Donkey Breeds of North Eastern Balochistan Pakhtoonkhua and Southern Afghanistan

The 6th International Colloquium on Working Equids
Learning from others: Drawing inspiration from the fields of international development, social science, human health and education to break new ground for working animals.
Proceedings of a Colloquium organised by The Brooke at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India 29th November - 2nd December 2010
Acknowledgements The Brooke would like to acknowledge the kind donations from the following organisations: World Horse Welfare Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad (SPANA) Donkey Sanctuary World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) We would also like to thank any others who contributed after this book went to press. These contributions were used towards the costs associated with the Colloquium, including sponsorship to assist delegates and keynote speakers. Front cover Photo by Dan Abraham
The Brooke. All rights reserved, 2010
Citation: The Brooke (Eds). (2010). The 6 International Colloquium on Working Equids: Learning from Others. Proceedings of an International Colloquium held at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India, 29th November to 2nd December 2010. The Brooke, 30 Farringdon Street, London, EC4A 4HH, UK.
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Support staff Thanks to all the following for their invaluable inputs to the 6th Colloquium: Staff and Trustees from The Brooke and the Brooke India, including management, programme, publicity, fund-raising and resources staff. Staff from Plan-it! by Creative Travel, New Delhi The Organising Committee The Scientific Committee Keynote Speakers and Session Chairs Copy editor: Penny Rogers Layout and typesetting: Plan-it! by Creative Travel Printing: Samrat Offset Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
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The Brooke's foreword

We are pleased to introduce the Proceedings of the 6th International Colloquium on Working Equids, hosted by the th nd Brooke and held at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India, 29 November to 2 December 2010. Since 1991 the International Colloquium on Working Equids has been an important forum for discussing the recent and most important issues related to working donkeys, horses and mules. As half of the world's 44 million donkeys are used for work in Asia, India provides a significant and exciting venue for this Colloquium. The aim of the 6th Colloquium is to broaden the horizons of those engaged in the world of working equids, bringing animal scientists, project managers, veterinarians and policy makers together with experts in international development, social sciences, human health and education. In doing so, new approaches can be explored to benefit both working animals and their owners. This four-day conference provides an excellent opportunity to exchange experience and ideas, to learn from others, to share best practices and ultimately benefit working donkeys, horses and mules world-wide. We would like to thank delegates for submitting their papers in a timely manner and for their assistance in the postsubmission process. This has enabled us to compile these Proceedings prior to the Colloquium and include them in delegates' welcome packs, to ensure delegates can refer to all the papers during the Colloquium and can use them to initiate discussions with others. To make this possible the editing process was necessarily short, therefore we apologise if some grammatical or spelling errors may remain in the papers. The views expressed in these Proceedings are those of the respective paper authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the hosts, organisers or sponsors. The Brooke cannot vouch for the accuracy of information contained in these papers. Please take particular note that some of the papers are specialised and contain information, such as veterinary drug doses, which should be clarified and confirmed by their authors before use. Most papers have a corresponding author email address and we encourage delegates to meet authors personally, discuss their work at the Colloquium and exchange contact details for future communication and collaboration in their specific areas of interest. In keeping with the theme of this Colloquium, Learning From Others, we would like to encourage all delegates to participate actively and enthusiastically. Please talk to keynote speakers and Chairs about their work, ask and answer questions, take part in the interactive sessions, demonstrate and share ideas at the Share and Learn Marketplace and feel free to organise your own satellite meetings and discussions throughout the week. The success of the Colloquium depends on you!
Contents
Acknowledgements........................................................................................................................ The Brooke's foreword ................................................................................................................... Colloquium Proceedings Theme 1: EFFECTIVE PROJECT PLANNING, MONITORING AND EVALUATION Keynote Presentation Monitoring and evaluation in development work: why involving local people matters and how it can be done T. Wallace.......................................................................................................................... Oral Presentations A decade of intervention for welfare improvement of working equines in India: lessons learnt and transition in approach K. Guha, S. K. Pradhan, D. V. Rangnekar, and L. Van Dijk................................................... Prioritising indicators of lameness and related pain in working equids to be included in a practical field lameness assessment tool C. E. Broster, C. C. Burn, A. R. S. Barr, and H. R. Whay....................................................... Assessment of the impact of a charity training programme on the health and welfare of working horses in Lesotho M. M. Upjohn, T. Lerotholi, G. Attwood, and K. L. P. Verheyen.............................................. Measuring impact on equine welfare from the animal and owner perspective G. Degefa, T. Negash, and S. Bishop.................................................................................. Poster Presentations What impact does skills training have? A tracer study of students of a saddlery, farriery and business skills training programme conducted in Lesotho in 2007 G. A. Attwood, M. M. Upjohn, and K. L. P. Verheyen............................................................. Improving working donkey (Equus asinus) welfare in Mali, West Africa: measuring behavior and heart rate variability associated with driving methods, and pressure associated with harness and cart quality A. K. McLean , C. R. Heleski , M. T. Yokoyama , W. Wang, A. Doumbia, and B. Dembele...... Petra Ingram, CEO, The Brooke Validating the use of photographic and video material for monitoring and evaluation, observer standardisation and training in equine welfare programmes R. A. Eager, M. M. Madany, A. Rostom, and A. C. Childs...................................................... iii iv
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A baseline survey of the health and welfare of working horses in Lesotho: findings of clinical and tack examination M. M. Upjohn, K. Shipton, T. Lerotholi, G. Attwood, and K. L. P. Verheyen.............................. A baseline survey of health and welfare of working horses in Lesotho: owner knowledge and husbandry practices M. M. Upjohn, K. Shipton, T. Lerotholi, G. Attwood, and K. L. P. Verheyen............................ An innovative approach for better understanding the signs of pain in donkeys: the associations of pain-related pathology with clinical and behavioural indicators G. Olmos, F. Burden, and N. G. Gregory............................................................................. Qualitative evaluation: a strategy to measure changes V. R. Corona...................................................................................................................... Participatory welfare needs assessment: a community-driven approach towards improving the welfare of working equines S. K. Pradhan, M. Ali, R. Ranjan, and L. Van Dijk............................................................. Using welfare assessment to measure the impact of community-based interventions in Bijnor, India N. C. Upreti, A. Kumar, A. Ahmad, A. C. Bishwas, P. Gogoi, R. Rao, and M. Ali........... Designing programmes for sustainable animal welfare improvement L. Van Dijk and J. C. Pritchard.......................................................................................... Measuring impact on animal welfare and human livelihood: what to measure and how to measure it S. S. Gadad...................................................................................................................... Participatory planning, monitoring and evaluation: a case study, India A. Kumar, A. Singh, and A. C. Bishwas............................................................................
Theme 3: LIVELIHOODS, RURAL TRANSPORT AND THE GLOBAL CONTEXT 33 Keynote Presentation Modernizing rural livelihoods and transport in Africa: directions and dilemmas D. F. Bryceson.................................................................................................................. 35 Oral Presentations 37 40 Opportunities for NGOs involved with the draught sector to contribute to national livestock policy frameworks in developing countries A. Walker-Okello................................................................................................................ Socioeconomic impact of epizootic lymphangitis (EL) on horse-drawn taxi business in central Ethiopia A. Nigatu and Z. Abebaw.................................................................................................. Contribution of donkeys towards the Lamu economy and the challenges they face influenced either locally or globally O. J. Owiti and R. Abdalla............................................................................................... The European Draught Horse Federation (FECTU) and the context for work with horses in Europe P. Schlechter...................................................................................................................... Poster Presentations 55 57 Modern horse-drawn equipment E. Schroll.......................................................................................................................... Comparison of different working equine communities: their animal welfare and socio-economic status in Gwalior, India R. S. Kumar, R. Tomar, R. Kumar P., S. Nath, G. Murugan, and S. Ramesh ................... Survey of donkeys in northern Nigeria: a case study of Ningi local government area of Bauchi state M. Sanusi, D. J. U. Kalla, D. Zahraddeen, H. M. Mai, M. Abubakar, and I. Shuaibu......... Economic valuation of the impact of the working equine in the Peten and Chimaltenango communities in Guatemala C. R. Chang, M. Sapn, and D. Rodrguez....................................................................... Donkey breeds of north-eastern Balochistan, Pakhtoonkhua, and Southern Afghanistan A. Raziq, M. Khudaidad Yahya, Z. Rehman, and A. Jabbar.............................................. 67 Theme 4: FACILITATING HUMAN BEHAVIOUR CHANGE 70 Keynote Presentation Facilitating collective behaviour change for improving livelihoods of the poor K. Kar............................................................................................................................... 94 76
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Theme 2: BALANCING THE NEEDS OF HUMANS AND ANIMALS - THE ETHICS OF WORKING ANIMAL USE Keynote Presentation Animal welfare for working equids: a case of cultural imperialism? P. Sande......................................................................................................................... Oral Presentations The ethics of conducting animal welfare research in poor communities H. R. Whay....................................................................................................................... Review of Brooke India euthanasia policy (200608) to facilitate decision-making P. Gogoi and M. Valliyate.................................................................................................. 64
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Oral Presentations Moving from a treatment-focused to prevention-focused approach S. Rogers......................................................................................................................... Working at deeper levels to enable change S. J. Price......................................................................................................................... Improving equine welfare through collective action: the role of community-based institutions in India D. Kandpal, M. Ali , K. Guha, and N. Kumar..................................................................... Changing attitudes towards donkeys in southern Africa P. A. Jones........................................................................................................................ Poster Presentations A study about the knowledge, attitudes and the practice of hobbling equids in Meerut district, India A. Ahmad, S. F. Zaman, M. Aravindan and S. R. Thanammal.......................................... Knowledge networks amongst donkey owners in Ethiopia A. P. Stringer, G. L. Pinchbeck, C. E. Bell, F. Gebreab, G. Tefera, K. Reed, A. Trawford, and R. M. Christley........................................................................................................... The potential of the whole-community approach to achieve the welfare of donkeys and mules A. R. Moreno.................................................................................................................... Minimizing prevalance and severity of lip lesions in working donkeys of Rustam community through awareness raising: a pilot project based on lip lesion risk assessment, 2006 findings S. Z. A. Shah, R. Eager, S. Nawaz, M. Khan, and G. Khan.............................................. Engaging communities in participatory methods to identify and prioritise issues of concern to owners of working horses in Lesotho M. M. Upjohn, K. L. P. Verheyen, and G. Attwood............................................................ The impact of farmers agents in improving donkey welfare in two districts of working sites of The Donkey Sanctuary Ethiopia - Tigray programme H. Yhidego........................................................................................................................ Community development as a mode of improving the welfare of working equines: sharing experiences from Kenya W. O. Okello, J. Ojwang, and S. Onyango........................................................................ Media in promoting equine welfare: a case study of Heshimu Punda radio programme in Kenya R. W. Kikwatha and F. Ochieng.........................................................................................
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Slitting nostrils in donkeys a mythical but painful quack practice in the southern region of Brooke (Pakistan) coping through awareness S. Nawaz, Z. Shah, N. Soomro, H. Laghari, M. Kashif, and S. A. Brohi............................ Theme 5: DECISION-MAKING IN HEALTH AND DISEASE Keynote Presentation
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Disaster risk reduction: the Bangladesh story D. Haider........................................................................................................................... Oral Presentations Synovial Sepsis in Working Equids: Response to Treatment in 57 Cases H. S. Gamal, A. Aly, D. Micheal, D. I. Rendle, and V. Epstein........................................... Controlled field trial of a behavioural pain assessment tool in donkeys R. C. Roy, R. Eager, F. Regan (nee Ashley), and F. Langford .......................................... Participatory assessment of the impact of epizootic lymphangitis in Ethiopia C. E. Scantlebury, G. P. Pinchbeck, K. Reed, F. Gebreab, A. Zerfu, N. Aklilu, K. Mideksa, and R. Christley................................................................................................................ Parasites and their control in working donkeys: the need to deworm and frequency of anthelmintic treatment G. Mulugeta, F. Burden, and A. Trawford........................................................................... Poster Presentations Firing (a mutilation) of working equines in India: a comparative ethnic practice in Delhi, Lucknow and Hyderabad cities P. Gogoi and T. Dennison.................................................................................................. Important factors in decision-making in tetanus cases in donkeys: experience of donkey health and welfare project, Ethiopia G. Ayele, E. Bojia, M. Getachew, M. Tesfaye, E. Manyahilishal, B. Amare, A. Abebe, F. Seyoum, and G. Anzuino............................................................................................... The Donkey Sanctuary India's management of equine influenza in Noida and the neighbouring operational areas: a summary P. Sushmita, N. Surajit, and G. Murugan........................................................................... Investigation of health and welfare problems of donkeys and mules involved in the salt bar trade from Afar to different parts of northern Ethiopia Y. Hagos........................................................................................................................... Zoonotic and infectious diseases: dealing with disease outbreaks A report on surra (trypanosomiasis) in Gujranwala, Pakistan J. I. Gondal and H. Ahmad...............................................................................................
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Identification of species and sex of worm present in anterior chamber in equine eye A. Shukla, R. Tiwari, S. Kumar, and P. S. Banerjee.......................................................... Bucco-dental pathologies of working equines in Morocco M. Ouassat, M. Crane, and E. M. Misri............................................................................. Parasite control among wild horses Konik polski (E. caballus) and Przewalski horse (E. przewalskii) on reserves in Poland and Ukraine K. Slivinska, Z. Wroblewski, J. Gawor, and Z. Jaworski................................................... When is dental treatment required in working equids? A survey of Mexican donkeys N. du Toit, F. A. Burden, and A. T. Trawford....................................................................... Seroprevalence of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in Zamorano-Leons donkeys in Zamora province, Spain J. B. Rodrigues, S. Sousa, A. Gonalves, A. Almeida, and L. M. Madeira de Carvalho... Intestinal parasitism in a population of donkeys (Equus asinus) regularly dewormed, north-east Portugal S.Sousa, J.B.Rodrigues, M.Nvoa, S.Mora, R. Paiva, and L.M.Madeira de Carvalho.... Surgical extraction of Setaria eye worm in working horses P. Bhatt, A. K. Das, and S. Kumar.................................................................................... Clinical, radiographic and ultrasound aspects of lameness in urban draught horses in Chile B. Menarim, G. Fortini, P. Alvarez, T. Tadich, and S. Galecio........................................... Review of donkey hoof lameness cases in two communities in Egypt S. F. Farahat..................................................................................................................... Epizootic lymphangitis in cart mules: community-based clinical trial in Bahir Dar, north-west Ethiopia T. Worku, N. Wagaw, and B. Hailu.................................................................................... Comparative aspects of prevalence and chemotherapy of ecto-, endo- and blood parasites of draught equines in Faisalabad metropolis, Pakistan S. Ahmed, G. Muhammad, M. Saleem and I. Rashid....................................................... Leukoencephalomalacia: fumonisin toxicity in a group of donkeys M. Pourjafar, K. Badiei, and M. Ghane............................................................................. The incidence and type of equine skin tumours in south Iran, 19952005 M. Pourjafar, K. Badiei, and A. Derakhshanfar.................................................................. Risk factors for wither lesions in tourist-riding mules of Gaurikund, Uttarakhand, India S. F. Zaman, M. Aravindan, S. R. Thanammal, C. Roy, A. C. Childs, and R. A. Eager....
Theme 6: ANIMAL HEALTH AND HUSBANDRY SYSTEMS 214 Keynote Presentation 219 The real and recurrent costs of developing and sustaining effective health-care delivery systems: 'the elephant in the room' P. Poore............................................................................................................................ Oral Presentations Working equine feeding practices in Uttar Pradesh, India: with specific reference to horse and mule R. K. Rao, T. Agrawal T, R. K. Ravikumar, and S. R. Gupta.............................................. Community-based harness development initiative for pack donkeys: a progress report, Ethiopia M. Tesfaye, E. Bojia, G. Feseha, G. Ayele, F. Alemayehu, G. Lemessa, E. Manhalishal, F. Seyium, B. Amare, N. Dereje, C. Chala, A. Abebe, W. Chala, A. Gete, G. Chris, J. Anzuino, N. Robert, and M. Getachew.......................................................................... Experiences with community animal health workers and government veterinary services in Ethiopia: systems, successes, and challenges A. Hailemariam and S. Bishop.......................................................................................... Resolving conflicts between animal owners and service providers: a meaningful intervention towards improvement in welfare V. Singh, S. K. Pradhan..................................................................................................... Poster Presentations In vivo examination of intestinal parasites of working equids in Ukraine and modern programmes of horse parasite control K. Tetiana and K. Vitalii...................................................................................................... Characteristics of urban draught horses working in the city of Valdivia, Chile T. Tadich, M. Saez, and A. Escobar................................................................................... 262 Improving the effectiveness of animal welfare service providers: it is not just training! M. Ali, R. Rao, and S. K. Pradhan..................................................................................... 266 Experiences with community-based animal health workers D. Obiero, S. C. Onyango, and W. O. Okello.................................................................... 269 The Equine Friends: community-based animal health workers (CBAHWs) M. Z. Qureshi, S. Khan, S. Z. A. Shah, and M. S. Khattak............................................... 272 Paravet training: a SPANA initiative in northern Mali A. Doumbia....................................................................................................................... 318 313 310 307
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Demonstrative feeding and wound management practices on working equines: stone-carrying donkeys and gharry horses in SNNP region, Ethiopia G. Degefa, B. Asefa, M. Negash, and N. Gebrie.............................................................. Theme 7: EDUCATION TO ENGAGE THE NEXT GENERATION Keynote Presentation The Pedagogy of Justice: experiences from Cairo L. Iskandar........................................................................................................................ Oral Presentations Promoting animal welfare through nurturing empathy in schoolchildren: the case of rural community schools, Ethiopia E. Bojia, A. Nigus, H. Bekele, G. Lemessa, F. Alemayehu, K. Asmamaw, M. Tesfaye, H. Hagos, G. Ayele, W. Teshome, and P. Sally................................................................. Evaluating the efficacy of an education programme for rural donkey users in Ethiopia: a randomised controlled trial A. P. Stringer, R. M. Christley, C. E. Bell, F. Gebreab, G. Tefera, K. Reed, A. Trawford, and G. L. Pinchbeck......................................................................................................... Towards the development of a modular e-learning syllabus for working equines A. Thiemann...................................................................................................................... News on SPANA/ Morocco's education programme for the protection of animals and nature A. Belemlih........................................................................................................................ Poster Presentations Empathy education about working animals in primary schools of central Ethiopia G. Lemessa, F. Alemayehu, E. Bojia, B. Amare, M.Tesfaye, S. J. Price and S. Blakeway..................................................................................................................... DS-WHW-UNAM jointly training veterinary students of Mxico in equine practice: a way to raise equine welfare for long term O. Uriega-Montufar, L.A. Montes-Huidobro LA and M. Hernndez-Gil............................. Improving animal welfare by educating schoolchildren: the Kenyan experience J. Ojwang, J. Akumonyo, W. Okello, And S. Onyango...................................................... Community service experience, veterinary student training, and owner education via castration clinics for horses of economically challenged owners in the USA J. H. Wilson, K. L. Martinson, T. A. Turner, B. C. Colombo, C. McKenzie, D. Fitzpatrick, and K. D'Amato................................................................................................................. Working with universities: the Kenya experience D. Obiero, S. C. Onyango, and W. O. Okello.................................................................... xii
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Training overseas (developing countries) veterinary surgeons in the UK: appropriate, acceptable, improvable? A decade of experience from the Donkey Sanctuary A. Thiemann...................................................................................................................... Assessing working donkey (Equus asinus) welfare status on a sub-population of Malian donkeys, and knowledge and skills among para-professionals and professionals in Mali, West Africa A. K. McLean, C. R. Heleski, M. T. Yokoyama, W. Wang, A. Doumbia, and B. Dembele..
