Inbreeding has become a problem in some horse breeds. Studies show that it may lead to inbreeding depression which affects e.g. reproduction traits. In the wild there are mechanisms that make horses avoid mating with close relatives. When selection is done by humans this mechanism is removed and intensive breeding for a few traits, for example good racing results, can become a problem.

The purpose of the study was to find out whether the interaction between mentally disabled individuals and pet positively affects the individual and gives a feeling of well-being to the extent that this might be implicated in the psychologically disabled people?s everyday life in some form of rehabilitation measure. The study is qualitative and builds on an ethnographic design. Data collection was performed through six observations, six interviews and reflections. Interviews were also conducted with relatives and assistants for greater opportunity for follow-up questions, and descriptions of the situation.

This paper discusses animal welfare, and Sweden, as an EU member state, has a responsibility toensure that official animal welfare inspections are carried out in accordance with communityregulations. The first of January 2009, the welfare moved from the municipalities in to the 21county administrative boards. This restructuring was made due to the deficiencies that the auditconducted by the EU of the FVO (Food and Veterinary Office) 2003 found in the Swedishsystem. Sweden failed in coordination and inspection to ensure animal welfare.The aim of this examination paper is to shed light on animal welfare work operated in the countyof Halland and in Sweden in general. The paper focuses on a few questions.

Bakgrund: Djur har under väldigt många år varit en del av människans vardag från början i form av vakt och jaktdjur. Idag används djuren mer som sällskap och familjemedlemmar. Hundar och människor har genom århundradena tillsammans utvecklat ett samspel som gör att de kan kommunicera. Många äldre personer har idag husdjur som enda sällskap när barnen flyttat ut och make/maka gått bort. När personen måste flytta till ett vårdboende kan de bli tvungna att göra sig av med sitt djur för att många vårdboende idag inte tillåter djur där.

The aim of this study is to describe how nature is portrayed in swedish poet and critic Aase Berg?s two earliest poetry collections, Hos rådjur (1997) and Mörk materia (1999), and how it relates to notions of humanity, culture and civilisation. The concept of ?nature? is problematized in a short survey of how it has been used by and critizised in ecocritical literary theory, which is used as the main theoretical framework for this survey, with an emphasis on selected theoretical concepts by Donna Haraway. As a methodological starting point, ?nature? is tentatively defined as ?that which does not let itself be subsumed under the human, culture or civilisation?, and this definition is contrasted with how the concepts are handled in the texts.The investigation shows that the relationship of nature to the human is a fundamental theme that provides a structure for both poetry collections.

Adherence to medical ordination is low and for long-time medication it is estimated to be as low as 50 percent. Depending on the prescribed drug this could lead to adverse effects and/or loss of effect of the drug. Information about why a drug is prescribed is important patient information and is thought to help increase compliance with the physician?s prescription. According to results from a recent study of visits to the emergency room at Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset in Solna, Stockholm, medically related problems were the cause in about 30 percent of the cases.

Several previous studies have in different ways tried to explain how new social movements are affected by the different sets of political and social contexts within different states and societies. This essay asks the question how much the institutional aspects within the theory of Political Opportunity Structures (POS) have determined how the rather successful animal rights movements in the Netherlands and Great Britain have mobilized and acted to gain progress. Since the Netherlands and Great Britain contains different kinds of political and institutional contexts, these two states are found to be suitable for a comparative analysis of the theory's durability. A qualitative portrayal of both state's institutional political opportunity structures are presented. Then the mobilization, progress, and actions of the political party ?Party for the Animals? in the Netherlands, and a wide group of animal rights organisations in Great Britain are determined.

Efter att vi kommit i kontakt med en tidningsartikel som handlade om barn som läste för en specialtränad hund, väcktes vår nyfikenhet för möjligheten att använda sig av djur i undervisningssyften. Vår utgångspunkt är att studera hur barn kan träna upp sina läsfärdigheter. Avgränsningen i studien innebär att vi har för avsikt att studera yngre barns, i årskurs 2, upplevelser av att läsa högt för ett djur. Vi valde att göra en kvalitativ undersökning i form av intervju, där 6 elever intervjuades, eftersom vi var intresserade av att studera elevers uppfattningar och tankar kring att läsa för ett djur. I resultatet har det framkommit att när eleverna talade om läsupplevelsen beskrev de att de fann det roligt att läsa för sin hund.

