Research Information System
Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science, vol.22, pp.133-139, 2016 (Scopus)
The animal husbandry sector plays a significant role in agricultural development of nations not only in terms of its products but also because it creates added value and employment opportunities as much as other sub-sectors of agriculture. The animal husbandry sector maintains its production activities while it also steers and promotes the production of inputs like forage plant growing required for its own production. The study comprises general information and findings on dairy cattle raring in agricultural enterprises in East Mediterranean Region cities (Adana, Osmaniye, Mersin, Hatay and Kahramanmaraş) set as the research area of the study, as well as animal welfare. The main resource of information for the study involves the primary data collected from 148 dairy cattle enterprises selected via random sampling in the region. The data was obtained through surveys. The general information regarding the dairy cattle in the enterprises involves the reasons why these enterprises deal with dairy cattle raring and whether and how they produce silage. As for animal welfare, the vaccinations conducted by enterprises, the regular health checks as well as how often these enterprises resort to artificial insemination were studied. Food security and protection of animal welfare have been prominent issues recently. Veterinary officers pay visits to such enterprises as long as they are invited by the owner of the enterprise. It was found that the ratio of regular health checks increases as the enterprises expand. All in all, it must be a requisite for the enterprises to attend training programs for purposes of extending the impact and popularity of preventive medicine and improving environmental conditions.