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Educating to engage the next generation: measuring the impact of SPANA's education programme in schools D. Hulme........................................................................................................................... Theme 8: LESSONS FROM WORKING OXEN, BUFFALO AND CAMELS Keynote Presentation
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331 The challenges of working with smallholder farming communities keeping large ruminants: experiences from the Centre for Livestock and Agriculture Development (CelAgrid), Cambodia S. Sokerya, A. Pearson, and K. Borin............................................................................... 336 Oral Presentations 339 Reasons for and methods of implementing the protected-contact system for captive elephants and humane control practices for working bullocks P. Joshipura...................................................................................................................... The participatory approach for captive elephant health care and management M. Valliyatte, M. Shand, S. Chawla, K. U. Mar, and J. V. Cheeran................................... Work performance, physiological and behavioural responses of working camels G. Gebresenbet, E. Y. H. Bobobee, P. Kaumbutho and P. S. Simpkin.............................. 344 Capacity building in smallholder livestock systems using animal power in Vietnam M. V. Sanh and A. Pearson............................................................................................... Poster Presentations 350 Report from a mobile elephant clinic and an elephant hospital T. Angkwanish and B. Clausen.......................................................................................... 354 Welfare issues of working bullocks at Chinchali and solutions S. B. Salgar and K. Desai.................................................................................................. 357 360 xiii Changing practices with working bullocks: using the morkee instead of the nose rope K. Desai and S. B. Salgar................................................................................................. 401 405 398
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1 Effective Project Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
Keynote Presentation
MONITORING AND EVALUATION IN DEVELOPMENT WORK: WHY INVOLVING LOCAL PEOPLE MATTERS AND HOW IT CAN BE DONE
T. Wallace
International Gender Studies, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford University, United Kingdom
Introduction There are multiple purposes for the work of monitoring and evaluation (M&E), which has risen up the development agenda in recent years. These include: accountability for the use of funds to donors/trustees; demonstrating impact and the value of the work for donors, supporters, fundraising, and advocacy work; accountability to the people in whose lives agencies have intervened; and learning to improve practice and deepen understanding. There are different approaches and tools associated with each purpose: currently the dominant tool for accountability to donors and trustees is the logical framework (the logframe), which sets an overall goal and clear targets to be achieved with predetermined indicators for assessing how far the planned activities were undertaken and the outcome targets met. While this is a controversial tool for some [1] the perceived logic and 'rationality' of the logframe, especially for management and bureaucratic purposes, combined with the current focus of aid on 'demonstrating results', keeps it centre stage. For feeding back to supporters and for fundraising data about the reach and achievements of the work are supplemented with stories of change, focused on how the intervention affected the lives of poor women and men. These processes tend to be extractive, tracking the work of the project and its impact in order to take the story back to continue the cycle of fundraising, advocacy work, and upward accountability. They tend not to involve or enlighten local participants or enhance their engagement in the work. At the same time there is much talk of involving the local people directly affected by the work in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the work, recognising that without local ownership the work will not be sustainable. There are also commitments by INGOs to downward accountability, which is felt to be ethically right. However, comparatively little time is put into this: local people tend to be consulted rather than involved, they often do not play a role in deciding if the project being offered is appropriate, or in planning or monitoring the work; they tend to have little control over the project cycle; and it is the exception when they are invited to give feedback on the value and relevance of the work. Unlike the donors/trustees they have little power over, or sanctions, for the INGOs working among them. Current practice The dominance of upward accountability for the use of funds and progress achieved has implications for working in ways that are more participatory and involve reporting back and discussing with communities what has happened. Members of staff are more likely to be trained in logframe development and focused on results than learning how to listen and respond to local needs and priorities. Much time is spent in writing reports for HQ and donors, often based on complex data that need to be collected, leaving little time for staff to engage with the communities, women and men, to understand the issues from their perspective, their priorities and what success might look like for them. Staff can even end up delivering training or inputs to communities that they themselves know to be of limited worth because they are required to work to the plans rather than build their work on local knowledge. The balance between upward and downward accountability was somewhat different a few years ago when there was more emphasis on engaging people in their own development and local participation in defining the priorities and learning with them. There was, for many agencies, a real concern with ensuring the agency of local women and men in the work, empowering them to take decisions and engage with change processes. This was the time when many methodologies emerged for promoting participation, local ownership, and ensuring both women and men could engage and be heard. Myriad tools and approaches exist and some are discussed below.
Currently, the time and openness for listening to local staff, volunteers, and poor women and men appear limited. Agencies are increasingly likely to arrive with strategies, agendas, and well defined plans including detailed M&E strategies. Timescales are often tight and the demands of genuinely working with people can be demanding and cut across existing assumptions and theories of change. At a recent meeting (2009 in London) of 25 medium-sized UK development NGOs only 3 staff were trained in the use of participatory approaches to planning and M&E while all knew about constructing logframes, setting targets, and developing indicators for measuring results. There was limited awareness that criteria for success as defined by agencies in UK and by men, women, and children on the ground might be divergent or that the expected impact written in the documents may not be easy to achieve. As one senior staff person in a Ministry in Kenya said recently, with a twinkle in his eye, many projects now 'are textbook projects': they look good on paper and they flow logically but they are not always grounded in a good grasp of reality, or an understanding of what really does and does not enable positive change in the lives of the poor. Unless agencies and staff believe in the need to work closely with people and be accountable to them for the way they work, the plans they bring, the projects they promote then no amount of excellent participatory tools will ensure the engagement of local women and men in the work. These tools have real value, however, once that commitment is there. Tools and approaches for listening and accountability to the poor Staff need to be encouraged to work closely with partners and communities; they need to be rewarded for listening and learning and bringing that learning back into the work, even if that challenges the assumptions and plans or changes the timelines. They will not bring back views and knowledge from the frontline unless the agency is willing to engage with the messiness and complexity of poverty and how it is experienced in different contexts. If agencies are committed, interesting approaches include ones that recognise that international and even local NGOs are often involved in short-term interventions in the ongoing lives of others. While INGOs can and do provide support and information, ideas and leverage to enable women and men to address some of their challenges, their role is limited, their projects address only aspects of the problems people face, and the language and concepts they bring may be quite alien and take time to understand. This recognition requires humility and a real understanding of the limited role of external agencies in promoting positive change [2]. Other approaches involve the recognition that the people themselves know and understand the realities and constraints of their lives better than anyone else, and while they may lack external perspectives and knowledge of options they often have the best analysis of where the bottlenecks for them lie. Robert Chambers pioneered much of the work in enabling professional development workers to understand that farmers, for example, know their farming systems much more deeply than outsiders and have many creative ideas about improving the situation, but often need some technological or financial support. Recognising the talent, knowledge, and potential of the women and men in communities (as well as their constraints, which are often multiple and inter-related) helps agencies to better understand their own role and also their responsibility to work with and be accountable to local people [3]. Others have identified the critical importance of working closely with beneficiaries to promote review, reflection, and analysis about the work: how well the INGO delivered it, the progress made and where challenges, seen and unforeseen, lie. Standards, e.g. in humanitarian aid like the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) [4], and in development work, e.g. around HIV and AIDS that many INGOs have signed up to, require discussion, consultation, and good accountability systems to the poor, including a proper complaints system. They require that beneficiaries (and in the case of HIV and AIDS those that are living positively) be directly involved in the planning and M&E of the work. While a few agencies are now HAP-accredited there is often a gap between aspirations and the practice on the ground: agencies signed up to good-practice standards on HIV still design programmes at times without the involvement of positive people. However, the commitment is there and work continues to restructure staff time and develop systems to ensure practice improves in future [5]. 2
Agencies concerned with issues of gender equality and women's empowerment, which they see as core to addressing the intense poverty of women around the world, point to their lack of access to key resources, their lack of voice and representation, and their unequal position in the society which all need to be addressed. This can only be done when the local context and its cultural and belief systems are understood, and by working closely with women themselves to build their confidence, open up access to education and income earning, and enable them to go out and participate in public decision-making forums as well as increasing their participation and voice within their households. This work cannot be delivered without intense work with the community, including the men, who may find concerns about women's needs and rights alien at the start [6]. These approaches require time and commitment. Other tools to support this work include Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) methods for use in both planning and M&E [7]. Some involve exercises such as developing seasonal calendars with local people, developing timelines of their lives, mapping their resources, ranking their assets and challenges, drawing diagrams of power relations in the society and community, and much more. Some take less structured approaches through shared discussions and joint reflection about the work: the most well known 'participatory review and reflection approach' was developed by ActionAid International as part of its ALPS process [8]. The use of 'significant change stories', developed with those directly affected and checked with others in the community, is growing [9]; others collect case histories and stories which flow easily in oral cultures, where people often lack literacy. Some have developed frameworks of accountability to the poor that include questions about the external NGO involvement and widely publicised ways of complaining about the work and the delivery of it [10]. There are constantly evolving methodologies and currently there is a Europe-wide programme looking at working with complexity and using participatory methods, to ensure the voices of the poor do shape development actions, funded by the Dutch [11]. There is, indeed, no lack of tools. Rather the use of such tools depends on how an agency understands and prioritises its work and allocates time, what messages staff get, and how much training and support is given to enable local staff and partners to spend time listening, engaging, and learning with communities women and men in their daily lives. The importance of looking at our own practice Agencies need to understand their role and to see their activities as only a small part of other people's lives, albeit often a pivotal one. They need to undertake more M&E of themselves to understand how their own performance affected progress. How well did they define the problem? How open were they to community priorities? Were their policies and procedures appropriate or very onerous for the partners? Were the reporting requirements useful to improving the work on the ground as well as for reporting purposes? Were the financial systems supporting the work or about control? And much more. Often INGOs unwittingly do things that do not support good development practice, for example high staff turnover and lack of continuity, top-down relationships with partners, taking blueprint approaches into very different contexts, remitting money late, asking for data and reports that are then not used. Monitoring current ways of working and how effective they are in developing good relationships and good partner capacity to work well with local people is critically important. Working in ways that involve communities from planning to monitoring To work in ways that enable participatory monitoring of the work and a shared understanding of what change is wanted, by whom, and to develop the sustainability of the work through promoting local ownership involves thinking through many issues. These include: q How to work with and reach women, who are often hidden, 'voiceless', unheard at community and family levels q How to ensure a full range of voices are heard within the slum, village or location q How to understand the changes already ongoing in people's lives what is promoting change, what blocks it and
q q
q q
where the current project fits in the wider flow of people's lives How to collect useful and relevant monitoring data (not mountains of written data that will most likely never be used) How to keep the processes simple and manageable for staff and partners How to train staff and enable them to find the time to listen, learn, and be able to share the learning with their managers, even when the learning contradicts current beliefs and approaches (How can this be rewarded in the organisation?) How to find the time for conversations, stories, listening to people, and hearing the concerns and constraints of poor women and men How to assess the quality of your own work and the quality of the partnerships you build How good is the capacity-building work at every level, down to the poorest women and men
Notes and references [1] Wallace,T. with Bornstein, L. and Chapman, J. (2006) The aid chain: coercion and commitment in development NGOs, IT Publications, Rugby; also published by Fountain Press in Uganda and KwaZulu Natal Press in South Africa in 2007. Also Wallace, T., Crowther, C., and Shepherd, A. (1997) Standardising development: influences on UK NGO's policies and procedures, Worldview Press, Oxford. [2] These issues are well debated on the website of the Community Development Resource Association (a centre for developmental practice) in South Africa: www.cdra.org.za. Kaplan, A. (2003) Understanding development as a living process, in Lewis, D. and Wallace, T., eds, New roles and relevance: development NGOs and the challenge of change, Kumarian, Connecticut. [3] Chambers, R. (1997) Whose reality counts? Putting the first last, IT publications, Rugby; Chambers, R. (2005) Ideas for development, Earthscan, London. [4] www.hapinternational.org/projects/standard.aspx [5] Cornwall, A. and Welbourn, A. (2002) Realising rights: transforming approaches to sexual and reproductive well-being, Zed Press, London. Many articles discuss these issues in practical terms. [6] Williams, S. (1997) Oxfam gender training manual, Oxfam, Oxford; Wendoh, S. and Wallace, T. (2005), Rethinking gender mainstreaming in African NGOs and communities, Gender and Development: Mainstreaming gender a critical review, Oxfam, Oxford. [7] PLA notes are published three or four times a year by the International Institute of Environment and Development, London, and contain both a wide range of tools and analysis and critique of their use and applicability in different contexts. See www.iied.org. [8] Accountability, Learning and Planning System. ALPS strengthens ActionAid International's main accountability to the poor: www.actionaid.org/assets/pdf/ALPSENGLISH2006FINAL. [9] This was originally developed by Rick Davies whose work is to be found at http://mande.co.uk. [10] www.listenfirst.org [11] www.ikmemergent.net
Oral Presentations
Oral Presentations
A DECADE OF INTERVENTION FOR WELFARE IMPROVEMENT OF WORKING EQUINES IN INDIA: LESSONS LEARNT AND TRANSITION IN APPROACH
K. Guha , S. K. Pradhan , D. V. Rangnekar , and L. Van Dijk
1 2
Phase period
Service delivery approach

q
Community engagement approach Conventional transfer of technology approaches and training to 'educate' owners and train farriers q Use of extension posters, flip charts, paintings, and photo album on do's and don'ts of husbandry practices
q
Organisational structure, systems, and processes Mobile clinics run by veterinary and technical staff of local NGOs operating from Delhi, Jaipur, and Hyderabad q Staff such as dressers and farriers from Remount Veterinary Corp of Indian Army and stud farms q Central programme planning
q q
1. 2001 - 4
The Brooke Hospital for Animals (India), F-86 Preet Vihar, Delhi 110092, India Former Vice-President, BAIF, Shobhana Apartment, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad 380 015, India 3 Animals in International Development, 45 The Glebe, Wrington, Bristol BS50 5LX, UK kamalesh@thebrookeindia.org
Introduction In India working equines serve as a source of livelihood for many marginalised urban and rural communities. However, these animals and the traditional equine-owning communities like pot makers, construction workers, and washer men are often socially neglected and deprived of benefits of services, economic development, and welfare schemes. Improvement in the welfare of working animals has a direct and positive impact on the animals as well as on the livelihood of the owners [1] by reducing their vulnerability, a core element of poverty reduction. More resilience and less stress on the owner's livelihood system can affect the working animal in terms of availability of resources, facilities, and care of the animal. The plight of working equines and their owners influenced the Brooke a leading UK animal welfare charity dedicated to improving the lives of horses, donkeys, and mules working in the poorest parts of the world to initiate intervention in India. This paper describes the challenges faced and the lessons that Brooke India learned from a decade of experience that led to transition from a service-oriented approach to a holistic, participatory, and community-based approach. Methods: a retrospective analysis The Brooke started its work in India in 1997 in partnership with local NGOs at Bihar and Delhi, primarily providing veterinary treatment services. In 2001, Brooke India was established as a non-profit organisation with funding from Brooke UK. In the past 10 years Brooke India has grown and changed considerably. Three phases of change can be identified relating to organisational structure, working systems, and approach particularly towards community engagement (as summarised in Table 1. Phase 1. 2001-4 The Brooke India, through its local partners in India, focused on the direct delivery of animal treatment at fixed locations in Delhi, Hyderabad, and Jaipur by mobile and static clinics, adopting a site-based approach. It took the lead in constructing shade, shelters, and water troughs for animals at a few sites, provided free farriery services and inputs such as saddles, harnesses and hoof picks to equine owners, and a technically competent team was developed.
