The TG5 (thyroglobulin 5 ′ leader sequence) single nucleotide polymorphism has been associated with marbling in cattle fed for periods longer than 250 days. To test whether the association could be detected in diverse cattle, fed for less than 250 days, and to measure the size of the effect, we sampled 1750 cattle from the AMH Toowoomba feedlot. These cattle were sampled on 28 separate days, over 9 months. Their marbling scores covered the complete range. We found that the TG5 single nucleotide polymorphism was associated with marbling scores ( P <0.05) and estimated that TG5 genotypes explained 6.5% of the residual deviance for the marbling phenotype. We also found that the '3' allele was more frequent in animals with higher marbling scores. The consistency of the allelic association between studies and, in particular, the association found in diverse cattle, indicate that the TG5 polymorphism can be used as a breeding tool and possibly a feedlot entry tool. To estimate the size of the genetic region in which the marbling quantitative trait loci are located, we tested the nearby DNA markers CSSM66 and BMS1747. These do not show allelic associations to marbling. The consistency of the allelic association between studies, the lack of association to nearby DNA markers and the complementary information on gene action of genes near Thyroglobulin suggest that DNA sequence variations, in or near the Thyroglobulin gene sequence, are the likely causes for the marbling quantitative trait loci. Further studies of single nucleotide polymorphism in and near the Thyroglobulin DNA sequence should allow causal mutations for the effect to be identified.

In 2004, the European Union (EU) implemented a pet movement policy (referred to here as the EUPMP) under EU regulation 998/2003. The United Kingdom (UK) was granted a temporary derogation from the policy until December 2011 and instead has in place its own Pet Movement Policy (Pet Travel Scheme (PETS)). A quantitative risk assessment (QRA) was developed to estimate the risk of rabies introduction to the UK under both schemes to quantify any change in the risk of rabies introduction should the UK harmonize with the EU policy. Assuming 100 % compliance with the regulations, moving to the EUPMP was predicted to increase the annual risk of rabies introduction to the UK by approximately 60-fold, from 7.79 × 10(-5) (5.90 × 10(-5), 1.06 × 10(-4)) under the current scheme to 4.79 × 10(-3) (4.05 × 10(-3), 5.65 × 10(-3)) under the EUPMP. This corresponds to a decrease from 13,272 (9,408, 16,940) to 211 (177, 247) years between rabies introductions. The risks associated with both the schemes were predicted to increase when less than 100 % compliance was assumed, with the current scheme of PETS and quarantine being shown to be particularly sensitive to noncompliance. The results of this risk assessment, along with other evidence, formed a scientific evidence base to inform policy decision with respect to companion animal movement.

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Wastewater from facilities processing livestock that may harbor transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) infectivity is permitted under license for application to land where susceptible livestock may have access. Several previous risk assessments have investigated the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) associated with wastewater effluents; however, the risk of exposure to classical scrapie and atypical scrapie has not been assessed. With the prevalence of certain TSEs (BSE in cattle and classical scrapie in sheep) steadily in decline, and with considerable changes in the structure of carcass-processing industries in Great Britain, a reappraisal of the TSE risk posed by wastewater is required. Our results indicate that the predicted number of new TSE infections arising from the spreading of wastewater on pasture over one year would be low, with a mean of one infection every 1,000 years for BSE in cattle (769, 555,556), and one infection every 30 years (16, 2,500), and 33 years (16, 3,333) for classical and atypical scrapie, respectively. It is assumed that the values and assumptions used in this risk assessment remain constant. For BSE in cattle the main contributors are abattoir and rendering effluent, contributing 35% and 22% of the total number of new BSE infections. For TSEs in sheep, effluent from small incinerators and rendering plants are the major contributors (on average 32% and 31% of the total number of new classical scrapie and atypical scrapie infections). This is a reflection of the volume of carcass material and Category 1 material flow through such facilities.

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