ENGLISH VERSION

Bożena Nowakowicz-Dębek 
Gaseous air pollutants in the surroundings of furry animal farm and their impact on some physiological indices and performance effects of polar foxes

The investigations concerned the pollution of carnivore furry animal farm surroundings with volatile compounds against a background of the macro- and microclimatic conditions as well as the impact of the identified substances on polar fox health status, reproduction and performance.

The air monitoring performed at the farm and the chamber revealed differentiation of air gaseous composition and microclimatic parameters. On the grounds of the blood analyses, e decreased values of most haematologic indices were recorded in mature animals exposed to the pollution. Different tendencies were reported for young foxes. The results of biochemical blood analyses in both young and adult animals were close or slightly deviated from those obtained in the control or reference values.

A level of immunoglobulin class M, G and A in adults and IgM and IgG in young foxes was some lower compared to the group maintained at the farm. The specimens of liver and kidney from the foxes of experimental group showed slight intensification of degenerative changes as against the control, while in the lungs – the presence of mucus. The analysis of the gaseous pollutant residues in tissues exhibited the highest levels of xylene in brains, lungs and perirenal fat in the foxes from the experimental group. A higher concentration of pollutants in the chamber evoked decreased fecundity of foxes, yet the licence assessment results were similar.

Providing the optimal conditions for animal management and the closed system introduction may constitute an alternative for this species breeding in future as it also includes the environmental aspect.