The Angolan black and white colobus monkey (Colobus angolensis palliatus) is an arboreal primate that inhabits coastal forest fragments on the south cost of Kenya and is consequently vulnerable to forest fragmentations. The study was carried out in March and April 2011 in Diani Beach in Kenya where two of the largest populations of the species are distributed. This study is a pilot study to test methods for a Master?s thesis. The aim was to investigate any variations in use of two habitats of C.a.

Chewing behaviour includes both eating and ruminating activity. Chewing behaviour is of great importance for the feed intake as through the action of chewing (i.e. eating and ruminating) animals mechanically process the forages in small particle sizes and prepare the food for digestion. As cattle grow the chewing behaviour changes along with increasing body weight and chewing efficiency is increased. The aim of this thesis was to review the available scientific literature in order to describe chewing behaviour in growing cattle, as well as the factors that affect this behaviour.

Wildlife fences are today commonly used along highways to reduce the risk of vehicle collisions with wildlife. Since traffic and roads have expanded over the years, wildlife behaviour has become more interesting not only for the prevention of vehicle collisions but also to understand how human activities impact their natural habitats. Moose is one of those animals that have increased in interest in such studies. In this study, I tested if the probability to cross wildlife fences of moose would increase with increasing home range sizes, and also at what time of the year they cross. The study area is situated in Nordmaling municipality, located in Northern Sweden in the County of Västerbotten.

The aims of the study were to investigate the prevalence and antibiotic resistance of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in chicken and chicken products, and to investigate farmer awareness of antibiotic resistance development. The study was conducted in the Can Tho province in Vietnam during six weeks in October to November 2008. Ninety-six samples from raw chickens were collected from twelve market places and analysed for the presence of Campylobacter. A total of 96 cloacal swabs from 20 farms were obtained and analysed for the presence of Campylobacter. Farmers were asked to answer eight questions concerning the housing of the chickens, modes of handling sick animals as well as use and knowledge of antibiotics and resistance development to antibiotics.

Earlier studies have shown that musculoskeletal disorders among animal keepers are more frequent than in other occupations. Most of the farms have expanded and the farmers who used to work alone have suddenly become a work manager with several employers. There are only a few studies made on the work environment in dairy farms. Our study is based on a questionnaire and is a part of a project called large dairy herds. The study is based on data from the persons who milk most of the time. The questions they had to answer were about the work environment, musculoskeletal disorders and the psychosocial environment. The results of the survey are presented in diagrams and figures. It was common that the dairy producer themselves answered the questionnaire.

The value of game for hunting from a social economic viewpoint is an interesting topic that is currently being investigated in a Swedish research program. The amount of damages that the game stocks cause to the forestry is, and has been in focus for a longer period of time. Something that I saw as missing was an investigation of how much an active game keeping measure might cost in lost incomes for forestry in terms of reduced acreage for forest production. This question was the foundation for this investigation, which purpose is to give interested persons with decent knowledge of forestry an example of how cost estimation for forestry resembling the example that is studied can look like. The measures that has been taken is a felling of forest in different ages on both sides of a forest dirt road to create increased asset of forage for the game, and at the same time give hunters that have their post along the dirt road a better chance of seeing passing animals early and increasing the possibility to shoot good shots. The area, which is a part of The Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management estate Öster Malma, is also used as an example for guests who wish to learn more about managing ungulates. These guests have now got the opportunity to get information on how big the costs are for the measures that have been taken. The main conclusions of this work is that changed timber prices and foremost a change of interest rate makes big differences on the result of the calculations.

Uganda has the largest pig population in east Africa, and most of the animals are owned by smallholders. Infectious diseases among pigs have a devastating impact on the livelihood of these farmers, which are dependent on the proceeds from pig rearing. In a metagenomics study of the wild pig species bushpig (Potamochoerus larvatus), the porcine viruses Torque teno sus virus (TTSuV) 1and 2 and Porcine parvovirus 4 (PPV4) were detected. TTSuV1 and 2 are ubiquitous in the world?s swine population, and PPV4 has been found in USA and China, but neither of them has been studied in Africa previously.