The purpose with this study was to find out if tailbiting pigs have a higher or lower daily weight gain than non-tailbiting pigs in the same pen before tailbitingbehaviour occur. The purpose was also to compare the occurrence of tailbiting between different breeds (Swedish Landrace, Yorkshire and Hampshire). Tailbiting among pigs has been a problem for pigfarmers a long time. Tailbiting means reduced animal welfare for the pig and economical loss for the farmer. The results of this study are based on statistical analyses.

A shorter dry period length has in studies abroad showed some positive effects among high yielding dairy cows. Among other things it has been suggested that the periparturient metabolic stress becomes lower, that the fertility is improved and dry off becomes gentler for the udder, due to a lower milk yield. The milk yield is generally reduced during the first period after calving, especially among primiparous cows. The aim of this master thesis was to investigate how Swedish cows were affected by a shortened dry period, regarding milk yield, metabolism, health, body condition and body weight from two months before calving to some weeks after calving. Also plasma concentration of lactose during the period before calving was determined.

Skiascopy, also called retinoscopy, is a method for determining the refractive power of the eye. There are only a few, old studies made on equine refraction. The aim of this study was to investigate the refractive power in a population of Swedish horses. The study consists of a review of relevant studies done on animals and an experimental part where the refractive power of 93 horses of different age, breed and usage was examined. A pilot study of 12 horses was performed regarding the importance of cycloplegia when doing skiascopy on horses. The results of the pilot study show no significant difference in the skiascopy results between the group before and after cycloplegia were induced. Consequently, there is no need of inducing cycloplegia before doing skiascopy in adult horses. The study shows that horses usually were emmetropic (normally sighted) with minor deviations toward myopia or hyperopia.

Uppsatsen nedan är baserad på en kvantitativ och en kvalitativ undersökning med syfte att kartläggaolika sporters, med fokus på hästsport, representation och framställning under en fyraveckorsperiod2012 i två av Sveriges största dagstidningar. Vi ansåg det viktigt att genomföra den här undersökningenför att se om fördomarna kring bristen på representation av hästsport i media har någongrund, samt om mediestormen kring Rolf-Göran Bengtssons Jerringpris gav någon efterverkan förhästsportens representation.Först genomfördes den kvantitativa studien där över 1 100 artiklar analyserades. Den kvalitativastudien följde där fyra reportage valdes ut för vidare analys. Reportagen behandlade de tre mestomskrivna sporterna samt hästsport. Reportagen analyserades och jämfördes i hopp om att finnamönster med likheter eller skillnader.

Swedish beef production has during the past year decreased while the consumption has increased. It´s imported beef that takes market shares. The purpose with this degreeproject is to investigate if the restaurants in Sweden are using imported or Swedish beef and the reason for their choice. The purpose is to find out if there is something the Swedish beef producers can change to increase Swedish beef in restaurants. My expectation is that the demand for Swedish beef will increase in restaurant and later even among consumers. I have interviewed ten chiefs in different restaurants and asked them the following questions: Is it the price, quality or something else that influences your choise? Does it matter to their customers if they serve Swedish or imported beef? How is the marketing of Swedish beef? It appeared both Swedish and imported beef on the restaurants.

Most of the beef production in Sweden has been integrated with milk production. Since the 1990:s, the number of dairy cows has decreased. A specialised beef production has developed in purpose to compensate for this decrease. The consumption of beef have increased in the last decade, but the Swedish production has no followed this trend. In 2004, the percentage of beef self-sufficiency in Sweden was 60 %.

Grasslands which have been actively managed for a long time and which in modern times have not been subject to cultivation such as fertilization are called semi-natural grasslands. These rare and species-rich areas hold an ecological, biological and historical value and if the management stops these areas will likely diminish. More effective agricultural systems and a declining number of grazing animals have in Sweden, among other countries, made semi-natural grasslands less valuable as foraging areas. Shrubs and fast growing plants rapidly colonize abandoned semi-natural grasslands, threatening biodiversity. The objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of breed and season on diet composition, with special reference to four competitive species found in wet areas ? in cattle grazing heterogeneous semi-natural grasslands ? and thereby contribute to improved management of these areas.

