world news
UK outbreak of FMD under control
The foot and mouth outbreak in southern England has been contained, but farmers there have been warned to remain vigilant. The outbreak was discovered on two farms in Surrey, and a total of 570 animals were slaughtered to curb the disease. Many countries have also banned British meat and dairy products, costing British farmers approximately £1,8 million (about R26 million) per day. I t is suspected that a research facility at Pirbright in Surrey that was developing a foot and mouth disease vaccine was the source of the outbreak. – Gwenda van Zyl
Sheep taught to lay off grapes
Researchers at the University of California have been experimenting with novel lawnmowers – sheep – to keep weeds out of vineyards as a cheaper and “greener” alternative to tractors. But, unfortunately, in addition to the weeds, the sheep would consume huge amounts of grapes. So University of California researchers looked into techniques such as aversion therapy to train sheep to keep away from the grapes. Sheep that had never tasted grape leaves were allowed to gorge on leaves. They were then given a small dose of lithium chloride, which makes the animals feel queasy. These sheep generally left the grapes alone when later released into a vineyard, and only ate the weeds. An interesting fact that researchers discovered was that sheep have discerning palates. Untrained sheep tended to eat a lot of Chardonnay grapes, but were not interested in red Aglianico grapes. – Gwenda van Zyl
Imprison a bull
A bull in Serbia has been sent to prison along with his recently convicted owner, Hamdija Djuric. The man was jailed for stabbing someone, but authorities agreed to move him to a prison farm so his bull could accompany him. The four-year-old, 1,5t animal, named Micko, would otherwise have been slaughtered. On the farm, Djuric is allowed to visit and care for his bull. – Gwenda van Zyl