Direct treatment Site-based delivery by mobile teams q Provision of free inputs, e.g. feed supplements, saddles, hoof picks q Mass vaccination and deworming as major preventive strategy
2. 2005 - 7
q
On-call emergency service approach replaces site-based delivery Outreach services in brick kilns, Tonga stands, village, and vegetable/grain markets in urban and peri-urban areas Community-based vaccination programmes promoted
Action planning through equine-owning community q Participatory tools and approaches used to enable equine owners to identify root causes of problems q Bristol Welfare Assessment technique introduced to measure changes in welfare conditions
q
Units established in Delhi and 7 districts of Uttar Pradesh with multidisciplinary team comprising district manager, veterinary doctor/assistants, community facilitators and motivators At HQ a team with experience in development and community engagement established Programme planning based on lessons learnt and inputs from field staff and beneficiaries
2. 2008 -
Table 1. Transition in organisational approaches, structures, and systems
Strengthening local service delivery system Linkages established with Government Veterinary Hospitals First aid by local health provider and equine owners Community-led vaccination replaces Brooke-led programme Local knowledge and expertise used to develop disease prevention plans
Formation of equine welfare groups Systems for participatory monitoring of welfare of animals and action tools evolved; equine owners oriented to identify and address equine-related issues immediately Greater involvement of women in the programme The forming of clusters of equine welfare groups at district level
Scaling-up through partnership with local human development organisations q Programme planning and review with high involvement of equine owners and stakeholders q Country strategic plan developed including gradual phase-out and long-term sustainability strategy
q
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The approach was resource intensive with a high level of the veterinary doctors time and capacities focused on primary and first aid treatment. However, the number of equines covered was low and the approach created dependency among animal owners with an expectation of free services and inputs. A community facilitator with a social science background was added to each mobile team in 2004 to provide support for engaging the community. Phase 2. 20057 Based on the experiences and challenges identified in phase 1 the operational strategy and structures were modified. This phase saw the extension of equine welfare activities to 7 districts of western Uttar Pradesh and Delhi through the establishment of equine welfare units. Initially veterinary doctors were managing these units; however, after a year they were replaced by managers with development sector experience. The composition of the district team changed from a mobile unit with mainly veterinary technical staff to a multidisciplinary team. Brooke India gradually moved from service delivery at fixed locations to attending emergency calls at the owners home or work place (a village-based approach). Community development specialists were employed at senior level and all the staff were trained in participatory methods. Educational sessions were replaced by innovative participatory exercises leading to the development of local-level action plans involving equine owners. A major challenge was to change the mindset of the animal-owning communities from being the recipients of Brookes curative services to practising self-help through preventive practices. Phase 3. 2008 This phase started with a further scaling-up of the programmes, in view of the encouraging experience of earlier phases: the extension of equine welfare activities in two new districts in western Uttar Pradesh and through partnership with 6 local NGOs in central Uttar Pradesh. NGOs with long standing experience of working with deprived communities were involved. The focus of the programme is to develop groups of equine owners and encourage collective actions to prevent welfare problems, monitor welfare status, recognise any deterioration in welfare at an early stage, and act immediately to reduce the impact. While Brooke animal health teams attend emergency cases, they also build up capacity of local service providers and link them with Equine Welfare SelfHelp Groups. Thus at present Brooke reaches out to more than 110,000 working equines in 25 districts of 5 states in India. Results and discussions: learning during phases of transition The process of change from delivery of curative services to delivering a programme for sustainable welfare improvement has generated challenges and the learning process continues for Brooke India as well as for Brooke worldwide. Lesson 1. The need for change from a service centric to a more holistic community-based approach It was realised that treatment services and training inputs are not adequate for the welfare of working equines. For an effective intervention programme animal owners and other stakeholders need to be involved [2]. The community-based approach helped the Brooke to build the capacity of local equine-owning communities to sustain improved welfare and husbandry. Bringing the required changes in the organisational approach and strategy based on lessons learnt from the field operation was a critical turning point for Brooke India. Lesson 2. Creating a participatory organisation culture Brooke India made a paradigm shift from the conventional extension to participatory approaches and the staff were oriented and trained in participatory methodology. However, the training did not lead to the desired change in the attitude of the field staff and they struggled to adopt the bottom-up approach effectively: this was probably due to a combination of factors including the top-down hierarchical management structure and insufficient back-up to empower the community to look after its animals. This experience brought the realisation that institutionalising 7
participatory approaches can not start with the junior staff but must begin at the top with senior management [3]. As research shows, the results of training courses may be limited because bureaucratic organisations often try to introduce participatory approaches without changing their organisational structure and culture [4]. Lesson 3. Multidisciplinary teams with desired skills and attitudes The mobile clinic and district unit teams changed from a team of people from a single discipline to a multidisciplinary team with animal health, animal husbandry, and community engagement experience. This change in composition was a major step towards achieving sustainable welfare improvement. It was observed that institutionalising a participatory approach can face problems of reservation and resistance among some staff but it is important to support and encourage those who promote participatory approaches, creativity, and innovation [4]. With constant field support and reflection sessions, the behaviour and attitude of staff gradually changed. A sustained effort is needed to institutionalize participatory methods to bring required changes in the staffs attitude [5]. Lesson 4. Reflection and learning for continuous refinement of the operational strategy It was recognised that organisational changes need adequate effort for capacity building of staff through a process of sharing and reflection. The changes in Phase 2 would not have happened if they were not made consciously and continuously. A long-term commitment of animal-owning communities and animal welfare organisations is crucial to achieve sustainable welfare improvement of working animals [1]. The need to devote time for sharing practices and successes with staff at all levels enabled the team to learn what works and what doesnt. Regular workshops, training, and meetings provided a platform to accord recognition of the good work of field staff, thus motivating them to be creative and innovative. Sharing experiences within the district teams provided mechanisms for continual improvement through peer pressure between teams. These sessions provided senior managers with an informal monitoring system and triggered the staff to continue their search for appropriate tools and methodology for community-led action. Conclusion Currently animal welfare organisations are adopting participatory approaches and methodologies to achieve sustained improvement in animal welfare. Experience of the last 10 years indicates that institutionalising such a transition involves much more than training staff in participatory methods. Other crucial elements for institutional change processes include: 1. A holistic community-based approach 2. Sustained effort to create a participatory organisational culture 3. Multidisciplinary teams with desired skills and attitudes 4. Opportunities for sharing and reflection so that the organisation is able to act based on the lessons learnt and move the programme forward References [1] Van Dijk, L., Pritchard, J. C., Pradhan, S. K., and Wells, K., Sharing the Load: a guide to the improvement of the welfare of working animals through collective action, Practical Action Publishing, London, 2010 (in press). [2] RSPCA International, With welfare in mind: animal welfare in international development programmes, West Sussex, UK, 2008, www.rspca.org.uk. [3] FAO, Improved animal health for poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods, FAO Animal Production and Health Paper 153, Rome, 2002. [4] Thompson, J., From participatory rhetoric to participatory reality: training for institutional transformation, RRA Notes 19, IIED, London, 1994, pp. 5660. [5] Kar, K. and Phillips, S., Scaling up or scaling down, PLA Notes 27, IIED, London, 1996, pp. 614.
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PRIORITISING INDICATORS OF LAMENESS AND RELATED PAIN IN WORKING EQUIDS TO BE INCLUDED IN A PRACTICAL FIELD LAMENESS ASSESSMENT TOOL
C. E. Broster, C. C. Burn, A. R. S. Barr, and H. R. Whay The Brooke, 30 Farringdon Street, London, EC4A 4HH, UK Centre for Animal Welfare, Department of Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, Hertfordshire,
AL9 7TA, UK Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Langford, Bristol, BS40 5DU, UK christine@thebrooke.org
Data were collected from 110 horses employed in transportation of goods in India, 117 horses employed in transportation of people in Pakistan, and 102 donkeys employed in the transportation of goods in Pakistan. Examinations took place between June 2006 and February 2007. Statistical analysis of the data used generalised linear mixed models (glmmML and glmmPQL, R, version 2.5) to test relationships between pain responses or pathological abnormalities, and lameness scores and conformational abnormalities or foot pain [1]. The level of significance was set at P<0.05 [5]. Results Indicators of lameness Higher lameness scores were significantly associated with 19 recorded data measures including sickle hock conformation, pain on palpation and swelling of specific limb structures, pain and stiffness on flexion of limb joints, resistance to lumbar spinal flexion, abnormal foot placement, pain on percussion of the hoof walls, and increased digital pulses (P<0.05) [1]. In working donkeys, higher lameness scores were significantly associated with forwardat-the-knee conformation, skeletal asymmetry of the hindlimbs and hindquarters, pain on palpation around joints, pain on percussion of the hoof wall, increased digital pulse, pain on flexion of the cervical and thoracolumber spine (P<0.05) [6]. Indicators of pain in the musculoskeletal system Six conformation abnormalities were significantly associated with pain responses in specific areas of the limbs in horses from both India and Pakistan (P<0.05) [1]. These included toe-out, broken forward hoof-pastern-axis, offset cannon, forward-at-the-knee and carpal valgus in forelimbs, and upright pasterns in both fore and hindlimbs. An additional 5 pathological findings were associated with pain on percussion of the feet in the areas of the sole, frog and hoof wall: these were flat soles, reduced frog size, separation of the heel bulbs, vertical hoof wall cracks, and increased digital pulse [1]. In working donkeys, pain and stiffness in specific areas of the limbs and spine were associated with forward-at-the-knee, carpal valgus conformations, and broken back hoof-pastern-axis; foot pain and lameness were associated with hoof imbalances, increased digital pulse, and mixed soles. Pain and stiffness on flexion of the carpus and fetlock were associated with swellings in those joints [6]. Lameness assessment tool The above significant findings associated with higher lameness scores and pain in the musculoskeletal system were used to produce a more concise and practical lameness assessment tool. The tool included some additional pieces of information that were desirable for the basis of the further study; these included identification of the animal, work type, location and date examined, owner's contact details. This meant that the initial detailed lameness examination of 1, 197 data measures was reduced to 194 and could be completed within 15 minutes once the examiner was familiar and experienced with the tool. Discussion Lameness examinations of horses are described elsewhere [7] and involve many different and lengthy components taking up much time. The initial detailed lameness examination developed in this study for working equids provided a vast amount of information on lameness and musculoskeletal pathologies in working equids [1], with 1, 197 individual measures per animal. However, the length of time to complete the examination (approximately 80 minutes) limited the number of animals that could be observed in a day and also meant that some owners were unwilling to allow their animal to be out of work for such a time. Analysis of these data found many of the measures recorded not to be significantly associated with lameness or pain of the musculoskeletal system in this population and therefore could be rejected in favour of more strongly associated measures. The resulting selection produced a lamenessassessment tool comprising 194 individual measures per animal which could be completed in a much reduced time, from 80 to 15 minutes. 10
Abstract A protocol for a very detailed examination of lameness in working equids was developed for use in field situations [1]. This protocol included 1,197 individual measures per animal providing a wide range of information, including gait, conformation, limb and spinal pathologies, and signs of musculoskeletal pain. This detailed examination took in the region of 80 minutes to complete per animal. Two hundred and twenty-four working draft horses from India and Pakistan, and 102 working donkeys from Pakistan were examined using this detailed examination protocol. The results were analysed to identify 30 elements of the examination which were most significantly associated with higher lameness scores and pain in the musculoskeletal system in working horses, and 25 elements in working donkeys. These elements were then used to produce a more concise and practical lameness examination tool for use in the field. This lameness-assessment tool required much less time, approximately 15 minutes to complete, and focused on key pathologies and sites of pain in relation to lameness, thereby eliminating redundant variables and ensuring better time resource allocation for field work. This method could be used in other areas when a large complex issue is being addressed and where large numbers of animals need to be examined within a limited time frame. Introduction Lameness and related pain is highly prevalent in working equids [1, 2, 3]. Lameness is the most economically important medical condition affecting horses [4]. In working equids, time with the veterinarian is limited as they are required for work [3], so the necessity of a brief yet efficient and valid examination is paramount. This paper describes the methods used to develop a lameness assessment tool over the course of a study on working draught horses and donkeys from India and Pakistan carried out in collaboration between the University of Bristol and The Brooke. An initial objective of the study was to produce a very detailed lameness examination for use in working equids, and, from analysis of data, to develop a more concise lameness-assessment tool incorporating those elements of the detailed examination that were found to be significantly associated with higher lameness scores and pain in the musculoskeletal system. This more concise lameness-assessment tool could then be used in more widespread studies allowing more animals to be examined in a set time period whilst still retaining those elements significantly associated with lameness in working equids. Elements of the assessment tool could be incorporated in veterinary lameness examinations, increasing their accuracy and efficiency. Methods and materials A detailed lameness examination for use in working equids was developed for practicality in the field and initial repeatability between observers [1]. This detailed examination consisted of the collection of 1,197 individual recordings of data from each animal, including individual limb gait assessment, conformation, swellings, wounds and pain on palpation of the limbs and spine, and pain and stiffness on flexion of the joints and spine. The examination could be completed in about 80 minutes once examiners became familiar and experienced in the protocol.
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As well as providing a concise lamenessassessment tool, the findings produce a list of conformation traits and clinical examination findings which are more likely to be found in lamer working equids and could act as indicators to an attending clinician or health worker working in the field. Several of these significant findings have been reported in the literature elsewhere in relation to lameness [8, 9, 10, 11, 12], but others are more specific to draught equids in developing countries. Elements of this lameness tool can also be taken to field to improve the efficiency and accuracy of veterinary lameness examinations; it should not, however, replace a full clinical examination. Conclusion Similar methods can be used in other studies where complex issues need to be addressed but where there are time constraints. It allows only the most significant indicators to be used in a tool, rejecting those that are less significant and therefore potentially redundant, maximising the use of time and resources. Potential uses for the tool are in collecting baseline data or surveys, recording changes over time in interventions areas, as well as informing veterinary practice. Acknowledgements This study was funded by The Brooke UK and supported by Brooke India and Pakistan. The authors would like to thank, in particular, Dr Alok Shukla, Dr Javaid Gondal, and Dr Muhammad Javaid Khan. We are grateful to all owners for allowing examination of their animals. References [1] Broster, C.E., Burn, C.C., Barr, A.R.S., and Whay, H.R. (2009) The range and prevalence of the pathological abnormalities associated with lameness in working horses from developing countries. Equine Vet. J. 41, 474-81. [2] Maranhao, R.P.A., Palhares, M.S., Melo, U.P., Rezende, H.H.C., Braga, C.E., Silva Filho, J.M., and Vasconcelos, M.N.F. (2006) Most frequent pathologies of the locomotor system in equids used for wagon traction in Belo Horizonte. Arq. Bras. Med. Vet. Zoo. 58, 21-7. [3] Pritchard, J.C., Lindberg, A.C., Main, D.C.J., and Whay, H.R. (2005) Assessment of the welfare of working horses, mules and donkeys, using health and behaviour parameters. Prev. Vet. Med. 69, 265-83. [4] Keegan, K.G., Dent, E.V., Wilson, D.A., Janicek, J., Kramer, J., Lacarrubba, A., Walsh, D.M., Cassells, M.W., Esther, T.M., Schiltz, P., Frees, K.E., Wilhite, C.L., Clark, J.M., Pollitt, C.C., Shaw, R., and Norris, T. (2010) Repeatability of subjective evaluation of lameness in horses. Equine Vet. J. 42, 92-7. [5] Bender, R. and Lange, S. (2001) Adjusting for multiple testing: when and how? J. Clin. Epidemiol. 54, 343-9. [6] Broster et al. in preparation [7] Ross, M.W. and Dyson, S.J. (2003) Diagnosis and Management of Lameness in the Horse, 1st edn, Eds: M.W. Ross and S.J. Dyson, W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia. [8] Holmstrom et al. 1990 [9] Dolvik, N.I. and Klemetsdal, G. (1999) Conformational traits of Norwegian coldblooded trotters: heritability and the relationship with performance. Acta Agr. Scand. A. 49, 156-62. [10] Stashak, T.S. (2002) Adams' Lameness in Horses, 5th edn, Ed: T.S. Stashak, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia. [11] Anderson, T.M., McIlwraith, C.W., and Douay, R. (2004) The role of conformation in musculoskeletal problems in the racing thoroughbred. Equine Vet. J. 36, 571-5. [12] van Weeren, P.R. and Crevier-Denoix, N. (2006) Equine conformation: clues to performance and soundness? Equine Vet. J. 38, 591-6.
ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF A CHARITY TRAINING PROGRAMME ON THE HEALTH AND WELFARE OF WORKING HORSES IN LESOTHO
M. M. Upjohn, T. Lerotholi, G. Attwood, and K. L. P. Verheyen
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, London, UK PO Box 192, Matsieng, Lesotho Malealea Development Trust, Motsekuoa, Lesotho mupjohn@rvc.ac.uk
Introduction While it is generally assumed that the presence of equine charities in developing countries has a positive effect on the health and welfare of working equids, little objective and scientifically substantiated information is available on the impact of such projects in targeted communities, especially where baseline data exist. The aim of this study was to measure the short-term impact of a training programme initiated by a UK-based equine charity in Lesotho in 2007 on the health and welfare of horses and on their owners' knowledge and husbandry practices. Methods Two surveys were undertaken; 1 prior to implementation of the first modular training programme and 1 approximately 9 months after its completion. For each survey, around 300 randomly selected horses were clinically examined, their tack was assessed and their owners interviewed to assess knowledge and practice of equine husbandry. Physical examinations were undertaken outdoors with no restraint other than any headcollar or bridle which the horse wore on arrival. Body condition score (BCS) was assessed using a score of 0 (emaciated) to 5 (obese). Horse age was estimated according to dentition. Oral examination was undertaken manually, without a gag. Thoracic auscultation was undertaken to assess cardiac rate/rhythm and audible respiratory noise. Ocular examination was undertaken visually without access to shade and without the use of eye drops, fluorescein, or ophthalmoscope. Assessment of tick infestation was recorded according to a scale of none; mild (up to a total of 3 ticks in 1 or more locations); moderate (410 ticks in 1 or more locations); or severe (more than 10 ticks in 1 or more locations). Wounds were recorded by location. Manual vertebral palpation was undertaken along the length of the horse's spine; pain response and bony/soft tissue lesions and wounds were recorded. Lameness assessed at walk for approximately 20 steps was scored on a scale of 0 (sound) to 5 (non-weightbearing). Each limb was palpated at rest and lesions noted. Each foot was assessed for medio-lateral and dorsopalmar/plantar balance, horn length, frog and sole condition, and the presence/absence of a shoe. Subject to owner consent, blood and faecal samples were obtained for routine haematology, biochemistry, and faecal worm egg counts respectively; samples were processed in a temporary field laboratory set up for the purposes of this study. Tack, as available at the time of the horse examination, was reviewed and assessed for condition, cleanliness, and fit according to a standardised protocol. The structured interview followed a standardised questionnaire which had been pretested in Lesotho and was administered face-to-face in local language by a bilingual, trained local interviewer. The questionnaire included a combination of open and closed questions on owner demographics, horse ownership and use, together with current and desired feeding practices, tack ownership, fit assessment and care, sourcing of equine health care advice and products, preventive medicine knowledge and activities, mouth health management, and current and desired foot-care practices. Differences between the findings of the two surveys were assessed for significance using Chi-squared and t-tests. Results Most horses (ca. 80% in both surveys) provided ridden transport and were used approximately 2 hours each working day. An increase in the frequency of forefoot shoeing was seen (14% in survey 1 vs. 22% in survey 2, p=0.02) whilst hindfoot shoeing remained unchanged (7% in both surveys). Owners appreciated the enhanced skills of the charity's trained farriers, but affordability of shoeing remained an issue for most owners (ca. 60% in both
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surveys). Availability of tack, both bridles (ca. 65% in both surveys) and saddles (ca. 50% in both surveys), remained suboptimal and no significant improvement in the condition or fit of tack was noted. Tack-associated injuries (58% in survey 1 vs. 75% in survey 2) and pain on spinal palpation (53% in survey 1 vs. 67% in survey 2) were common; in both surveys, the 2 most frequently noted sites of injury were spine and withers. Horses' mean BCS remained suboptimal (2.5 and 2.2 respectively) and owners recognised that their animals' diet was unbalanced (ca. 60% in both surveys). In surveys 1 and 2, 21% of horses had low red blood cell counts. Infestation with Strongyle endoparasites was endemic (ca. 90% in both surveys) and ticks were found on most horses (ca. 60% in both surveys). Conclusions Some short-term positive impact, in particular in respect of owners' appreciation of the need for skilled farriery, has been achieved but key equine health and welfare issues remain to be addressed. Results of this work and subsequent longer term follow-up studies could be used to identify priority areas for future training activities and additional community-based interventions. Acknowledgements World Horse Welfare, Lesotho Department of Livestock, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security
MEASURING IMPACT ON EQUINE WELFARE FROM THE ANIMAL AND OWNER PERSPECTIVE
G. Degefa, T. Negash, and S. Bishop
The Brooke Hospital for Animals, PO Box 1554 code 1250, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Gorfu@thebrookeethiopia.org, tsegayenegash@gmail.com, Suzan@thebrookeethiopia.org
Abstract Monitoring change in welfare is necessary to assess the impact of specific interventions and it can be assessed using a number of tools, looking at both animal and human perspectives. Both of these are needed to understand the likelihood of changes being sustainable, since owners of working equines need to perceive benefits to their livelihoods as well as to equine welfare. This paper describes how a number of tools are being used in the Brooke Hospital for Animals Ethiopia Programme to measure welfare changes in its pilot programme. Introduction The Brooke in Ethiopia started a pilot programme in 2008 aiming to improving the welfare of equines through better management practices, and supporting the development of sustainable equine health services. A major challenge for the programme has been developing ways to monitor changes in welfare and assess the impact of interventions, not only in terms of improved welfare, but also taking owners' and users' perspectives into consideration to ensure sustainable change. Equines in Ethiopia are all working animals, therefore proposed changes in management need to be realistic and affordable to owners and users. Through the programme, a combination of monitoring and impact assessment tools is being tested, aiming to capture animal and owner perspectives. Equine management interventions are targeting small groups of equines, to identify key lessons for their wider introduction. This paper describes the tools and demonstrates their use through two cases studies. Monitoring and impact assessment methods Four tools are being used for assessing equine welfare, documenting owners' experiences, and monitoring changes resulting from specific interventions from animal and owner points of view, as well as uptake of targeted practices. Bristol Welfare Assessment (BWA) The Bristol Welfare Assessment [1] is a tool that was developed jointly by the Brooke and the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom: it uses 35 animal-based indicators (ABIs) to capture welfare from the animal point of view. It gives a broad view of welfare status of different populations or groups of equines. Welfare assessments undertaken at the start of the programme classified the target animals into 3 welfare categories: high, medium, and low risk. From this data, high-risk animals were targeted for interventions, including the 2 groups in this paper garri horses (cart horses for transporting people) and stone-carrying donkeys. Animal- and resource-based indicators (ABIs, RBIs) Animal-based indicators can provide specific information on a particular welfare issue for example, a group of ABIs can be selected which are representative of the target disease or condition. A small number of ABIs which are specific to the problem makes monitoring and assessing change due to the intervention relatively easy, also allowing owners to become involved in monitoring. RBIs are an adjunct to ABIs and can provide additional information, though alone they may not reflect improvements in welfare. RBIs include resources, services, environment, and stockmanship/owner behaviour. Knowledge, attitude, and practice studies Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of owners, users, and service providers can be assessed using a range of
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participatory tools. This is an entry point to identifying communities and groups interested in working on equine welfare with the Brooke, and to support community action planning using community prioritised issues. Results of the studies are triangulated with the BWA results through community discussions, in order to identify priority welfare issues from both animal and owners perspective. This also has the benefit of bringing issues to the attention of both owners and the Brooke, that each may not have previously considered. Participatory Monitoring and Impact Assessment (PIA) PIA [2] is a tool from the development sector that aims to increase the involvement of local people in the assessment of projects, and is a means of overcoming some of the limitations of activity oriented process monitoring. A key aim of PIA is to analyse achievements, relevance to beneficiaries, improvements required in the intervention, and sustainability of particular activities. It is being piloted in the Brooke Ethiopia programme to look at changes in equine health services, disease prevalence, and welfare improvements from improved husbandry practices. Case study 1 A 12-month farriery pilot project targeting 33 garri horses was started in April 2009. The result of a population-level BWA demonstrated a high prevalence of hoof and hoof-related problems in these animals. Farriers traditionally use car tyres as shoes, but with little shaping to fit the hoof, no hoof cleaning, and limited trimming. The pilot study aimed to improve hoof care and reduce lameness due to one or a combination of causes: overgrown hooves, nail bind, brushing lesions, foot infections, and injuries sustained from falling over due to poor gait. Car tyres continued to be used for making shoes. Two local farriers were trained and provided with hoof kits. Baseline information was collected for each animal using measurement of specific animal-based indictors, on a quarterly basis during the year. Participatory group discussions were conducted twice over a 7-month period and additional interviews were held with the owners/users, farriers, the government partner, and other stakeholders. The final ABI measurements were taken in March 2010 and a final participatory impact assessment was conducted in May 2010, including a coatbenefit analysis of the service. Results Information collected from the ABI assessments and the PIA has demonstrated changes in key targets. The ABIs have highlighted a reduction in severity and number of brushing lesions, improvement in hoof shape and horn quality, and a reduction in nail holes, cracked hoof walls and lameness. There is increased frequency of shoeing. See Table 1. Table 1. Some results from the quarterly ABI assessments
When these results are compared to owner interviews from the PIA, it is evident that the owners are also seeing changes in the ABIs and attributing these improvements to the new farriery techniques. The PIA data is currently under analysis, but provisional results indicate that horses are falling less, their gait is more balanced, and fewer horses are lame. These results are supported by the fact that 38 additional owners, who were not in the pilot study, are using the new farriery services, despite the slightly higher price charged by the farriers for this service. Five other farriers are requesting training in improved techniques as they see the opportunity for increasing their services and income, and the 2 trained farriers have taken away some of their customers who prefer the improved service. The Brooke is now working with the farriers to identify local equipment for the hoof kits because standard hoof care equipment is not available in the country and would be unaffordable. Case study 2 Thirty-six stone-carrying donkeys, classified as high-risk animals, were the target for this study. Working closely together, the Brooke and the owners identified key areas of donkey management that they wanted to improve, by triangulating the knowledge, attitude, and practice study results with the BWA. Poor body condition and wounds were seen as being priority focus areas from both sets of results. The ABIs and RBIs which were needed to assess the desired change for these problems were set through community dialogue sessions. Owners agreed on a simple system of assessing body condition (good, medium, and poor) and wounds for changes that they wanted to see in their animals. Owners then explained the possible causes of the problems, such as poor feed quality and overworking, from which RBIs were set. A feeding and wound management intervention was designed with the owners, which used cheap available local products (bran, cooking oil, and water) and a feeding protocol, and owners were shown how to manage wounds. Each animal was photographed at the start and end of the trial. The group selected 5 animals to be monitored every 2 weeks, when ABIs and RBIs were measured together by the owners and the Brooke staff. See Table 2. Four animals were in poor condition and one was in good condition, acting as a control. Results Table 2. Monitoring checklist for ABIs and RBIs developed by the owners
Indicators 1 Body condition ------- Good Covered ribs, backbone, point of hip Straight neckline ------- Very good Yes Regularly cleaned Separate trough per equine ------- No Equine feeds on the ground 3 4 5 6 7 Watering frequency per day Watering trough Feeding frequency per day Improved feed mix Additional feed provided --------- Once ---------- Cleaned --------- Once -------- Yes Wheat bran plus edible oil ------ Yes List along with the amount Check points -------- Medium Visible ribs, backbone, point of hip -------- Poor Prominent ribs, backbone, point of hip Skin tight Concave neckline
ABI Abnormality of hoof pastern angle (forward broken) Abnormality of hoof pastern angle (backward broken)
1st assessment 56 legs 45 legs
2nd assessment 30 horses 41 legs 38 legs 7 horses 3 horses 25 horses 23 horses
3rd assessment 29 horses 14 legs 33 legs 0 horses 6 horses 28 horses 16 horses
4th assessment 21 horses 7 legs 16 legs 0 horses 5 horses (minor cracks) 13 horses (minor lines) 12 horses
Feeding trough at home
Presence of brushing lesions 33 horses
------ Good ------ Poor Yes Yes Regularly cleaned Not clean (dusty, Used for group of equines leftover feed, etc.) ------- No Equine feeds on unclean plastic sheets, etc. -------- Twice --------- Not cleaned With feed and other residue -------- Twice ------- No Without oil -------- No -------- Three times -------- Three times
Holes in hoof wall from large 21 horses nails (indicator of horn quality)
Cracks in hoof wall (indicator of horn quality) Wavy lines on hoof wall (indicator of horn quality) Abnormal gait 15
15 horses 26 horses 26 horses
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Five of the selected animals showed body condition improvement from 1 to 2 scores higher, as measured by Brooke staff and the owners using ABIs. Wounds were either nearly or completely healed. Increase in frequency of feeding and watering, providing feed mixes, cleaning of feed and water troughs, and treatment of wounds and internal parasites were also seen. All ABIs and RBIs were measured by owners as well as Brooke staff, and individual and group meetings were held to understand owners' impressions of the intervention. They commented that the practices were simple but the impact on their animals was high. Conclusion These studies were testing interventions and welfare and impact measurement tools upon very small groups of equines. Ongoing monitoring of both owner practice and welfare change is necessary to assess sustainability of these activities. Helping the group to develop their own monitoring system, for example, by using experiences from the Brooke India Programme on participatory community action [3], will support owners to make long-term changes by themselves. Scaling-up of successful interventions will be the next step, together with identifying simple and reliable methods of measuring changes in welfare for much larger populations of animals. References [1] Pritchard, J.C., Lindberg, A.C., Main, D.C.J., and Whay, H.R. (2005). Assessment of the welfare of working horses, mules and donkeys using health and behaviour parameters. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 69. 26583. [2] Catley, A., Burn, J., Abebe, D., and Suji, O. (2008). Participatory impact assessment: a guide for practitioners. Feinstein International Center, Medford. [3] Van Dij, L., Pradhan, K.S., Banerjee, A., Whay, H.R., Dennison, T.L., Wells, K.L., and Pritchard, J.C. (2008). Sharing the load: sustainable community action to improve the welfare of working animals in developing countries. First International Animal Welfare Conference of the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy: The Welfare of Animals A Universal Responsibility, Queensland, 31 August3 September 2008.
WHAT IMPACT DOES SKILLS TRAINING HAVE? A TRACER STUDY OF STUDENTS OF A SADDLERY, FARRIERY, AND BUSINESS SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAMME CONDUCTED IN LESOTHO IN 2007
G. A. Attwood, M. M. Upjohn, and K. L. P. Verheyen
Malealea Development Trust, Motsekuoa, Lesotho Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, London, UK gillattwood@mweb.co.za
Introduction A UK-based equine charity advocates education, rather than palliative measures, as a long-term solution to horse welfare. Education is seen to be critical to achieving horse welfare solutions. An article, entitled 'The beliefs we stand for', states: Education achieves horse welfare solutions. Patching up abused horses, or rescuing them, are palliative measures. We do this, but we believe our most effective work is teaching people how to treat their animals properly, and (new concept) changing their mental attitude to believing that such treatment is good for its own sake as well as giving an economic advantage. [1] The charity has initiated farriery, saddlery, and business skills training programmes in several developing countries, including in Lesotho in 2007. There are 10 weeks of training in total (9 weeks of farriery or saddlery training, and 1 week of business skills training), offered in 2- to 3-week blocks over the course of a year. In between training blocks, trainees complete assignments designed to further support their learning. It is anticipated that through this approach, a positive impact will be achieved, not only on the welfare of horses, but also on the wellbeing of vulnerable families who depend on those horses for a living. This study examined the extent to which these objectives were achieved in Lesotho, through tracing the first cohort of 21 students some 18-24 months after they completed the course. The focus of this study was the students' experience of the training and the impact it had on them; no animal-based criteria were assessed. It examined the students' motivation for doing the training, their subsequent livelihoods and the challenges they experienced with regards to implementing their acquired knowledge and skills. Research design and methods This in-depth qualitative enquiry employed a variety of methods to collect data, including: 1. Questionnaires administered to all students prior to the start of the training: these provided relevant demographic and personal data, including information on students' ages, background, educational levels, employment experience and status, and students' expectations of the training courses 2. Semi-structured interviews conducted with all students in the third week of the training, and again 18 24 months after completing the training; where relevant, interviews were also conducted with students' employers 3. Observations made during site visits to students' homes or places of work 4. Relevant documents (students' written evaluations of the training as well as trainers' progress reports on the students) and photographs Information gained from the above sources was analysed qualitatively and the findings were reported in narrative form, making use of students' own words where appropriate. Findings q The research revealed that 24 months after the training, 38% of students trained were still working consistently with their acquired skills (i.e. they were using their skills on at least a monthly basis although some students
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were using their skills on a daily or weekly basis); 43% of students were using their skills intermittently (i.e. less than a monthly basis); and 19% had not used their skills within the last 612 months. Trainees cited a range of motives for participating in the training, including a desire to improve their horsemanship-related skills and generate income, a desire for some kind of professional benefit or advancement, and a desire to improve the welfare of horses. Almost all (95%) of the trainees felt that the programme had had personal benefits. These included (1) an increased sense of their own value as a result of learning skills that empowered them to be better providers; (2) an increased sense of self-worth fostered by clients' (and others') positive feedback on their skills and work; and (3) increased confidence in themselves and their abilities. Seventy-six percent of trainees felt that the training had had a positive professional impact, reporting an increased sense of competency leading to an enhanced sense of their value as professionals and of their professional identity. Trainees also reported increased motivation and enhanced capacity in the workplace. Twenty nine percent reported a significant difference to their earned income. While the inconsistency and inaccuracy in trainees' records made it difficult to report accurate figures of income earned before and after the training, trainees defined significant difference in terms of what they were able to achieve before and after the training. 'I am getting money to survive through the skills that I learned and can live comfortably through this income. I have been able to pay for my children's school fees and go to Driving School.' Nineteen percent of students commented that the training had impacted positively on the welfare of horses. Key challenges experienced included insufficient or irregular income, difficulty accessing good-quality materials locally, an inability to set aside money for materials, and a lack of commitment to improved practices from government sectors as well as the general public (individual horse owners and horse users). This lack of commitment seems to be driven largely by a reluctance to invest financially in the services of saddlers and farriers and an ignorance of the potential benefits of these services.
IMPROVING WORKING DONKEY (EQUUS ASINUS) WELFARE IN MALI, WEST AFRICA: MEASURING BEHAVIOR, HEART RATE VARIABILITY, ASSOCIATED WITH DRIVING METHODS AND PRESSURE ASSOCIATED WITH HARNESS AND CART QUALITY
A. K. McLean , C. R. Heleski , M. T. Yokoyama , W. Wang , A. Doumbia , and B. Dembele6
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Department 3684, Animal Science, University of Wyoming, 1000 E. University Ave., Laramie, WY 82071-2000 Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, 1250G Anthony Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824-1225 3 Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, 2265F Anthony Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824-1225 4 CANR Statistical Consulting Center, Michigan State University, A366 PSSB, Crop and Soil Science Building, East Lansing, MI 48824 5 SPANA Mali, Rue 77, Porte 54, Badalabougou, Bamako, Mali 6 Institut Polytechnique Rural de Formation et de Recherch Appliqu- Katibougou, Mali amclean1@uwyo.edu
Abstract Working conditions for donkeys in West Africa are often harsh. In collaboration with SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad), we conducted 2 studies: the first compared behavioral and physiological measures of donkeys (n=10) driven in 2 standard Malian ways (1- halter and reins, 2- no halter and with stick); the second study assessed pressure associated with harness and cart quality. No significant differences were found in heart rate variability (HRV) or behavior between driving methods in study 1. Significant differences in back/wither pressure (p<0.05) were found for harness type (p=0.02) and cartload (p=0.009). These studies suggest alternative methods for working and harnessing donkeys in developing parts of the world. Introduction Donkey use in West Africa has increased largely due to extended periods of drought that have made it harder to feed and care for oxen. However, many of the same implements once used for oxen are now being used for donkeys, and this has created problems such as oversized carts and improper harness [1]. Unfortunately, due to a myriad of problems, donkeys are often unable to work at their full potential. The loss of a donkey or the time it cannot work creates many hardships for the people it serves. Diarra et al. carried out a survey to identify reason(s) why donkeys (n=2,500) cannot work [2]. The survey indicated that most donkeys were equipped with a poor harness (n=2,033; 76%); traveled long distances (>20km/day) (n=2,086; 79%); worked many hours (>6hrs/day, n=1,782; 82%); carried/pulled loads over 500kg (n=1,344; 51%); and received inadequate nutrition [2]. Pearson et al. have indicated a need for further understanding of donkey management and working practices (e.g. harnessing and training) [3]. A decrease in harsh training/driving methods has great potential to improve the welfare and longevity of working donkeys. An earlier study we conducted in the U.S. showed that donkeys (n=10) could be trained to pull a cart with either halter or a donkey motivator: 70% were pulling a cart in less than 20 days [4, 5]. The motivator was shown to work effectively in previous studies to motivate the donkey to move forward without adverse affects [6, 5]. It was hypothesized that donkeys driven with a halter in Mali would exhibit fewer signs of behavioral and physiological stress. Our second Malian experiment focused on assessing another major problem facing many working donkeys: inadequate harness and carts. We hypothesized that donkeys with satisfactory harnesses would have less back/wither pressure applied and therefore exhibit fewer lesions of their withers/backs. Materials and method Animals Ten intact male donkeys were driven with either a halter with line(s) (HM, n=4, Figure 1), or only with a stick (SM, n=6, Figure 2), and post-hoc treatment for SM group, donkey motivator, Figure 3). The average age of the HM group was 8.6 years and of the SM group, 9.25 years.
