Noise is considered an important environmental factor that can affect animal behaviour and productivity. Its impact varies depending on the noise intensity, pattern, duration, and frequency. This research was undertaken to determine the effect of noise stress and playing music on improving the behaviour of female rats. Seventy- five female albino rats were divided into 3 groups, with 25 rats per group. The research groups were Control (no sound exposure), classical music, and noise stress. The sound level for the classic was 80 dB with a frequency of 1 kHz using an MP3 player. The sound level of stress exceeded 150 dB. The results revealed that using classical music led to a significant reduction in the frequency of aggressive behaviours (P<0.01) and an increase in vocalisations (P<0.01). In addition, music and noise stress significantly increased grooming (P<0.05) and climbing behaviour (P<0.05). Furthermore, exposure to the use of music caused increased drinking and feeding behaviours significantly (P<0.01), whereas lying and standing behaviours were decreased (P<0.01). In conclusion, playing music, especially classical music, benefits rats’ welfare by improving their behaviour, as evidenced of decreased vocalization and increased feeding and drinking.

This study was conducted in Duhok Governorate in Iraq's Kurdistan Region and evaluated the mammalian biodiversity within the eighteen rural regions of Barware, Gulli, and Atroshe districts. The five important mammalian taxa with resident populations were identified and quantified such as D. dama, C. lupus, C. aegagrus, U. arctos), and Acinonyx jubatus venaticus. Data analysis examined significant distribution in species and found heterogeneousness in the charted areas, Wild Goat populations displaying remarkably higher prevalence with the n=338 noted observations while Asiatic Cheetah remained remarkably rare with (n=2 recognized findings. This study highlights the considerable biological value of mountainous territory which regarded as vital shelter for vulnerable fauna, the targeted conservation measures require to prevent the fauna from habitat decline and anthropogenetic battle dynamics.

Aquaculture is pivotal in addressing global food security, yet intensive practices compromise fish health and productivity. This study investigated the efficacy of dietary turmeric (Curcuma longa) supplementation as a natural alternative in Cirrhinus mrigala, a species critical to South Asian aquaculture. A 60-day feeding trial evaluated four diets: control (0% turmeric), 0.5%, 1.0%, and 1.5% turmeric inclusion. Results demonstrated that 1.0% turmeric significantly enhanced growth performance, with a 28% increase in final body weight (19.6 ± 1.4 g vs. 15.7 ± 1.1 g in control; p< 0.01) and improved feed conversion ratio (1.4 ± 0.2 vs. 1.7 ± 0.2; p= 0.004). Antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, CAT, GPx) increased by 34–53%, while lipid peroxidation (MDA) decreased by 29% (p = 0.001), indicating robust oxidative stress mitigation. Immunological assays revealed a 65% rise in lysozyme activity and 70% higher phagocytic capacity (p< 0.01), underscoring turmeric’s immunostimulatory potential. The hepatosomatic index decreased by (1.3 ± 0.2% vs. 1.4 ± 0.2%; p = 0.038), suggesting increased metabolic efficiency. These findings highlight 1.0% turmeric as the optimal dosage, offering a sustainable strategy to augment aquaculture productivity while reducing reliance on antibiotics

The present study was designed to measure social connection in three captive animals in Duhok zoo, including the American white pelican, wild dogs, and red deer, using Social Network Analysis (SNA). The present study was carried out at Duhok Zoo. The study was undertaken from October to December 2021. Three species of captive animals were used for this study, which were: the American white pelican, wild dogs, and red deer. Their numbers were 5, 7, and 6, respectively. Data were collected from the studied animals using direct observations of social interactions. According to the results found with the three species studied, all individuals have social interactions with each other. From the present study, according to the results found, it can be concluded that the social bonding was acceptable to some degree as strong relations were found between some individuals of all the three species studied. However, some individuals were not socially connected at all.

