Search Results (323)

Background: While traditional pasture-based systems offer sheep natural living conditions and freedom, barn farming provides greater environmental control and protection. The choice of farming system is a crucial factor directly affecting the physical and mental health of the animals. Aim: This study evaluated welfare indicators and parasite prevalence in different sheep management systems, examining the impact of parasitic infections on ewe welfare. Methods: Conducted from November 2025 to April 2026 across 26 farms (13 confined and 13 pasture), the study individually assessed a sample of 1192 ewes aged 2–7 years. Animal-based welfare indicators were assessed using the AWIN protocol for sheep, while parasitic infections were determined from fecal sampling. Results: The results revealed significant differences (p < 0.001) between the systems. Pasture farms showed a higher prevalence of soiled fleece (60.14%), skin lesions, ocular and nasal discharge (6.35%; 31.22%), respiratory issues (16.75%), fecal soiling (16.23%), borderline anemia (16.23%), and excessive itching (16.23%). In contrast, confined systems exhibited higher prevalence of fleece loss (36.00%), hoof overgrowth (20.96%), udder asymmetry (1.44%), and wool pulling (8.32%). Identified parasites included Eimeria spp., gastrointestinal strongyles, Trichuris ovis, Dictyocaulus filarial, Muellerius capillaris, Protostrongylus rufescens, Moniezia spp., Dicrocoelium dendriticum, Fasciola hepatica, Paramphistomum spp., and Giardia intestinalis. Significant correlations (p < 0.001) were found between certain welfare indicators and parasite infections in confined systems, such as between thin body condition score and Eimeria spp., and between fleece quality and fecal soiling with gastrointestinal strongyles, while in pasture systems, thin BCS, nasal discharge, and respiration quality correlated with Muellerius capillaris, borderline anemia with Trichuris ovis and Dictyocaulus filaria, and fecal soiling with Eimeria spp. and Dicrocoelium dendriticum. Conclusions: This data underscores the critical need to improve ewe welfare and implement targeted parasite control strategies in both farming systems. Full article

The foot structure plays a decisive role in the trafficability of legged robots on granular media. Traditional foot-ends (spherical, cylindrical, flat-bottomed) are prone to sinkage and slippage, resulting in unstable locomotion. To solve this problem, a novel bionic-inspired reconfigurable foot with active opening and closing adjustment capability is designed based on bionics, combining the stable phalangeal contour of goat hoof capsules and the high-adhesion feature of beetle foot-end spines. A coupled EDEM–Adams simulation model is established, and physical experiments combined with simulation inversion are used to calibrate contact parameters between particles and between particles and the foot, including the coefficient of restitution, static friction and rolling friction. A high-fidelity numerical platform for foot–ground dynamic interaction is thus constructed. By comparing and analyzing the differences in anti-sinkage and traction performance between the bionic-inspired foot and traditional foot-ends, this study systematically revealed the influence law of bionic morphology on the mechanical behavior of the foot, and clarified the intrinsic mechanism through which bionic design improves foot–ground interaction. The results demonstrate that the spine structures of the bionic-inspired foot reshape the mechanical constitutive relationship of granular media. By expanding the ground contact area and optimizing contact pressure distribution, the maximum reduction in foot sinkage depth reaches 70.11%, and the traction coefficient is increased by up to 37.13%. Full article