Conclusions The study provides insights into the value and challenges of skills training provided by charities in the context of improving the welfare of horses and alleviating the vulnerability of horse owners in Lesotho. Key issues that require further consideration relate to how students may be further supported and monitored after completing the training. Particular areas where students require support are (1) accessing materials; (2) securing capital; and (3) developing the capacity to manage a small business. These challenges suggest that for training to be genuinely sustainable in terms of improving the welfare of both horses and humans in the longer term, further attention and resources need to be devoted to post-training support. This could include (1) logistical support to source materials; (2) organisational support to establish trade associations; and (3) education and training support related to management of small businesses and further skills development. Acknowledgements World Horse Welfare, Dr Thabo Lerotholi, Mr Ramosite Chochane Reference 1. www.worldhorsewelfare.ro/dyn_doc/WorldHorseWelfare-beliefs.pdf
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Figure 1. Halter method (HM): donkey being driven with the halter to control and guide it in pulling the cart
Materials and methods A behavioral assessment test was conducted before driving, measuring the following parameters: 1. general attitude (alert or apathetic) 2. response to observer approaching neck (no response, friendly approach, avoidance, aggression) 3. walk around donkey (no response, moves away, tucks tail, aggression), 4. ear test (allows, tolerates, avoids), 5. response to unfamiliar person (approaches, no approach, spooks) [7, 8, 9] After the assessment test, each donkey was fitted with a Polar Equine RS 800 G3 heart rate monitor (Polar Electro Europe BV, Fleurier, Switzerland). Ultrasound transmission gel (Aquasonic 100, Parker Laboratories, Inc., Fairfield, NJ) was applied to the donkey's girth and wither areas near the location of the electrode strips on the monitors. Pressure film (Extreme Low Pressure 4 LW Fuji Film, Tokyo, Japan), approximately 21cm x 31cm, was placed over the withers and underneath the harness back pad. The donkey was then harnessed and hitched to the cart and driven for 5 minutes. Harnesses and carts were graded as satisfactory or unsatisfactory (criteria developed by the authors along with other information [10, 11, 12, 13]: q satisfactory harness - soft, nonabrasive back padding and collar material q unsatisfactory harness - abrasive material q satisfactory cart - balanced shafts, shafts come to point of shoulder, inflated tires and balanced over axles q unsatisfactory cart - uneven/unbalanced shafts, above/below point of shoulders, flat tires, unbalanced over axle After driving, the harness was removed and the film was photographed, labeled, and removed. The film was scanned (Imager Scanner II, Amersham Bioscience, Piscataway, NJ) and analyzed for intensity of dots using ImageQuant TL Software (Amersham Bioscience, Piscataway, NJ). Statistical analysis The logistic regression model PROC GLIMMIX was used for statistical analysis to model the relationship between various behaviors and driving treatment (HM or SM). The ANOVA model was used when testing the relationship between treatment and heart rate variability (HRV) data. Normality of the residual and equal residual variance was checked. The logistic regression model was used when testing the pressure data in relation to the type of harness, cart, and weight. The average intensity was the predicted variable. The p-value for significance was 0.05. Results When measuring behavioural responses for HM and SM groups there were no significant differences in treatment effect for all behaviours (see Table 1). There were no significant differences in HRV parameters for either group (see Table 2). Table 1. Behavioural response group A (HM, n=4) and group B (SM, n=6) in Malian donkeys at the SPANA clinic in Bamako, Mali Behavioral response To unfamiliar person General attitude To observer approaching neck Ear test p-value 0.94 0.97 0.97 0.97
Figure 2. Stick method (SM): donkey is guided and driven by the stick because it will move away from the contact made by the stick
Figure 3. Donkey motivator post-hoc treatment for SM group
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Table 2. Heart rate variability (HRV) responses for donkeys (n=10) in HM or SM group on test day at the SPANA clinic in Bamako, Mali (significant at p-value< 0.05) MHR (bpm)a HM group (n=4 ) 734.04 SM group (n=6) 71.759.87 p-value
a
SDRR (ms)b 176.4142.50 198.486.03 0.64
rMSSD (ms)c 60.4332.82 63.527.74 0.49
LFd (n.u.)
HFe (n.u.)
Figure 4. Extreme Low Pressure 4 LW Fuji Film showing low intensity results. This film was developed from a donkey with a good cart and harness. The film shows very little pink coloring. The pink color is a response to pressure placed on the film. Less pink indicates less pressure placed on the donkey's withers/back.
2078.141476.88 1377.141568.50 1420.92958.18 1019.04515.91 0.45 0.84
0.81
Mean heart rate in beats per minute (MHR, bpm), the average beat to beat per minute over a period of time reflecting both sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve activity/responses [14, 15, 16] b Standarddeviation from beat interval to interval (SDRR) is used to quantify the overall heart rate variability [14, 15, 16] c Square root of mean beat interval to interval (rMSSD), reflecting short-term variations in heart rate related to parasympathetic nervous responses, e.g. breathing, physical activity [14, 15, 16] d Low frequency in normalized units (LF, n.u.), measuring the sympathetic nerve response/tone [14, 15, 16] e High frequency in normalized units (HF, n.u.), measuring vagal activity (parasympathetic activity) such as breathing or stress. A positive emotion can increase HF or negative emotion can decrease HF [14, 15, 16] A significant difference was found when measuring the average intensity of pressure placed on the donkeys' withers when equipped with unsatisfactory quality harness and carts loaded with greater than 400kg of weight (harness type: p=0.02, weight: p=0.009). Unsatisfactory quality harness and heavier loads resulted in increased pressure as verified by the Fuji pressure film. There was no significant difference in average pressure intensity when testing extra back padding or type of cart (satisfactory vs. unsatisfactory) (extra padding: p=0.23, cart type: p=0.27) (see Table 3, Fig. 4, and Fig. 5). Table 3. Comparing average intensity of Fuji pressure film when testing harness and cart type, cart with/without added weight (400kg), and extra saddle padding over the withers with Malian donkeys at the SPANA clinic in Bamako, Mali Variable Harness type Cart type n=satisfactory 4 9 n=no weight Cart with weight 3 n=no extra padding Extra-saddle padding
a
Figure 5. Extreme Low Pressure 4 LW Fuji Film showing higher intensity results. This film was developed from a donkey with a cart loaded with 400kg of maize. The film shows a high intensity pink concentrated in the front of the donkey, near the withers.
n=unsatisfactory 1 6 n=weight 2 n=extra padding 4
p-value 0.02a 0.27 Discussion We had expected to see greater differences in behavioral responses between donkeys driven with HM versus SM. However, these donkeys were in good physical condition, as compared to the general population in Bamako. It is possible that this population was above average in care and physical condition and subsequently showed fewer signs of behavioral stress associated with either treatment. It should also be noted that no donkeys were actually struck with the stick during our study, versus our anecdotal observations of other Malian donkeys. No differences were found in heart rate variability parameters when comparing HM versus SM. Studies have shown a decrease in HRV in horses during exercise on a treadmill [17, 18, 19]. Our study was measuring heart rate during exercise: this could have reduced the HRV. Also, it is possible that a difference may have become more apparent in these parameters if taken over multiple sampling periods. Researchers have shown that a donkey's heart rate can vary according to diurnal variations and environmental and physical conditions [20, 21]. It has been 24
0.009
0.23
significant at p-value< 0.05
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shown that donkeys in Nigeria during the rainy season had a mean resting heart rate of 36 to 72 bpm over a 10hour period [22]. The conditions in the Nigerian study were similar to those in this study: 14:00 hrs, 32.7C, and 89 % humidity with the exception of measuring heart rate while exercising. One study reported the mean heart rates for donkeys (n=10) after packing 93.91.5kg for 19.10.6km to be 71.03.4bpm [23]. Our study recorded similar mean heart rates at 14:00 hrs, 734.04bpm (HM group) and 71.759.87bpm (SM group). In our second experiment, we documented that pressure is associated with the type of harness and weight pulled by the donkey. Harness type/design have long been a problem for working equids in the developing world [24, 12, 25]. It is widely accepted that the most debilitating injuries are due to poor harnesses [12]. Many have reported a high proportion of poor harnesses among working donkeys in Africa [10, 2, 25, 3, 1]. Improving harnessing methods, such as adding nonabrasive padding, has the potential to decrease pressure applied on the withers/back and increases a working donkey's longevity. In addition, not overloading donkeys and maintaining the carts, e.g. keeping tires inflated, can decrease pressure placed on the withers. Many researchers have engaged in harness-making workshops throughout Africa to show owners how to make affordable harnesses. Sharing such knowledge with veterinarians and paraprofessionals has tremendous potential for enhancing welfare of working equids [11, 24, 10, 13]. Notes and references [1] Starkey, P. 1994. Donkey utilization in sub-Saharan Africa: recent changes and apparent needs. Proceedings, second international colloquium on working equines. Rabatt, Morocco, p. 19. [2] Diarra, M.M., A. Doumbia, and A.K. McLean. 2007. Survey of working conditions and management of donkeys in Niono and Segou, Mali. Proc. ASAS Annual Mtg. 85, 1, 139. [3] Pearson, R.A., E. Negomasha, and R. Krecek. 1999. In Starkey, P., Kaumbutho, P. (Eds.), Meeting the challenges of animal traction: a resource book of the Animal Traction Network for Eastern and Southern Africa (ATNESA), Harare, Zimbabwe. Intermediate Technology Publications, London, 190-8. [4] The donkey motivator is a stick with a plastic bag tied to its end. The donkey responds to the rustling sound of the motivator and moves away from the noise. It is a low-cost alternative method to using a stick to guide a donkey when working/driving. [5] Maclean et al. in preparation. [6] Heleski, C.R., A. McLean, and L. Bauson. 2008. Donkeys and bribes , maybe more than just a cartoon! Proc. Int. Appld. Ethology Mtg. Procd. Eth. Mtg. 72. [7] Burn, C.C., J.C. Pritchard, and H.R. Whay. 2009. Observer reliability for working equine welfare assessment: problems with high prevalence of certain results. Anim. Welfare. 18, 177-87. [8] Hausberger, M., H. Roche, S. Henry, and E.K. Visser. 2008. A review of the humanhorse relationship. Appld. Anim. Beh. Sci. 109, 1-24. [9] Pritchard, J.C., A.C. Linberg, D.C.J. Main, and H.R. Whay. 2005. Assessment of the welfare of working horses, mules, and donkeys, using health and behavior parameters. Prevent. Vet. Med. 69, 265-83. [10] Chadborn, A. 2008. Low-cost donkey harness from experience in Uganda. Draught Anim. News. 46, part II, 59-62. [11] Davis, T. 2008. Workshops for veterinary students: equine-harnessing methods in developing countries outlined. Draught Anim. News. 46, part II, 55-6. [12] Davis, T. 2008. Harness development: summary of report addressing issues relating to the harnessing of equines in developing countries. Draught Anim. News. 46, part II, 63. [13] Jones, P. 2008. Thoughts on harnessing donkeys for work, based on practical experiences in Southern Africa. Draught Anim. News. 46, part II, 64-70. [14] von Borrell et al 2007 [15] Rietmann et al. 2004 [16] Visser et al. 2002 [17] Thayer, J.F., A.A. Hahn, M.A. Pearson, J.J. Sollers, P.J. Johnson, and W.E. Loch. 1997. Heart rate variability
during exercise in the horse. Biomed. Sci. Instrum. 34, 482-5. [18] Physick-Sheard, P.W., D.J. Marlin, R. Thornhill, and R.C. Schroter. 2000. Frequency domain analysis of heart rate variability in horses at rest and during exercise. Equine Vet. J. 32, 253-62. [19] Voss, B., E. Mohr, H. Krzywanek. 2002. Effects of aqua-treadmill exercise on selected blood parameters and on heart-rate variability of horses. J. Vet. Med. A 49, 137-43. [20] Matthews, N.S., T.S. Taylor, and G.D. Potter. 1998. Physiologic responses during an exhaustive driving test in donkeys: effect of conditioning. Appld Anim. Beh. Sci. 59, 31-8. [21] Yousef, M.K. and D.B. Dill. 1969. Resting energy metabolism and cardiorespiratory activity in the burro (Equus asinus). J. Appl. Physiol. 27, 229-32. [22] Ayo, J.O., T. Dzenda, and F.O. Zakari. 2008. Individual and diurnal variations in rectal temperature, respiration, and heart rate of pack donkeys during the early rainy season. J. Equine Vet. Sci. 28, 5, 281-8. [23] Minka, N.S. and J.O. Ayo. 2007. Effects of shade provision on some physiological parameters, behavior and performance of pack donkeys (Equus asinus) during the hot-dry season. J. Equine Vet. Sci. 18, 2, 39-47. [24] Connan, R. 2008. TAWS guidelines for equine draught harness in developing countries. Draught Anim. News. 46, part II, 57-8. [25] Herbert, K.S. 2006. At work in Morocco. The Horse Magazine. June, 34-48.
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VALIDATING THE USE OF PHOTOGRAPHIC AND VIDEO MATERIAL FOR MONITORING AND EVALUATION, OBSERVER STANDARDISATION AND TRAINING IN EQUINE WELFARE PROGRAMMES
R. A. Eager1, M. M. Madany2, A. Rostom2, and A. C. Childs1
2
relevant to working equine welfare. The research examined whether observers assessed variables equivalently when viewing animals directly and indirectly. Methodology Study timeline Animals were assessed directly in the field and photographs and videos taken at the same time (A, Figure 1). One year later, variables were assessed from photograph and/or video material (indirect assessment) (B, Figure 1). Observers assessed each variable individually, shared results, and discussed differences. A group consensus was then taken Figure 1. Study timeline
The Brooke, 30 Farringdon Street, London, UK The Brooke Egypt, 2 Bayram El-Tonsi Street, Zein El-Abdein 11441, Cairo, Egypt rachel@thebrooke.org
Abstract Photographic/video material provides a potential valuable resource for the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of equine welfare interventions and in observer training and standardisation. This study investigated whether there were differences in assessment of variables observed directly in the field, or indirectly via photographs or video. A range of behavioural (animals/human) and physical variables (animal/resource) was selected from Brooke work. Direct assessments were made in the field by 5 experienced, standardised observers and photographic/video footages taken simultaneously. At a later date, observers assessed these materials and comparisons drawn between direct and indirect assessments. Assessments of photographic material showing body condition score, age, and lesion severity agreed strongly with direct assessments made in the field (K>0.68). Video assessments had good agreement for beating, collar placement, girth tightness, and body condition (K>0.69) and moderate agreement for animal attitude, padding placement, and response to approach (K>0.548). Significant levels of agreement in some variables suggest that photographic/video material may be useful for M&E/standardisation purposes, when effectively validated. Further work is required to determine whether subtle changes in variables over time can be identified reliably via indirect assessment. Introduction The Brooke is an international working equine welfare organisation working in developing countries. Brooke works with local communities to improve equine welfare through evidence-based interventions. Brooke collects data related to animal health and welfare, animal/owner behaviour, knowledge, attitude, and practice in programmatic and research work. These data are frequently collected through field survey techniques. Photographic/video material can play a role in supporting programmatic work particularly in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and research by providing crucial records of such things as animal condition, behaviour, resource availability, and changes over time. Video may improve the accuracy of behavioural observations by enabling repeated observation of behaviour. Photographs and videos may be used for standardisation between observers or over time. Observer standardisation for field data collection is crucial to ensure validity, accuracy, and reliability of research and M&E data. Prior to implementation of photographic/video assessments, validation is important to ensure confidence in findings. The relationship between the direct assessment of a variable, such as animal body condition score (BCS) or lesion size, and the indirect assessment made from observation of photographic/video material is important to ascertain. Such assessments can then be used for programmatic decision-making with confidence that they reflect the live situation. The study reported here aimed to test the validity of photographs and videos for representing a variety of variables
Participants and animals Research was carried out in Abo Hommus, Egypt. Ten horses, 21 donkeys, and 1 mule were included. All were working animals, pulling 2-wheeled wooden goods carts. Owner's consent was gained prior to inclusion in the study. Observers Five observers were used to assess all variables: 4 were trained in The Brooke welfare assessment protocol and all had more than 1 year of experience in field survey data collection. Variables Fourteen variables commonly used in Brooke research projects and/or working equine welfare assessment [1] were selected. The variables tested using both photographs and videos are shown in Table 1, which also includes data type and method of assessment. Precise definitions of each variable were documented and shared with observers to improve reliability. Owner and animal behaviour was observed during unharnessing (see variables in Table 1) and when interacting with handlers. Other observations were made whilst the animal was standing with a handler. Table 1. Variables used in the study with a brief description of the measurement methodology, data type (C=categorical, OC=ordinal categorical, N=numerical), and documentation method (V=video, P=photograph).
