welfare

Objective

To clinically evaluate previously developed pain scales [Donkey Chronic Pain Composite Pain Scale (DCP-CPS), Donkey Chronic Pain Facial Assessment of Pain (DCP-FAP), and combined Donkey Chronic Pain Scale (DCPS)], including behavioural and facial expression related variables, for the assessment of chronic pain in donkeys.

Study design

Prospective, blinded clinical study.

Animal population

A group of 77 donkeys (34 patients and 43 healthy control animals)

Methods

Animals were assessed by two observers that were blinded to the condition of the animals.

Results

Both DCP composite pain scale (CPS), DCP facial assessment of pain (FAP) and resulting Donkey Chronic Pain Scale (DCPS) scores showed good inter-observer reliability (Intra Class Correlation (ICC) coefficient = 0.91, confidence interval (CI) = 0.86–0.95, p < 0.001; ICC = 0.71, CI = 0.50–0.83, p < 0.001 and ICC = 0.84, CI = 0.72–0.91, p < 0.001 respectively). All scores (DCP-CPS, DCP-FAP and the resulting combined DCPS) were significantly higher for patients compared to controls at all time points (p < 0.001 for all three scales). Sensitivity and specificity for identification of pain (cut-off value > 3) was 73.0 and 65.1% for DCP-CPS, while for DCP-FAP this was 60.9% and 83.3%, respectively. For the combined DCPS, sensitivity was 87.0% and specificity 90.9% (cut-off value > 6).

Conclusions and clinical relevance

The DCPS, based on behavioural and facial expression-based variables, proved a promising and reproducible tool to assess different types of chronic pain in donkeys. The combination of behavioural and facial expression-based variables showed the best discriminatory characteristics in the current study. Further studies are needed for refinement of these tools.

Increased demand for the supply of donkey hides for use in the Traditional Chinese Medicine e’jiao, is leading to a re-appraisal of donkeys’ contributions to livelihoods across the world. This research aimed to understand the utilitarian value donkeys provide to poor small holder farmers, especially women, in their efforts to make a living in two rural communities in northern Ghana. Uniquely, children and donkey butchers were interviewed for the first time about their donkeys. A qualitative thematic analysis was undertaken of data disaggregated by sex, age and donkey-ownership. The majority of protocols were repeated during a second visit, ensuring comparative data between one wet, and one dry season. Donkeys are more important in people’s lives than had previously been recognised and are highly valued by their owners for their help in reducing drudgery and the multi-functional services they offer. Hiring out donkeys to generate income is a secondary role for people who own donkeys, especially women. However, for financial and cultural reasons the way donkeys are kept results in the loss of a certain percentage of the animals to the donkey meat market, as well as the global hides trade. Increasing demand for donkey meat, coupled with increasing demand for donkeys for farming, is leading to donkey price inflation and theft of donkeys. This is putting pressure on the donkey population of neighbouring Burkina Faso and pricing resource-poor non-donkey owners out of the market. E’jiao has put the spotlight on the value of dead donkeys for the first time, especially to governments and middlemen. This study shows that the value of live donkeys to poor farming households is substantial. It attempts to understand and document this value thoroughly, should the majority of donkeys in West Africa be rounded up and slaughtered for the value of their meat and skin instead.

Background

Several studies have shown dental disease to have a high prevalence and severity in donkeys. Limited studies have assessed the possible relationships between poor dental health and the management and health care of donkeys.

Objective

The aim of this study was to identify relationships between dental health and current management of donkeys in the UK and to provide recommendations to improve practices to help donkey welfare.

Study design

Observational cross-sectional survey.

Methods

A total of 596 donkeys surrendered to The Donkey Sanctuary (TDS) over a period of 30 months were included. Analysis was performed on three categories of information: entrance information submitted by previous owners and welfare professionals, pre-admission clinical examination records and arrival medical examination data.

Results

No statistically significant differences were identified between dental health and provision of bedding, or diet types. Agreement between external professionals and experienced TDS staff was weak in reference to recognition of dental pathology, age and body condition score (BCS). Over 25% of donkeys with severe dental pathology also had poor BCS (1–1.5). The majority of donkeys had no indication of previous dental examination.

Main limitations

Entrance information was not gathered and recorded in a structured manner.

Conclusions

Regular prophylactic dental care seems to have poor uptake amongst the owners of the study population, but this is perhaps, in part, aligned to the nature of the sanctuary. Owners are yet to take dental health into consideration when allocating a diet or bedding types to their donkeys, presenting a risk of colic/choke in those fed long fibres with an inability to process them adequately. The Donkey Sanctuary should continue to offer accessible means of education to reach both professionals and owners alike, and this may be well served by the implementation of the new, online, Donkey Academy.

