Assessment of pack animal welfare in and around Bareilly city of India

Abstract

Aim: To assess the welfare of pack animal: Pony, Horse, Mule and Donkey in and around Bareilly city. Materials and Methods:The present study was carried out in Bareilly city and Izatnagar area of Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh in the year 2009. Representative sample of 100 pack animal owners were selected to get the information regarding various social, personal and economic attributes of the pack animal. Further during interviewing different health and behavior pattern of animals was keenly examined. Analysis has been done as per standard procedures. Results:Most of the pack animal owners (98%) were aware of the freedom from hunger and thirst. Majority of respondents (96, 93, 81 & 85 percent) were aware of freedom from injury and disease, pain and discomfort, to express normal behavior and adequate space and freedom from fear and distress. Respondents (85%) believed that they themselves were responsible for the welfare of the animals. Most of the owners (48.8%) employed their animals for work for 9-10 hrs with rest (96.5%) in between work and most (88.3%) indulged into beating to compel the animals to work. All pregnant animals were put to work in the first two trimesters of pregnancy. Upon physical examination, pack animals showed abnormality in eyes (49%), abnormality in gait (40%) and limb deformity (39%). Most animals (75%) had tether lesions and 34 percent animals avoided or were aggressive to observer. Majority (74.1%) of the owners housed their animals in a part of their own residence with improper drainage and cleaning. Most of the owners (82%) consulted Veterinary doctors for treatment and believed in allopathic medicine (57%). Vaccination was not carried out on most (96%) of the animals. All the animals were feed green fodder but practice of supplementation of minerals to animals was only among 11 percent owners. Conclusions:Present findings provide baseline information on welfare activities followed by pack animal owners and status of pack animals in regards to animal welfare. A more detailed in-depth study is needed regarding welfare issues in all varied pack animals, designing of scientific efficient carts, working hours and special requirements related to feed and other managemental practices for pack and draught animals. Rules and Regulations advocated by Government Act can be used to enforce welfare laws of the animals but thrust should be more in regard to development of awareness among owners for animal welfare.

Prevalence of mutilations and other skin wounds in working donkeys in Tamil Nadu, India

“…A study of working donkeys in the Himalayas reported that 55 per cent worked for six to nine hours a day with rests in between 18 and 48.8 per cent of working equids in Bareilly worked for nine to 10 hours with most receiving one or more rest periods. 8 In the present study, 41.6 per cent were reported to only work two to three days per week. The increased rest days may be due to the influence of the WVS donkey health camps, as a focus of their previous camps encouraged adequate rest and recovery to improve productivity.…”

“…1 Preventable wounds are a common occurrence in donkeys throughout the world and have been shown to be a major health issue. [2][3][4][5][6][7] Wounds are commonly located on the girth, hindquarters, breast/shoulders, withers 6 and limbs, 8 and the wound location is oten directly related to the type of work being performed. 6 Since 2011, the Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS) charity has been running donkey health camps at various locations throughout Tamil Nadu, India.…”

Health and welfare status of donkeys in and around Hawassa Town, Southern Ethiopia

“…This study is in agreement with reports by Usman et al (2015), Solomon et al (2013) and Pritchard et al (2005) describing that equids are mainly kept for transport purposes and only rarely as source of meat or milk. The current study revealed that 100% of the owners were using their animals for transportation or carrying load for more than 6 h a day in average which is in agreement with Biswas et al (2013) and Panwar et al (2008).…”

“…Non availability of proper veterinary care, working under hot and dusty environment, lack of proper shelter, care and management, crude castration, restraining and tethering devices, walking long distances and overloading, poor handling during loading and unloading and inhumane slaughter is common. Most of the animal owners are not even aware of animal welfare practices and as a result, animals have to undergo significant suffering due to improper handling, transport and husbandry practices (Biswas et al, 2013).…”

Health and welfare assessment of working donkeys in and around Rama town, Tigray, Ethiopia

“…Low body condition score was also reported by many researchers in different parts of Ethiopia (Burn et al, 2010;Morkaet al, 2014;Kumar et al, 2014). The prevalence of these conditions are associated with owner's poor knowledge of health care, poor veterinary and extension services, poor feeding and overall management (Biswas et al, 2013;Tesfaye et al, 2016).…”