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Variable Voice used Beating Padding Collar Animal reaction Animal attitude Reaction to approach Walk side Girth tightness Body condition score Age Lesion severity Lesion size
Method of assessment
Observations Yes or no Yes or no Padding positioning Collar positioning Kicks, bites, walks away, no reaction, head movement Alert, apathetic, depressed
Indirect method & Data no. replicates( ) C C C C C C C V (14) V (14) V (14) V (14) V (14) V (24) V (28)
Results Photographic material Photographic variables body condition score, age, and lesion severity showed good or very good levels of agreement between direct and indirect assessment (K>0.68 - Table 2). Table 2. Level of agreement between group scoring of variables from direct and indirect photographic assessment Variable Body condition score Age Lesion severity Girth tightness Kappa 0.68 0.76 0.9 0.418 Strength of agreement [2] Good Good Very good Moderate Test used Weighted Kappa Weighted Kappa Weighted Kappa Kappa
Behavioural observation during routine unharnessing
Behavioural observation
Handler approaches: animal moves, turns head away, does not move, turns head towards observer, is aggressive Handler walks along side: animal shows signs of interest, no sign of interest
C C OC
V (29) V (16) + P (16) V (32) + P (32) P (22) P (34) P (34) Figure 2. BlandAltman plot showing the difference between direct and indirect measurements of lesion length against mean direct/indirect measurement. The mean difference and mean difference 2 standard deviations of the differences are identified. Bland-Altman analysis suggested a significant lack of agreement between direct and indirect assessment of lesion length with discrepancies of up to 5.5cm (Figure 2) and 3 values falling outside the mean 2 standard deviations range.
Resource observation
Tight or not tight 10-point scale: 1=very thin to 5=very fat
Physical observation
Dental examination <5 years,515, 16+ years OC Superficial, skin broken, deep OC N Length at longest point and width in centimeters (both values included)
Physical measurement
Standardisation protocol Standardisation was carried out to ensure inter-observer reliability, i.e. all observers were assessing variables in the same way. A 2-day protocol was carried out prior to direct and indirect data collection periods. Standardisation included in-depth discussion on variable definitions, field observation, and repeated observation until observers were consistently recording the same results. Collection of photograph and video material Protocols for the collection of photographic and video material were developed, ensuring consistency in angle, number of shots, environment, and duration (video). Observers determined criteria for accuracy. For example, age (assessed through examination of the teeth) required 3 close-up photographs - view of front, side, and tooth tables. Statistical analysis The strength of group agreement between direct and indirect assessments was investigated using a Fleiss Kappa for nominal categorical variables (see Table 2) and weighted Kappa for ordinal categorical variables. The strength of agreement was determined as in Altman [2]. Bland-Altman analysis [3] was used to indicate the level of agreement in numerical variables. Discrepancies between assessment techniques with magnitudes greater than the mean difference 2 standard deviations were considered to indicate a significant lack of agreement.
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Further examination of data identified 2 occasions where cases were assessed as qualifying as lesion in 1 assessment and not qualifying in the other. These cases explained the most extreme differences in measures of 5.5cm and 4cm. Removal of these cases changed mean and standard deviation values, and analysis continued to suggest a significant lack of agreement even though maximum discrepancy was reduced to 2.5cm. This discrepancy would be considered clinically relevant in this scenario and therefore the result confirms the lack of agreement. Video material The strength of agreement between direct and indirect assessments ranged from fair to good when video materials were assessed (K<0.789>0.345). The values for each variable are shown in Table 3. Table 3. Level of agreement between group scoring of variables from direct and video indirect assessments Variable Unharness voice use Unharness beating Unharness padding placement Unharness collar placement Unharness animal reaction Girth tightness Animal attitude Reaction to approach Walk side Body condition score Kappa 0.364 0.745 0.569 0.789 0.413 0.714 0.556 0.548 0.345 0.69 Strength of agreement [2] Fair Good Moderate Good Moderate Good Moderate Moderate Fair Good Test used Kappa Kappa Kappa Kappa Kappa Kappa Kappa Kappa Kappa Weighted Kappa
Weaker levels of agreement were found in behavioural variables ranging from fair to good. Assessment of use of voice was difficult due to recordings being made in a noisy environment. Variables such as walk side (see Table 1), where subtle behavioural responses were observed, showed a weaker level of agreement compared to more obvious behaviours such as beating. Conclusion A number of variables showed good or very good levels of agreement between direct and indirect assessments, suggesting that these techniques could be used interchangeably. Variables with either moderate or fair levels of agreement have potential; however, further work is advised to understand the reasons for these differences and negate for them. Work is needed to determine whether or not small changes in variables such as body condition can be identified through photographs/videos with the same level of accuracy as direct, live assessments. This information would be key to successful use of these resources for M&E purposes. The study concludes that photographic and video materials can be used reliably as indicators of the 'real life' situation in the field for a range of variables. Care should be taken before using these tools to validate new variables and determine the level of accuracy at which changes in variables can be identified through examination of these materials. References [1] Pritchard, J.C., Lindberg, A.C., Main, D.C.J, and Whay, H.R. (2005) Assessment of the welfare of working horses, mules and donkeys, using health and behaviour parameters. Preventative Veterinary Medicine 69(34): 265-83. [2] Altman, D.G. (1991) Practical Statistics for Medical Research. Chapman and Hall, UK. [3] Bland, J.M. and Altman, D.G. (1986) Statistical methods for assessing agreement between two methods of clinical measurement. Lancet 1: 307-10.
Discussion Body condition score showed a good level of agreement between direct (live) and both photographic and video material. During collection of photographic and video material, it was noted that the position of the animal in relation to the sun (shade, facing sun, sun to side) affected photographic appearance. Further work is required to establish the effects of this on indirect assessments; however, it is recommended that this variable be standardised if BCS is to be monitored/assessed using either photographs or videos. Bland-Altman analysis indicated that agreement in measurement of lesion size was weak between the 2 methods. These problems were potentially due to the difficulty in identifying lesion boundaries from a 1-dimensional picture. Agreement could be improved if a definition of lesion boundaries was developed with photographic assessment specifically. Animal age had a good level of agreement between direct and indirect assessments. Observers did find that some photographs appeared confusing, i.e. characteristics of the front view were in conflict with the tooth table view.
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A BASELINE SURVEY OF THE HEALTH AND WELFARE OF WORKING HORSES IN LESOTHO: FINDINGS OF CLINICAL AND TACK EXAMINATION
M. M. Upjohn, K. Shipton, T. Lerotholi, G. Attwood, and K. L. P. Verheyen
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, London, UK PO Box 192, Matsieng, Lesotho Malealea Development Trust, PO Box 194, Motsekoua, Lesotho mupjohn@rvc.ac.uk
horses had increased total protein. Just under half the horses (44%) had hyperglobulinaemia and 46% were hypoglycaemic. The majority of horses (69%) were wearing a bridle but a saddle was only available for half (51%) of them. Almost all bridles (90%) were equipped with a curb bit; half of the bits (50%) were in poor condition and 45% were ill fitting. Approximately half (47%) of the bridles examined were in poor condition and the majority were noted to be dirty and poorly fitting (65% and 69% respectively). Most of the saddles (85%) were in poor condition with 77% noted to be dirty and/or poorly fitting. Conclusions Working horses in Lesotho have a range of physical problems, many of which could be addressed through owner education and availability of local equine trade skills. Access to affordable veterinary care is required. Findings of this study could be used to inform and direct training programmes to maximise benefits to equine welfare. Results also serve as a baseline against which to monitor effects of educational or other interventions. Acknowledgements World Horse Welfare, Lesotho Department of Livestock, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
Introduction A cross-sectional survey of equine health and welfare in south-west and western Lesotho was undertaken between April and June 2007. The aim of this study was to describe health parameters of horses prior to implementation of a training programme by a UK-based equine charity. Methods Randomly selected horses in the region from which training programme students were recruited were clinically examined using a standardised protocol. Subject to owner consent, blood and faecal samples were obtained for routine haematology, biochemistry, and faecal worm egg counts respectively; samples were processed in a temporary field laboratory set up for the purposes of this study. Each horse was examined according to a standardised comprehensive pre-tested protocol by a veterinary-trained member of the research team. Examinations were undertaken outdoors with no restraint other than any headcollar or bridle which the horse wore on arrival. Body condition score (BCS) was assessed using a score of 0 (emaciated) to 5 (obese). Horse age was estimated according to dentition. Oral examination was undertaken manually, without a gag. Thoracic auscultation was undertaken to assess cardiac rate/rhythm and audible respiratory noise. Ocular examination was undertaken visually without access to shade and without the use of eye drops, fluorescein, or ophthalmoscope. Assessment of tick infestation was recorded according to a scale of none; mild (up to a total of 3 ticks in 1 or more locations); moderate (410 ten ticks in 1 or more locations); or severe (more than 10 ticks in 1 or more locations). Wounds were recorded by location. Manual vertebral palpation was undertaken along the length of the horse's spine; pain response and bony/soft tissue lesions and wounds were recorded. Lameness assessed at walk for approximately 20 steps was scored on a scale of 0 (sound) to 5 (non-weightbearing). Each limb was palpated at rest and lesions noted. Each foot was assessed for medio-lateral and dorsopalmar/plantar balance, horn length, frog and sole condition, and the presence/absence of a shoe. Tack, as available at the time of the horse examination, was reviewed and assessed for condition, cleanliness, and fit according to a standardised protocol. Results A total of 312 horses were clinically examined. Their mean BCS was 2.5 (sd 0.8, range 0.5-4.5) and mean age was 10 years (range 2-25). The majority of horses examined (71%) were male and approximately three-quarters (74%) were entire. Mucous membranes were pale in 6% of horses and 4% were dehydrated according to a skin pinch test. Around half (52%) of the horses had eye abnormalities; these were primarily ocular discharge, but also corneal scarring (5%) and blindness (3%). Dental examination revealed that the majority of horses (93%) had sharp molar points. Non-limb wounds were seen in 68% of horses, most of these being tack-associated and found on withers, spine, or head. A pain response was elicited on palpation of the spine in 53% of horses. Thirteen per cent of horses were lame and 20% had foot injuries. Around 14% of horses were shod on one or both front feet; around 7% were shod on one or both hind feet. Poor fore foot balance was noted on approximately half (52%) of horses, and 45% of feet were overgrown. Ticks were present in 59% of horses, 36% of which were moderately or heavily infested. Strongyle eggs were found in 88% of faecal samples, 49% of which showed evidence of heavy infestation (>1,000epg); 22% contained Parascaris equorum eggs; 6% contained Oxyuris equi eggs. Low red blood cell counts were recorded in 21% of horses; a raised haematocrit count was found in 17% of horses; 21% of 33
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A BASELINE SURVEY OF HEALTH AND WELFARE OF WORKING HORSES IN LESOTHO: OWNER KNOWLEDGE AND HUSBANDRY PRACTICES
M. M. Upjohn, K. Shipton, T. Lerotholi, G. Attwood, and K. L. P. Verheyen
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, London, UK PO Box 192, Matsieng, Lesotho Malealea Development Trust, PO Box 194, Motsekoua, Lesotho mupjohn@rvc.ac.uk
Conclusions Lesotho horse owners have variable husbandry knowledge, and targeted owner education, in the context of limited access to veterinary care and scarce resources, is needed. Findings of this study could be used to inform and direct training programmes to maximise benefits to equine welfare. Results also serve as a baseline against which to monitor effects of educational or other interventions. Acknowledgements World Horse Welfare, Lesotho Department of Livestock, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security
Introduction A cross-sectional survey of equine health and welfare in south-west and western Lesotho was undertaken between April and June 2007. The aim of this study was to describe owner knowledge of equine health care and current husbandry practices prior to the implementation of a training programme by a UK-based equine charity. Methods Owners of horses in randomly selected villages in the region from which training programme students were recruited were interviewed about horse care and knowledge. The structured interview followed a standardised questionnaire which had been pre-tested in Lesotho, administered face-to-face in the local language by a bilingual, trained local interviewer. The questionnaire included a combination of open and closed questions on owner demographics, horse ownership, and use, together with current and desired feeding practices, tack ownership, fit assessment and care, sourcing of equine health care advice and products, preventive medicine knowledge and activities, mouth health management, and current and desired foot care practices. Results Data were gathered from a total of 287 horse owners, over 90% of whom were male and typically owned between 1 and 3 horses. Horses were primarily reported to be used as transport (79%) but were also used for police patrol work (9%), working in the fields (5%), tourist trekking (5%), and pulling a cart (3%). The mean frequency of use was 2.7 days per week for an average of 2.1 hours per day. Of the owners surveyed, 85% primarily fed their horses on maize stalks; whilst 62% of owners recognised their horse's diet was unbalanced, few had a clear understanding of the principles of good nutrition. Over half of owners (58%) shared tack between horses but owner knowledge regarding appropriate assessment of tack fit was inconsistent, and few owners reported assessing fit prior to use. Many owners reported using oil to maintain tack but few cited cleaning as part of tack care. Most owners stated that they would either consult a local animal health care worker (who typically have little or no equine specialist husbandry and health care knowledge or access to equine drugs) or another horse owner for advice when their horse was sick. 'Not eating' was the most commonly cited indication of a horse being unwell (74% of owners) but signs of severe disease were often not recognised appropriately, with many reporting colic signs as an indication of worm infestation. Thirty-one per cent of owners thought their horse was currently 'unhealthy'. Many owners could not readily distinguish preventive from curative health care, with incidental injections of antibiotics being reported as 'vaccinations'. Most owners (94%) reported using anthelmintics but only 19% used proprietary products (other products cited included herbal medicine, sulphur granules, and copper sulphate crystals) with treatment generally applied fewer than 4 times per year. Ticks were treated by 64% of owners, but 56% said their horse currently had ticks. There was limited knowledge of equine mouth care and 23% of owners treated perceived mouth problems by making gum incisions with a knife, with or without the application of salt. When asked what appropriate foot care comprised the most commonly reported component (92% of owners) was shoeing, but only 24% of owners had their horse shod; 54% of these owners undertook this themselves. There was limited understanding of the required frequency of reshoeing and the majority of owners cited affordability as the limiting factor for shoeing their horse.
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AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH FOR BETTER UNDERSTANDING THE SIGNS OF PAIN IN DONKEYS: THE ASSOCIATIONS OF PAIN-RELATED PATHOLOGY WITH CLINICAL AND BEHAVIOURAL INDICATORS
G. Olmos1, 2, F. Burden1, and N. G. Gregory2
2
The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, Devon, EX10 0NU, UK Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL9 7TA, UK gabriela.olmos@thedonkeysanctuary.com
situation the problem was 'pain assessment and associated indicators in donkeys'. Once the table and list were in place, they were restructured into 2 main recording sheets or forms. The first form deals with ante-mortem information: A. General donkey details B. Condition (e.g. disease) and/or system affected (e.g. respiratory or cardiovascular) C. Overall pain assessment based on subjective clinical observations. The assessment is done using a VAS (visual analogue scale) from 0 (no pain) to 100mm (the worst pain) D. Pain classification and description (e.g. acute, chronic, persistent, other) E. Observed behaviour/indicators in the donkey; the observed indicators follow from the generated table MTPI F. Analgesia administered up to the time of death and effectiveness All this information is recorded by the clinician in charge of the case and collated on a single database. The second form deals with findings made by the pathologist at the time of post-mortem. The form achieves: A. An overall pain assessment (using a VAS as previously described) based on pathological observations B. The classification of pain-related lesions by organ or tissue. The pain related lesions generated for the PPAP list follow first principles: a. Trauma b. Acute inflammation c. Over-distension of a tubular or hollow organ (e.g. secondary to obstruction or torsion) d. Perforation or rupture of a tubular or hollow organ (e.g. secondary to ulceration or a foreign body) e. Stripping or ulceration of mucosal surfaces f. Formation and breakdown of serosal adhesions within body cavities g. Swelling within a confined space (e.g. compartment syndrome, pedal abscess, cerebral swelling) h. Exposure of sub-chondral bone in joints C. A severity ranking (0=none present, 1=mild, 2=moderate, 3=severe) of the observed lesions, and related comments These forms are being applied to The Donkey Sanctuary population in the UK. It is envisioned that a refined form will be applied on working equines in other parts of the world (e.g. Mexico), and this will help widen our understanding of the relationships between pain-related pathologies and pain indicators. Depending on the sample size and subsequent power of the analysis the forms aim to address the following objectives: 1. Relate ante-mortem behaviour to ante-mortem clinical conditions (specific or by body system) 2. Relate ante-mortem behaviour/indicators to clinician-assigned overall pain score (ante-mortem) 3. Relate ante-mortem behaviour/indicators to clinician-assigned pain scores (ante-mortem) for specific conditions 4. Describe post-mortem findings and severity of lesions 5. Correlate ante-mortem pain scores assigned by clinicians to post-mortem pain scores assigned by the pathologist 6. Relate ante-mortem behaviour/indicators to pathologist-assigned post-mortem pain scores 7. Relate ante-mortem behaviour/indicators to post-mortem findings (specific and/or by body system). 8. Derive a composite pain score based on severity scores of post-mortem lesions 9. Relate ante-mortem behaviour/indicators to composite (data-derived) post-mortem pain score
Abstract Better understanding the signs of pain in donkeys will help improve their welfare by allowing more effective application of pain relief when it is needed. Pain is common in working donkeys but it has been poorly investigated. Behaviour on its own poses limitations because donkeys do not always show obvious signs of pain. This paper proposes and outlines an approach to using pain-relevant pathologies to enhance our understanding of the clinical and behavioural signs of pain. Introduction Acute and chronic pains affect the work capacity and welfare of donkeys. Improving our ability to identify pain in donkeys is recognised as a major priority for improving their welfare [1]. This project has been developed to tackle the problem. Behavioural changes in an individual are often the main measure of pain in animals, but they have limitations. The pain-relevant behaviours are sometimes species-specific, and they can occur in other circumstances (e.g. fear or illness) and so they are not always pain specific. Thus an approach needs to be developed to determine whether a pain-related behaviour is in fact due to pain, rather than depression, fear, discomfort, or some other perception that is not directly related to pain. One alternative is to look for palliation when applying analgesia. Scientifically this is a sound approach but it has 2 weaknesses. Some analgesics interfere with locomotion or capacity to perform the specific pain-related physical behaviour that is being examined, and this complicates interpretation of painresponse tests involving physical behaviour. It also requires ethical justification and approval when it comes to applying painful procedures in control animals. On account of the ethical complications and limitations of the first approach, a second alternative is being developed. It assesses behaviour in individual cases which are destined to be euthanised, according to their postmortem pain-related pathology. An equivalent approach has been used with success in humans whilst relying on radiology and ultrasound assessment of pathology severity in the live subject. Pain severity was related to the severity and/or extent of the underlying pathology in a range of conditions [2]. To our knowledge this approach has never been applied in donkeys and it forms the basis of the present project. Methodology and delivery Individual and group meetings where engaged between clinicians and pathologist with great experience in donkey (The Donkey Sanctuary) and horse (Royal Veterinary College) veterinary care. A 'master table of potential pain indicators in donkeys during clinical examination' (MTPI) was developed. In addition a list of 'pathological processes associated with pain in animals' (PPAP) was prepared. The development of both table and list followed an in-house 'Delphi methodology' in which group communication was structured so that the group of individuals, as a whole, dealt with the problem and forecast a solution [3]. In this 37
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Discussion and conclusion It is anticipated that characterising and understanding the observed pathology in different tissues of the donkeys will contribute to a better understanding of the nociception and thus pain experienced by donkeys. Furthermore, it will contribute to a better understanding of the relationships between pain and the subtle behavioural repertoire of the donkey. References [1] Ashley FH, Waterman-Pearson AE, and Whay HR, 'Behavioural assessment of pain in horses and donkeys: application to clinical practice and future studies', Equine Veterinary Journal, Vol. 37, No. 6 (2005), pp. 565-75. [2] Gregory NG, 'Relationships between pathology and pain severities', Animal Welfare (in press). [3] Linstone HA and Turoff M, 'The Delphi Method, techniques and applications', http://is.njit.edu/pubs/delphibook/#copyright.