Lameness in cattle is generally described as a condition characterized by an abnormal walking or posture which is often managed with copper sulfate (CuSO₄) hoofbaths, e.g., in case of digital dermatitis (DD). This review evaluates in vivo trials from the last 15 years (January 2010–March 2026) and the efficacy of CuSO₄ hoofbaths, their environmental impact, and the availability and performance of alternative products and agents (e.g., nanomaterials), with the aim of identifying sustainable management strategies for dairy farms and One Health goals. The selection criteria focused on peer-reviewed references and technical reports published in English. Hoofbath wastes can introduce high copper (Cu) loads into manure (500–2000 mg/L), leading to soil accumulation, impaired non-pathogenic microbial populations, and potential co-selection for pathogen resistance. Therefore, CuSO₄ can be effective but poses environmental risks due to Cu accumulation in soil and water, with mean concentrations reaching 5.7 ± 6.6 ppm Cu in areas where hoofbath effluent is discharged. Cu-free alternatives (e.g., quaternary ammonium compounds, organic acids) show comparable efficacy in some studies, but independent data on their environmental degradation and ecotoxicity are lacking. Although CuSO₄ hoofbaths pose environmental risks, they remain the most effective solution in improving hoof health. Controlled in vivo trials revealed that weekly 5% CuSO₄ hoofbaths can reduce the occurrence of lameness caused by hoof problems including DD by over 50%. Full article

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the reproductive potential of crossbred heifers from dual-purpose systems using body conformation traits and to explore their genomic associations. Methods: A total of 522 heifers from the Colombian Caribbean region were phenotyped for structural and morphological traits, including body condition score, thoracic perimeter, height at withers, body length, ischium length, back level, hoof angle, stance width, hock angle, and rump level. Continuous variables were transformed into categorical classes and analyzed using multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) to build a reproductive potential index (RPI) that was used to perform a GWAS analysis to explore genomic regions. Results: The first two dimensions explained 11.6% and 8.2% of the total variation, respectively, and were used to construct an RPI. Heifers with higher RPI values exhibited greater thoracic perimeter, height, body length, and ischium length and were associated with wider chest and deeper body conformation, whereas lower RPI values were related to narrower and shallower body traits. However, some structurally desirable traits, such as centered stance, optimal hoof angle, and slightly sloped rump, were not clearly associated with high RPI. Genome-wide association analysis of the RPI did not reveal significant loci, although suggestive signals were identified on BTA3 and BTA19, near RSBN1, PHTF1, and WNT9B. Conclusions: These findings indicate that MCA-derived indices can summarize conformation-related variation in crossbred heifers, while the absence of strong associations suggests a polygenic architecture with small individual genetic effects. Full article

The evaluation of biomechanical parameters in four-beat gaited horses remains limited by the subjectiveness and complexity of current standard methods. Through a deep learning approach, we aimed to infer dissociation % using only acoustic signals. A total of 268 audio samples were extracted from publicly available videos featuring three Brazilian horse breeds (Mangalarga Marchador, Campolina, and Piquira) performing marcha batida and marcha picada. Acoustic features, including root mean square energy (RMS), zero-crossing rate (ZCR), and 13 Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs), were extracted and used to train a long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network. The model accurately predicted the time intervals between successive hoof–ground contacts (R² = 0.98; MAE = 0.0071), enabling the calculation of the dissociation %. While no significant differences were found between gait types and dissociation %, breed-related differences in both mean hoof–ground contact interval and dissociation were observed, with 8 acoustic features demonstrating discriminative power. Our results suggest that hoof–ground contact patterns can be quantified objectively from audio alone, offering a practical and non-invasive method for gait analysis. The approach holds potential for applications in breed standardization, selection, and digital locomotion phenotyping of horse populations. Full article

The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of and differences in the temperature values for the cows’ hooves depending on the lameness score and health status. The research was conducted on a free-stall housing dairy farm with Holstein cows (n = 180). The maximum (IR MAX), average (IR MEAN) and minimum (IR MIN) infrared temperature values were recorded at the coronary band (CB). The four-point manual locomotion scoring system was used to assess four levels of lameness score (LS0–LS3). The average values of IR MEAN, IR MIN and IR MIN of unhealthy hooves were significantly higher than the mean values of healthy hooves. Under lower ambient recording conditions, significant differences in CB temperature were observed between cows with different lameness scores, while under higher ambient conditions these differences were not statistically significant. The IR MEAN values for cows with LS0 (16.28 °C) were significantly (p < 0.05) lower than those for cows with LS1 (17.59 °C), LS2 (17.71 °C) and high significantly (p < 0.01) lower compared to cows with LS3 (18.04 °C). The distribution of the coronary band temperatures indicates that hoof temperature is associated with the health status of the cow, ambient recording conditions, and the level of the lameness score. Full article