Unsustainable global wildlife trade impacts biodiversity and threatens national and global security, but many aspects of this trade remain opaque. Our study is a novel investigation of the alleged links between the trade in wildlife products and in donkey skins. The global donkey skin trade is a newly prevalent and lucrative business, largely driven by Chinese demand for E-Jiao, a traditional medicine derived from donkey skins. Records of donkey skins being seized alongside other wildlife products lead us to hypothesize that there is a link between these two trades. We identified all donkey skin dealers on seven business-to-business e-commerce websites and obtained 14,949 data points. These were used in a network analysis to demonstrate the structure of the network and reveal the connection between the products, including wild animal and plant products offered alongside donkey skins. We identified at least 13 groups of CITES-listed species in the densely connected donkey skin product network, demonstrated an association between the online trade in wildlife products and donkey skins, and discuss the implications of this overlap—including the potential to shed light on potential novel trade pathways in legal and illegal domestic animal and wildlife trade.

The donkey population has increased in the last 10 years, with an estimated 50 million donkeys currently worldwide. Donkey welfare, meanwhile, is an increasing global concern that receives close public scrutiny. However, multiple challenges are surrounding how donkey welfare is assessed and recorded. The Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) project is the first project, funded by the European Commission, intended to improve donkey welfare by developing a scientifically sound and practical on-farm welfare assessment protocol. The present study describes the procedure for the development of the AWIN welfare assessment protocol for donkeys: 1) selection of promising welfare indicators; 2) research to cover gaps in knowledge; 3) stakeholder consultation; 4) testing the prototype protocol on-farm. The proposed two-level strategy improved on-farm feasibility, while the AWIN donkey app enables the standardized collection of data with prompt results. Although limitations are linked with a relatively small reference population, the AWIN welfare assessment protocol represents the first scientific and standardized approach to evaluate donkey welfare on-farm.

This paper challenges assumptions that the health management of working equids among some of India’s poorest communities is mainly dependent upon income, economic influence, or access to veterinary services. Using a mixed-methods approach, hierarchies of treatment practices are revealed through an examination of the ‘lived experience’ of equid owners in brick kilns and construction sites in northern India. Semi-structured interviews with 37 equid owners and corresponding livelihood surveys, combined with data from two focus groups with professional animal health practitioners and the welfare data of 63 working equids collected using the Equid Assessment, Research, and Scoping (EARS) tool, contributed to the findings of the study. Four principal influencing factors were found to affect the decision-making practices of equid owners. Infrastructural factors, community characteristics and experience, owners’ characteristics and experience, and economic factors all impact the belief structures of equid owners. However, without verifying the validity of the treatment measures being employed, some animals are at risk from hazardous treatment behaviours. By understanding decision-making using the theory of planned behaviour, the findings of this study can provide a crucial contribution to informing future interventions involved in the health management and welfare of working equids.

The UK public and veterinary profession often think of the equine charity sector as dealing with issues directly related to the UK equine population - overproduction, rehoming, shelter and welfare. However, The Donkey Sanctuary, like many UK-based equine charities, also works in Europe and further afield to try to address a much broader range of issues.

Data concerning the numbers, locations and types of donkeys being officially registered (passported) in Ireland (32 counties) via horse passport issuing organisations were gathered. The numbers of agricultural area aid scheme (Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC)) applicants registering passported donkeys (as compared with horses) as livestock units (LUs), the numbers of donkeys they registered and the value of payments that thus accrued to the applicants are also reported for each of 26 counties for the years 2012 to 2014 inclusive. Equids have not been eligible for equivalent agricultural schemes in the six counties of Northern Ireland. Horse Sport Ireland registration data shows that two-thirds of almost 8000 donkey passport applicants over a 10-year period came from counties Galway and Mayo and that only one-third of donkeys registered were male. As per ANC figures reported here for 2014, there were over 2500 donkeys registered as LUs on ANC, at a payment value to their keepers (in the 26 counties) of almost €1.6M. Future iterations of the ANC scheme are currently under review with regard to limiting donkey eligibility criteria, for example, to females and neutered males. The future monetary value of (some) donkeys could be adversely affected by restrictions in eligibility and by the uncertainty engendered by the prospect of change with the potential for unintended consequences.

Ethiopia has 7.1 million donkeys and mules, the majority of which are used as pack animals. Factors such as poor harness quality, long-distance traveling, and heavy cartloads have been linked to reduced work efficiency. Addressing the health and welfare of working equids is imperative not only for the animals but also for the households dependent upon them for livelihood. In developing countries, 75 % of working equids have gait or limb abnormalities, but the relationship between workload and prevalence of lameness is unknown. We examined 450 cart mules in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Lameness and workload were assessed through use of a survey and lameness exam. We found that 26.8 % of cart mules were lame, and acute lameness of the forelimb was the most common. Animals with poor harness quality were 2.5 times more likely to have sores and 1.6 times more likely to be lame. Lameness tended to be associated with cartloads >700 kg (P = 0.09), and there was a significant association between multiple-leg lameness and cartload weight (P = 0.03). The presence of sores was the best predictor of lameness (P = 0.001). Possible areas of intervention may include education to reduce average daily workload and improving harness design.