Completed

This study shows that this population of donkeys in the UK often develops hyperlipemia, particularly in response to stress or primary illness, and provides useful insights in to health and management risk factors that may be addressed to decrease the risk of hyperlipaemia both in the study population and in other similar donkey populations.

Pyrantel resistance was confirmed in Herd A even at the most conservative reduction rate of 80% and suspected in Herd B. Pyrantel administered at the current dose rate to these groups does not appear to adequately control faecal egg counts. Action needed worldwide to develop recognised protocol for detecting resistance. Further investigation required into management strategies and alternative methods of parasite control.

Viral infection demonstrated for all tumour bearing individuals on a DNA level, adding evidence to the widely accepted concept that BPV1/2 is chiefly involved in onset and progression of sarcoids in equids. Failure to trace viral genome in some affected samples is likely to be due to low viral copy numbers escaping detection. Analysis of 5 tumours excised for clinical reasons showed intralesional expression of major oncogene E5 providing further evidence for its active role in cell transformation. Intralesional expression of major capsid protein L1 is suggestive of production infection ie assembly of infectious virion, in these lesions. Two tabanids scoring positive for BPV DNA failed to yield positive results from PCR, providing no evidence for tabanids transferring infection. However, low sample numbers require further analyses to clarify this. Sequencing to date yielded variations indicative that the outbreak is more accidental rather than from one single common source. This concept is strengthened by the fact that the caseload has dropped since 2011. The mode(s) of transmission still remain unknown, and pending further research. In lieu of this spatial separation of sarcoid bearing donkeys and mules is recommended as a prophylactic.

This study showed that over 50% of donkeys with DPF shared key pathological and imaging characteristics of human PPFE, a rare and usually idiopathic interstitial pneumonia. Further study of APF may yield valuable information to help elucidate the etiopathogenesis of this emerging human disease; in particular how recurrent lower respiratory tract infections may contribute to the pathogenesis of PPFE.

It was found that donkeys spend comparatively more time in shelters than horses do. Donkeys were seen to seek shelter more readily when raining or cold, whereas horses sought shelter when temperatures rose above 20°C. Donkeys showed an increase in shelter use when moderate wind speeds were recorded, where-as horses were largely happy to remain outside. When insect harassment outside increased, donkeys seemed more tolerant compared to horses. Compared to horses, donkeys don’t grow significant winter coats and have thinner and shorter hair. Mules were found to be ‘in-between’ when comparing horses and donkeys hair coat properties.

These differences in results seem to reflect the donkeys’ and horses’ evolutionary background. Donkeys are more tolerant of higher temperatures than horses, but not as tolerant of cooler, wetter weather. This, coupled with the donkey’s thinner coat, suggests that the shelter requirements for the two species are different, with donkeys requiring additional protection from the elements in temperate climates.

The results from the study of the socio-economic impacts of working donkeys in Ethiopia reveal that donkeys are major contributors to people’s lives no matter what context they are living and working in; for their owners, donkeys are the difference between destitution and modest survival. Sadly, the drudgery performed by donkeys is often a reflection of the lives of their owners; their hardships are shared. Donkeys become pathways out of poverty for the poor in rural and urban areas by providing access to opportunities through transportation for income generation, to attend schools, markets, and health clinics. The use of donkeys allows people to earn and save money and increase their ability to contribute to community savings and loans schemes.

Donkey owners expressed acute dependence on their donkeys and articulated feelings of love and friendship, even respect. Donkeys are understood to be animals that make people’s lives easier and act as mutual friends and life supports. Owners describe the importance and value that donkeys bring to their own lives and to their communities, however, although donkeys are undervalued and underappreciated by broader Ethiopian society. Donkeys are seen as ‘low-class’ animals of the working poor and the immense benefits they bring to those who own them remain largely invisible. Furthermore, donkeys’ social position within society is viewed as similar to that of women and, sadly, both are said to be treated equally—being beaten, carrying large loads on their backs and being submissive to men.

Where donkeys are in regular usage they are seen as important animals, friends or even part of the family, and people would find it difficult to make ends meet or provide for their families if they did not own a donkey. Humans rely on donkey transport to health services, to create their livelihoods, to relieve them of physical burdens and prevent them from slipping into extreme poverty. Donkeys rely on humans for feed, veterinary care, shelter, safety, and rest. Thus, donkey and human health are interconnected. However, donkey owners struggle to provide care to their families and livestock; provision of care to donkeys features low down on owners’ priority lists. As a result donkey welfare suffers. Donkey welfare assessment results show that the majority of donkeys surveyed suffered from gait abnormalities, abnormal hoof shapes, a high prevalence of body lesions, poor body condition scores, and displayed behaviours potentially indicative of negative emotional states.

Despite the donkeys important contributions to many of Ethiopia’s poor they remain absent from government animal health and welfare policies, they are overlooked by development goals and are marginalised by wider society. Thus, an exploration of the human dimensions of donkey wellbeing is crucial for understanding and properly valuing the donkeys’ impact in developing countries.

This is the first study on the use of Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA) with donkeys being conducted through Citizen Science (CS). The results suggest that inexperienced visitors with little training can accurately score emotional states in donkeys in alignment with experienced staff members. There was significantly strong agreement between the two groups of assessors (visitors and staff) when analysed separately. When both groups were pooled together, to create one all-assessor group, the agreement stayed significantly strong, indicating that both groups agreed with each other. QBA is a useful tool in assessing positive welfare states in donkeys (of which there is little published data) and so is rightly placed in the AWIN welfare protocols alongside other welfare measurements for this species. This study supports other research which concludes that future development of QBA for a variety of species could include on-line training material, such as reference videos scored by experts and video teleconference instructions. It is through this that CS could have a role in QBA for organisations with webcams to record long-term measurements for observation of trends and monitor change. However it must be stressed that CS must not be used as a 'cheap' method of data collection, instead where appropriate it could be used to complement other measurements and must also be under routine quality assurance. This initial investigation into QBA and CS with donkeys could be further investigated with other captive species, both wild and domestic. To be successful and scientifically accurate, QBA research into new species will need individual validation with species-specific descriptor lists.