Trace Metal Content in Drinking Water and Its Effect on Rabbit Growth in the Mining Hinterland of Lubumbashi

Thirty samples of drinking water were collected from springs used by rabbit farmers near mining sites in Lubumbashi, in order to assess the impact of trace metals on rabbit growth. Chemical analyses were performed using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) in the Agro-Pedological Laboratory of the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences. The descriptive and analytical results of the water samples showed high Cd and Co content of the order of (0.04 mg/l of Cd and 3.27 mg/l of Co) in river water, (0.20 mg/l Cd and 4.22 mg/l Co) in stagnant rainwater and low content of the order of (0.00 mg/l Cd and 0.01 mg/l Co) in tap water and an acidic pH (5.6) was shown in drinking water. No significant difference in weight gain was observed between the treatment groups of (928.6667 ± 1060 T0), (922.6667 ± 1012 T1) and (988.6667 ± 1045 T2), P-value of 0.8741, with the higher mortality rate at T2 at the expense of the others. Therefore, rabbit breeders living around the mining sites of Lubumbashi use water of poor chemical quality, which does not meet the standard recommended for watering animals by the national agency for food, environmental and occupational health and safety (ANSES), which is in the order of (0.01 mg/l Cd and 1.0 mg/l Co and 6 mg/l Cu).