonism during lairage. However muscle glycogen, pH and meat quality measurements showed only minor, muscle-specific differences between treatments.

Welfare of farmed deer in New Zealand. 1. Management practices.

This review summarises research of management practices that potentially impact on the welfare of farmed deer. The processes of capture and initial domestication of feral deer caused many welfare problems but are now essentially complete in New Zealand. The health and production status of farmed deer, and readily visible indicators of their welfare are generally good, although preventive medicines and optimum management practices have not been universally adopted. Research into social behaviour, effects of yarding, weaning, mating, calving, shelter, shade and nutrition has identified ways of improving the welfare of farmed deer and has provided recommendations for deer industry quality assurance programmes. Research has identified transport design and practices that minimise the impact of transport on deer welfare and reduce carcass wastage caused by bruising during transport. Time in lairage prior to slaughter should be minimised and electrical stunning is a humane method of slaughter. Ongoing research is needed on management practices and farm environments to further improve the welfare of farmed deer, consistent with the goals of the New Zealand deer industry and its proactive approach to date.

Effects of an oral dose of acetyl salicylate at tail docking on the behaviour of lambs aged three to six weeks.

To investigate a practical method of providing analgesia for docking of lambs' tails, the effectiveness of an oral dose of aspirin (acetyl salicylate) in reducing discomfort behaviour immediately following application of elastrator rings, was evaluated. The study involved a pilot trial and an experiment, both using Romney crossbred lambs aged 3-6 weeks accompanied by their mothers in a group pen, with behaviour recorded on videotape. In the pilot trial, lambs were manually restrained, an elastrator ring was applied, then lambs were given either an oral dose (26mg/kg) of aspirin dissolved in water (Treatment RA, n=5 lambs) or an oral dose of water (Treatment R, n=4 lambs), and released. RA lambs changed posture between sternal recumbency and standing less frequently than R lambs, significantly so from 10 to 20min post-treatment (11 times for RA, compared with 28% (S.E.D. 6.6%) for R lambs). In the experiment, 56 lambs were given one of two docking treatments (either RA: application of an elastrator ring plus the same aspirin treatment as in the pilot trial, or R: application of the ring plus water), or one of two control treatments (CA: restraint plus aspirin; or C: restraint plus water). During the hour after treatment, docking was associated with differences in over three quarters of 52 postures and activities used to describe behaviour (P<0.05), and marked changes over time in the postures/activities affected were observed. Differences were evident within 5min and some were still apparent at 60min post-treatment. When postures and activities were designated as 'normal' or 'abnormal' (typical of docked lambs), over the total hours of observation the mean frequency of abnormal postures was 3.5% for control lambs and 22.6% (S.E.D. 1.64%) for docked lambs, and the mean frequency of abnormal activities was 5.2% for control lambs and 19.3% (S.E.D. 1.40%) for docked lambs. Provision of aspirin to docked lambs was associated with similar levels to those seen in control lambs for two activities but was also associated with increased levels of some activities/postures (P<0.05). These effects were minor compared with the effects of docking and there was no indication of effective analgesia. Thus, when elastrator tail docking rings were applied, behavioural effects indicative of pain were observed immediately and did not subside fully within 1h. Despite indications in the pilot trial of an analgesic effect of aspirin, further experimentation did not substantiate this effect.

Renal cell carcinoma: should radical nephrectomy be performed in the presence of metastatic disease?

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma is associated with an unfavorable prognosis and the treatment options are limited. Adjunctive radical nephrectomy, performed either before or after the administration of systemic immunotherapy, has been proposed as a means of improving outcome. The role of nephrectomy for patients with metastatic disease remains controversial. This article reviews the role of nephrectomy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma and the optimal timing for surgery relative to immunotherapy.

Activities and social relationships of red deer at pasture.

