The use of by-products of sheep slaughtering for the production of functional food and BARF for pets: development of surveillance protocols for the prevention of parasitoses and zoonoses and the enhancement of sheep production industry

INGLESE

The objective of the present thesis was to establish sustainable valorization of slaughtering by-products (SOA) for the production of functional feed and BARF for pets, to develop health monitoring protocols for the prevention of parasitosis and zoonosis, and to enhance the ovine supply chain in Sardinia, Italy. Chapter 1 aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the hygienic aspects related to raw pet feeding, specifically the handling of raw meat in domestic environments, with special emphasis on parasitic agents and related zoonotic hazards. Additonally this chapter reports experimental part of BARF project with preliminary findings. In Chapter 2, the intraspecific molecular variability and population dynamic analysis of E. granulosus s.s. in its common intermediate hosts (sheep, cattle, goats and pigs) based on the mitochondrial cox1 marker were analyzed. The study found that the G1 genotype was the most prevalent (79.71%) in all hosts, followed by the G3 genotype, which was reported for the first time in pigs. The results showed that significant intraspecific variation and the existence of 22 haplotypes with relatively high haplotype diversity but low nucleotide diversity, indicating an expanding parasitic population on the island. Chapter 3 focuses on the role of vultures in reducing the spread of parasitic diseases by consuming infected carrion and breaking the lifecycle of CE. The study found that griffon vultures could be an effective solution in controlling the spread of CE in areas where illegal slaughtering is common. The research indicated that vultures remove a significant amount of carrion each year, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and providing crucial ecological services. In Chapter 4, the impact of CE edutainment on children's awareness and understanding of the disease was examined. A survey of primary school children in Sardinia found that awareness of CE increased from 65% to 87.9% after an intervention. The findings suggest that edutainment can be an effective way to increase awareness and decrease transmission of CE in endemic communities. Overall, this thesis advances our understanding of sustainable use of sheep by-products for production of BARF diets for pets and highlights the importance of safe and secure handling of raw meat products to prevent the spread of zoonotic parasitic diseases.