When is a "breed" not a breed: the myth of the Mpwapwa cattle of Tanzania.

Almost all of Tanzania's huge cattle population is native Tanganyika Shorthorn Zebu (TSZ) (Bos indicus), an animal of small stature and reputably low productivity. Attempts to improve productivity started in 1925 by crossing local cattle with European (B. indicus) bulls and by disease control using TSZ cattle to produce antirinderpest serum. Efforts to create a beast adapted to central Tanzania's hot semiarid environment were initiated in the 1930s using B. indicus breed such as Red Sindhi and Sahiwal bulls from India and Bos taurus such as Ayrshires from the UK. These attempts were halted in 1940. A new programme, started in 1944, aimed to create a composite animal capable of producing 2300 kg of milk in a 305-day lactation with a calving interval of 380 days and a 250-kg carcass from a 4-year old steer. Additional genetics were introduced including Kenya Boran (B. indicus) and UK Jersey and Guernsey (B. taurus) in addition to the Ayrshire. The composite was declared a breed in 1958 but the animal was nowhere near a fixed type and genetic modification continued for many years. Development was complicated by factors including disease, drought, inadequate nutrition, the political and economic climates and lack of professional staff. Production targets were never achieved and new genetics, especially Sahiwal (B. indicus) from Kenya, continued to be introduced. By the early 21st century, the Mpwapwa animal was almost 80% Sahiwal. There has never been more than 1000 live Mpwapwa-type animals at one time and there has been little dissemination outside the original station. Declared as endangered by international organizations and within Tanzania, it could be considered that the Mpwapwa has never been a breed in the conventional sense of an animal breeding true to type with consistent production outputs.

The animal sacrifice-public health nexus in Nepal.

Participants in religious festivals have practiced animal sacrifice as a core part of Hinduism for hundreds of years-at a small scale by individuals and at large scale at major festivals. Butchers frequently perform sacrificial slaughter openly, in sight and sound of other animals with little or no guidance from or adherence to hygienic standards, which are poor or non-existent. One Health principles could guide development of interventions to protect human and animal health and welfare from these practices, but this concept is poorly understood in Nepal. Animal welfare organizations and international outcry have prompted some action through the Supreme Court, but the result fell short of a ban and little has been done in the face of religious considerations. Public health agencies and policymakers must act to implement effective regulations and enforce laws to prevent the human, animal, and environmental health risks surrounding these inhumane and unhygienic practices in order to ensure the protection of animal welfare and public health.

Antimicrobial Resistance in Nepal.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global problem to animal and public health. It has drawn the attention of public health experts, stakeholders, and medical science due to the substantial economic loss that it causes to individuals and nation as a whole. Various cross-sectional studies and some national surveys in developing countries have shown increase in the burden of antimicrobial resistance. Nepal is one of the major contributors to the growing burden of AMR due to widespread irrational use of antibiotics along with poor health care systems poor infection control and prevention measures. This review was conducted to summarize the situation of AMR in Nepal, determinants of AMR, current government intervention strategies and the way forward to reduce the AMR burden in Nepal. Available cross sectional reports warn that bacterial pathogens are becoming highly resistant to most first- and some second-line antibiotics. The irrational and injudicious use of high doses of antibiotics for therapy and sub-optimal doses as growth promoters are leading causes of AMR in Nepal. Establishment of a surveillance programme and a national plan for containment of AMR, following the National Antibiotics Treatment Guideline 2014 and generation of awareness among veterinarians, technicians, and medical physicians on prudent use of antimicrobial drugs in Nepal could reduce the burden of AMR. In addition, there is a need to develop a national laboratory strategic plan to provide guidance and governance to national laboratories.

Animal Welfare in Nepal.

The small densely populated country of Nepal rises from just above sea level to more than 8800 m and encompasses many agro-ecological zones. Rich in both nature and culture, livestock are integral to household and national economies. Most Nepalese consider the cow sacred, and slaughter is forbidden. Other nonhuman animals are less esteemed, slaughter is not proscribed, and many are sacrificed during religious festivals. Limited financial and material resources, inadequate feed supplies, poor access to veterinary services, absence of appropriate legislation, and ignoring the needs of livestock as sentient beings can compromise welfare and lead to inhumane treatment. This article reviews the welfare status of various groups (food-producing stock, work animals, street dogs, experimental animals, and elephants in captivity). Several animal welfare charities are represented. Suggestions for improved welfare are discussed, but the prognosis is not encouraging especially in view of the widespread struggle and people's own struggle for survival.

