Journal article
New animal-based measures to assess welfare in dromedary camels
Tropical animal health and production, Vol.53(6), pp.1-15
05/11/2021
PMID: 34739606
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Abstract
Reliable and measurable animal-based measures (ABMs) are essential for assessing animal welfare. This study aimed at proposing ABMs for dromedary camels identifying their possible associations with management. Data were collected at a permanent camel market; a total of 76 pens and 528 camels were evaluated. ABMs were collected for each welfare principle (i.e., good feeding, good housing, good health, appropriate behavior), while resources or management-based measures were collected at three levels of investigations (animal, herd, or caretakers). Associations were calculated by generalized linear models. Body condition score and thirst index (ABMs of good feeding) resulted negatively associated with short caretaker's experience, dirty bedding, limited shaded space, feeding and water space, and space allowance (P < 0.05). Resting behaviors and restricted movements (ABMs of good housing) were associated with short caretaker's experience, dirty bedding and water, rationed water distribution, water points in the sun, and presence of hobbles (P < 0.05). Disease, injury, and pain induced by management procedures (ABMs of good health) were negatively associated with short caretaker's experience, presence of hobbles, limited space allowance and shaded space, dirty bedding, and feeding and watering practices (e.g., frequency of distribution, resource quality, location of the troughs; P < 0.05). Response to approaching test and aggressivity (ABMs of Appropriate behavior) were negatively associated with limited space allowance, shaded, feeding and water space, and rationed water distribution (P < 0.05). Overall, the proposed ABMs seems to be appropriate indicators of welfare consequences in camels being able to identify factors related to housing and management practices that may impair or improve camel welfare.
Details
- Title
- New animal-based measures to assess welfare in dromedary camels
- Creators
- Laura Menchetti - University of BolognaBernard Faye - CIRAD-ES (France)Barbara Padalino - University of Bologna
- Publication Details
- Tropical animal health and production, Vol.53(6), pp.1-15
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Number of pages
- 15
- Grant note
- This study was funded by Animals’ Angels.
- Identifiers
- 991013293352102368
- Copyright
- © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2021.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Veterinary Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article