Use of water troughs by badgers and cattle

O’Mahony, Declan T.

doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2014.10.016

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Moreover, in the study by Smith et al [47], when cattle were offered only badger-contaminated swards of varying quantities of contamination, cattle consumed the swards that were most densely contaminated the least. Our results, coupled with the results from the behavioral study by Smith et al [47] and others [50–53], suggest that at least in pasture-based production systems breeding for the favorable minor allele of SNPs in the olfactory receptor genes on BTA15 may reduce the likelihood of cattle becoming infected with bTB as a result of fewer cattle consuming badger contaminated pasture. Results from the present study should, however, be interpreted with caution due to the very low frequency of favorable alleles in the population.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

“…Smith et al [47] reported that cattle were least likely to graze badger-contaminated swards, compared to any sward contaminated by other species. Notably, badgers ( Meles meles ) are deemed to be the primary wildlife reservoir of bTB in the Republic of Ireland [48] and they are known to transmit the disease to cattle [49], yet badgers tend to avoid cattle in pasture as well as cattle housing [50–53], thus direct contact between badgers and cattle is rare. Moreover, in the study by Smith et al [47], when cattle were offered only badger-contaminated swards of varying quantities of contamination, cattle consumed the swards that were most densely contaminated the least.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Variance components for bovine tuberculosis infection and multi-breed genome-wide association analysis using imputed whole genome sequence data

et al. 2019

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Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is an infectious disease of cattle generally caused by Mycobacterium bovis , a bacterium that can elicit disease humans. Since the 1950s, the objective of the national bTB eradication program in Republic of Ireland was the biological extinction of bTB; that purpose has yet to be achieved. Objectives of the present study were to develop the statistical methodology and variance components to undertake routine genetic evaluations for resistance to bTB; also of interest was the detection of regions of the bovine genome putatively associated with bTB infection in dairy and beef breeds. The novelty of the present study, in terms of research on bTB infection, was the use of beef breeds in the genome-wide association and the utilization of imputed whole genome sequence data. Phenotypic bTB data on 781,270 animals together with imputed whole genome sequence data on 7,346 of these animals’ sires were available. Linear mixed models were used to quantify variance components for bTB and EBVs were validated. Within-breed and multi-breed genome-wide associations were undertaken using a single-SNP regression approach. The estimated genetic standard deviation (0.09), heritability (0.12), and repeatability (0.30) substantiate that genetic selection help to eradicate bTB. The multi-breed genome-wide association analysis identified 38 SNPs and 64 QTL regions associated with bTB infection; two QTL regions (both on BTA23) identified in the multi-breed analysis overlapped with the within-breed analyses of Charolais, Limousin, and Holstein-Friesian. Results from the association analysis, coupled with previous studies, suggest bTB is controlled by an infinitely large number of loci, each having a small effect. The methodology and results from the present study will be used to develop national genetic evaluations for bTB in the Republic of Ireland. In addition, results can also be used to help uncover the biological architecture underlying resistance to bTB infection in cattle.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variance components for bovine tuberculosis infection and multi-breed genome-wide association analysis using imputed whole genome sequence data

et al. 2019

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“…Badgers were detected in the vicinity of cattle water troughs during winter and summer with equal frequency but were observed drinking rarely (equivalent to 1 detection per water trough every 87 days). Previously, badgers have been observed utilizing cattle water troughs by standing on their hind limbs (O'Mahony, ) but in the present study animals were observed standing on top of water trough reservoirs or by leaning in from adjacent hedgerow banks which provided access (Figure a). Water troughs were the sole locations where badgers visited cattle locations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…At the locations of the camera traps, badgers and cattle were never recorded at the same time and location. In studies using proximity loggers, badger and cattle close contact was found to be very rare (Drewe, O'connor, Weber, McDONALD, & Delahay, 2013;O'Mahony, 2014b;Woodroffe et al, 2016). Therefore, it is likely that camera trapping at point locations may be limited in its ability to capture such rare events.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interspecific visitation of cattle and badgers to fomites: A transmission risk for bovine tuberculosis?

Campbell

Byrne

Menzies³

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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In Great Britain and Ireland, badgers ( Meles meles ) are a wildlife reservoir of Mycobacterium bovis and implicated in bovine tuberculosis transmission to domestic cattle. The route of disease transmission is unknown with direct, so‐called “nose‐to‐nose,” contact between hosts being extremely rare. Camera traps were deployed for 64,464 hr on 34 farms to quantify cattle and badger visitation rates in space and time at six farm locations. Badger presence never coincided with cattle presence at the same time, with badger and cattle detection at the same location but at different times being negatively correlated. Badgers were never recorded within farmyards during the present study. Badgers utilized cattle water troughs in fields, but detections were infrequent (equivalent to one badger observed drinking every 87 days). Cattle presence at badger‐associated locations, for example, setts and latrines, were three times more frequent than badger presence at cattle‐associated locations, for example, water troughs. Preventing cattle access to badger setts and latrines and restricting badger access to cattle water troughs may potentially reduce interspecific bTB transmission through reduced indirect contact.

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“…Farmyards may represent important bovine tuberculosis (bTB) transmission interfaces, since visits by badgers (Meles meles) can be frequent, involve a variety of building types and provide opportunities for direct and indirect contact between badgers and cattle (Garnett et al, 2002;Tolhurst et al, 2009;Ward et al, 2010). Other opportunities for indirect contact are present at water troughs (O'Mahony, 2014).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%