Huimang Song

In intensive pig production systems, limited space and lack of enrichment materials (EMs) restrict natural behaviors, inducing chronic stress and impairing welfare and health. Conventional EMs such as straw and sawdust improve comfort but increase NH₃ and particulate emissions and hinder manure management on slatted floors. This study compared rice-straw silage (RS), sawdust (SD), and sling belt (SB) as EMs for growing-finishing pigs to evaluate their effects on growth performance, behavior, body lesions, cleanliness score of body, and pen air quality. A total of 344 crossbred pigs ([Landrace × Yorkshire] × Duroc, 30.5 ± 3.10 kg) were randomly allocated to four treatments: Control, 50% slatted and 50% solid flooring; RS, 100% solid flooring with a 7-cm layer of RS; SD, 100% solid flooring with a 7-cm layer of SD; SB, 50% slatted and 50% solid flooring with 10 SBs (1.5 m long and 75 mm wide). At week 10, the RS pigs had the lowest body weight. At week 0, the RS and SD pigs exhibited more positive behaviors, although the SD pigs also showed the highest number of injurious interactions at week 3. Between weeks 0 and 5, the SD pigs spent less time lateral lying and more time sternal lying, while during weeks 8–11, sitting was more prevalent. Both RS and SD groups exhibited lower cleanliness scores at week 6 and higher NH₃ and CO₂ levels at week 10. In conclusion, bedding materials such as RS and SD promoted positive behaviors during the early phase; however, prolonged use without adequate management impaired hygiene, air quality, resting behavior, and growth performance. These findings highlight the importance of the appropriate selection and management of EMs in intensive pig production systems.

Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) was formalized through the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), adopted at the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development, providing an institutional framework that contributes to biodiversity conservation by allowing each country to exercise sovereignty over its biological resources and equitably share the benefits arising from their utilization. Subsequently, the Nagoya Protocol strengthened the legal binding nature of access to genetic resources; however, discussions on ABS in the field of animal genetic resources (AnGR) remain relatively insufficient compared to those on plants and microorganisms. This study therefore compares and analyzes the current ABS frameworks for animal genetic resources across major countries, highlighting the effectiveness of these systems and drawing policy implications. In conclusion, while countries have established diverse ABS frameworks tailored to their legal and institutional contexts, international cooperation mechanisms specifically focused on animal genetic resources remain limited. Accordingly, the establishment of a global governance framework is needed in the future, focusing on harmonization of national systems, clarification of the inclusion of digital information, and strengthening the practical enforcement of benefit-sharing.

한국가금학회지(The Journal of Curriculum Evaluation)

Maintaining genetic diversity is vital for biodiversity and livestock sustainability, with monitoring serving as a prerequisite for conservation strategies. As an initial step for developing future strategies, we analysed the genetic diversity and conservation priorities of 16 chicken breeds managed by a government institute in this study. The breeds were classified as native or locally adapted per FAO definitions and grouped by origin (i.e., governmental or private farms). Genetic diversity, assessed through observed and expected heterozygosity, inbreeding coefficients, and linkage disequilibrium, was high in native breeds from government institutions, such as Chungnam White Korean Native (CNW) and Gangwon Black Korean Native (GWL). Private farm breeds, including Hoeungseong-Yakdak (HYD), exhibited lower diversity. Conservation priorities based on contributions to total genetic diversity (HT) and allelic diversity (AT) revealed that locally adapted breeds, such as Cornish (S) and White Leghorn, significantly contributed to HT. Native breeds, such as CNW and Hyuin black, had higher contributions to AT. Combined assessments indicated that S, CNW, and GWL have the highest conservation priorities. Despite lower rankings, unique breeds such as HYD require targeted conservation owing to their distinctiveness. In conclusion, Korean chicken breeds such as S, CNW, and GWL are vital for maintaining genetic diversity among government-managed breeds.

This study explores the phylogeny of Korean native black goats through analysis of their complete mitochondrial DNA. The National Institute of Animal Science has gathered genetic material on purebred goats from isolated regions such as Tongyeong, Dangjin, and Jangsu, and is actively breeding them on a national level. These populations, however, are small and exhibit high inbreeding rates, highlighting the urgent need to preserve genetic diversity. The haplotype diversity within this native group is 0.659, with 39 haplotypes identified. By contrast, including international breeds in the analysis increases the overall haplotype diversity to 0.925 with 203 haplotypes identified, highlighting the limited genetic diversity among native black goats. For phylogenetic assessment, a neighbor-joining tree and median-joining network were constructed using identified haplogroups (A, B, C, D, G, and F) from prior studies. The results pinpoint the native black goats as closely related to, but distinct from, Haplogroup A with a bootstrap value of 98, establishing them as a separate clade (A’). This supports the notion of a shared ancestry with various global populations. This research provides essential data on the origins and evolutionary history of Korean native black goats, supporting conservation and breeding efforts aimed at enhancing genetic diversity.

Superovulation is a technique used to increase the number of oocytes released for fertilization. This study investigated the effects of short-term differences in concentrate feed intake on in vivo embryo production through superovulation in indigenous Korean (Hanwoo) cows. The cows were given fresh water and hay ad libitum and randomly divided into three groups (control (CON, n = 9): 2.0 kg/day (unchanged diet); low concentrate (LC, n = 10): 0 kg/day; and high concentrate (HC, n = 8): 4.0 kg/day) according to the amount of formula they were fed. This feeding treatment began seven days before the start of the hormonal treatment for superovulation. From the results, the LC group had the greatest weight change and the lowest body condition score at harvest, followed by the CON and HC groups (p < 0.05). The LC group had the highest number of harvesting embryos, followed by the HC and CON groups (p < 0.05). Estradiol, progesterone, glucose, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, total protein, and blood urea nitrogen concentrations did not differ between the groups, except for a temporary increase in the HC group on day 0. These findings suggest that more embryos may be harvested when short-term changes in concentrate intake are made during superovulatory responses in Hanwoo cows.

한국가금학회지(The Journal of Curriculum Evaluation)