The Criollo horse is prized for its endurance, yet its specific biomechanical signatures remain under-researched. This study investigated diagonal dissociation and support patterns in eleven clinically sound Criollo horses to understand the influence of head and neck position (HNP), surface compliance, and morphometry. Using high-speed video (120 fps) and kinematic analysis, we found that diagonal dissociation occurred in 85.24% of hoof contacts, while HNP1 showed a higher frequency of positive (hindlimb-first) dissociation and HNP2 had a higher incidence of negative (forelimb-first) dissociation (p = 0.0398). On soft ground, both HNPs predominantly exhibited hindlimb-first dissociation (p = 0.0446). Soft ground is also associated with the appearance of tripedal support, whereas hard ground presented more synchronous (non-dissociated) diagonal limb support. Thoracic monopedal and tripedal supports are weakly correlated with forelimb measurements, whereas pelvic monopedal and tripedal supports correlate with global body dimensions. All associations were weak to moderate (R² ≤ 0.40). The prevalence of dissociated phases and the absence of a standard symmetrical trot suggest a distinct breed signature adapted for functional efficiency and stability required for its traditional working roles. Full article

Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), a member of the Vesiculovirus genus within the Rhabdoviridae family, is a widespread pathogen affecting all hoofed livestock species, leading to reduced animal growth and productivity. To date, no effective therapeutic treatment for VSV infection has been developed. Natural medicinal compounds with immunomodulatory properties represent a promising supportive strategy for infection control. Ginsenoside Rh1, a primary bioactive component of ginseng plants, has been reported to possess broad pharmacological and immunoregulatory activities. Nevertheless, its potential antiviral effects against VSV remain unexplored. In this study, we demonstrate that Ginsenoside Rh1 exhibits considerable antiviral activity against VSV in cellular models. Mechanistically, its antiviral effect is primarily mediated through the inhibition of VSV-induced autophagy, thereby enhancing interferon-mediated antiviral responses. Collectively, our findings identify Ginsenoside Rh1 as a novel antiviral agent active against VSV and potentially related vesiculoviruses, clarify its mechanism of action, and highlight an autophagy-dependent immunomodulatory approach that could be critical for confronting existing and emerging RNA viral infections. Full article

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is a highly contagious picornavirus that affects cloven-hoofed animals and carries significant economic implications for the global livestock industry. FMDV features two Leader (L) protein isoforms, Lab and Lb, differing at their amino termini by 28 amino acids (La region). Currently, the activity of La protein sequences has not been investigated. To address this issue, the comparison study of biological and functional roles of Lab and Lb was performed as the La region alone did not independently perform protein function. We found that Lab and Lb significantly regulated FMDV replication and pathogenicity, and their coexistence afforded optimal FMDV properties. Subsequently, we observed that both L isoforms cleaved eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4G (eIF4G) I, suppressed type I and type III interferon (IFN) expression, and exhibited marked cytotoxicity, indicating that they were all key components in FMDV’s antagonism of host antiviral defenses. Finally, the subcellular distribution of Lab and Lb was detected. Despite dual localization in cytoplasmic and nuclear compartments, both isoforms displayed different spatial distribution patterns, and Lb induced more pronounced morphological changes to host cells than Lab. Furthermore, bioinformatics predicted that the La region might contain a non-classical secretory signal peptide, potentially facilitating Lab distribution to the cell membrane or extracellular space. Collectively, the primary encoding role of La region was to control the intracellular distribution of L protein, as opposed to regulating its functional activity. This study may help to deepen our understanding of why FMDV encoded two isoforms of L protein. Full article

