These guidelines support a harmonized international approach to assessing the impacts of livestock on biodiversity. The livestock sector is a major user of natural resources (land in particular) and contributor to pollution (causing nutrient losses and increasing greenhouse gas emissions), which makes it a sector with a high impact on biodiversity. However, livestock production is one of the few sectors with not only negative but also positive impacts on biodiversity. The sector can therefore pull two levers to improve its biodiversity performance - mitigate harm and maximise benefits. Yet many environmental assessments of the livestock sector have not addressed biodiversity because of its intrinsic complexity. These guidelines, developed by the Technical Advisory Group on biodiversity - a team of 25 international experts in ecology, biodiversity indicators, agronomy, and environmental science - strive to include biodiversity in such assessments, to improve understanding of livestock's impact on biodiversity and to reveal possible synergies or trade-offs with other environmental criteria and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Feed intake is the central issue in animal husbandry, being the key factor in determining health, welfare, environmental impact and productivity. With the focus on these issues, this book has been developed from the 5th Zodiac Symposium held in Wageningen in April 1998. The book reflects research conducted by observing natural behavior, by investigating form-function relationships, physiology, metabolism and genetic make-up, and by offering choices of feed and environment. Information from studies on humans, wildlife and fish, as well as farm animals, is presented. It is divided into three parts: 1) Natural Feeding, Feeding Modes, Preferences and Behavior, Physiological Regulation of Feed Intake: 2)Genetic, Metabolic, Hormonal and Neural Regulations, Environmental Factors and Feed Intake: 3) Feeding Behavior, Feed Choice and Feeding Habits. Contributors include leading research workers from several European countries and Africa.

The Proceedings of the 14th Symposium on Energy Metabolism of Farm Animals, held in Northern Ireland in September 1997, comprises 85 original contributions by leading scientists from over 20 countries around the world. In keeping with previous Symposia in the series, held under the auspices of the European Association for Animal Production, this book contains papers which provide the latest research on the energy metabolism and other aspects of the physiology of a wide variety of farmed animals. Highlights include a comprehensive review of the current state of research on leptins and their potential applications in animal production, and a large section relating to organ and tissue metabolism, with major contributions from the USA, UK, France, Germany and Denmark. An important strength of the book is the diversity of species covered. For example, the sections on modelling and feed evaluation relate to pigs, sows, broiler chickens, laying hens, turkeys, lambs, beef and dairy cattle and fish. There are also substantial contributions on lactation and reproduction, growth, environmental aspects and maintenance. This book is essential reading for research workers in animal science, particularly those concerned with nutrition and feed evaluation.

Everything an amateur pigkeeper needs for success Get Started in Pig Keeping offers amateur pigkeepers everything they need to make a success of this increasingly popular pursuit. Whether you are interested in breeding pigs, in meat production, or just want the pleasure of their company, this book covers legalities, basic equipment, picking breeds, understanding behaviour and how to raise and slaughter pigs. You'll get all of the advice you need on daily maintenance of your animal, from feeding to cleaning, and find ample resources if you wish to produce your own meat - or even market and sell it at a local level. Get Started in Pig Keeping includes: Chapter 1: The starting point Chapter 2: Preparation and knowing the rules Chapter 3: Before your pig arrives Chapter 4: Can keeping pigs be cost effective? Chapter 5: Getting your first pig Chapter 6: Feeding your pig Chapter 7: The health of your pig Chapter 8: Breeding from your own stock Chapter 9: Meat for the freezer Chapter 10: Sales and Marketing Chapter 11: Who's who in the pig world ABOUT THE SERIES People have been learning with Teach Yourself since 1938. With a vast range of practical how-to guides covering language learning, lifestyle, hobbies, business, psychology, and self-help, there's a Teach Yourself book for everything you want to do. Join more than 60 million people who have reached their goals with Teach Yourself, and never stop learning.

