Capturing free-roaming dogs for sterilisation: A multi-site study in Goa, India.

Sterilisation and rabies vaccination programs seek to manage free-roaming domestic dog (Canis familiaris) populations with the aim to reduce inter-species disease transmission and conflicts. As effective, permanent, remotely-administered options are not yet available for sterilisation, and oral vaccination is not yet commonly used; free-roaming dogs are typically captured for these interventions. There is a paucity of information describing how dog capture rates change over time within defined areas following repeated capture efforts. This data is needed to allow efficient dog capture programmes to be developed. Using spatial co-ordinates of dog capture, we characterise where dogs are more likely to be captured in six catch-sterilise-release campaigns, in Goa state, India. Combining capture numbers with population survey data collected in five sites, we document the increasing difficulty of catching entire (non-sterilised) dogs as sterilisation coverage increases and demonstrate how this leads to increased unit costs. Accounting for the extra resources required to capture dogs when sterilisation coverage is high will improve estimation of the resources required to manage free-roaming dog populations and assist in planning the most efficient intervention strategies.

Timing of reproduction and association with environmental factors in female free-roaming dogs in southern India.

Annual peaks in reproductive activity have been identified in multiple domestic dog populations. However, there is little evidence to describe how these peaks may be associated with environmental factors such as daylength, which plays a well-established role in breeding patterns of seasonally-reproductive species. Data were collected 2016-2020 during 7,743 and 4,681 neuter surgeries on adult female unowned free-roaming dogs in veterinary clinics in Goa and Tamil Nadu respectively. Temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, and daylength data were gathered for time periods preceding the neuter surgery that may have influenced the likelihood of pregnancy (potential influence periods). A multivariable generalised additive model was used to assess the relationship between these factors and pregnancy. The prevalence of pregnancy varied by month in both locations indicating seasonality of reproduction in these groups. The annual pattern was more distinct in Goa with a peak in pregnancies between September and December. In Goa, decreasing daylength was associated with a higher probability of pregnancy (p = 0.040). Decreasing temperature was associated with decreasing probability of pregnancy in the Nilgiris (p = 0.034). Bitches had a median of 6 foetuses, with no evidence of seasonal variation. Environmental factors were associated with patterns of pregnancy in free-roaming dogs, however statistically-significant factors varied by geographical location. Establishing local seasonal patterns of breeding in free-roaming dogs and assessing their relationship with environmental influences is recommended to facilitate effective and efficient population management strategies, which aim to reduce conflict between human and free-roaming dog populations.

Time to collapse following slaughter without stunning in cattle.

Time to physical collapse was examined in 174 cattle which were restrained in the upright position and then released immediately from the restraint following the halal cut. The frequencies of swelling and false aneurysm in the cephalic and cardiac severed ends of the arteries were recorded. Fourteen percent of the cattle collapsed and stood up again before finally collapsing. The average time to final collapse for all the cattle was 20s (sd+/-33). In 8% of the animals time to final collapse was 60s. Seventy-one percent of the cattle that took more than 75s to collapse had false aneurysms in the cardiac ends of the severed carotid arteries. The frequency of swelling at the cephalic severed ends of the carotid arteries in 129 cattle was 7%. Failure to collapse within 60s was associated with swelling of the cephalic ends of the carotid arteries.