Aim:The study was conducted to identify major causes of organs condemnation in cattle slaughtered at Adigrat municipal abattoir and to estimate the direct economic losses. Material and Methods:A cross sectional active abattoir survey, which involves both ante mortem and post mortem examinations, was conducted on 745 cattle from October 2012 to April 2013, and two years (September 2010 -September 2012) retrospective data on meat inspection records was also collected.Results: During ante mortem examination, in 114 (15.3%) cattle various types of abnormalities were detected include; lacrimation (3.49%), pale mucus membrane (3.09%), nasal discharge (1.88%), hernia (1.48%), actinomycosis (1.34%), salivation (1.74%), lameness (0.54%), emaciation (0.41%), depression (0.41%), blindness (0.41%), local swelling (0.27%) and rough hair coat (0.27%). Postmortem examination revealed that 131 (17.58%) liver, 61 (8.19%) lungs, 9 (1.21%) kidneys and 2 (0.27%) hearts were condemned due to various causes. Fasciolosis (9.26%) was the main cause of liver condemnation followed by hydatid cyst (3.62%) and cysticercus bovis (2.55%), respectively. The major causes of lung condemnation were hydatid cyst, emphysema and pneumonia accounting for 5.1, 1.61 and 1.07%, respectively. Hydronephrosis and cysticercus bovis were the major causes of kidney and liver condemnation with rate of 0.94 and 0.27%, respectively. Totally about 19,910.0 Ethiopian birr (1,083.83 USD) was lost from organs condemnation during the active abattoir survey. From the retrospective data it was observed that liver and lung were the most condemned organs with condemnation rate of 17.72 and 7.53%, respectively. The major causes of organ condemnation were hydatid cyst (11.52%), cirrhosis (4.97%), fasciolosis (4.35%), cysticercus bovis (4.12%) and hydronephrosis (1.21%), respectively. Consequently, the overall direct economical loss during the two years was estimated to be 83,890.0 Ethiopian birr (4,566.68 USD). Conclusion:The results identified various causes of organ condemnation and their economic importance in the area. Therefore, it is necessary to establish appropriate strategy for prevention and control.

Geladas (Theropithecus gelada) are a primate species endemic to Ethiopia and are the last remaining member of genus Theropithecus.

The aim of this study was to characterize phenotype indigenous sheep population in central zone of Tigray. A total of 450 adult sheep were sampled randomly for this purpose. Based on dentition adult sheep were classified into four age categories. Average BW of the sampled sheep in Tanqua

The aim of this study was to characterize the phenotype of the indigenous sheep population in central zone of Tigray. A total of 450 mature sheep were sampled randomly for collect qualitative data. Based on dentition adult sheep were classified into four age categories (from one pair of permanent incisor to four pair of permanent incisor). Coat colour, tail type, ear orientation and presence of wattle were significant (p<0.05) between districts studied. Among the three districts only within Tanqua-Abergelle district attributes of coat colour type, tail form, horn and wattle were found to be significant (p<0.05). Majority of the sheep population in Tanqua-Abergelle district had a dark red coat colour type (50.2%), while in Kola-Tembien and Adwa districts sheep were dominated by gray coat colour type (30.1 and 40.8%) respectively. Most of the sampled sheep population across the three districts were short fat tailed followed by short thin and rumped fat tail type. Multiple correspondence analysis indicated that the sampled sheep population in the study districts were clustered into two groups based on their unique characteristics; Kola-Tembien and Adwa sheep together as one group while Tanqua-Abergelle district sheep as the other group, based on their unique characters. Based on the present result on characterization of sheep in the study area one may develop selection criteria and productivity schemes of the local sheep.