'One woman's gloriously lyrical account of life and love as a shepherdess' Mail on Sunday 'Janet White's unfailingly enjoyable book . . . taps into a widespread feeling that we have become cut off from the natural world' TLS 'An immensely enjoyable and heartfelt book: it makes you want to run for the hills' The Lady With an introduction by Colin Thubron As a child in wartime England, Janet White decided that she wanted to live somewhere wild and supremely beautiful, to inhabit and work the landscape. She imagined searching the whole world for a place, high and remote as a sheep stell, quiet as a monastery, challenging and virginal, untouched and unknown. Turning her back on convention, Janet's desire to carve out her own pastoral Eden has taken her from the Cheviot Hills to Sussex and Somerset, via the savage beauty of rural New Zealand. The Sheep Stell tells the tale of a woman before her time; a woman with incredible courage and determination, truly devoted to the land and its creatures. Evocative, unaffected and profound, it is a lost classic. 'A book to share or even fight over if necessary' Rosamund Young, author of The Secret Life of Cows 'An extraordinary memoir . . . The Sheep Stell is pure joy, one of the most moving books I've read in a long time'Philip Marsden, author of Rising Ground 'This is a strange and lovely book, and quiet as it is, it makes you gasp at the profoundly lived quality of the life it so modestly describes' Jenny Diski 'A hymn to country solitude, lyrical, unpretentious and deeply felt' Colin Thubron

Sheep and goats are farmed throughout the world for meat, fiber, milk and leather. These small ruminants are very susceptible to external parasites, which has significant implications for their health and welfare as well as the quality and value of the end products for which they are farmed. This book gives practical guidance on preventing and controlling ectoparasites that contribute to disease and infection in sheep and goats, discussing types of parasites, the diseases they cause and what methods of control are available, as well as wider implications such as animal welfare and environmental impacts.

Originally published in 1905, this book presents a history of horses and equidae, especially with regard to their relationship with humans. Ridgeway includes photographs of modern-day horses, which he describes as 'the most important ... of all the animals domesticated by man', as well as photographs and drawings of ancient artefacts featuring images of horses or relating to them. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in horses and the history of the immensely profitable human-horse relationship.

How can we learn from previous food production mistakes and pave a way for producing sustainable, nutritious, local meat? The Covid-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities of our globalised food system and highlighted the desperate need for local and regional supplies of healthy meat. We must replace industrial feed models, which are responsible for significant climate emissions, nitrogen pollution and animal suffering. Grass-Fed Beef for a Post-Pandemic World outlines a hopeful path out of our broken food system via regional networks of regeneratively produced meat. In 2017, Ridge Shinn and Lynne Pledger went to market with Big Picture Beef, a company that partners with farmers across the northeastern United States to provide high-quality, 100% grass-fed beef. Their model has increased participating farmers' access to wholesale markets, and their holistic grazing management techniques offer multiple benefits for the health and wellbeing of consumers, the environment and livestock. In Grass Fed-Beef for a Post-Pandemic World, you'll find information assembled from the fields of ecology, climate science, nutrition and animal welfare, along with stories from Ridge's travels as a consultant on farms all over the world. You'll discover how regenerative grazing can: restore degraded farmland protect against droughts and floods increase biodiversity combat climate change by reducing emissions and sequestering carbon contribute to regional economic development produce nutrient-dense, healthy meat for consumers Grass-Fed Beef for a Post-Pandemic World is not just for beef producers, but for anyone wondering how our farmers can raise cattle while caring for the local and global environment.

