The criminal offense of animal killing and abuse was introduced into the Criminal Code of the Republic of Serbia in 2006, and in 2009, the Animal Welfare Law was adopted. It is alarming that the perpetrators of this criminal offense, who exhibit violent behaviour toward animals, are often very young individuals, i.e., children under the age of 14 and so who cannot be held criminally responsible. Timely recognition and punishment of such behaviour is crucial, as it can help prevent future violence against humans and raise public awareness about the significance and role of animals in our society. According to Serbian law, children under the age of 14 are not criminally responsible, while for minors between the ages of 14 and 18, a special juvenile procedure is conducted, and specific sanctions are imposed. The authors? initial hypothesis is that children and minors relatively often abuse animals, but the social and legal response to such behaviour is inadequate, and indeed, often entirely lacking. The aim of this paper is to highlight the frequency of animal cruelty among juvenile offenders and children and to emphasize the importance of a timely and appropriate response from all relevant sectors of society.

Contracaecum spp. is a parasitic nematode belonging to the Anisakidae family and which has a significant potential zoonotic effects on different hosts. Anisakiasis in humans is caused due to consumption of raw infected or undercooked seafood that contains nematode larvae. In this study, the prevalence of Contracaecum spp. nematodes in the fish, Planiliza abu, was determined over eight months from June 2022 to January 2023. The source of fish was Razzaza Lake, while the specimens of Planiliza abu were purchased from the local market, Karbala city, Iraq. The Contracaecum spp. nematodes were examined by morphological and molecular techniques.The total prevalence was 32%, as 133 of 416 fish were infected in the viscera by Contracaecum spp. third stage (L3) larvae. Molecular diagnosis of the COX-2 gene in Contracaecum spp. from P. abu was used to confirm the infection and to study their population biology. In the parasitology laboratory of the Veterinary Medicine College at Kerbala University, we confirmed the nematodes morphologically and molecularly as Contracaecum spp. The infection rates in September and November were greater than in October 2022. The results showed a significant positive correlation between the length of the fish and the number of nematodes per fish. This study detected the presence of Contracaecum spp. using analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase II (COX-2 gene). In conclusion, molecular genotyping might be an effective method for detecting the Contracaecum L3 larval species, determining the biology of the life-cycles, population structures, transmission methods, and intermediate hosts types.

Serbian aquaculture is practiced in warmwater (carp) farms, coldwater (trout) farms, cage systems, recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) and fish tanks. The total area under carp farms (ponds) registered by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (SORS) in the last fourteen years has varied between 6,192 and 8,940 ha, while under the area under trout farms was between 33,255 m2 and 81,411 m2. Total fish production over the last fourteen years varied between 5,070 tons, recorded in 2017 and 8,195 tons of market fish, recorded in 2010. Fish production is dominated by common carp and rainbow trout (about 90% of total production). In addition to these two species, several other species are cultured at carp farms, such as catfish, pikeperch, pike, silver carp, bighead carp, grass carp, Prussian carp and tench. In trout farms, additional cultured species are usually brook trout, huchen and grayling, while cultured fish species in RAS systems are sterlet and Russian sturgeon.

The ethical dilemmas of using animals as in vivo models in preclinical and clinical examinations have been increasingly present in recent decades. Small laboratory animals (rats, rabbits) will continue to be used because they are cost-effective and permit the formation of statistically testable cohort groups; a task that, for financial, maintenance and care reasons, is almost prohibitive for larger animals. Technological advances in the production of new biomaterials for clinical use are enormous, but screening tests and methods used to assess biocompatibility lag behind these advances. The assessment of biological responses is slow and based on millennial recovery mechanisms in eukaryotic organisms. Therefore, the goal of researchers in this field is to re-evaluate old methods of biocompatibility assessment and introduce new methods of evaluation, especially for in vivo testing. In that sense, a revision of the ISO standards was planned and conducted in 2017, which insisted on cytotoxicity testing in cell lines and produced concrete proposals on how biocompatibility should be quantified. In vivo biocompatibility evaluation of biomaterials used for soft tissue recovery commonly utilises rats. Rabbits are recommended for implants used for hard tissues, because of the rabbit?s size, the possibility of implanting the biomaterials on a larger bone surface, and because of the peculiarities of rabbit bone tissue that favours rapid recovery after bone defects and enables easy reading of the results

Fish meat and fish products are usually considered as healthy foods, mostly because of their content of unsaturated fatty acids, which have a beneficial effect on human health. On the Serbian market, fish and shellfish are commonly present as fresh, frozen and canned, but not regulating and monitoring the existence of high levels of different chemical hazards can lead to human health problems. The aim of the present paper is to provide an overview of the contamination of fish and their products from the Serbian market with regard to the most significant chemical hazards. The following contaminants are considered: lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, copper, iron and zinc representing heavy metals and metalloids; endrin, aldrin, dieldrin, lindane, endosulfans, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its derivatives as the most significant organochlorine pesticides and; benzo(a)pyrene, benz(a)anthracene, benzo(b) fluoranthene and chrysene as four priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH4). Bearing in mind that there is no food, including fish and fish products, that does not contain harmful substances and various hazards, there is a need at national and lower