This research was established to assess the precision of the infrared (IR) camera and thermometer in measuring different body regions of sheep. This study was undertaken in the animal farm at the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Duhok, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The temperature was measured from the rectum using a digital thermometer. At the same time, the peripheral temperatures were measured from the ears, muzzle (MUZ), inner thigh (IT), inguinal region (ING), rectum, vulva, and five areas of the eyes, including nasal conjunctiva (NC), nasal limbus (NL), center cornea (CC), temporal limbus (TL), and temporal conjunctiva (TC) using IR thermometer and IR camera. The temperatures obtained from the IR thermometer were higher than those obtained from the digital thermometer. only NC temperature was found to be significantly (P< 0.05) higher than other eye regions, and rectal and vulva temperatures. IR thermal camera showed no significant differences in the eyes' NL, CC, TL, and TC regions compared to rectum and vulva temperatures using the digital thermometer. The muzzle temperature was significantly (P< 0.05) lower than all other body parts. In addition, the inner thigh, inguinal region, and ear temperatures were significantly (P< 0.05) higher than rectum and vulva temperatures. The rectum and vulva temperatures obtained from the IR thermometer were significantly higher (P< 0.05) than thermal camera and digital thermometer temperatures. In conclusion, thermal cameras as a non-invasive and accurate method can be an alternative temperature measuring method.

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the effect of stroking ewes' body as a positive emotional stimulant on peripheral temperatures, facial action units and ear postures. Thirty-eight healthy ewes were included in the current study. The animals were stroked individually on neck, withers and forehead. Then the procedure was divided into three stages: pre-stroking, stroking and post-stroking with five minutes each. Peripheral temperatures were measured from eye, nose and ear using infrared thermal camera. Images were also captured to analyse facial units in studied sheep. For measuring head behaviours and ear postures, the ear change as a frequency per minute was measured at 30-second intervals for 15 respective minutes. During stroking, the temperature of eye, ear and nasal areas has significantly dropped (P<0.05), however it raised in eyes during the post-stroking period. Significant differences (P<0.05) were also found between pre-stroking and post-stroking phases in ear and nose temperatures. For facial units, significant differences (P<0.05) were found between prestroking, compared to stroking and post-stroking phases for all five facial units. In addition, the total facial action score was significantly (P<0.05) higher during the stroking and post-stroking phases, compared to the pre-stroking phase. Results obtained from ear positions showed that the time spent with ears in plane position had significantly decreased (P<0.05) in the stroking phase compared to pre- and post-stroking phases. In addition, ewes spent more time with their ears backward (P<0.05) during stroking in comparison to pre- and post-stroking phases. No significant differences were found in asymmetrical and forward ear postures. In comparison to the pre-stroking stage, the number of ear position change was not significantly increased during stroking, however, it increased considerably (P<0.05) in the post-stroking period. From this study, it was concluded that stroking ewes' body parts improved significantly the positive emotional state in healthy animals.

This study evaluated the growth performance and feed utilisation of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) fed diets with varying protein levels across summer (June-August) and winter (December-February). During these periods, fish were acclimated to temperatures of 25.3 C in summer and 18.7 C in winter. Four dietary treatments with protein levels of 30%, 28%, 26%, and 35% were tested on 900 juvenile carp per group. Significant differences (P< 0.05-0.001) were found in daily feed consumed (DFC), total feed consumed (TFC), daily protein consumed (DPC), and total protein consumed (TPC) across treatments and seasons. Higher protein diets (28% and 35%) led to better growth in both seasons. The protein efficiency ratio (PER) and net protein utilisation (NPU) were highest at 26% protein, indicating optimal protein utilisation. Specific growth rate (SGR), metabolic growth rate (MGR), and condition factor (FCF) were significantly higher with the 28% protein diet in summer, aligning with improved feed efficiency ratio (FER) and PER. These results highlight the importance of protein optimisation for season-specific growth, driven by temperature-dependent metabolic processes, essential for sustainable carp aquaculture.

Micro-plastic pollution is a significant global concern that has far-reaching consequences for the environment and human activities, particularly aquatic ecosystems. Microplastics have become pervasive in all marine environments, from the surface waters to the deep ocean, even in remote regions. Their small size, lightweight nature and colorful appearance make them highly mobile and easily dispersed by wind and water currents. They enter the ocean through rivers, runoff, and atmospheric deposition. They are easily ingested by various species, from zooplankton to large fish and marine mammals. Consequently, the production of these compound pollutants may also find its way into the food chains of aquatic life and, after an extended period of enrichment, into the human body. Furthermore, cumulative harmful effects of compound pollution on human health and the natural environment are a result. The accumulation of microplastics in their organs can disrupt physiological functions, cause behavioral changes, and impair growth and reproduction. Addressing this problem requires global cooperation and a multifaceted approach to reduce plastic production and better manage plastic waste.

