Each year a million cows in Africa die from East Coast fever. The disease is spread by tick bites. Young cows are most at risk; they can die within days. Farmers and herders can lose up to half or more of their calves to East Coast fever. The disease is widespread in eleven countries. And … Continue reading
According to the Cattlesite, a new report in the medical journal The Lancet has called for a 30 per cent reduction in livestock production to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet the UK emission targets for 2030. According to the Farmers Guardian, the UK Government has been slammed by critics over the report: “The controversy … Continue reading
In October, the London International Development Centre (LIDC) organised a workshop to discuss the ‘Impact of Mobile Phones Upon Development and Health’. Three speakers spoke on the use of mobile phones and animal health in Africa: Andrew Hagner (Royal Veterinary College) explained how he and his Undergraduate Research Team used mobile devices to record the … Continue reading
Beef cattle are not the climate-change bogeymen they’re made out to be, according to a new US study. University of California scientists say UN estimates that livestock generate 18 per cent of global greenhouse emissions could be six times too high. They say recent estimates by US environment and energy agencies, using more appropriate assumptions, … Continue reading
Sir Paul McCartney arrived in Brussels yesterday to recruit support for his “meat-free Mondays” campaign. The argument seems so easy: cut down meat consumption and the planet will be saved. But even if a world without roast beef was one in which we all wanted to live (please count me out), we need to think … Continue reading
…Pastoralists will be compensated for loss of their animals from January after a livestock insurance product is launched in Kenya. However, details of the exact amount of premium to be paid will depend on the insurance company that have agreed to partner with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the institution that developed the product. … Continue reading
Satellite-based insurance for livestock has been developed in Kenya to measure the country’s “greenness,” safeguarding herders against droughts and other effects of climate change. Slated to begin in early 2010, Kenya will be the first developing nation to set up a satellite insurance mechanism. Specialists will study satellite images measuring the greenness of vegetation in … Continue reading
The man behind one of the most influential reports on climate change, Lord Stern, has highlighted the impact meat production has on greenhouse gas emissions. Part of it comes through methane made by the animals as they digest food. So which farm animals expel the most methane? A diet that relies heavily on meat production … Continue reading
Three years after Kenya got its first test-tube babies, the Daily Nation can reveal another first from the world of test tubes – a healthy calf. The calf, which the Daily Nation has named Bully, is one of two test tube calves born three weeks ago in an experiment by veterinary scientists from the University … Continue reading
A parasite researcher in NYU is hoping totackle African Sleeping Sickness by creating genetically enhanced cows that cannot catch or transmit the disease. She’s been planning the project since 2006, when she attended a workshop in Nairobi. At the meeting, local farmers explained how they need cattle to survive. Most of them can’t afford to … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 