Using physical and emotional parameters to assess donkey welfare in Botswana

Geiger, Martha; Hovorka, Alice J.

doi:10.1136/vetreco-2014-000062

Cited by 18 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 32 publications

(51 reference statements)

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“…These results indicated that the donkeys in the central highlands of Kenya were in good welfare condition according to Greiger and Hovorka [ 24 ]. The donkeys were therefore considered physically fit for work.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…Male donkeys were significantly more ( P < 0.05) than the female donkeys. The male donkeys were perceived to be physically stronger than females [ 24 ]. The average age for male donkeys was 8 years compared to 7 years for females (range 1–20 years).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Donkey hooves were examined for lesions by observing the angle of the hoof to the ground and by picking up the hooves one at a time and using a hoof pick to view the base of the hooves. The integrity of the sole, inner, and outer walls of the hooves was examined for hoof and heel cracks as well as hoof overgrowth which were recorded as abnormalities [ 24 ]. The presence of skin lesions was detected through close physical observations made on the donkeys.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessment of Phenotypic Characteristics and Work Suitability for Working Donkeys in the Central Highlands in Kenya

Gichure

Onono

Wahome

et al. 2020

Veterinary Medicine International

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The study aimed to assess the phenotypic characteristics of donkeys and their suitability for work. Data were collected on age, sex, coat color, height at withers, body length, and heart girth from 360 randomly sampled donkeys raised in a highland agroecological system in Kenya between the months of June and September 2018. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA with the sex of the donkey and age group treated as sources of variation. The weight of donkeys was estimated using a formulae incorporating body length and heart girth. The study reveals that the average weight of the working donkey in the central highlands of Kenya was 155.5 kgs ± SE 1.71. Their height at withers was 99.7 cm ± SEM 0.50, with a heart girth of 113.7 cm ± SEM 0.43 and a body length of 113.2 cm ± SEM 0.58. All these body measurements varied significantly by sex and age group ( P < 0.001 ). Therefore, donkeys raised in Kenya had the same height but heavier, with longer body lengths and heart girth measurements when compared to other domesticated working donkeys in different parts of the world indicating genetic diversity, differences in ecogeographical conditions and husbandry practices. The majority (86%) of the donkeys were in good welfare conditions with moderate to ideal 86% body condition scores, minimal body lesions 5%, and lameness 18%. The results are useful for extension agents and donkey users when estimating optimal pack or cart loads in line with their welfare. The findings provide opportunities for future research on the reasons for phenotypic diversity between donkeys raised in Kenya and other parts of the world.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessment of Phenotypic Characteristics and Work Suitability for Working Donkeys in the Central Highlands in Kenya

Gichure

Onono

Wahome

et al. 2020

Veterinary Medicine International

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“…Donkeys were mainly used to do work such as tilling of the soil; drawing carts; transporting people, goods, or crops to markets; etc. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25].…”

Section: The Roles Of Donkeys In Botswanamentioning

confidence: 99%

Telecoupling of the Trade of Donkey-Hides between Botswana and China: Challenges and Opportunities

Matlhola

Chen

2020

Sustainability

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International trade has become a major threat to biodiversity in the telecoupled world. The literature on biodiversity loss mostly concentrates on wild species; however, the increasing loss of and demand for domesticated species are overlooked. Donkeys are decreasing in many countries because of economic development, urbanization, and increased demand for donkey hides in China. The donkey population in Africa has rapidly declined recently due to supplying China with donkey hides for the production of highly demanded and legalized traditional medicine, ejiao. As a result, some African countries, including Botswana, banned the export of donkey hides. Animal protection and media continuously reported threats over the extinction of donkeys and exacerbated rural livelihood in developing countries, however, limited literature has investigated the causes and effects of donkey-hide trade and its policy interventions. This paper applies the telecoupling framework and uses the data extracted from the media reports and FAO, to understand the scale and impacts of donkey-hide trade from Botswana to China. We also explore the challenges and opportunities of donkey-hide trade for Botswana, highlighting the mechanisms need to be established to regulate the donkey-hide trade, and also to harness available opportunities if the trade ban is lifted in the future.

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“…stereotyped behaviour (McGreevy et al, 1995b;Bachmann et al, 2003;Sarrafchi and Blokhuis, 2013), internal parasites, dental problems, hoof defects (Christie et al, 2004), and body condition (Giles et al, 2014;Geiger and Hovorka, 2015), using relatively small sample sizes. Equine welfare is important, particularly in Sweden because this country has the highest number of horses per capita in the EU, although Germany and Great Britain have the largest horse populations (Liljenstolpe, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An epidemiological analysis of equine welfare data from regulatory inspections by the official competent authorities

Hitchens

Hultgren

Frössling

et al. 2017

Animal

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Determining welfare status in a population is the first step in efforts to improve welfare. The primary objective of this study was to explore a new epidemiological approach for analysis of data from official competent authorities that pertain to compliance with animal welfare legislation. We reviewed data already routinely collected as part of Swedish official animal welfare inspections for 2010 to 2013, using a checklist containing 45 checkpoints (CPs). These covered animal-, resource-and management-based measures of equine welfare. The animalbased CPs were measures that directly related to the animal and included social contact, body condition, hoof condition and cleanliness. Non-compliance with one or more of the animalbased CPs was used as a binary outcome of poor equine welfare; 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using the exact binomial distribution. Associations were determined using multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for clustering on premises. Resource-and management-based CPs (model inputs) were reduced by principal component analysis. Other input factors included premises characteristics (e.g. size, location) and inspection characteristics (e.g. type of inspection). There were 30 053 premises with horses from 21 counties registered by the Swedish Board of Agriculture. In total 13 321 inspections of premises were conducted at 28.4% (n=8 532) of all registered premises. For random inspections, the premises-prevalence of poor equine welfare was 9.5% (95% CI 7.5, 11.9). Factors associated with poor equine welfare were non-compliance with requirements for supervision, care or feeding of horses, facility design, personnel, stable hygiene, pasture and exercise area maintenance, as well as the owner not being notified of the inspection, a previous complaint or deficiency, spring compared to autumn, and not operating as a professional equine business. Horses at premises compliant with stabling and shelter requirements had significantly better welfare if they also complied with documentation requirements. We present a novel approach for analysis of equine welfare data from regulatory inspections by the official competent authorities, and propose on-going analyses and benchmarking of trends in animal-based measures over time. We also suggest how such a database could be further improved to facilitate future epidemiological analyses of risk factors associated with poor equine welfare. The study has implications for other competent authorities and researchers collaborating in the area of animal welfare epidemiology.Key Words: horse, legislation, animal-based measures, welfare indicators, risk assessment 1 Implications: This study illustrates that analysis of routinely collected data from official horse welfare inspections can give us insights into where efforts should be targeted to have the greatest impact in improving animal welfare. Specifically, our study suggests that targeting education strategies at personnel responsible for supervising, caring for, and feeding horses is likely ...

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Using physical and emotional parameters to assess donkey welfare in Botswana

Cited by 18 publications

References 32 publications

Assessment of Phenotypic Characteristics and Work Suitability for Working Donkeys in the Central Highlands in Kenya

Assessment of Phenotypic Characteristics and Work Suitability for Working Donkeys in the Central Highlands in Kenya

Telecoupling of the Trade of Donkey-Hides between Botswana and China: Challenges and Opportunities

An epidemiological analysis of equine welfare data from regulatory inspections by the official competent authorities

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