The purpose of this study was to apply sheep pain facial expression scales (SPFES) to sheep infected with mastitis, measuring peripheral temperatures and serum cortisol hormone. Twenty-three healthy ewes and 23 infected ewes with clinical mastitis were included in this research from January 2022 to April 2023. Images were taken from each ewe to detect facial grimace scales of ewes. Nasal, eye and ear temperatures were collected using infrared thermal imaging camera. Moreover, serum cortisol hormone was collected from the blood. It was found that there was a significant decrease (p<0.01) in nasal, eye and ear temperatures of infected ewes in comparison to healthy ewes. Additionally, cortisol hormone was found significantly (p<0.01) higher in infected ewes at day 1 and day 7 compared to non-infected animals. The changes in facial expressions for all the determined five regions were significantly (p<0.01) different than healthy ewes. The total pain score was significantly (p<0.05) higher on day 1 and day 7, compared to healthy ewes. It was concluded that sheep facial grimace scale was a useful and practical tool for measuring pain in sheep. In addition, cortisol from the serum and peripheral temperatures were found to be useful pain indicators.

No study yet is undertaken to measure positive emotions in goats by stroking their body. Therefore, the present study was aimed to investigate the effect of stroking goats’ body as high valence and low arousal emotional state on facial grimace scale, ear postures and surface temperatures. The study lasted 10 months from September 2021 to May 2022. Thirty-two healthy goats were used in this study. Goats were stroked in three areas including forehead, neck and withers. The process was divided into three stages, which were pre-stroking, stroking, and post-stroking with five minutes for each stage. Results indicated that there were significant differences (P < 0.01) between all face units measured, except the ear position. In addition, significant differences (P < 0.05) were found in the positions of forward, backward and asymmetrical ears, while time spent with plane ears was not significant. Similarly, there were significantly (P < 0.05) higher ear position changes during both stroking and post-stroking periods, compared to pre-stroking stage. The stroking procedure had a significant effect (P < 0.05) only on eye and nasal temperatures during stroking and post-stroking stages compared to the stage before stroking, whereas no significant effect was found on the ear temperature. It was concluded that facial expressions and peripheral temperatures are vital indicators in measuring positive emotional valence in goats.

No study is undertaken to establish a face grimace scale for goats. Therefore, the present study was designed to measure facial expressions, peripheral temperatures and cortisol hormone of goats affected with foot rot disease. Forty goats (20 healthy and 20 infected) were used in this study. Two images were captured from each animal to detect facial grimace scale of goats. Eye, ear and nasal temperatures were measured using infrared thermal camera. In addition, cortisol hormone was obtained from blood serum. Results revealed that there was a significant drop (P<0.01) in eye, ear and nasal temperatures of infected goats compared to healthy animals. In addition, cortisol hormone was significantly (P<0.01) higher in infected animals at day 1 and day 7. The changes in facial expressions were significantly (P<0.01) different than healthy animals, except for the cheek (masseter) muscle. The total pain score was significantly (P<0.01) higher in day 1 and day 7, compared to healthy animals. Sensitivity of facial grimace scale was 0.75 and 1-specificity was 0.35. It was concluded that using changes in facial expressions in goats is a good tool for detecting pain.

Effect of the synthetic food colorant brilliant blue FCF was tested on Allium cepa root tip meristematic cells. The concentrations of brilliant blue FCF used were: zero%(control), 50 mg/L, 100 mg/L, 300 mg/L, and 500 mg/L with two different time of exposure: 10, and 20 hours. The results revealed that increasing the dose concentration resulted in the inhibition of root growth up to 78.67% at 500 mg/L of brilliant blue FCF. The mitotic index decreased with increasing the concentration of the tested material and increasing exposure period from 8.95% in the control to 3.34% in 500 mg/L for 10 hours and from 9.44% in control to 2.95% in 500 mg/L for 20 hours. The mitotic abnormalities like laggard chromosomes, C-mitosis, multipolar anaphase, sticky metaphase, star-shaped anaphase, sticky anaphase, chromosome loss, chromosome fragments, and disturbed anaphase were increased with increasing brilliant blue FCF concentration and increasing time of exposure as compared with the control. The total abnormal cells were zero in the control group increased to 54 in 500 mg/L concentration after 10 hours, this value increased to 99 after 20 hours of treatment.