AIM: To provide baseline data for research into behaviourally appropriate management systems for deer. METHODS: Activities and their relationships with weather conditions, and social interactions both at pasture and during yarding, were investigated in two groups of yearling stags over summer in Otago, New Zealand. Over 8 weeks from November to January, activities, individual distances, weather conditions and use of shade from trees and shelter from windbreak cloth were recorded at 5 minute intervals for 4-hour periods at dawn, noon, and dusk. Over 2 further weeks, inter-individual distances and aggressive behaviours were recorded for each group over two 3-hour periods in both the home pasture and yard pen environments. RESULTS: Days were classified as being predominantly dry or wet, and use of shade and shelter and activity patterns differed between dry and wet days (p< 0.05), with grazing and sitting cycles being disrupted on wet days. Fenceline pacing, a possible indication of motivation to escape, was observed most frequently at dusk on wet days (14.8 % of observations compared with 5.6 % for dry days, s.e.d. 4.1 %; p <0.05). There was significant evidence (p <0.001) for close association between specific pairs of deer. More aggression was observed in the yard pen than in the paddock (p <0.05). Aggressive interactions showed a linear dominance hierarchy in one group, and a near-linear hierarchy in the other group. Relationships between distance scores, both at pasture and in the yard pen, and aggression hierarchy rankings were found, with lower-ranking stags maintaining greater distances from their neighbours (p <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that as the use of shade and windbreak cloth shelter was related to weather conditions, these amenities probably assisted with thermoregulation. A need for shelter from the rain was indicated by disrupted activity cycles and fenceline pacing on wet days. Further work into the needs of deer for protection from the weather is warranted. Evidence of association between individual deer within groups, and avoidance of social contact by some individuals within groups, indicated that research into the social effects of different handling and management techniques for established groups of deer is also warranted.

Neuroleptic treatment of red deer calves at weaning.

AIMS: To determine whether neuroleptic drugs could be useful in reducing weaning stress in red deer, two groups of 30 calves were studied following separation from their dams for weaning at 3-4 months of age. METHODS: Within each group, on the day of separation (Day 0), 15 calves were given 0.2 mg/kg haloperidol (a short-acting neuroleptic) and 1 mg/kg perphenazine enanthate (a long-acting neuroleptic) by intramuscular injection (the treated calves) and 15 calves were given a 3 ml intramuscular injection of saline (the control calves). The calves were weighed on Days 0, 14 and 28 and the behaviour of eight individuals (four treated and four control calves) within each group was observed for 2 hours on Days 0, 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 14 and 15. RESULTS: No significant effect of the treatment on weight gain to Days 14 or 28 was observed (mean increases for treated and control calves to Day 14 were 3.4 kg and 3.5 kg, respectively (s.e.d. 0.26 kg), and 6.0 kg for both treatments to Day 28 (s.e.d. 0.36)). Behavioural variables (standing, grazing, moving, fenceline pacing, proximity to other deer and proximity to the fenceline) did not differ significantly between treatments, but in one group sitting in sternal recumbency was lower in treated calves compared with control calves (p < 0.05). Disturbed behaviour declined over the observation days with fenceline pacing, being within 2 m of a fence, and being within 1 m of another deer decreasing, and sitting and grazing both increasing (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: It was concluded that we could not provide evidence from the present study that treatment with haloperidol and perphenazine enanthate at these dose rates was beneficial in reducing weaning stress in red deer calves.

Direct percutaneous jejunostomy.

PURPOSE: Enteral feeding via gastrostomy or gastrojejunostomy tubes has an established role in patients unable to maintain adequate oral intake. However, creation and maintenance of a site for long-term nutritional support can be significant problems in patients who have undergone previous surgery or in patients with chronic aspiration, abnormal stomach position, or recurrent inadvertent tube dislodgment. Direct percutaneous jejunostomy (DPJ) tube placement performed with fluoroscopic guidance was evaluated in these patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fourteen DPJ tube placements for enteral feeding were attempted in 13 patients with use of local anesthesia, fluoroscopic guidance, the Seldinger technique, and jejunopexy. There were nine male and four female patients with a mean age of 75.2 years (range, 45-95 years). RESULTS: DPJ was successful in 11 of 13 patients. A mean follow-up of 58.9 days (range, 3-291 days) was obtained in all 11 patients. CONCLUSIONS: DPJ is a safe and viable alternative for the creation and maintenance of long-term enteral tube feeding, particularly in patients with underlying esophagogastric malignancy, recurrent inadvertent tube dislodgement, or previous gastric surgery.

Changes in liveweight and behaviour of alpaca dams and offspring following weaning.