Shellfish for human consumption is produced in excess of 15 million tons per year, accounting for roughly 14% of global marine aquaculture, with China being the largest producer (89% of world production). However, in the previous two decades, shellfish output in the European Union has been dropping. This review provides information about shellfish aquaculture in Montenegro, in Boka Kotorska Bay, where most farms belong to the group of small farms. Shellfish production in this bay is constantly increasing. Thus, with minor deviations, the production of shellfish increased from 156 tonnes, as was produced in 2012, to 246 tonnes produced in 2020. However, despite the constant growth of production, statistical data indicate that every year a large amount of shellfish is imported, and there is a need for greater production in the country. The shellfish production capacity in Montenegro is still lower than expected, despite the great potential for development. Aquaculture?s development potential is in the areas of increasing production, modernising existing farms, automating production, strengthening the competitiveness and efficiency of the sector, introducing new species, better linking aquaculture with tourism and processing, marine spatial planning, promoting aquaculture products and branding products.

There is an evident difference in the implementation level of animal welfare (AW) across the societies and countries worldwide. Although multiple factors contribute to these differences, we can summarize them into a three pillar concept, the three aspects of applied farm AW. The objective of this review is to analyse applied AW on farms from the ethical, economic and animal health aspects. Modern ethics emphasizes biocentrism against anthropocentrism, the modern ethical concept of bioethics. Additionally, beside the differences among the major ethical concepts, there is a consensus that AW deserves a respectful place. An animal?s economic value is not only limited by its material value determined by the inputs and outputs. Thus, rather than being simply considered as a ?stock-good? machine, animals are valued as a sentient beings with ?added value?, which has an impact on the final product price. Animal health and welfare are interconnected and are based on the impact of AW on health and vice versa. The implementation of higher welfare standards to farm animals is only possible if AW is accepted as part of the health of the animal. The applicability of this concept is presented through the European Union AW legislation, which is based on public opinion, economy and animal health. As a conclusion, applied AW is possible only at the level at which the three pillars are equally balanced, and the initiatives in this field should work and be focused on ethics, economics and health.

A 3-year-old, male intact, pet inland bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) presented with a history of diarrhea, progressive inappetence and weight loss. A palpable cranial celomic mass was identified on physical examination and confirmed to be hepatic in origin by celomic ultrasonography. Hematologic and biochemical abnormalities were mild and consistent with inflammation, regenerative anemia, and hepatocellular injury. Fine needle aspiration of the liver masses was suggestive of amoebiasis and the patient was humanely euthanized. PCR and Sanger DNA sequencing of liver aspirates were supportive of Entamoeba infection, although definitive speciation was not possible. Pathogenic amoebiasis due to infection by E. invadens has been reported in a wide range of reptiles and is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in these species.

Introduction. By the number of litters and puppies per year, the Posavatz hound is the second most common hound breed in Serbia. This hound is intensively used for hunting in Serbia, since these dogs show very good working characteristics. The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which the external characteristics of the population in Serbia meet the norms prescribed by the official standard for the breed. Materials and Methods. A total of 251 Posavatz hounds, i.e. 134 adult males and 117 adult females, were included in a morphometric evaluation of the population sub-sample during 2017 and 2018. The basic parameters of height at the withers, body length, chest circumference and head length were measured. The variability of the results obtained was statistically analyzed by Student?s t-test for distribution of the frequencies, while the heterogeneity/homogeneity of the evaluated morphometric parameters within the Posavatz breed was estimated by coefficient of variation. Results and Conclusions. The results showed the studied Posavatz hounds in Serbia are characterized by a proper rectangular body shape. However, the average body height tended to be too low, i.e. more towards the lower limit of the prescribed height at the withers. The morphometric deviations established when comparing the Posavatz hound population in Serbia with the standard for the breed should enlighten the guidelines for sound selective breeding of the Posavatz hound by contributing to decision making by breeders and expert commissions of canine organizations. Overall, this should allow healthy breeding and welfare maintenance throughout generations for this hound breed.

Background. Coronaviruses (CoVs) have been recognized in veterinary virology for a long time and comprise a large group of RNA viruses responsible for enteric, respiratory, hepatic, and neurologic diseases in a variety of animal species and humans. These viruses are very adaptable considering their highly error-prone replication process and recombination ability, resulting in remarkable mutability and efficient expansion of their host range and tissue tropism. Scope and Approach. In the recent past, after the outbreaks caused by SARS-CoV in 2002 and MERS-CoV in 2012, CoVs became a research focus in the scientific community. Moreover, the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic raised more questions concerning the threats posed by these viruses. Several significant examples of coronaviruses jumping the species barrier and changing their tropism have been reported in the past, and novel viruses of both animals and humans have appeared as a consequence. This paper reviews some of the examples of CoV mutability and the most notable animal coronaviruses of veterinary relevance. Key Findings and Conclusions. There is still no proof that the novel virus SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted to humans from domestic animals, and its recent cross-species jump is currently being intensively researched. Intensified and diverse human activities that lead to the disruption of ecosystems contribute to the increased risk of contact with animals that might represent virus reservoirs. The need for constant surveillance of CoVs and expanded studies of their virological traits, mutation mechanisms, diversity, prophylactic and therapeutic measures highlight the key role of both veterinarians and medical doctors in order to preserve the health of the human population.