Human Activity Recognition (HAR) is a pivotal research area for applications such as automated surveillance, smart homes, security, healthcare, and human behavior analysis. Traditional machine-learning approaches often rely on manual feature engineering, which can limit generalization. Although deep learning has improved HAR through automatic representation learning, achieving high detection performance under computational constraints remains challenging. This paper proposes an efficient HAR framework that combines deep learning with hybrid optimization. Surveillance videos are first decomposed into frames, and a keyframe selection stage identifies distinctive frames to reduce redundancy and computational cost while preserving informative content. Motion and appearance features are then extracted using Histogram of Oriented Optical Flow (HOOF) and a ResNet-101 model, respectively, and concatenated into a unified feature representation. Classification is performed using an Inception-based Long Short-Term Memory (Incept-LSTM) network, which is fine-tuned via the proposed Tricky Predator Optimization (TricP) over a restricted, low-dimensional parameter vector. TricP is inspired by predator poaching behavior and the social dynamics of Latrans to enhance exploration and exploitation during search. Experiments on the UCF-Crime dataset show that the proposed method achieves 96.84% specificity, 92.16% sensitivity, and 93.62% accuracy. Full article

Assessing the welfare of the working horses is crucial for identifying health and management issues and implementing effective solutions. This study evaluated the welfare of working horses in South Darfur, Sudan, by integrating clinical examination with indirect indicators through owner interviews. A total of 400 horse–owner pairs were included. Most horses (61.7%) worked every day, and 77% of owners reported using whips to encourage movement. Clinical assessment revealed that 29.0% of horses were thin, over half had dirty coats, 50.5% harbored external parasites, 43% had abnormal discharges, 25.0% showed poor hoof health, and many exhibited gait abnormalities. Behavioral assessments indicated that fewer than 40% of horses displayed alert attitudes, while over half responded indifferently to stimuli. Horses working daily tended to be thin, have skin lesions, and show gait problems, reflecting poor welfare. Horses with better attitude responses were more frequently fed and worked fewer days per week. Overall, the findings highlight poor physical, behavioral, and management conditions among working horses, emphasizing the urgent need for owner education, training programs, and further research to improve their welfare in the study area. Full article

Foot rot is a major infectious cause of lameness in dairy cows and can severely compromise production performance and animal welfare. However, it remains unclear whether foot rot is accompanied by microbiota alterations beyond the hoof, particularly in the vagina and milk. We conducted a case–control study of 24 Holstein cows (12 with clinical foot rot and 12 healthy controls). Hoof swabs, milk, and vaginal swabs were collected and analyzed using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, alongside quantitative PCR. Microbial community composition differed between cows with foot rot and healthy controls across hoof (R² = 0.26), vaginal (R² = 0.072), and milk (R² = 0.16) samples (Bray–Curtis, PERMANOVA, p < 0.001). Simpson diversity was lower in the hoof and vaginal microbiota (p < 0.05) but not in milk (p = 0.13). Differential abundance analysis identified enrichment of Fusobacterium in hoof and vaginal samples (p < 0.001), and absolute qPCR confirmed a higher vaginal load of Fusobacterium necrophorum in cows with foot rot (p < 0.05). Milk samples from foot rot cows showed enrichment of Clostridium and Porphyromonas. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed reduced microbial connectivity in foot rot-affected cows (average degree: 4.98 vs. 6.70) and increased network fragmentation (14 vs. 9 modules), suggesting lower ecosystem stability. Overall, foot rot was associated with microbiota shifts across the hoof, vagina, and milk, highlighting the potential value of integrated management strategies that consider extra-hoof microbial alterations. Full article

