Inštitut za perutnino ptice male sesalce in plazilce

Sestanek članov projekta AVIATOR

lukam — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 11:49:42 +0000

AVIATOR Project’s members meeting lukam Fri, 09/26/2025 - 13:53 Inštitut za perutnino ptice male sesalce in plazilce AVIATOR Interreg raziskovanje Research

After the Opening Conference of AVIATOR Project, it’s member’s meeting took place.

Project’s members dealt in detail with the specific Project’s goals:

Improving knowledge, awareness and monitoring mechanism for protecting biodiversity in the Danube region;
Boosting the contribution of prevention models for biodiversity resilience;
Joint development of strategic approach and promotion of transnational knowledge transfer within the Danube region

The JEMS platform – the Joint Electronic Monitoring System for Programme Monitoring and Communication Portal – was also presented in detail. It is a tool that allows project applicants to create and submit application forms, as well as to report on the project implementation process.

Team members finished this session with questions and answers.

Otvoritveno srečanje projekta Interreg AVIATOR

lukam — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 11:39:45 +0000

Interreg AVIATOR Project Kick-Off Conference lukam Thu, 09/25/2025 - 13:48 Inštitut za perutnino ptice male sesalce in plazilce AVIATOR Interreg raziskovanje Research

The opening conference of the project “Adaptation and Increased Resilience of Birds through Awareness-Raising, Monitoring, Treatment and Raptor Protection Management – AVIATOR” was held in Belgrade on Tuesday, September 23. The project is funded by the European Union through the Interreg Danube Region Program.

The project aims to strengthen resilience, support adaptation, and improve the protection of raptor populations in the Danube Region in the context of climate change, through the development and testing of coordinated and harmonized measures across transnational ecological regions. These measures are designed to mitigate the negative impacts of infectious and parasitic diseases on raptor populations, as well as to reduce overall pressures on biodiversity and ensure the conservation of endangered species.

The conference opened with welcoming remarks from Dr. Branislav Kureljushić, Director of the Institute of Veterinary Medicine of Serbia, and State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Željko Radošević.

Dr. Vesna Milićević, Project Manager at the Institute of Veterinary Medicine of Serbia, the lead partner of the project, also addressed the audience. She presented the AVIATOR project, its pilot activities, and the joint methodological framework for raptor protection.

Dr. Ljubiša Veljović from the Institute of Veterinary Medicine of Serbia shared results from the pilot vaccination program for raptors, while Károly Erdélyi of HUN-REN presented prevention and risk assessment models for protected areas.

The conference included presentations on the importance of raptor conservation, highlighting regional threats, the effects of climate change, emerging infectious diseases, and wildlife poisoning. Experts from Serbia and neighboring countries shared insights and research findings, stressing the need for collaborative action.

Fund for European Affairs and Development of the AP of Vojvodina outlined the project’s communication plan, while Dr. Dejan Laushević from the Diagnostic Veterinary Laboratory in Podgorica spoke on “Mapping Local Stakeholders for Project Implementation.” The event concluded with Ana Vasić from the Institute of Veterinary Medicine of Serbia presenting the “Joint Methodological Framework.”

The AVIATOR project is being implemented with the participation of the following partner institutions from Europe:

Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety – Austria
University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine – Bosnia and Herzegovina
Trakia University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine – Bulgaria
Association BIOM – Croatia
Institute of Dipterology / Association for the Promotion of Mosquito Control – Germany
Veterinary Medical Research Institute, HUN-REN – Hungary
Diagnostic Veterinary Laboratory – Montenegro
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Natural Sciences in Iași – Romania
Fund for European Affairs and Development of the AP of Vojvodina – Serbia
University of Ljubljana – Slovenia
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb – Croatia
Danube Delta National Institute for Research and Development – Romania

The AVIATOR project has a total budget of €2.16 million, including €1.73 million in EU grant funding. Launched in 2025, the project will run until 2027.