Prenatal life is the period of maximal development in animals, and it is well recognised that factors that alter development can have profound effects on the embryonic, fetal and postnatal animal. Scientists involved in research on livestock productivity have for decades studied postnatal consequences of fetal development on productivity. Recently, however, there has been a surge in interest in how to manage prenatal development to enhance livestock health and productivity. This has occurred largely due to the studies that show human health in later life can be influenced by events during prenatal life, and establishment of the Fetal Origins and the Thrifty Phenotype Hypotheses. This book, Managing the Prenatal Environment to Enhance Livestock Productivity reviews phenotypic consequences of prenatal development, and provides details of mechanisms that underpin these effects in ruminants, pigs and poultry. The chapters have been divided into three parts: Quantification of prenatal effects on postnatal productivity, mechanistic bases of postnatal consequences of prenatal development and regulators of fetal and neonatal nutrient supply. Managing the Prenatal Environment to Enhance Livestock Productivity is a reference from which future research to improve the level of understanding and capacity to enhance productivity, health and efficiency of livestock in developing and developed countries will evolve. It is particularly timely given the development of molecular technologies that are providing new insight into regulation and consequences of growth and development of the embryo, fetus and neonate.

Cattle Plague: A History is divided into five sections, dealing with the nature of the virus, followed by a chronological history of its occurrence in Europe from the Roman Empire to the final 20th century outbreaks; then administrative control measures through legislation, the principal players from the 18th century, followed by an analysis of some effects, political, economic and social. Then follows attempts at cure from earliest times encompassing superstition and witchcraft, largely Roman methods persisting until the 19th century; the search for a cure through inoculation and the final breakthrough in Africa at the end of the 19th century. The last section covers the disease in Asia and Africa. Appendices cover regulations now in force to control the disease as well as historical instructions, decrees and statutes dating from 1745-1878.

During the eighteenth century, Spain relaxed its stringent export restrictions on Merino sheep, whose notably fine fleeces had long ensured the reputation of the Spanish woollen industry. Merinos were introduced around Europe and in 1792 Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society, established the first British flock in George III's gardens at Kew. This book, describing the qualities and adaptability of the Merino, was originally published in Paris in 1802 by the French agriculturalist and aristocrat C. P. Lasteyrie (1759-1849). It appeared in 1810 in this English translation by Benjamin Thompson (1775/6-1816), a professional playwright and translator, who was also an unsuccessful agricultural speculator and, briefly, secretary to the Merino Society. Documenting the spread of the Merino, regional variations in breeding regulations and husbandry practices, and wool yields, prices and taxation, this promotional treatise sheds light on the history of both agriculture and commodity trading.

Welfare research has established a range of scientific indicators of stress, welfare and suffering in animals that can be applied to all aspects of improving their welfare through good housing and management, and the topic continues to grow in importance among both professionals and the public. The practical focus of this authoritative, comprehensive encyclopedia aims to promote the understanding and improvement of animals' behaviour without compromising welfare. Under the editorial direction of Professor Daniel Mills, the UK's first specialist in veterinary behavioural medicine, over 180 international experts have contributed a wealth of fully cross-referenced entries from concise definitions to detailed short essays on biological, practical, clinical and ethical aspects of behaviour and welfare in domestic, exotic, companion and zoo animals.

What constitutes animal welfare? With animals being used for companionship, service, research, food, fiber, and by-products, animal welfare is a topic of great interest and importance to society. As the world's population continues to increase, a major challenge for society is the maintenance of a strong and viable food system, which is linked to the well-being and comfort of food animals. Animal Welfare in Animal Agriculture: Husbandry, Stewardship, and Sustainability in Animal Production explores the pressing issue of farm animal welfare in animal production systems in the United States and globally. A framework for open discussion on animal welfare, this multidisciplinary book brings together the perspectives of 40 highly qualified and recognized experts in their respective fields. Fourteen chapters address a range of topics that includes ethics, sociology, food safety, ecology, feed resources, biotechnology, government regulations, and sustainability, as well as animal comfort, health, and contributions to society. The book also offers a historical perspective on the growth of animal agriculture from family farms to industrial animal agriculture-and the impact this has had on society. Illustrating the diversity of viewpoints, the concept of animal welfare is defined from the perspectives of an ethicist and philosopher, a research scientist, a veterinarian, an industrialist, and an activist, as well as from the perspective of sustainability and product quality. Written primarily for students, but also highly relevant for professionals in varying fields of academia and industry, this timely book reveals important insights into animal welfare and animal agriculture. Unique in its depth, breadth, and balance, it underscores the need for dialogue on wide-ranging and often contentious issues related to animal production systems.