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the second most common heart disease in dogs. Since the disease is seen more frequently in certain breeds, among them Newfoundland dogs, a genetic factor is suspected. This study was partly undertaken to investigate whether there is a significant sex predilection regarding DCM. Moreover, the difference in mean age of death between male dogs and females with DCM was investigated, as well as males and females dying from DCM compared to dying from other reasons (i.e. without DCM).

Djur har historiskt haft en central roll i människans utveckling och behandling av ohälsa, och djurs hälso- och terapifrämjande egenskaper har de senaste decennierna börjat uppmärksammas. Med syfte att utröna hur hästar kan användas i terapeutiskt arbete intervjuades sex yrkesverksamma kvinnor på två behandlingshem med hästassisterad terapi (HAT) för tonårsflickor med psykosocial problematik. Därtill enkätintervjuades fyra kvinnor som genomgått HAT. Det framkom att hästar kan utgöra terapeutiska och kommunikativa verktyg som kringgår klientens försvarsmekanismer, reducerar det hotfulla i samtals-situationer samt underlättar koncentration och anknytning. Klienten upplever ett ömsesidigt förhållande med hästen, och meningsfullhet och kärlek.

Ethiopia is the country with most livestock per capita on the continent of Africa. There are 34.5 million cattle that are used for drought, meat- and milkproduction and 85% of the population rely on agriculture for their survival in some way. Milk is produced in four main systems, through pastoralism in the lowlands, in mixed crop-livestock systems in the highlands, in and near big cities with only one or two cows, and in intensive farming systems. There are 17 cattle breeds in Ethiopia and some of them are more suitable for milk production than others. Several environmental and economic problems arise from livestock holding in the country, for example overgrazing, low production due to feed shortage, low quality of the avaible feed and non-existing breeding programs.

Genom tiderna har det funnits ett särskilt band mellan människan och sällskapsdjuret. Forskning tyder på att denna relation bär med sig åtskilliga fördelar för människan. I den här studien undersöks vad hästen och hunden upplevs ha för inverkan på människan. I studien intervjuades 15 kvinnor som har djurrelaterade yrken. Nio beskrev hundens inverkan och sex beskrev hästens.

The main objective of this study was to evaluate animal welfare situation in Ethiopia during slaughter and to investigate chain activities between animal markets and Kera abattoir in Addis Abeba. In total, 442 animals were observed within 52 groups of cattle; both ox and calves with different breeds. The study was divided into four different sets of data collection; behavioural observations, recording of slaughter process, observation during transport and interview. During the behavioural observations, an ethogram was used with 46 behaviours observed, categorised into 5 different groups. The data was calculated using Excel and SAS. The results indicated that a significant correlation (p-value.

A number of studies in human medicine has documented positive effects of whole body vibration treatment in humans. The Vitafloor system, witch is based on treatment of horses with vibration, has the purpose to be used in training of healthy horses and as rehabilitation for horses with injuries in their musculosceletal system. The purpose of this study was to analyse what happens with a clinically healthy horse during treatment with Vitafloor. The methods used is mainly thermography before and after treatment, but also blood samples, measurement of rectal temperature, heart rate, clinical examination and observation of psychic reactions has been done. Statistic significant changes in skin temperature in hoofs and fetlocks of front legs has been observed after treatment with Vitafloor. Analyzing of the blood samples showed a tendency for decrease in Kalium, and two of the horses had changes in CK. No negative effect has been observed with the treatment of horses with Vitafloor, and the horses seems to like the treatment. .

Sport horses are widely used for performance in jumping, dressage, endurance etc. To enable comparisons of horses, training facilities, programs or physical status, an exercise test can be used. Exercise tests are also important to increase knowledge about exercise physiology of the horse considering different ways of training to compare training methods or individual qualities, development of an individual or other investigations of equine exercise physiology. Since several investigations are done on standard- and thoroughbred horses but less on sport horses, it is of great importance to get an overview of the investigations done. Most common is to investigate heart rate and lactate concentration.

Research where personality in animals is studied is becoming more and more common. In this area there are different concepts like behavioural syndrome and animal personality and they usually talk about consistency in behaviour over time and situations. This consistent individual behaviour can be used as an indicator of how individuals can handle and adjust to new situations in the environment. Because of this, personality studies in animals are very important in animal welfare. In this study personality in dairy cattle in lose housing were studied.