Faith A. Burden

Job title

Director, Research & Operational Support

Department

Research & Operations

Affiliation

The Donkey Sanctuary

Contributor profile

Faith has worked for The Donkey Sanctuary since 2004 and has expanded and developed research programmes and technical support services. The author of over 50 peer-reviewed articles, she is a globally recognised expert on the health and welfare of donkeys and mules. She leads our research and operational support team which provides technical guidance and support to donkeys globally, and works to increase our knowledge of these wonderful animals.

She has a PhD in infectious diseases, and has been responsible for revolutionising the way in which our donkeys are managed. Faith has worked with commercial feed companies to design and produce donkey-friendly products, and alongside care providers to implement positive changes based on cutting edge science.

LinkedIn profile

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/faith-burden-972b3362

Book chapters

Practical donkey and mule nutrition in Equine applied and clinical nutrition (April 2013).

Journal articles

Papers

Objective pain assessment in donkeys - scale construction (September 2018). Presented at British Equine Veterinary Association Congress 2018.

Shelter-seeking behaviour in domestic donkeys and horses in a temperate climate (July 2018). Presented at 52nd Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology.

Owner awareness of the importance of equine dentistry and its role in preventing welfare problems (October 2017). Presented at SPANA Working Animal Congress.

Donkey skin: the invisible fur trade (July 2017). Presented at 4th Annual Oxford Animal Ethics Summer School.

Anaerobic fungi are a key unexplored taxa for optimizing lignocellulosic fibre utilisation in equines (June 2016). Presented at INRA-Rowett Symposium.

Of mules and men: challenging relationships in WW1 (May 2014). Presented at War Horses Conference.

Quantifying the effects of individual animal characteristics and climatological factors on faecal worm egg count shedding in donkeys (April 2014). Presented at British Society for Parasitology Spring Meeting.

Monitoring the development of cyathostomins in donkeys (March 2014). Presented at Society for Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine Conference 2014.

The p-glycoprotein inhibitor ketoconazole causes a reversion to ivermectin sensitivity in cyathostomins in vitro (February 2014). Presented at British Society for Parasitology Spring Meeting.

The p-glycoprotein inhibitor ketoconazole causes a reversion to sensitivity in ivermectin resistant cyathostomins in vitro (February 2014). Presented at Anthelmintics: From Discovery to Resistance.

Posters

Italian donkey milk farms: a snapshot of welfare conditions (21 October 2019). Presented at European Congress of Animal Welfare and Behavioural Medicine.

EARS - Equid assessment research & scoping tool: a new approach to analyse, understand and respond to equid welfare problems worldwide (17 September 2019). Presented at 4th Annual Meeting of Animal Welfare Research Network.

Projects

Protection from the elements - part two (Ongoing 31 March 2021)

Human-animal relations in the Brazilian Northeast: a socio-anthropological case study of donkey trade (Pending final report 29 June 2020)

Equidae hindgut anaerobic fungi: a key unexplored taxa of central importance to dietary fibre degradation (Completed 30 November 2019)

Evaluating scientific methods and production practices for assessing the nutritional and hygienic quality in haylage for equids (Completed 31 May 2019)

Protection from the elements - part one: a comparative study of shelter use, hair density and heat loss in donkeys, horses and mules (Completed 30 November 2016)

Development and quantitative validation of improved sustainable donkey parasite control programmes (extension): creation and comprehensive validation of a general monitoring and control system for donkey endoparasites (Completed 29 May 2016)

Donkey welfare standards on milk/meat farms in Italy (Completed 31 March 2016)

Investigation of asinine pulmonary fibrosis (Completed 31 December 2015)

Reference intervals for biochemical and haematological parameters in mature domestic donkeys (equus asinus) in the UK (Completed 29 August 2015)

Essential oils in the management of the donkey louse, bovicola ocellatus (Completed 31 December 2014)

Epidemiologic and molecular analysis of sarcoid cases in a herd of donkeys in Northern Italy (Completed 31 December 2013)

Insecticide resistance in lice at The Donkey Sanctuary: strategies to mitigate its effects (Completed 30 September 2013)

Out of Africa - evaluation of bioactive plant extracts for endoparasite control (Completed 30 November 2012)

Effectiveness of pyrantel treatment in donkeys: evidence for resistance (Completed 31 December 2011)

Quantifying the comparative efficacy of sustainable parasite control programmes (Pending final report 30 October 2011)

Pain recognition in donkeys (Completed 8 April 2011)

Epidemiology and control of donkey trypanosomiasis and their vectors in the Lamu Islands (Completed 29 May 2010)

Dental disease in donkeys: frequency and association with colic and body condition (Completed 31 March 2007)

Understanding factors which influence the welfare of working equids in arid and tropical climates (Ongoing )

Assessment of the efficacy of the anthelmintic moxidectin against cyathostomins at The Donkey Sanctuary: analysis of new and historical data using novel statistical methods (Ongoing )

Mapping the issues of Indian donkey and mule population and identify the potential intervention strategies and partners (Ongoing )

Improving sarcoid management: an epidemiological and molecular approach (Ongoing )