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Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
Habituation to Transport Helps Reducing Stress-Related Behavior in Donkeys During Loading
Frontiers in veterinary science, Vol.7, pp.1-7
03/12/2020
PMCID: PMC7744657
PMID: 33344531
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Source: InCites
Abstract
Adopting proper animal management strategies, including training, might reduce to a substantial extent the adverse effects of transport-related stress in animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of habituation to transport on stress-related behaviors and physiological indicators during loading and unloading in donkeys. Fourteen donkeys were recruited and divided in two treatment groups: Habituation (H; M = 5, F = 2) and Control (C; M = 5, F = 2). H donkeys were gradually habituated to be transported, traveling together with their mothers and other adult donkeys well-accustomed to transport, while C donkeys had never been transported before. Loading and unloading phases were video recorded and behavior was analyzed. Saliva samples for cortisol concentration determination were collected at rest and after unloading. Latency time to load was significantly shorter for H donkeys than C donkeys (Mann-Whitney;
p
= 0.004). C donkeys also showed significantly more stress-related behaviors (Mann-Whitney;
p
= 0.026) and required a higher but not statistically significant number of human interventions to load. Cortisol concentration increased in both groups, but no differences were found between them (Mann-Whitney;
p
> 0.05). These results suggest that habituation to transport could mitigate stress during loading procedures in donkeys reducing loading time, frequency of stress-related behaviors and diminishing the need of human intervention.
Details
- Title
- Habituation to Transport Helps Reducing Stress-Related Behavior in Donkeys During Loading
- Creators
- Francesca Dai - University of MilanSilvia Mazzola - University of MilanSimona Cannas - University of MilanEugenio Ugo Luigi Heinzl - University of MilanBarbara Padalino - University of BolognaMichela Minero - University of MilanEmanuela Dalla Costa - University of Milan
- Publication Details
- Frontiers in veterinary science, Vol.7, pp.1-7
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Identifiers
- 991013293351502368
- Copyright
- © 2020 Dai, Mazzola, Cannas, Heinzl, Padalino, Minero and Dalla Costa. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Veterinary Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article