The effects of offspring sex, weight, age, and level of interaction with the dam on responses to weaning were examined to assist in the development of a weaning protocol for alpacas. In the first study, preand post-weaning activities, and weight change over Days -12-0,0-7 and 7-16 with respect to weaning, were recorded for 20 dam-offspring (hembra-cria) pairs aged 81-200 days. Pre-weaning changes in dam and offspring weights were positively related (P<0.05). Although heavier crias tended to be found closer to their dams than lighter crias (P<0.05) no additional effect of age on the dam-offspring relationship was found. Following weaning, cria growth rates were low over Days 0-7 but improved over Days 7-16, and hembra weight change followed the same pattern. Over Days 0-2, grazing and sitting activities of hembras and crias were replaced by standing and walking along paddock fencelines, although by Day 2 fenceline activities had decreased (P<0.05). Crias which were more frequently observed at fencelines had lower post-weaning growth rates (P<0.05). In the second study, pre-weaning sucking behaviour, and weight change over Days -30-0, 0-8 and 8-16 with respect to weaning, were recorded for 19 hembra-cria pairs aged 124-160 days. During 10 hours of observation on Days -5 and -4, the total duration of sucking by individual crias varied from 0-18 minutes, and the mean +/- SEM duration of sucking was 1.94 +/- 0.113 minutes. Cria sucking behaviour was positively related to growth rate prior to and weight at weaning (P<0.05). As in the first study, pre-weaning changes in dam and offspring weights were positively related (P<0.05). Following weaning, growth rates of the crias were depressed and the hembras lost weight over Days 0-8 and 8-16. The changes in growth rate and behaviour in Studies 1 and 2 indicated that weaning can be stressful for hembras and crias. However, there was no evidence from either study that pre-weaning behavioural or physical characteristics were related to the changes.

Behavioural and heart rate responses to velvet antler removal in red deer.

Heart rate and behaviour during and following velvet antler removal were monitored in yearling red deer stags to determine the extent to which this procedure was perceived by the deer to be aversive. Nine stags normally kept at pasture were habituated over 5 weeks to the following daily handling procedure. Each deer was fitted with a harness containing a heart rate monitor. It was then allowed to run through a fixed course in a deer yard, restrained for 40 s in a mechanical deer crush, and then confined for 3.5 h with the remainder of the group of stags in an indoor pen containing food and water. In Week 6, the deer were subjected to either restraint for 6 minutes (the control treatment) or removal of one velvet antler under local anaesthesia. Each velvet antler was removed on separate occasions, either on Days 1 and 2 (five deer) or Days 3 and 4 (four deer). The control treatment was applied to all deer when velvet antler was not being removed, and on Day 5. Heart rate and behaviour (time taken to enter the treatment area, and number of struggles made during restraint) were measured before and during treatment, and post-treatment activities were recorded at 0, 1 and 3 h (indoors), and at 6 and 9 h (at pasture). Heart rate was higher during the second velvet antler removal treatment than during the first, but lower during the second control treatment than the first (P<0.05). During velvet antler removal, stags struggled more, and after the treatment flicked their ears, shook their heads, and groomed themselves more than control stags (P<0.05). Stags whose velvet antler had been removed spent less time eating than control stags, and spent progressively more time sitting during the 3.5 h of confinement (P<0.05). However, during the paddock observation at 9 h post-treatment, stags which had had their velvet antler removed grazed more than control stags (P<0.05). The increase in heart rate over the two velvet antler removal treatments and the greater amount of struggling during velvet antler removal indicated that it was more aversive than the control treatment. Post-treatment differences in behaviour may have been due to pain following velvet antler removal.

Early termination of breast-feeding: identifying those at risk.

In a private pediatric practice, 94 infants who were breast-feeding were followed for the first 2 months of life in order to define the frequency of cessation of breast-feeding and to identify factors that would predict mothers and infants at risk for early cessation. At 8 weeks, 30% of the mothers had stopped nursing. Factors associated with cessation were: maternal lack of confidence in breast-feeding (P less than .001); anticipated duration of nursing less than 6 months (P = .002); ratings by the nursery staff of infant's excessive crying (P = .007), infant's demanding personality (P = .007), trouble with feeding (P = .001), and future trouble with feeding (P = .004). Together, these factors predicted 77% of the mothers who terminated breast-feeding. Supplementing with formula before the 2-week office visit also led to termination of breast-feeding by 8 weeks (P = .006). This decision was frequently made without medical advice. Nearly 64% (14/22) of the mothers who added formula within the first 2 weeks did so without contacting the pediatric practice.