To prevent foodborne infections from pigs and cattle, the whole food chain must act to minimize the contamination of products, including biosecurity measures which prevent infections via feed and the environment in production farms. Rodents and other small mammals can be reservoirs of and key vectors for transmitting zoonotic bacteria and viruses to farm animals, through direct contact but more often through environmental contamination. In line with One Health concept, we integrated results from a sampling study of small mammals in farm environments and data from a capture-recapture experiment into a probabilistic model which quantifies the degree of environmental exposure of zoonotic bacteria by small mammals to farm premises. We investigated more than 1200 small mammals trapped in and around 38 swine and cattle farm premises in Finland in 2017/2018. Regardless of the farm type, the most common species caught were the yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis), bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus), and house mouse (Mus musculus). Of 554 intestine samples (each pooled from 1 to 10 individuals), 33% were positive for Campylobacter jejuni. Yersinia enterocolitica was detected in 8% of the pooled samples, on 21/38 farm premises. Findings of Salmonella and the Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) were rare: the pathogens were detected in only single samples from four and six farm premises, respectively. The prevalence of Campylobacter, Salmonella, Yersinia and STEC in small mammal populations was estimated as 26%/13%, 1%/0%, 2%/3%, 1%/1%, respectively, in 2017/2018. The exposure probability within the experimental period of four weeks on farms was 17-60% for Campylobacter and 0-3% for Salmonella. The quantitative model is readily applicable to similar integrative studies. Our results indicate that small mammals increase the risk of exposure to zoonotic bacteria in animal production farms, thus increasing risks also for livestock and human health.

Conservation goals can only be best achieved when there is firm support and cooperation from locals, especially in emerging economies where poor communities often bear most of the cost of human-wildlife conflicts (HWCs). In this study, we explored the economic losses caused by wild boars in two districts, i.e., the Peshawar district and the Nowshera district, in north-western Pakistan. Between May and June 2022, 589 respondents from 53 villages were interviewed. The results revealed that the wild boar was chiefly involved in crop raiding, causing an annual economic loss of USD 12,030 (USD 20.42/household). The highly raided crops included maize (40.24%), followed by wheat (24.95%), vegetables (22.65%), and sugarcane (6.29%). Wild boars were also held accountable for orchard damages. Most people consider the wild boar a common species in the area and want it completely eliminated. We believe that the increasing wild boar population is alarming and should be noticed. The government should collaborate with the local communities to use innovative methods to deter wild boars. Compensation schemes for crop damages should be launched. Moreover, the regular investigation of the wild boar population size and their carrying capacities should be enlisted as integral parts of wildlife management in the area.

Thermal imaging technology is a developing field in wildlife management. Most thermal imaging work in wildlife science has been limited to larger ungulates and surface-dwelling mammals. Little work has been undertaken on the use of thermal imagers to detect fossorial animals and/or their burrows. Survey methods such as white-light spotlighting can fail to detect the presence of burrows (and therefore the animals within), particularly in areas where vegetation obscures burrows. Thermal imagers offer an opportunity to detect the radiant heat from these burrows, and therefore the presence of the animal, particularly in vegetated areas. Thermal imaging technology has become increasingly available through the provision of smaller, more cost-effective units. Their integration with drone technology provides opportunities for researchers and land managers to utilize this technology in their research/management practices.We investigated the ability of both consumer (AUD$65,000) mounted on drones to detect rabbit burrows (warrens) and entrances in the landscape as compared to visual assessment.Thermal imagery and visual inspection detected active rabbit warrens when vegetation was scarce. The presence of vegetation was a significant factor in detecting entrances (p < .001, α = 0.05). The consumer imager did not detect as many warren entrances as either the professional imager or visual inspection (p = .009, α = 0.05). Active warren entrances obscured by vegetation could not be accurately identified on exported imagery from the consumer imager and several false-positive detections occurred when reviewing this footage.We suggest that the exportable frame rate (Hz) was the key factor in image quality and subsequent false-positive detections. This feature should be considered when selecting imagers and suggest that a minimum export rate of 30 Hz is required. Thermal imagers are a useful additional tool to aid in identification of entrances for active warrens and professional imagers detected more warrens and entrances than either consumer imagers or visual inspection.

Private property accounts for much of the planet\'s arable land, and most of this has been cleared for agricultural production. Agricultural areas retain only fragments of their original vegetation and this has been detrimental to many native plant and animal species. Habitat restoration and revegetation may be able to reconnect and enlarge existing remnant areas in agricultural landscapes and, thereby, enhance native plant and animal communities. However, conservation initiatives will be successful only if landowners actively participate in restoration actions. This study used four hundred postal questionnaires to assess the degree to which landowners in two regions of south-eastern Australia adopt restoration activities, their opinions regarding remnant and revegetated land and their management actions in these areas. One hundred and seventy nine completed questionnaires were received. Three quarters of respondents had undertaken restoration on their property or were planning to revegetate in the future. Landcare members were most likely to have previously revegetated and future revegetation intentions were best predicted by previous restoration activities and a primary income source that was off-farm. Landowners were more likely to manage restored and remnant areas if they perceived threats such as weeds, pest animals and fire risk would be detrimental to their property, than to enhance environmental outcomes. These results indicate that landowners are interested in restoring natural areas, but without greater assistance to restore ground layers and manage perceived threats posed by fire and invasive plants and animals, restoration actions will not have their desired biodiversity benefits.