QUALITATIVE EVALUATION: A STRATEGY TO MEASURE CHANGES

V. R. Corona
The Donkey Sanctuary, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, National Autonomous University of Mexico badtz84@hotmail.com
Introduction During the evolution of programs, evaluation is one of the most important stages. It can be performed quantitatively and qualitatively. The essence of our program lies within the modification of short- and long-term behaviour. Qualitative evaluation is the most suitable to measure the impact on the treatment and management of equids, describing and interpreting the changes in order to understand reality, improve practice and understand the process and results. The quantitative side is also necessary since data can be interpreted through analysis and statistics. However, we cannot forget that if our main objective is the understanding of the behavior of our subjects this being related to the environment and all its implications the most appropriate evaluation will always be qualitative. This is where the strengths, weaknesses, needs, and social demands raised by the group currently working on the project are revealed. It is a collective process in which both facilitators and beneficiaries involved in the analysis of information attempt to make the best decisions about change strategies, modify practices and procedures and take other decisions about the program that is being implemented. This paper describes the intervention and the results obtained in an assessment carried out by the Donkey Sanctuary Mexico team in one of the municipalities in Guerrero. Guerrero is one of the states of Mexico where DS Mexico works. It is divided into 7 regions including Costa Chica, made up of 15 municipalities. We carried out a qualitative assessment of the Donkey Sanctuary program in 4 communities: Azoyu, El Puente, Arcelia, and Zapotitlan. Equids are fundamental to the life of the people in each of these communities: they contribute to economic activities such as hauling firewood, water, and building materials, transportation, and ploughing. The impact of the program was measured between June 2007 and March 2010, first approaching with quick diagnostic activities in the community, asking about the number of horses and donkeys and the work that they do. When we asked about how the program had influenced the community life there was seen to be a major change as a result of the performance and actions of the project. Materials and methods The evaluation of the program was qualitative, using interviews as the fundamental technique with which to encompass the scope and the achievement of goals. As well as these we looked at the actions that took place, outcomes and impacts on the behaviour of people who work with equids. Moreover, working with groups in meetings allowed us to hear the specific needs and the solutions that people had found. They also proposed strategies to work with support from the Donkey Sanctuary in the near future, in order to achieve self-sufficiency.
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Figure 1. Meeting with local people from Zapotitlan
The community's knowledge about animal welfare needs cannot be defined simply. Participants at the meeting used many words. Three people used words meaning 'healthy', 'food', and 'attention'. Another mentioned that animal welfare implies offering working animals care and no problems. However, the most important idea that people put forward was that the working animals are living beings. Equally, they are conceived as working tools. Taking into account these two ideas, we realised there was great empathy between animals and owners. Until the DS Mexico arrived in the community and started its activities, the owners did not look for alternatives to satisfy their animals' needs. In terms of the animal's 5 freedoms, people asked themselves about them. There is a good relation between animals and humans, and people know that all living beings require the same things to survive. According to people interviewed, the average body condition of equids before the DS Mexico arrived was 2.25. The most prevalent disease was 'hormiguillo', a parasitic illness. The solutions which people used to heal wounds and diseases included natural remedies, medicines, and chemical substances which owners bought, for example water with salt against colic and diesel against white line disease. To a lesser extent, the vet came to the community, but he was expensive in terms of consultation and transportation. Since the intervention of the DS Mexico program, there have been changes in the body condition of working animals and a decrease in disease. Owners have seen body condition change from 2.25 to 3.5 (an optimal condition), presenting an improvement of 1.25. No animal has experienced a decrease in its body condition; body condition is stronger, as the owners can see during their daily work. Basically the weight gain is the main change that the owners have perceived; also the hair color and texture have become brighter. Also important to the qualitative aspect is the change in human behavior regarding how to treat animals, including basic action to keep equids clean, such as sweeping and cleaning the shelters. The most meaningful example is when the owners stop familial or personal activities in order to attend to their animals. Participants mentioned the quality of service given by the clinics: it was good as shown in the result of improved body condition. The support that the clinics have given to the community has been of great help. The clinic has not only helped to cure donkeys, but has also provided information about the management and care of equids. This contributes to the owner's assistants, the working animals, when the clinic isn't there. The members of DS Mexico have also clarified aspects related to medicine that is sometimes used on the basis of tips from neighbors or friends; this fact has prevented animal deaths and animal diseases. Discussion According to the summary presented, we found:
q q
Furthermore, the observations were complemented by other techniques, a complex procedure consisting of using all the senses of those equipped to observe the facts, and to present the social realities of people with their horses in the real context in which they operate. This functioned as a medium of great significance, due to the ability to recognize events, phenomena and peculiar characteristics in the behaviour of the owners. This time, the level of involvement of the people in the program and the community contributed to our research very much. One assessment is presented here. I have chosen Azoyu because it was the community where the Donkey Sanctuary started to work a few years ago. The assessments in the other three communities will not be disregarded. Seventeen people participated in the meeting at the Livestock Association, Azoyu. The education team, the veterinarian, the farrier and 3 social service students worked together. Information was collected systematically and separated into the following categories:
q q q q q q q q q q q
General aspects about the equids in the community Knowledge about animal welfare Knowledge about 5 freedoms for animal welfare Treat and management of equids Body condition of equids before the arrival of DS Mexico Body condition of equids after the arrival of DS Mexico Resources to attend equids in cases of wounds or disease Strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats Behavioural changes of owners Improvement in the quality of life of the people of the community Quality of service
Results of the qualitative evaluation: Azoyu The average number of equids per family is 3 donkeys and a horse. The activities which they take part in include: transporting firewood, transporting poles for fencing, transporting loads of corn and tillage. All these activities are of equal importance, but the transportation of firewood generates the highest income. The time they devote to this activity is divided into three kinds of work days: everyday, seasonal drought and rain (3 months each) and is carried out for four days per week. The participants at the meeting described equids as cooperating in work with owners so they try to rest their animals when they might be tired.
Improvement of the body condition of working animals A change of view about working animals: now they are seen as inseparable friends who must be cared for, as they contribute to the quality of life of communities, because when they have a good physical health, they increase families' incomes A change of owners' habits: they now work their animals for short periods of time, and allow them rest without being beaten or maltreated
Through the discussion process we were able to plan areas of action according to the needs of the population and introduce changes to the ongoing program: q Training on management for owners of working animals 42
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q q q
Preventive medicine in working animals 5 freedoms for animal welfare Community organization for assistance to working animals
PARTICIPATORY WELFARE NEEDS ASSESSMENT: A COMMUNITY-DRIVEN APPROACH TOWARDS IMPROVING THE WELFARE OF WORKING EQUINES
S. K. Pradhan1, M. Ali1, R. Ranjan1, and L. Van Dijk2
2
As we can see through this example of Azoyu, the evaluation phase is not static within programs; it must be cyclical and repeated continuously. We must employ skills that allow us to identify when changes are required, not in a demagogic manner but more through a democratic process involving the community.
The Brooke Hospital for Animals (India), F-86 Preet Vihar, Delhi 110092, India Animals in International Development, 45 The Glebe, Wrington, Bristo. BS50 5LX, UK pradhan@thebrookeindia.org
Introduction In most human development projects participatory approaches are being applied successfully, for example in health promotion and improvement in sanitation practices [1]. Similarly it is found to be effective in agriculture [2], livestock [3], and the animal health sector [4]. Since 2004 there has been a growing realisation by Brooke India, an animal welfare charity funded by the Brooke UK, that its programmatic approach, consisting of providing free treatment and resources such as harnesses, together with the 'education' of animal owners, was not leading to lasting improvement in animal welfare. The Brooke India team saw a limited adoption of the welfare messages by the owners and the clinical records showed repeated cases of wounds, dehydration, and eye, hoof, and skin problems in animals from the same location. Based on the successes in other sectors, Brooke India decided to use similar participatory approaches, to enable equine-owning communities to analyse the welfare of their animals and to make sustainable welfare improvements. Staff with significant community development experience were recruited and trained in Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA). A variety of PRA tools such as village mapping, seasonality analysis, and matrix ranking were adopted and adapted to engage owners. The owners and stakeholders acquired an awareness of the welfare of their animals; however, the animal's perception or 'voice of the animal' went unheard, and the PRA programme did not lead to the desired action of the animal owners improving animal welfare. This triggered the Brooke India team to initiate, with support of the Brooke UK, a pilot project to develop and test a methodology for welfare assessment by the community itself. This paper describes the development of this method called Participatory Welfare Needs Assessment and the results and lesson learned. Materials and methods In 2006 a pilot project started to develop an innovative participatory methodology. The project started off in 40 villages with about 650 animals. This was gradually increased to 78 villages with 1,335 animals. Each district unit designed a process and tested it together with the community. Over a period of almost 3 years the 8 district teams involved came together on a quarterly basis to share their processes and discuss successes and failures. As a starting point the teams looked at a system of welfare assessment developed in collaboration with Bristol University. Based on the principles of this assessment tool the teams designed a welfare needs assessment tool. This led to incorporating animal issues in analysis; however, the use of a structured, prescribed format limited creativity and innovation. The animal owners did not have ownership of the process and they were not able to put their new issue/ideas into the assessment. These limitations led to the search for a methodology that could be practised by the animal owners and resulted in the development of the Participatory Welfare Needs Assessment methodology. Participatory Welfare Needs Assessment (PWNA) is a group-based process in which the community itself identifies the physical signs and behaviour of the working equines relating to both physical and mental welfare.
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Four process steps can be identified, although for each community the detailed process may differ regarding tools used and timeframe. The four PWNA steps are: 1. Analysing how animals feel and what they need for their well-being This step enables the group to build a common understanding of welfare based on animal needs and feelings and enables them to recognise how aspects of good and poor welfare are expressed in an animal's appearance and behaviour. Specific tools are developed by the group, for example a tool called 'If I were a horse', which enables animal owners to see the world from their animals' point of view and identify the welfare issues. 2. Generating a list of animal, resources, and management practice indicators and agreeing on how they will be scored The issues identified in the first step are summarised into animal, resources, and management practice indicators [5] in a format that enables assessment of animal welfare by the animal owners themselves. 3. Observing animals and recording their welfare status In this step the group of animal owners visits the animal of each group member at their homestead and observes along the list of indicators agreed in step 2. All findings are recorded and summarised giving a clear picture of the welfare of individual animals and of the resource and management issues that affect the animals belonging to the group. 4. Analysing the present welfare status of animals belonging to the group The group discusses and analyses the welfare issues of individual animals and the issues summarised in step 3. A time-bound action plan is made by the group for individual as well as collective action. In 2009 the success of PWNA meant the pilot project was scaled up to mainstream programmes and PWNA is currently being used to assess 29,499 animals on a regular basis in the communities of more than 1,379 villages and brick kilns. Results and discussions The development of PWNA was a process of experimentation with and by the community. It required commitment, innovation, and creativity of the community facilitators. Using PWNA we and, more importantly, the owners have seen a visible improvement in the welfare of their animals, such as an increase in the body condition (score) of the animals, a reduction of wounds (especially deep wounds), good coat health, clean eyes with no sign of watering and redness, and a reduction of hoof-related problems. The owners in the equine welfare groups have agreed not to work their animals before two and half years of age and the group members monitor each other to make sure this does not happen. Use of harmful practices such as application of engine oil and kerosene on wounds has stopped. Eighty percent of equine owners in the villages which are ready for phasing out are members of an 'equine welfare group' and meet regularly to monitor their animals and agree on collective and individual action to improve the welfare of their animals with limited or no external support from Brooke India. The process builds on local people's capabilities: the wisdom of the owners is the basis of the method. The process is relatively simple for both owner and staff. The search for a process or system for animal-centred analysis by the community has generated many learning points. The most important are: 1. In an early stage of the process the field experiences confirmed that unless animal owners clearly identify welfare issues and various causes of sufferings themselves, they do not act towards bringing the necessary changes in handling and management practices. The FAO expert meeting held in 2008 [6] states: 'Animal welfare assessment should be done in full participation of the people involved in a process that also attempts to understand the perceptions and traditional practices of participants and the social and material assets that they
can bring to bear in solving animal welfare problems.' A system to improve the welfare of working equids therefore needs a high level of participation of the owners, carers, and users of the working animals.
2. PWNA is not only useful in assessing welfare status of animals by the animal owners: it also provides a
monitoring tool when repeated over a period of time. In many communities the tool is used on a quarterly basis. This allows the group to see the changing trend of welfare, according to the season, the animals' workload, and other factors in their living and working conditions and environment. It enables owners to recognise when animal welfare is getting worse and to take action quickly, either as an individual or collectively. Hence the system includes a mechanism for tracking the change in welfare status over time. This also enables the owners to have confidence in their ability to recognise negative changes in welfare, motivates the group to act quickly to improve welfare, and provides peer pressure to improve animal management practices.
