Please check out our facebook page for a recent video that was shared there regarding rumen fistulation.
Rumen fistulation is a key methodological approach used to understand the role of anaerobic fungi (as well as other microorganisms) within the rumen. There are many different feelings about these kind of approaches, but I would just like to highlight the only other alternative way to obtain a representative rumen digesta sample is to euthanize an animal every time a sample is required. Therefore rumen fistulation is not only a key experimental tool (enabling repeated and/or temporal sampling of the rumen) but enables minimisation of the number of animals used in research without compromising the ability to deliver applied outcomes that have a real impact in terms of food security and environmental footprint.