William Henry Hudson (1841 1922) was an Argentinian-born American naturalist and author, who moved to England in 1874, and became known for his writings on natural history, both Argentine and English, and for his work with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. He travelled the country, observing wildlife and rural life in general, and won high praise both for his work as a naturalist and for his literary style. A Shepherd's Life, published in 1910, contains his impressions of the Wiltshire Downs - the people, places, wildlife and history - which are enhanced by numerous line-drawings. The central character of the book, Caleb Bawcombe, an elderly shepherd, is fictitious, but clearly based on real people Hudson had talked to in Wiltshire, and the overall picture is of continuing closeness to nature, despite enormous changes in agricultural practice, in rural societies at the end of the nineteenth century.

"Global Livestock Health Policy" is designed to provide an understanding of the complexities of national and subnational animal and public health policies and how those policies impact domestic livestock industries. These policies shape domestic disease control programs, international trade, and food safety efforts.

This book offers public policy makers and animal health officials in government and industry a foundation on which to institute scientifically sound national and subnational animal health programs; solidify infrastructures; enhance communication between legislators, regulators, and affected parties; and expedite international agreements for safe worldwide movement of animals and animal products in a global free market economy.

Organized in eight free standing chapters which include case studies, a glossary and an epilogue, this arrangement leads readers progressively through the events and decisions underlying the present US and global animal health policy status, lays out challenges facing the US and other nations, describes the components of a credible and competitive animal health infrastructure, and puts forward strategies for achieving policies that are adaptable to global and domestic dynamics while addressing the multiple issues and interests bearing on animal health, animal welfare, and food safety. The case studies contain background information and questions for group discussions.

The book is intended for use by animal health officials; agribusiness leaders; commodity groups; financial institutions; legislators and their staffs; importers and exporters of animals, animal products, biologics and pharmaceuticals; leadership of the regulatory, academic and diagnostic sectors of the agricultural and veterinary communities; consumers; or anyone else interested in protection, production, processing, and distribution of animals and related products.

Robert Bakewell of Dishley Grange in Leicestershire is usually regarded as the founding father of modern farm livestock breeding, and is thought of as one of the legendary pioneers of the agricultural revolution in late eighteenth-century Britain. However, Bakewell was by no means the first English breeder to practise deliberate selection of desirable qualities in his livestock. This book sets out to examine the ideas and techniques of earlier generations of agricultural and sporting improvers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and to demonstrate the earlier sources of many of Bakewell's opinions and procedures. It reviews the relationships which may have existed between the ideas of practical animal breeders and those of philosophical naturalists with theoretical ideas about heredity. It also touches on the question of whether the stimulus for the development of new stock was provided by demand for different products or by a desire to obtain knowledge about the heredity of domestic animals.

Aquaculture now supplies half of the seafood and fisheries products consumed worldwide and is gaining international significance as a source of food and income. Future demands for seafood and fisheries products can only be met by expanded aquaculture production. Such production will likely become more intensive and will depend increasingly on nutritious and efficient aquaculture feeds containing ingredients from sustainable sources.
To meet this challenge, Nutrient Requirements of Fish and Shrimp provides a comprehensive summary of current knowledge about nutrient requirements of fish and shrimp and supporting nutritional science. This edition incorporates new material and significant updates to information in the 1993 edition. It also examines the practical aspects of feeding of fish and shrimp.
Nutrient Requirements of Fish and Shrimp will be a key resource for everyone involved in aquaculture and for others responsible for the feeding and care of fish and shrimp. It will also aid scientists in developing new and improved approaches to satisfy the demands of the growing aquaculture industry.