Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Japan.
Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Agriculture and Engineering, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Japan.
J Vet Med Sci. 2022 May 1;84(5):653-659. doi: 10.1292/jvms.21-0627. Epub 2022 Mar 21.
To strengthen farm biosecurity, wildlife behaviors around livestock environments require significant attention. Livestock feed is considered one of essential factors that attract wildlife to the livestock environment. We experimentally studied wildlife response to cattle, swine, and chicken concentrated feeds in the forests surrounding poultry farms. In 14 feeding sites, four feed conditions were established: without feed (control); cattle feed; chicken feed; and swine feed. Wildlife behaviors at each feed point were monitored using infrared cameras. In 3,175 videos, 10 mammals were photographed on 10 or more occasions. Wildlife more frequently appeared at the points with feed than without feed. In addition, the number of videos that captured foraging or interest behaviors was largest for swine feed, followed by chicken feed, then cattle feed. There was a large difference among wildlife in their response to livestock feeds, although each species did not have a strong preference for a specific feed. Livestock feeds invite frequent visits by high and moderate response groups, especially omnivores and carnivores with omnivorous tendencies. Therefore, to protect against such wildlife intrusion, leftover feed and feed storage must be properly managed. This study also suggests that livestock feeds may not cause intrusions by rare response group species; hence, if their intrusions occur, they may be due to factors other than livestock feed. The study situation can partly reflect actual feed-stealing situations. The results will contribute to consider the properly management to protect livestock environments from wildlife intrusions.
为加强农场生物安全,野生动物在牲畜环境周围的行为需要引起高度关注。牲畜饲料被认为是吸引野生动物进入牲畜环境的重要因素之一。我们在农场周围的森林中对野生动物对牛、猪和鸡浓缩饲料的反应进行了实验研究。在 14 个投喂点,设置了四种投喂条件:无饲料(对照);牛饲料;鸡饲料;和猪饲料。使用红外摄像机监测每个投喂点的野生动物行为。在 3175 段视频中,有 10 种哺乳动物在 10 个或更多的投喂点被拍摄到。有饲料的投喂点比没有饲料的投喂点更频繁地出现野生动物。此外,拍摄到觅食或感兴趣行为的视频数量以猪饲料最多,其次是鸡饲料,然后是牛饲料。虽然每种动物对特定饲料没有强烈的偏好,但对牲畜饲料的反应在野生动物之间存在很大差异。牲畜饲料会吸引高反应和中反应群体频繁光顾,尤其是杂食性和有杂食倾向的肉食性动物。因此,为了防止这种野生动物入侵,必须妥善管理剩余饲料和饲料储存。本研究还表明,牲畜饲料可能不会引起稀有反应组物种的入侵;因此,如果它们入侵,可能是由于牲畜饲料以外的因素。研究情况可以部分反映实际的偷食情况。研究结果将有助于考虑适当的管理措施,以保护牲畜环境免受野生动物入侵。