Naravna okužba s SARS-CoV-2 pri belem dihurju v Sloveniji

lukam — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 12:04:54 +0000

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from Human to Domestic Ferret lukam Thu, 08/26/2021 - 14:10 Institute of Poultry Birds Small Mammals and Reptiles dihur SARS-CoV-2 Koronavirus Research

In the article we report a case of natural infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 transmitted from an owner to a pet ferret in the same household in Slovenia.

The ferret developed a severe gastroenteritis and pneumonia. The ferret needed aggressive fluid therapy and supportive care with antibiotics, antacids, antiemetics and parenteral dexamethasone. The ferret responded to the therapy promptly and recovered fully.

The SARS-CoV-2 infection in the ferret was confirmed using molecular methods and on a basis of seroconversion and development of neutralizing antibodies using serological tests. The whole genome sequencing of the virus detected in the owner and ferret revealed only a 2-nt difference, and neither of those was present in the spike protein gene.

We conclude that pet ferrets are susceptible to natural SARS-CoV-2 infection and can develop severe, life-threatening disease. Therefore, it is very important to detect the infection in pets early to prevent spread to other animals or humans.

Authors: Jožko Račnik, Ana Kočevar, Brigita Slavec, Miša Korva, Katarina Resman Rus, Samo Zakotnik, Tomaž Mark Zorec, Mario Poljak, Milan Matko, Olga Zorman Rojs in Tatjana Avšič Županc.

This work was performed in collaboration with Toplica Veterinary Hospital, Topolšica & Institute for Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ljubljana & Institute for Poultry, Birds, Small Mammals and Reptiles, Faculty of Veterinary medicine, Ljubljana.

The article entitled »Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from Human to Domestic Ferret« was published in September 2021 issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IF for year 2020 = 6.883)

Kaj naredimo s ptičjimi mladiči, ki jih najdemo izven gnezda?

lukam — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 08:26:29 +0000

What to do with chicks that are found outside of a nest? lukam Thu, 04/02/2020 - 20:41 Institute of Poultry Birds Small Mammals and Reptiles Current Dobrobit

Spring is slowly ending and summer is on its way, even though the weather is still fairly April-like. For numerous birds this is the time when the first chicks leave the safe haven of the nest and set off into the wide world. It doesn’t always go to plan, however, and many chicks find themselves in trouble. Sometimes we can help them, however, most often it is best to leave them to their caring parents.

Author: Slovenian Bird Watching and Research Society (DOPPS – Društvo za opazovanje in proučevanje ptic Slovenije)

Smaller songbirds, such as the great tit, sparrow, blackbird or starling, make their nests where the female lays a number of eggs. Chicks hatch after approximately two weeks of hatching, and their parents care for them for about three weeks. It is often the case that due to the large number of offspring, nests become too small and the chicks venture out of the nest a day or two early. When finding chicks out of a nest, we are always confronted with a dilemma of whether or not to help them.

In most cases the answer to the dilemma is ‘NO’. The chick’s parents are close by and will also look after them outside the nest. However, how can we recognise the signs that chicks need our help?

We should help chicks when they are visibly injured or when we suspect that their parents have abandoned them. This can be concluded with great certainty when chicks are not visited by their parents for more than an hour. If the chicks are exposed to any danger (cats, dogs, traffic…) but their parents are close, they can be moved to the shelter of a bush or tree or returned to the nest if found and if it is accessible (at the same time be sure to take care of your own safety).

Should you find an injured or abandoned chick you should contact a designated facility. In Slovenia this is the Wildlife Refuge (Zatočišče za živali prosto živečih vrst), Glavni trg 7, 2366 Muta (tel: 02 876 12 85 or 041 518 939).

Do not feed or care for birds for an extended period.
Additional information can be obtained from the Institute for Poultry, Birds, Small Mammals and Reptiles of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (tel: 01 4779 251).

Source: DOPPS – Društvo za opazovanje in proučevanje ptic Slovenije