In European countries, there has been increasing interest in donkeys during the last decade, this trend is confirmed by the establishment of new category associations such as animal assisted therapy, trekking, and educational purposes. Increased importance by health professionals in the properties of donkey milk as an alternative for proteins intolerant children has also seen a trend in the development of several donkey dairy farms in Italy, Spain and Portugal. Due to their growing popularity as companion or working/production animals, the importance of understanding donkey behaviour and improving their overall welfare is essential. As it cannot be assumed that donkeys are comparable to horses, AWIN researchers are developing protocols for on-farm welfare assessment specifically developed for donkeys. In order to find a consensus and develop some of the most promising indicators, different donkey stakeholders (NGOs and academic institutions) were involved and participated to some virtual meetings (http://aulavirtuale.ctu.unimi.it/donkey/). Five freedoms, 4 principles and 12 criteria were used as a frame for evaluating donkey welfare using animal based indicators. More studies about validity and reliability of indicators of human-donkey relationship, positive welfare and pain indicators were deemed necessary and are now under investigation. Avoidance-Distance Tests to investigate human-donkey relationships as well as feasible measures of donkeys reaction to the owner are being tested during visits to 10 donkey facilities in Italy, repeatability of the tests and inter-observer reliability are being measured. An international group of people with different donkey experience (veterinarians, breeders, donkey welfare experts) participated to a Qualitative Behaviour Assessment focus group and defined a list of qualitative descriptors that are now being tested on farm to score the qualitative style of behaviour of groups of donkeys. Assessing pain in donkeys, compared to horses, is definitively a great challenge because of their stoic nature. A Donkey Grimace Scale can be useful as an early warning system to help people to identify painful condition in donkeys. A study has been designed to develop and validate a Grimace Scale in donkeys undergoing different surgical procedures for castration.

Developement and implementation of on-farm welfare assessment for donkeys / L.M.A. Murray, E. Dalla Costa, F. Dai, E. Canali, M. Minero. ((Intervento presentato al 2. convegno AWIN Conference tenutosi a Vitoria-Gasteiz nel 2013.

Developement and implementation of on-farm welfare assessment for donkeys

L.M.A. Murray
Primo
;
E. Dalla Costa
Secondo
;
F. Dai;E. Canali
Penultimo
;
M. Minero
Ultimo
2013

Abstract

In European countries, there has been increasing interest in donkeys during the last decade, this trend is confirmed by the establishment of new category associations such as animal assisted therapy, trekking, and educational purposes. Increased importance by health professionals in the properties of donkey milk as an alternative for proteins intolerant children has also seen a trend in the development of several donkey dairy farms in Italy, Spain and Portugal. Due to their growing popularity as companion or working/production animals, the importance of understanding donkey behaviour and improving their overall welfare is essential. As it cannot be assumed that donkeys are comparable to horses, AWIN researchers are developing protocols for on-farm welfare assessment specifically developed for donkeys. In order to find a consensus and develop some of the most promising indicators, different donkey stakeholders (NGOs and academic institutions) were involved and participated to some virtual meetings (http://aulavirtuale.ctu.unimi.it/donkey/). Five freedoms, 4 principles and 12 criteria were used as a frame for evaluating donkey welfare using animal based indicators. More studies about validity and reliability of indicators of human-donkey relationship, positive welfare and pain indicators were deemed necessary and are now under investigation. Avoidance-Distance Tests to investigate human-donkey relationships as well as feasible measures of donkeys reaction to the owner are being tested during visits to 10 donkey facilities in Italy, repeatability of the tests and inter-observer reliability are being measured. An international group of people with different donkey experience (veterinarians, breeders, donkey welfare experts) participated to a Qualitative Behaviour Assessment focus group and defined a list of qualitative descriptors that are now being tested on farm to score the qualitative style of behaviour of groups of donkeys. Assessing pain in donkeys, compared to horses, is definitively a great challenge because of their stoic nature. A Donkey Grimace Scale can be useful as an early warning system to help people to identify painful condition in donkeys. A study has been designed to develop and validate a Grimace Scale in donkeys undergoing different surgical procedures for castration.
mag-2013
Donkeys ; welfare ; human-animal ; pain
Settore AGR/19 - Zootecnica Speciale
Developement and implementation of on-farm welfare assessment for donkeys / L.M.A. Murray, E. Dalla Costa, F. Dai, E. Canali, M. Minero. ((Intervento presentato al 2. convegno AWIN Conference tenutosi a Vitoria-Gasteiz nel 2013.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/237169
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