Animal Husbandry in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Kassel and Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Steinstraße 19, 37213, Witzenhausen, Germany.
Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Gießen, Ludwigstraße 21B, 35390, Gießen, Germany.
Trop Anim Health Prod. 2023 Oct 5;55(5):350. doi: 10.1007/s11250-023-03737-7.
Complex urbanisation dynamics, on the one hand, create a high demand for animal products, and on the other hand put enormous pressure on arable land with negative consequences for animal feed production. To explore the impact of accelerated urbanisation on dairy cattle health in urban farming systems, 151 farmers from different parts of the Greater Bengaluru metropolitan area in India were individually interviewed on aspects addressing cattle management and cattle health. In addition, 97 samples of forages from the shores of 10 different lakes, and vegetable leftovers used in cattle feeding were collected for nutritional analysis. Along with the use of cultivated forages, crop residues, and concentrate feed, 47% and 77% of the farmers occasionally or frequently used lake fodder and food leftovers, respectively. Nutritionally, lake fodder corresponded to high-quality pasture vegetation, but 43% of the samples contained toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and lead above official critical threshold levels. Therefore, lake fodder may affect cows' health if consumed regularly; however, heavy metal concentrations varied between lakes (P < 0.05), but not between fodder types (P > 0.05). Although 60% of the interviewed farmers believed that their cows were in good health, logit model applications revealed that insufficient drinking water supply and the use of lake fodder negatively impacted cattle health (P < 0.05). While it remains unknown if regular feeding of lake fodder results in heavy metal accumulation in animal products, farmers and farm advisors must address this and other urbanization-related challenges to protect cattle health.
城市化进程复杂，一方面对动物产品的需求很高，另一方面对耕地造成了巨大压力，对动物饲料生产产生了负面影响。为了探讨加速城市化对城市农业系统中奶牛健康的影响，对印度班加罗尔大都市区不同地区的 151 名农民进行了个体访谈，内容涉及牛管理和牛健康等方面。此外，还从 10 个不同湖泊的岸边收集了 97 份饲料样本和用于牛饲养的蔬菜残渣进行营养分析。除了使用栽培饲料、农作物秸秆和浓缩饲料外，47%和 77%的农民偶尔或经常使用湖泊饲料和食物残渣。从营养角度来看，湖泊饲料相当于高质量的牧场植被，但 43%的样本中含有砷、镉、铬和铅等有毒重金属，超过了官方的临界阈值。因此，如果经常食用，湖泊饲料可能会影响奶牛的健康；然而，重金属浓度在湖泊之间存在差异（P<0.05），但在饲料类型之间没有差异（P>0.05）。尽管 60%的受访农民认为他们的奶牛健康状况良好，但逻辑模型应用表明，供水不足和使用湖泊饲料会对牛的健康产生负面影响（P<0.05）。虽然目前还不清楚是否经常食用湖泊饲料会导致动物产品中重金属积累，但农民和农场顾问必须解决这个问题以及其他与城市化相关的挑战，以保护牛的健康。
