Abstract

The launching of the Australian Journal of Agricultural, Veterinary and Animal Sciences (AJAVAS) on May 1, 2025 was the culmination of a ten-year dream that began with MARCIAS AUSTRALIA’s registration with an ABN Number 66814341257 by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on January 6, 2016. Australia’s reputation as a global thought leader in agricultural innovation, ethical livestock production, food security, animal welfare and veterinary sciences is rock-solid. Establishing AJAVAS with a strategic operational base in Australia and a global spread aims to provide an authentic and reliable global reference point for sound science, integrated and multidisciplinary innovations in sustainable agricultural food security, ethical livestock production and veterinary sciences. The key focus is on integrated, novel, innovative, strategic and applied sciences, multi- and inter-disciplinary research with practical ‘real world’ applications. The Foundation Editorial & Advisory Board members of AJAVAS were drawn from UK’s University of Cambridge, Australian Universities of Newcastle, Melbourne, RMIT, Sydney, and New England, Iranian Universities of Guilan and Semnan, Nigerian National Veterinary Research Institute & National Animal Production Research Institute, Brazilian University of Campina Grande, Finnish Natural Resources Institute, American Kansas State University and Tunisian La Manouba University. Thus, AJAVAS has a global spread with Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe, North & South American representation. The journal comprises 4 Sections – Agricultural, Veterinary and Animal Sciences, and PhD Thesis Reviews. AJAVAS membership on LinkedIn is free at https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13200707/. The inaugural issue of AJAVAS focusses on ultrasonographic assessment of post-anaesthetic gastrointestinal function in rabbits and emerging applications of postbiotics to sustainable livestock production systems.

Keywords

Agricultural food security, ethical livestock welfare, innovation, veterinary sciences

Highlights

• AJAVAS is a reliable global reference point for sound science, integrated and multidisciplinary innovations;
• Focussed on sustainable agricultural food security, ethical livestock production and veterinary sciences;
• Ultrasonographic evaluation of post-anaesthetic gastrointestinal function and postbiotics in livestock covered.

1.0 Editorial

The Australian Journal of Agricultural, Veterinary and Animal Sciences (AJAVAS) is an authentic and reliable open access global reference point for sound science, integrated and multidisciplinary innovations in sustainable agricultural food security, ethical livestock production and veterinary sciences. Ensuring global food security is a critical challenge that necessitates innovative solutions and advanced technologies (Hassoun et al., 2025). Sustainable food systems can be explored through livestock-pasture integration (Rapiya et al., 2025), reshaping farming practices in urban landscapes (Braamhaar et al., 2025), farmed edible insects (Aguilar-Toalá et al., 2025), microalgal protein production (Ali et al., 2025), and many other innovative pathways.

In the inaugural issue of AJAVAS (June 2025), a review by researchers at The University of Newcastle on emerging applications of postbiotics to sustainable livestock production systems, and a prospective case study by researchers at The University of Cambridge on ultrasonographic assessment of rabbit post-anaesthetic gastrointestinal function in combination with feed intake and faecal output data, were covered.

Based on the pilot findings of the case study by Fitzmaurice et al. (2025), ultrasonographic assessment of duodenal contractions, together with monitoring of postoperative food intake and faecal output, may be a useful tool for the early detection of post-anaesthetic digestive dysfunction in rabbits, and potential identification of rabbits at higher risk of developing postoperative ileus. The review on emerging applications of postbiotics to sustainable livestock production systems by Otto et al. (2025) examines existing gaps in the light of current knowledge on postbiotics and their impact on animal health, milk production, carcass quality, and reproductive outcomes in livestock proposes future research directions to foster a better understanding of the role of postbiotics in enhancing sustainable monogastric and ruminant livestock production.

It is my absolute pleasure to warmly welcome on board Dr. Benjamin Holman (Deputy Editor-in-Chief), Professor Chiara Adami, University of Cambridge, UK, Professor Matthew Hayward, University of Newcastle, Australia, Dr. Farhad Ahmadi, University of Melbourne, Australia, Dr. Mandeep Kaur, RMIT University Melbourne, & Fonterra Australia Pty Ltd (Section Associate Editors), Dr. Yuxi Zhang, University of Sydney, Australia, Dr. John Roger Otto, University of Newcastle, Australia, Dr. Don Nguyen, University of New England, Australia, Dr. Felista Mwangi, University of Newcastle, Australia, Dr. Mohammad Hossein Banabazi, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden, Professor Navid Ghavi Hossein-Zadeh, University of Guilan, Iran, Associate Professor Sana Khaldi, La Manouba University, Ecole Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire de Sidi Thabet, Tunisia, Dr. Shedrach Benjamin Pewan, National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom, Nigeria, Dr. Immanuel Madziga, National Animal Production Research Institute, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria & Federal University of Campina Grande, Patos, Paraíba, Brazil, Dr. Babak Darabighane – Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Helsinki, Finland & Semnan University, Iran (Associate Editors), Associate Professor Imke Tammen, University of Sydney, Australia, and Dr David Edache, Kansas State University, USA (Reviewers) as AJAVAS Foundation Editorial, Advisory and Review Board Members.

References

Aguilar-Toalá J, Vidal-Limón AM, Liceaga AM. 2025. Advancing food security with farmed edible insects: Economic, social and environmental aspects. Insects, 16(1), 67. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16010067

Ali SS, Al-Tohamy R, Al-Zahrani M, Schagerl M, Kornaros M, Sun J. 2025. Advancements and challenges in microalgal protein production: A sustainable alternative to conventional protein sources. Microbial Cell Factories, 24, 61. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12934-025-02685-1

Braamhaar DJM, van der Lee J, Bebe BO, Oosting SJ. 2025. From rural to urban: Exploring livestock farming practices in urbanizing landscapes. Agricultural Systems, 225, 104297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104297

Fitzmaurice M, Nix C, d’Ovidio D, Adami C. 2025. Focussed ultrasonographic assessment of rabbit post-anaesthetic  gastrointestinal function in combination with feed intake and faecal output data. Aust J Agric Vet Anim Sci, 1(1), 100001 https://doi.org/

Hassoun A, Mhlanga D, Rejeb A, Bhat Z, Buheji M, Bigliardi B. 2025. The role of industry 4.0 in global food security: A promising pathway to ending hunger. Smart Agricultural Technology, 11, 100974. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atech.2025.100974

Otto JR, Mwangi FW,  Pewan SB, Holman BWB, Malau-Aduli AEO (2025). Emerging applications of postbiotics to sustainable livestock pro-duction systems. Aust J Agric Vet Anim Sci, 1(1), 100002 https://doi.org/

Rapiya M, Mndela M, Ramoelo A. 2025. Sustainable food systems through livestock–pasture integration. Agriculture, 15(9), 967. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15090967