The present study has tested the Shelter-Quality Protocol (SQ) and its applicability in nine long-term dog shelters in the Curitiba metropolitan area, State of Paran , southern Brazil. Welfare indicators were scored on three different levels including shelter, pen and dogs. Data were qualitatively analyzed, presenting an average of 66.67 ( 27.63) allocated dogs per shelter, receiving only dry food, with meal frequencies varying from once (44.4%), twice a day (33.3%), and ad libitum (22.2%). Water was available ad libitum in 98.5% of pens and was clean in (89.5%) of shelters. Most of the shelters grouped the dogs by size. Animals were kept indoors (41.0%) or entirely outdoors with only close movable shelters (41.3%), from which 78.5% had materials that could hurt the animals. None of the dogs were panting, crowding, or had any stereotypy behavior. No cough, swelling, and ectoparasites were observed. Animals were in satisfactory body-score condition and clean; no lameness was observed. In the human-animal relationship test, 15.3% of animals showed fearful and aggressive reactions. Hence, the level of shelter-quality was feasible and provided relevant information about the Brazilian dog shelter welfare. However, it is important in future studies to include and adopt additional indicators to gather other relevant aspects of dogs’ welfare, such as health management, environmental enrichment, dogs’ socialization, people involved in the chain, rate of adoption, and turnover of dogs.

The objective of this study was to evaluate if there is any influence of the seasons on the homeostasis of silver catfish (Rhamdia quelen) through haematological and serum biochemistry evaluations. During one year, blood samples were collected from groups of 40 silver catfish in each season (spring, summer, autumn, and winter), totaling 160 animals. Blood samples were collected individually and used for haematological and serum biochemistry evaluations. In general, the main haematological findings were observed in the summer and in the spring, with hemoglobin levels (6.32 g.dL-1 ± 0.20), total erythrocyte counts (1.62 x 106.μL-1 ± 0.05) and neutrophil counts (14.21 x 10³.µL-1 ± 0.60) higher in the summer than in the other seasons (p < 0.05), whereas in the spring the total leukocyte count (25.89 x 10³.µL-1 ± 1.02) and the number of eosinophils (9.08 x 10³.µL-1 ± 0.11) were higher when compared to the other seasons (p < 0.05). The levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT), and albumin levels were significantly altered between all seasons, but remained within the normal intervals for the species. Seasonality significantly influences haematological parameters and biochemical parameters of Rhamdia quelen, but without a clear determination of the types of change in each season.

The global per capita consumption of fish reached a record of 20.5 kg in 2018, thus demonstrating the sector’s importance. A potential risk to consider when consuming fish is the indirect intake of mycotoxins by humans when consuming fish from intensive fish farming fed with potentially contaminated mycotoxins. The aim of this study was to evaluate fish consumption and consumer awareness of possible mycotoxin contamination in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. The information was obtained through a questionnaire applied at supermarkets in 5 different city regions, obtaining 358 respondents. Descriptive analysis was performed on the data, followed by Spearman’s correlation analysis between the responses. It was observed that demographic data (e.g., age, gender, and social class) significantly influenced fish consumption frequency. Thus, 64.80% of respondents preferred tilapia meat over other fish species, 89.91% of people are unaware of mycotoxins, and 93.95% of people do not know what damage mycotoxins cause in human and animal health, and 86.17% of people did not know about any disease related to fish consumption. Schooling had a significant correlation with the aforementioned issues, demonstrating that lower educational levels negatively influence the perception of illnesses caused by food. The most consumed fish is farm-raised tilapia and the consequent possibility of mycotoxin exposure. Respondents are unaware of the possible mycotoxin presence infish and their impact on human health.

Productive evaluation of dairy cows fed with urea protected by protein nanoparticle in partial replacement of soybean meal