There is no study about changes in behaviour and peripheral temperature of kid goats undergoing ear tagging procedure. This study was designed to elucidate that pain caused by ear tagging affects peripheral temperatures and behavioural observations in Karadi kid goats. Nineteen native black goat kids, aged 10–14 days, were used in this study. Eye and nasal temperatures were recorded before the ear tagging process, and after ear tagging 5 periods in 30 minutes. Besides, the researchers observed each kid's behaviour for 30 minutes before ear tagging and 30 minutes after it, using focal sampling method and the data recorded with instantaneous time sampling to measure the duration and frequency of each behaviour of the kids. Results revealed that peripheral temperatures were significantly decreased for both eye (P≤ 0.01) and ear (P≤ 0.01) after ear tagging. The temperatures of both eye and ear decreased after tagging significantly (P≤ 0.01) for 30 minutes. The proportion of time kid goats spent normal standing and suckling the dam’s teat decreased whereas the proportion of time spent head-shaking increased after tagging. Significant differences were found between abnormal standing (P≤ 0.01) and vocalization (P≤ 0.01). It is concluded that ear tagging causes a considerable pain in kid goats and using surface temperatures and behaviour are useful indicators to approve it.

Here in Kurdistan Region of Iraq, particularly in Duhok zoo, animal welfare is mostly neglected. Animals are not treated normally. As far as the author is aware, there is no study undertaken to understand the students or public attitudes toward animals in Duhok zoo. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes of the students of the University of Zakho, Faculty of Sciences, Departments of Environmental Sciences, and Biology about animal welfare concerns of Duhok Zoo. The study was undertaken at University of Zakho, Faculty of Sciences. Two hundred questionnaires were divided into the students of both Environmental Sciences and Biology Departments. The questionnaire comprised of 15 questions with 3 sections, which were: first, students identification including name, age, and sex. Second, information on animal welfare, and the last one was recording their opinions on the questionnaire. With each question, students had chosen one of the following opinions: Completely Disagree, Somewhat Disagree, Neither Disagree nor Agree, Somewhat Agree, and Completely Agree. All participants agreed to answer the questionnaire voluntarily. Results revealed that most of the students were of opinion that Duhok zoo should be improved; in addition, most of them were entirely or somewhat disagreed that Duhok zoo is acceptable in general. They had an agreement with the idea that there should be educational programs inside the zoo, and in addition, the zoo does not cover environmental needs for the most, if not all, captive animals. Students were also agreed that there should be conservation programs to conserve captive animals, especially endangered and rare species. However, almost all of the students did not want the zoo to be closed entirely. According to the findings of the students' attitudes obtained, it can be concluded that the zoological park of Duhok city has many shortages regarding the welfare of animals in dealing with their captive animals.

An experiment was conducted to checking up the effects of overcrowding on common carp Cyprinus carpio prosperity using their behavior. Nine concrete ponds were used with three replication ponds for each density (3.6 m length, 2.7 m width, 1.00 m depth and 0.80 m water level) with water volume (7.776 m 3 ) for each pond. Number of fishes per each pond was 4 (low density), 8 (medium density) and 12 (high density), weighing 1000 g. Water volume for each fish in ponds was (1.944 m 3 , 0.972 m 3 , 0.648 m 3 respectively). Fish behavior was recorded by immediate sampling with frequency and duration. Each pond was observed directly on the front of pond. Results exposed that there was a significant difference (P<0.01) of time spent feeding between treatments. In addition, a significant difference (P<0.01) was found in resting time between treatments besides there was a worthy of difference of swimming time between different stocking densities. Time spent in swimming was recorded for high stocking density fishes more than other groups significantly (P<0.01), and significantly less time spent resting. Air breathing had significantly (P<0.01) for higher stocking density more than other stocking densities. In high stocking density all aggressive behaviors were found to be more significantly; bites and attacks (P<0.05), threatening and submission (P<0.01). It's not recommend to stock less than two fishes per meter for carp at concrete ponds.