The past, present and future of domestic equines in Tanzania.

Equines are minor species in Tanzania's array of domestic livestock. Attempts to use them for transport by early explorers from the mid-nineteenth century usually failed. Donkeys were used extensively as pack animals to complement human porters by both British and German forces in the First World War, but their advantages were often outweighed by slow progress and competition with troops and porters for water, and they died in huge numbers. The British had regular cavalry troops in their campaign and mules found limited use as individual mounts for officers. In modern times, there are very few horses in Tanzania but they find several uses. Exotic safaris are made on horseback, they are used as stock horses on ranches, there is a polo club in northern Tanzania and there are leisure riding activities around the capital city. Official census records for donkeys estimate numbers at under 300,000 with concentrations in the northern pastoral and agropastoral areas where they are used as pack animals with water being the main commodity transported. Elsewhere donkeys are used to a limited extent in transport and traction work. There is little interest in equines by the central and local governments or the general public and the status quo can be expected to continue.

The domestic livestock resources of Turkey: status, use and some physical characteristics of mules.

Mules are known to have been used as carriage and riding animals in Mesopotamia and Anatolia as early as the beginning of the second millennium BC but may have been first bred in Anatolia in the Third Century BC. They have thus contributed to Turkey's cultural, social and economic heritage for more than 4,000 years and were an ancient component of its guild of domestic animals and overall biodiversity. Once bred country-wide most mules are now introduced "illegally" to the southeast and east from Iraq and Iran. Mules are now bred only in one small area in north-central Turkey close to the Black Sea. The major role as a pack animal has been usurped since the mid-twentieth century by increasing use of motor transport and numbers have declined rapidly since the early 1980s. In 2009 about 51,500 mules remained in Turkey, mainly distributed in discrete areas in the extreme southeast, the centre-south, the northwest and the centre-north. In the southeast the main role is in cross-border trade (much of it described as smuggling) whereas in other areas mules are used in support of pastoral and farming operations. Mules in Turkey are of various colours but are generally large and strong compared to those found in many other countries. Pressure on numbers will continue and will exert a negative effect on a part of Turkey's national heritage and domestic animal biodiversity.

Fit for purpose--the right animal in the right place.

The development pathway for tropical livestock production for many years in the twentieth century was to upgrade or replace indigenous stock with exotics of supposedly higher genetic merit. Early indications that this might not be the most appropriate approach were largely ignored. Later there was a reverse movement towards locally developed species and breeds. These were seen as pools of irreplaceable genetic material of unacknowledged merit and value that must not be lost but must be conserved for possible unknown unseen future use. This paper examines the use of various native species and breeds. It goes on to describe some attempts at the introduction of genetically engineered highly productive (at least in their areas of origin) stock. Examples of attempts to produce cross or synthetic breeds are then provided. In a last section the case for the right animal in the right place--and these may be unconventional species and breeds--is provided.

Status and prospects for livestock production in the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

Some 16 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product of the Lao PDR arises from the livestock sector. Almost all output--live animals and products--is from traditional small scale production and about 90 per cent of all households in the country keep one or more species of livestock. Industrial or large scale production is of very minor importance even for pigs and poultry. Considerable international assistance has been provided for livestock development, initially from the Socialist states that were of the same political persuasion as Lao PDR and more recently from multilateral and bilateral development assistance agencies. In general this assistance has not conferred lasting benefits on the sector in part due to the failure of the Lao Government to provide continuing support commensurate with the sector's contribution to the national economy. Buffalo (1.1 million head in 2004) and cattle (1.3 million head) are the main ruminant species with goats and sheep (140 000 head) occupying a very minor position. Both pigs (1.7 million) and poultry (19.6 million) are major contributors to the household and national economies. Buffalo are now mainly meat producers, their former draught and transport roles having been taken over by mechanical equipment. Cattle, also once used for draught, are almost exclusively producers of beef. Pigs and poultry produce meat and poultry provide eggs. Lao indigenous livestock are mainly kept in low input systems, thus output is also low. Nothing is known of the genetic potential of the indigenous stock which are the victims of poor management, inadequate nutrition and minimal health care. There is strong and rising demand for products of animal origin within the country and in the greater Southeast Asia and East Asia regions. Given suitable and appropriate support the Lao livestock sector would be in a strong position to contribute to supplying this demand.