Background: In South Korea, foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), a highly contagious viral infection that affects cloven-hoofed animals, has led to the implementation of a bivalent FMD vaccination program. The current FMD vaccination strategy involves intramuscular (IM) administration to the shoulder region of the swine. However, this method is associated with adverse reactions at injection sites. Our previous studies have demonstrated that intradermal (ID) vaccination eliminates these side effects while maintaining immunogenicity comparable to that of IM vaccination. This study aimed to assess the early immune response induced by ID vaccination and compare its protective ability against FMDV serotype O with that of a commercial IM vaccine recently used in South Korea. Methods: An ID FMD vaccine was evaluated using two adjuvants, ISA 207 (50%) and EMULSIGEN-D (15%). Virus neutralization (VN) titers and structural protein levels were measured to compare efficacy across groups. To assess the early protective efficacy of ID vaccination, viral challenge experiments were conducted at 7 and 14 days post-vaccination (dpv). Results: Swine vaccinated via the ID route exhibited no clinical symptoms at 14 dpv, indicating effective early protection against FMD (O/AS/SKR/2019). In addition, no side effects of FMD ID vaccination were observed. Conclusions: These results suggest that ID vaccination could serve as a viable alternative to conventional IM vaccination, which is frequently associated with adverse effects. Importantly, this study demonstrates that ID vaccination can provide effective early protection within 7–14 days post-vaccination, highlighting its potential utility for emergency outbreak control. Full article

Goat (Capra hircus) welfare is an important issue in any farming system. The aim of the study was a comprehensive analysis of the impact of environmental factors and farming practices on the welfare of goats, with particular attention to physical, behavioural, and emotional aspects. It includes a review of the up-to-date literature on the effects of environmental conditions including air temperature, air humidity, space, feeding systems, social relationships (mother–offspring, human–animal, animal–animal), zootechnical procedures (dehorning, castration, hoof trimming) and welfare assessment methods. It compares the AWIN, Anzuino, Muri and Leite protocols for assessing goat welfare and their application in the Five Domain Model. Goat welfare is strongly influenced by their environment, nutrition and socialisation: heat stress and confined space cause physiological disorders, decreased immunity and increased aggressive behaviour and a monotonous diet leads to frustration and reduced cognitive activity, whereas positive early contact with humans reduces anxiety and maintaining the mother–kid bond supports the social development of young goats. Furthermore, significant improvements in welfare and stress reduction can be achieved by providing anaesthesia and painkillers where necessary to minimise pain and enriching the environment with items that support natural behaviour, such as platforms, brushes and items for cognitive tasks. In general, the keeper should take a holistic approach, combining environmental optimisation, humane husbandry practices and regular monitoring using validated assessment protocols to improve welfare. These measures are both an ethical obligation and a prerequisite for animal health and production efficiency. Nevertheless, there is a need for further research focussing on the development of non-invasive assessment methods and innovative forms of environmental enrichment. Full article

Foot diseases represent a major cause of impaired welfare and reduced productivity in dairy ruminants. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the clinical progression of foot lesions in dairy cattle by combining clinical examination with hematochemical analyses and infrared thermography of foot (central zone, R1; interdigital area, R2; lateral claw, R3; medial claw, R4), in order to assess the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions and the evolution of inflammation over time. The study involved dairy cows affected by different foot disorders that underwent functional and therapeutic trimming. Ten lactating cows with hoof diseases (DG) were tested and 5 healthy animals (CG) were selected to serve as a control group. The animals were evaluated and sampled (blood sampling and acquisition of thermographic foot images) at three different time points: clinical diagnosis of the foot pathology (T0), 24 h (T1) and 10 days (T2) after treatment. Higher neutrophils, lymphocytes, platelets, α1-(p < 0.05) and α2-fraction values were found in diseased subjects compared to healthy ones at T0 (p < 0.05). Thermography highlighted significantly higher foot thermal values in animals with lesions than in healthy animals (p < 0.01), especially at T0. Animals affected by hoof diseases showed lower foot temperature values at T1 compared to T0 and T2 (p < 0.001). Though the small sample size and the short observation period limited the possibility of extending the results to the entire cow population, the infrared thermography proved to be a valuable non-invasive tool for detecting active lesions and monitoring healing, with higher temperatures corresponding to inflamed areas and a progressive normalization after treatment. The combined evaluation of clinical signs, systemic inflammatory markers and thermographic patterns provided an integrated perspective on the progression of foot diseases. Full article