This study is the first to use the Welfare Quality Assessment Protocol (WQ® AP)

Sarcosporidiosis is a parasitic disease due to the development of cystogenic coccidia of the genus Sarcocystis with dixene evolution and muscular localization, which can cause losses in cattle and generate an intestinal infection in domestic carnivores (dog, cat) and humans. The objective of our study was to determine the prevalence of Sarcocystis spp on 149 bovine carcasses at the Eucalyptus slaughterhouse in Algiers by macroscopic and microscopic examination and to evaluate the influence of certain risk factors (age, sex, breed and origin). Samples of esophagus and diaphragms were taken from slaughtered cattle and analyzed by enzymatic (pepsin) digestion and histological technique. The macroscopic examination was negative during carcasses inspection while the microscopic examination showed a prevalence of 100% for enzymatic digestion by revealing bradyzoites in the form of bananas and 47.7% at the histology with the detection of thin-walled cysts of S. cruzi (98.6%), of thick-walled cysts of S. hominis (15.5%) which was the zoonotic species and of S. hirsuta (1.39%). The risk factors studied significantly influenced the prevalence of Sarcocystis sp. This study revealed for the first time in the diaphragm a cyst of Sarcocystis hirsuta.

This study has shown the ability of cows raised in a Mediterranean climate to cope with different levels of water restriction and thus reach a new equilibrium. As result, the important role of water as a limiting factor for livestock in environments with low water availability.

This study intended to establish if Cd and Pb in the livers and kidneys of bovine and ovine slaughtered in the study area exceeded to concentrations maximum limit proposed by the European Commission (EC) 2006. After digestion of samples, Cadmium and lead concentrations were determined by Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (GFAAS). The results of our study have shown that lead and cadmium concentrations depend on age and species. The average fresh weight levels of liver and kidneys of bovine animals were about (0.319 mg/kg and 0.337mg/kg) for Cd and (0,502mg/kg and 0.497mg kg) for Pb, while in ovine, mean concentrations in the liver and kidneys were (0,241mg/kg and 0.232 mg/kg) for Cd and (0.259 mg/kg and 0.265 mg/kg) for Pb. Concentrations above the maximum limit proposed by the EC 2006 for Pb and Cd have been detected in some liver and kidney samples from bovine older than 4 years and in ovine over 1 year old .Statistical analysis revealed a very significant (P<0.01) difference in Cd concentrations in the liver and kidneys between age groups and species.