No study yet is undertaken to measure pain caused by ear tagging in kid goats using ear postures. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to elucidate the effect of ear tagging procedure on pain in black Karadi kids using ear position and frequency of ear changes. Twenty black Karadi kids, aged 10-14 days, were used in this study. Ear postures were scored using focal sampling and recorded with instantaneous time sampling to measure the duration of each ear posture. Each kid was observed separately for 6 minutes before and 6 minutes after the ear tagging process with 30 seconds intervals. A total of 24 ear posture samples were recorded from each kid. Results revealed that Ear tagging significantly increased ears backward (P< 0.01) and decreased ears plane (P< 0.001). However, no significant effect of ear tagging was found on ears forward (P< 0.19) and asymmetrical postures (P< 0.43). In addition, number of ear posture changes was significantly (P< 0.001) increased after ear tagging. It was concluded that observing ear postures of kids directly after painful husbandry procedures such as ear tagging is a reliable non-invasive method to assess pain caused by these painful methods and hence helps better understands animal welfare.

The present study was designed to measure both eye and nasal temperatures by stroking the animals’ body to determine positive emotional state in free-range Hamdani ewes. Twenty Hamdani ewes, aging 2 – 4 years, were used in this study. Focal sampling was used to collect data. Data were collected from both nose and eyes of animals. A total of 1680 temperature data, an average of 84 data from each ewe, were collected from all twenty ewes throughout the study. Ewes were stroked at the forehead, withers and neck for five minutes, temperature data were collected twice before, twice during and twice after stroking for both eyes and nose. Results revealed that there was a significant difference in eye temperature (P<0.01) as well as nasal temperature (P<0.05) between the three stages. Both eye and nasal temperatures were decreasing over time. In addition, the mean eye and nasal temperatures for all stopwatches were highly correlated (r = 0.94). From this study it could be concluded that peripheral (eye and nose) temperatures offer a useful understanding of changes in emotional valence in ewes.

Water samples from twenty wells and twenty springs were assessed to determine whether samples from springs and wells have similar concentrations of selected characteristics, including electrical conductivity (EC), total alkalinity (TA), total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, Sulphate (SO42−) Nitrate (NO3-), total hardness (TH), magnesium (Mg2+) and Calcium (Ca2+). Comparisons were made between concentrations of chemical and Physical characteristics in water samples from springs and wells within the same aquifer. Samples were collected monthly from the wells and springs during March 2017 to February 2018. The samples were tested for chemical and Physical characteristics according to the standard methods of American Public Health Association. There were significant differences between all data selected from springs and wells except Mg and DO. In addition, no significant difference was found between the mean pH values. The results indicated that the water samples lie within the permissible limits as compared with WHO (World Health Organization) for drinking uses, however some samples of water are without the permissible limit such as EC, TDS, and TH. The spring water samples were found to be better than well water samples. The results showed that eight wells and four springs' water samples requires treatment for drinking uses.

The present study was designed to determine whether playing two music types will improve the behaviour of non-pregnant, non-lactating Arabi sheep. Thirty Arabi ewes, aged 2 – 3 years, were included in the study. Ewes were divided into three groups, 10 ewes each. The groups were: Control (with no music exposure); Classic music exposure and Fast music exposure. The sound level for classic and fast music groups was 80 dB with the frequency of 1 KHz. The behavioural data were collected using direct observations for six respective days. Results revealed that using music, both classic and fast, significantly decreased the frequency of aggressive behaviours (P < 0.001), vocalization (P < 0.01), defecation (P < 0.05) and walking behaviour (P < 0.05). In addition, there were significant effects of music on the average time spent standing (P < 0.01), lying and feeding (P < 0.001). Whereas no significant difference was found in the average time spent drinking. It was shown that there were significant differences in time spent lying (P < 0.01) and time spent feeding (P < 0.01) over time. Finally, there was a significant difference in the proportion of time spent lying (P < 0.001) as well as in the proportion of time spent feeding between control and music groups (P < 0.01). From this study, it can be concluded that exposing non-pregnant, non-lactating ewes to classical music is beneficial for ewes’ welfare, due to the reduction of aggressive behaviour.