Meat yield, proximate composition, pH and drip loss of breast and thigh muscles were studied in 29 hunted male and 32 slaughtered female pheasants. In the breast muscles of additional 14 hunted male pheasants, colour, cooking loss and shear force were measured. Weight of muscles of hunted male pheasants was higher than that of slaughtered females, but the percentages of breast and thigh muscles relative to the dressed carcass did not differ. Average protein concentrations in lean muscles were above 22%, and average fat was below 1.2%. In breast muscles, pH 24 was lower than in thigh (ca. 5.6 vs. 6.0), and, consequently, drip loss was higher (2.2-3.0% vs. 1.0-1.5%). Colour of breast muscles was characterised by L*a*b* values of about 55, 4 and 8-9, respectively. The shear force of breast muscles was about 30 N/cm 2 .
ABSTRACT:The parasite load of brown hares (Lepus europaeus) is of great interest to hunting ground managers and veterinarians. We compared the prevalence and intensity of parasitic infections in 362 hares from Austria and the Czech Republic with respect to age and body weight. Samples of the entire gastrointestinal tract, liver and lungs were collected during autumn hunting events in 2007. The parasite spectrum of hares included Protostrongylus pulmonalis, Graphidium strigosum, Trichostrongylus retortaeformis, Trichuris leporis, Eimeria spp. and tapeworms. The most prevalent gastrointestinal nematode was Trichostrongylus retortaeformis, while only individual specimens of tapeworms such as Andrya rhopalocephala, Mosgovoyia pectinata, Cittotaenia denticulata and Ctenotaenia ctenoides were found in subadult hares. A single hare was infected with Cysticercus pisiformis in Austria. Lungworms Protostrongylus pulmonalis and findings of pneumonia were significantly less prevalent in subadult than adult hares (P < 0.01) from both countries and were much less prevalent overall in the Czech Republic (P < 0.01). Graphidium strigosum, Trichostrongylus retortaeformis, Eimeria spp. and enteritis were more prevalent in subadult hares. The nematode Trichuris leporis, on the other hand, prevailed in adults. The body weight of adult hares was negatively correlated with the intensity of infection by Protostrongylus pulmonalis (r = -0.67) and Trichostrongylus retortaeformis (r = -0.73) and the parasite loads served as significant weight predictors in multiple regression equations. This study revealed that parasitic infections of the lungs and intestines influences the health and decreases the body weight of hares in Austrian and Czech hunting grounds.
The effect of various supplementary feeds on bark browsing was studied in red deer under controlled conditions. Fifteen female red deer were randomly assigned to five dietary treatments (n=3 animals each)
A study of roe deer fibropapillomatosis, a neoplastic disease with rising occurrence, was conducted in Slovakia during 1998-2014. The first documented case of the disease was identified in 1998, at the district of Senica, in the western part of the country bordering with the Czech Republic. The disease spread from the place of initial occurrence towards the south-eastern regions of Slovakia. During the 17 years of monitoring, the disease spread to 37 districts from the total of 72 districts in the Slovak Republic and 610 cases of roe deer fibropapillomatosis were registered. Examined cases were categorized according to the extent of the lesions as follows: animals with 1 to 10 tumours (53.28 %), 11 to 30 tumours (30.49 %) and more than 31 tumours (16.23 %). The size of tumours was categorized in 45.41 % of the individuals as small (10-50 mm) and in 46.72 % individuals as medium sized (51-100 mm). Large tumours (101 mm and larger) were rare. The predilection site of tumour development in both sexes of roe deer was the skin of the abdomen, followed by forelegs and hind legs, the back and the head. Although the viral aetiology of the disease has been clarified previously, there are still open questions regarding the epidemiology of the disease, particularly about the role of vectors and other environmental factors in its expansion.
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