ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION IN FARM ANIMALS - Phenix-Vet

XPrefaceless stress to the female, who is often the one that has to be transported to and fromthe home of the male, but one should keep in the mind that the system of reproductionis perfect, including artificial insemination. The chief priority of artificial inseminationis that the desirable characteristics of a bull or other male livestock animal can bepassed on more quickly and to more progeny than if that animal is mated with femalesin a natural fashion. Ten thousand or more calves are produced annually from a singlebull through the use of artificial insemination.Artificial insemination has been most widely used for breeding dairy cattle and pigsand has made bulls of high genetic merit available to all. It has been used to facilitatethe reproductive success and conservation of threatened or endangered animals.Although AI (in the form of intrauterine insemination) is not frequently used inhuman patients, it is the most commonly used method of breeding food productionanimals in developed countries, with more than 90% pigs and almost the sameproportion of dairy cattle bred by this method in the European Union and NorthAmerica. Examples of wild animals that have been successfully impregnated throughartificial insemination include big cats (e.g., the tiger, the puma, the cheetah, and theclouded leopard), the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) and the onager (Equusonager).This book contains under one cover 16 chapters of concise, up-to-date information onartificial insemination. AI in buffalos, ewes, pigs, swine, sheep, goats, pigs and dogswill be detailed in different chapters. Cryopreservation effect on sperm quality andfertility, new method and diagnostic test in semen analysis, management factorsaffecting fertility after cervical insemination, factors of non-infectious nature affectingthe fertility, fatty acids effects on reproductive performance of ruminants,particularities of bovine artificial insemination, sperm preparation techniques andreproductive endocrinology diseases will be described in these chapters.The purpose of this book is to provide, as both a college text book and a referencesource, a comprehensive text that contains current information on artificialinsemination. This book is not a presentation of concepts of artificial insemination withan extensive list of references, but rather a consensus of important information withkey references to allow the reader to further explore the artificial insemination field.This book will deal with the use of artificial insemination (AI) in animals, currentlyand in the future, with particular emphasis on comparative aspects between species.This book will explain the advantages and disadvantages of using AI, the variousmethodologies used in different species, and how AI can be used to improvereproductive efficiency in farm animals.I hope this book will be used worldwide as a college textbook and authoritativereference book for research and extension specialists, AI practitioners, teachers andstudents.