3. The collective nature of the PWNA process is essential to motivate animal owners to act to improve the welfare
of their animals. The observation by the group of each other's animals creates peer pressure to act. In many units the groups of equine owners started to reward the owners with the best animal, based on the list of indicators developed in the PWNA process. The group process also promotes mutual learning and strengthens the capacity to solve problems together, thus strengthening each group's self-reliance [7]. This helps to bring incremental improvements in welfare status [6]. Conclusions Improving the welfare of working animals in the long term requires animal owners and carers to lead the process, by having the following capacities: 1. Prevention of welfare problems before they start 2. Early recognition of negative changes in their animals' welfare 3. Prompt and effective action in order to reduce the impact 4. Achievement of incremental improvements in welfare status Systems such as the Participatory Welfare Needs Assessment, developed by Brooke India, demonstrate how this can be done successfully with the community. PWNA as part of a process for community action is described in more detail in a guidebook for facilitators in this field, called 'Sharing the Load', to be published in 2010 [8]. Acknowledgment The contributions of involved equine-owning communities and all field staff of the Brooke India are gratefully acknowledged. References [1] Kar, K. (2003) Subsidy or Self-respect? Participatory Total Community Sanitation in Bangladesh, Institute of Development Studies, Working Paper 184, Sussex, Brighton, UK. [2] Pradhan, S.K. (1997) Involving Resource-poor Farmers in Agricultural Extension, PLA Notes, Issue 29, International Institute for Environment and Development, London, UK, pp. 15-18. [3] Kirsopp-Reed, K. (1994) A Review of PRA Methods for Livestock Research and Development, RRA Notes, Issue 20, International Institute for Environment and Development, London, UK, pp. 11-36. [4] Catley, A. (2005) Participatory Epidemiology: A Guide for Trainers, African Union/Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources, Nairobi, Kenya, pp. 716. [5] FAO (2009) [6] FAO (2008) Capacity-building to Implement Good Animal Welfare Practices, Report of the FAO Expert Meeting, FAO Headquarters, 30 September3 October 2008, FAO, Rome, pp. 1112. [7] Sharma, P.N. and Krosschel, C. (1998) Sustainable Participatory Watershed Management, PWMTA-Farm Field Document 6, PWMTA Program, Katmandu, Nepal, pp. 739. [8] Van Dijk, L, Pritchard, J.C., Pradhan, S.K., and Wells, K. (2010) Sharing the Load: A Guide to the Improvement of the Welfare of Working Animals through Collective Action, Practical Action Publishing, UK (forthcoming 2010). 46
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USING WELFARE ASSESSMENT TO MEASURE THE IMPACT OF COMMUNITY-BASED INTERVENTIONS IN BIJNOR, INDIA
N. C. Upreti, A. Kumar, A. Ahmad, A. C. Bishwas, P. Gogoi, R. Rao, and M. Ali
1
The objective of this pilot case study was to test and promote welfare assessment as an M&E tool in measuring the welfare changes in animals due to the Brooke's intervention. Methodology The pilot study was carried out in 5 villages (Goyali, Janderpur, Pawati, Rawati, and Shakarampur Gilada), each in a separate block in the district of Bijnor. Each village has at least 10 equines and 10 equine owners. A total of 87 and 79 equines were assessed in March 2009 and July 2009 respectively. During March and July 2009 WA, it was common for 63 equines to be assessed: the remaining equines were sold, migrated for work to another location, died (and euthanized), or the owner was absent during the time of data collection. The sampling strategy employed while planning the WA was to sample animals of all the available owners at each intensive site (census sampling). To measure the impact of welfare activities carried out by the district unit, a pre and post activity exercise (a Participatory Rural Appraisal tool) was conducted in all selected 5 villages during July August 2009. One community meeting for each of these 5 villages was conducted to carry out the pre and post activity exercises. On average 12 equine owners (total 60) participated in each of the pre and post activity exercises. The exercises were facilitated by the facilitators of Bijnor district. Thirty indicators such as regular cleaning of hooves, grooming, bathing their animals, application of discarded engine oil on wounds, group formation, vaccinating their animals against tetanus, proper farriery, practice of contacting the local health provider were decided by the owners. For each indicator a scale of 110 (1=lowest value, 10=highest value) was considered to rank each activity. Analysis of the welfare assessment data and pre and post activity exercise data was carried out separately. Then the results of both exercises were triangulated, that is the results of the welfare assessment were linked with Brooke intervention activities. During triangulation, both Brooke India team members as well as equine owners took part. Results and discussion The welfare issues that showed definite changes in the 5 villages resulting from baseline and follow-up assessments were considered for further analysis and discussion. The welfare issues are abnormal mucous membrane, heat stress, and BCS. Mucous membrane The number of animals with an abnormal mucous membrane colour increased from 32 in March to 47 in July (see Table 1). Table 1
The Brooke India, F-86 Preet Vihar, Delhi 110092, India naresh@thebrookeindia.org
Abstract The Brooke India piloted Welfare Assessment (WA) as a tool in Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) to measure the impact of its programme activities in Bijnor, a district of Uttar Pradesh state situated 160 km to the north-east of New Delhi. The study reported in this paper was carried out in 5 villages where the Brooke began working in April and May 2008. In order to measure the impact of these interventions, welfare assessments were carried out on equines in these villages in March 2009 (87 equines) and July 2009 (79 equines). In addition, information on the activities carried out since 2008 has been recorded and a 'pre and post activity' exercise a Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tool was conducted in all 5 selected villages during JulyAugust 2009 to find out the changes that had taken place in those villages. The data of WA and the pre and post activity exercise were analysed individually before triangulation of the results of both the studies was done by the Brooke India and village representatives. The results demonstrated that an increased number of animals manifested abnormal mucous membrane colour in July (from 32 in March to 47 in July): this could be associated with Surra which is more prevalent during this season. Again heat stress cases increased (from no animals in March to 7 in July): this may be correlated with extremely hot and humid weather. Welfare assessment results indicate that body condition score (BCS) decreases when there is less fodder available and the animal is worked more under harsh working conditions. The number of animals with a very thin body condition score (BCS 1) increased from 2 in March to 7 in July, and the number of animals with a medium (BCS 3) and medium-to-fat score (BCS 3.5) decreased from 16 in March to 5 in July. Introduction The WA tool was developed and tested by the Brooke UK in collaboration with Bristol University to assess the welfare state of the working equine [1]. It is an animal-based comprehensive tool consisting of 33 indicators including demographic descriptors, behavioural indicators, general and physical health indicators, and lameness indicators. This tool has been used in combination with survey questionnaires to evaluate changes in owners and their animals resulting from grooming projects [2]. Since 2003, the Brooke India has been using the WA tool to create the baseline data in all operational areas and also to direct the course of action based on its output in the form of equine welfare problems. Later on, after implementation of programme activities, WA is repeated in those areas to record the change of the animal welfare status. The Brooke India started its operations in Bijnor district during August 2007 but animal welfare activities were initiated during April-May 2008. Bijnor is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh state in India located 160 km northeast of New Delhi. Bijnor has a total of 9,306 working equine population. The activities were mostly collective community actions such as Tetanus Toxoid (TT) vaccination, purchase of feed, hair clipping machinery, and farriery tools, levelling of terrain at a brick kiln, participatory welfare needs assessment (PWNA), and linking with stakeholders such as government veterinarian, local health provider (allopathic and traditional), medical store, and cart maker. In March 2009 an animal welfare baseline was created in 24 villages in the district. Until then the welfare assessment tool was used for creating an animal welfare baseline and had not been used for measuring the impact of project intervention. But it was necessary to measure the impact of welfare activities. In order to overcome the organizational gap in M&E, the WA tool was used. During July 2009 the follow-up WA was carried out in 5 villages: Goyali, Janderpur, Pawati, Rawati, and Shakarampur Gilada where the baseline had already been created. 47
Village name No. of animals with abnormal mucous membrane colour March 2009 July 2009
Goyali
Janderpur
Pawati
Rawati
Shakarampur Gilada
3 7
10 12
6 8
8 11
5 9
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There is a likelihood of abnormal mucous membrane (mm) being associated with trypanosomiasis (Surra) which is a debilitating disease of equines commonly seen in northern India during the monsoons. A typical symptom of trypanosmiasis is an abnormal mucous membrane: either pale or anemic [3]. The cases of abnormal mucous membrane identified through assessment were also confirmed for trypanosomiasis using the treatment records of the district vet. Heat stress The number of animals with heat stress increased in all villages between the 2 assessments. In March no animal had shown signs of heat stress whereas in July cases increased to 7 (see Table 2). Table 2 Village name No. of animals showing signs of heat stress March 2009 July 2009 Goyali Janderpur Rawati Shakarampur Gilada
As can be seen in the graph, the number of animals in higher condition scores decreased in July which is known to be a time when the availability of fodder decreases and an animal's workload increases. Results of the pre and post activity exercise indicate changes in owner knowledge and practices and have been compared with the actual and expected results from the activities carried out using records from the Bijnor team. Improvements have been noticed in animal management and preventative practices, such as saddle cleaning, harness checking, cart balancing, and ensuring the correct air pressure in cart tyres. This may be related to the decrease in the wounds of girth and belly region: the number of animals with wounds in this region was 10 in March compared to 6 in July. Other activities such as regular grooming, bathing and massaging could be related to the coat heath of the animals being improved, but the adverse and dusty working conditions of the brick kilns meant there was no improvement in the coat health of the animals in July compared with March. Conclusions This study has provided the Brooke with information on a number of issues which can be used in future to further enhance our work. Many animals with which we work change owners relatively quickly. This may mean it is difficult to identify the impact we are having on the welfare of these animals. The short interval between welfare assessments and identification of individual animals meant that migration of animals did not affect the results. It had previously been assumed that BCS changes over the long term, but this has been contradicted by the WA results which show changes in BCS over a 4-month period. In addition, seasonally associated welfare changes such as mucous membrane colour and levels of heat stress indicate that, in an ideal world, impact evaluations should be carried out at 1-year intervals and in the same season. Acknowledgements for reviewing the paper Tania Dennison, Programme Adviser for Africa, The Brooke UK; Dr Syed Fareh uz Zaman, Causal Research Team Leader, The Brooke India References [1] J. C. Pritchard, A. C. Lindberg, D. C. Main, and H. R. Whay. 2005. Assessment of the welfare of working horses, mules and donkeys, using health and behaviour parameters. Preventive Veterinary Medicine. 12: 69 (3-4), 265-83. [2] T. L. Dennison, G. S. Khan, and H. R. Whay. 2008. Evaluation of a grooming project to improve the welfare of equids working in Peshawar, Pakistan: Recent advances in animal welfare science. UFAW Animal Welfare Conference, Birmingham Council House. [3] S. Dhollander, A. Jallow, K. Mbodge, S. Kora, M. Sanneh, M. Gaye, J. Bos, S. Leak, D. Berkvens, and S. Geerts. 2006. Equine trypanosomosis in the Central River Division of the Gambia: A study of veterinary gate-clinic consultation records. Preventive Veterinary Medicine. 75 (3-4), 152-62 [4] J. Nadeau. 2010. Heat stress: Too hot to trot? Equine Extension Specialist, University of Connecticut. www.horseswithoutcarriages.org/heatstress.shtml. 6 April.
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0 2
0 2
This increasing trend may be attributed to hot and humid weather, and animals working for prolonged hours [4]. During the WA data collection we recorded the temperature and relative humidity. In March 2009 the temperature ranged from 28 to 35 Celsius and the relative humidity ranged from 50 to 55 %; in July 2009 the temperature ranged from 36 to 40 Celsius and the relative humidity ranged from 65 to 75 %. Body condition score The number of animals with a low BCS (BCS 1) increased from 2 in March to 7 in July, and the number of animals with a medium (BCS 3) and upper-medium BCS (BCS 3.5) decreased from 16 in March to 5 in July (see Graph 1). Graph 1
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DESIGNING PROGRAMMES FOR SUSTAINABLE ANIMAL WELFARE IMPROVEMENT

1 1, 2 L. Van Dijk and J. C. Pritchard
Figure 1. Determinants of working animal welfare [5]
Animals in International Development, 45 The Glebe, Wrington, Bristol BS50 5LX, UK 2 The Brooke Hospital for Animals, 30 Farringdon Street, London EC4A 4HH, UK lisa@aiid.org.uk
Introduction Recently the animal welfare sector has started to recognise the need for programmes which lead to a more sustainable improvement in welfare than the traditional free or subsidised health delivery model. Research into welfare issues affecting working equine animals has revealed that many prevalent problems, such as dehydration, lameness, and wounds, cannot be prevented by simple, short-term interventions [1]. A primary focus on health service delivery might not lead us to reach our goal of improving animal welfare in both the short and long term. The global financial crisis has brought increasing realisation that external inputs from western or northern agencies may change rapidly as income fluctuates and appears less secure. This has resulted in a desire to increase the effectiveness of animal welfare programmes and to demonstrate the long-term viability of programme outcomes. A lasting improvement in one population of animals would enable us to move on to support populations in need in other regions or countries, thus increasing our impact and reach. This paper brings together our experiences with working equine welfare, community development, and promotion of public health, in order to define sustainable welfare improvement, discuss how it is influenced, and outline the programmatic approaches to achieve it. Sustainable welfare for working animals: what it is and how it is influenced Sustainability can imply persistence and the capacity to continue for a long time, or resilience and the ability to bounce back after unexpected difficulties [2]. Two aspects of sustainability have been defined [3 and 4]. One concerns the external environment, including how resources are used, enhanced, and maintained for future generations. The second is the internal environment: whether an individual, household, or family is able to cope with the inevitable stress and shocks faced in their lives; and their ability 'to perceive, pred`ict, adapt to, and exploit changes in the physical, social and economic environment'. In applying the same principles to sustainable improvement in working animal welfare, we are aiming for a situation where animals experience a level of welfare which enables them to cope with stress and shocks, including diseases and seasonal food shortages, and gives them the resilience to deal with changes in their physical and social (internal) environment. In order to achieve this, owners, users, and carers need to be able to provide the resources and services (external environment) to preserve this welfare state in animals they keep now, and maintain it for animals that may be owned in the future. Some resources, services, and management practices are within the direct control of their owners, such as which health provider to use, or whether an animal is beaten. However, many factors cannot be influenced by an individual acting alone because they are part of a wider living and working environment or socio-economic system. For example, individual ghari cart owners in Butajira, Ethiopia could not influence driving conditions, feed prices, or the work practices of other owners. By forming a Horse Owners' Association and acting collectively they were able to repair the roads where their horses worked, provide better animal feed through bulk purchase, and set regulations to avoid overloading. This demonstrates that in order to be successful in improving working animal welfare, a multi-factorial approach is necessary, focusing on the animal, the people dealing with it, and the systems within which they live and work, as illustrated by the adapted health promotion model shown in Figure 1. 51
Programmes for sustainable welfare improvement Since the 1970s, the human development sector has recognised that community participation and ownership of decision-making, particularly of decisions which affect livelihoods, are pre-requisites for sustained social change [6]. In order to implement lasting improvement in human welfare, governments and non-governmental organisations have moved away from delivering instructions and blueprint solutions, towards programmes which support and build the capacity of the community to develop their own answers to problems [7]. Clinical records from countries such as Egypt and India demonstrated that the same animals returned for veterinary treatment of the same problems over long periods of time, suggesting that advice given at the point of treatment was not sufficient to prevent welfare problems. This agrees with work [8] that shows that approaches that rely solely on providing information often have little or no effect on changing human behaviour. In the international development sector, information delivery approaches such as the Training and Visit model have been superseded widely by the group of methods commonly known as Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) [2]. Employing any form of collective structure is more likely to lead to a sustainable outcome than individuals trying to act alone [9]. Over the last 4 years, Brooke India has taken a PLA approach to animal welfare improvement, building sustainable support structures in the form of local groups for collective action. Being part of a group promotes mutual learning and develops participants' capacity to solve problems together, thus strengthening their self-reliance [10] and solving some of the welfare problems that are beyond the influence or control of individuals. The Brooke India programme now uses this approach in around 1,400 communities with the owners of almost 30,000 animals. Collective welfare monitoring has demonstrated measurable improvements in many animal husbandry practices and welfare issues, including wounds, body condition, and disease prevention. 52
We have found a lot of existing knowledge about animal health and husbandry available within every community where we work. Many welfare problems have been solved by unlocking and sharing this knowledge through discussion around the Participatory Action Tools for Animal Welfare [5]. These facilitate the processes of: (1) group formation; (2) in-depth collective analysis of primary and secondary risks to welfare (see Figure 1); (3) communityled planning for action to remove, reduce, or mitigate for these risks; and (4) regular, collective monitoring of welfare status. For example, in Khanjarpur village in Uttar Pradesh, a group of owners solved the problem of persistent wither wounds in their horses, using their own observations to identify and correct a mismatch between animal size and saddle design through two rounds of root cause analysis and testing of local solutions. In our search for lasting improvement in working animal welfare, we make use of existing local resources and animal-related service providers in the programme areas. Discussions with field staff and communities in India and Ethiopia concluded that although owners and their families make the biggest long-term difference to their animals' lives, service-providers such as government and private vets, community-based animal health workers, farriers, feed sellers, and harness-makers play an important role. Everywhere we work, local resources and service providers exist and are already used by communities to a greater or lesser extent. By strengthening and working through these service providers rather than setting up new parallel systems, we try to ensure that horses, mules, and donkeys receive accessible, affordable, appropriate and good-quality services for the lifetime of the animal and for other animals in the future. We and others [11] found that services which are provided externally, or started without extensive community consultation and investigation into the local context, often do not last once financial support is reduced or withdrawn. Discussions with service providers such as farriers and community-based animal health providers have indicated that where they formerly provided services to working animals, the presence of a parallel system has made this part of their business non-viable. Resources and services can be sustainable for the long term only if they are viable businesses demanded and paid for by animal owners, or provided by government or other local institutions in response to collective requests from communities. We have learned that effective PLA for working animal welfare is more complex than external provision of veterinary and husbandry advice, so success requires skilled and experienced facilitators. The PLA approach has succeeded in Brooke India because the organisational culture is supportive and strategies are in place to deal with the flexibility and longer timescales required, compared with a delivery-orientated approach. Conclusions Our experiences have changed the way in which we design programmes for sustainable improvement in the welfare of working animals, which differ substantially from that of primarily delivery-oriented programmes: The welfare needs of working animals are seen in the context of their whole living and working environment, as well as in relation to the delivery of health services. We have benefited from adopting approaches which have been applied successfully in promotion of public health and in the agricultural extension sector. An investment in employing and retaining experienced community development facilitators has resulted in innovative and far-reaching programmes for sustainable working equine welfare improvement. We emphasise working through existing local service providers to build their capacity, increase demand for their services, and link them with communities, helping to ensure their long-term viability as a resource for sustained improvement in working animal welfare. We suggest that organisations which aim to deliver lasting improvement in welfare should adopt a programme strategy consisting of two synergistic core approaches: 1. Community-driven improvement and collective monitoring of equine welfare 2. Working through and building the capacity of existing local service providers
By strengthening the technical (and sometimes business) capacity of local providers to deliver good-quality services for working animals, and using participatory methods with groups of owners to increase recognition and demand for good animal welfare and quality services, these two core approaches complement and enhance each other. Notes and references [1] Pritchard, J.C., Lindberg, A.C., Main, D.C.J., and Whay, H.R. (2005) Assessment of the welfare of working horses, mules and donkeys, using health and behaviour parameters. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 69, 26583. [2] Pretty, J.N. (1995) Participatory learning for sustainable agriculture. World Development 23 (8), 124763. [3] Lele, S.M. (1991) Sustainable development: a critical review. World Development 19 (6), 60721. [4] Chambers, R. and Conway G.R. (1991) Sustainable livelihoods: practical concepts for the 21st century. IDS Discussion Paper 296, Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, UK. [5] See Van Dijk, L., Pritchard, J.C., Pradhan, S.K., and Wells, K. (2010) Sharing the load: a guide to improving the welfare of working animals through collective action. Practical Action Publishing, Rugby, UK (in press); adapted from Dahlgren, G. and Whitehead, M. (1991) Policies and strategies to promote social equity in health. Institute for Futures Studies, Stockholm, Sweden. [6] Kumar, A. (1996) Quality circles and institutional culture: a proposal. Participatory Learning and Action Issue 26, International Institute for Environment and Development, London, 535. [7] Hagmann, J., Chuma, E., Murwira, K., and Connelly, M. (1999) Putting process into practice: operationalising participatory extension. Agricultural Research and Extension Network Paper 94, Overseas Development Institute, UK. [8] McKenzie-Mohr, D. and Smith, W. (1999) Fostering sustainable behaviour: an introduction to community-based social marketing. New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, Canada, ch. 1, p. 7. [9] Pretty, J.N. (1995) Regenerating agriculture, policies and practices for sustainability and self reliance. Action Aid, Bangalore, India. [10] Sharma, P.N. (ed.) (1999) Strengthening farmers' organizations for watershed management in Myanmar. a training manual. PWMTA Field Document 23, FAO, Rome, Field Operations Div., Ministry of Forestry, Yangon (Myanmar). [11] Catley, A., Blakeway, S., and Leyland, T. (2002) Taking a long-term perspective: sustainability issues. In Community-based animal healthcare: a practical guide to improving primary veterinary services. ITDG Publishing, Rugby, UK, p. 66.
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MEASURING IMPACT ON ANIMAL WELFARE AND HUMAN LIVELIHOOD: WHAT TO MEASURE AND HOW TO MEASURE IT
S. S. Gadad
Solapur Project, working for the Donkey Sanctuary India Suchitra254@rediffmail.com
more slowly. Those with wounds that were itching tended to rub their faces on the bricks, preventing the wounds from healing. Some donkeys' wounds were found to have maggots in them. The donkeys' faces were swollen and they had problems chewing their food, so they lost weight and had no energy to work. Some also developed a temperature. I then held 3 sessions with groups of 'good' donkey owners who did not cut the nostrils and 'bad' donkey owners, who did. In the first session I presented them with the research I had done and the evidence I had gathered. I talked to them about how God had created each animal and it is not good to interfere with his creation. I explained how cutting the nostrils can lead to infection, making the donkey unwell and unable to work, leading to the owner losing money. I also compared donkeys to horses, asking the owners to think about how horses are strong and fast enough to run races and pull carts even though their nostrils are not cut. Some of the owners whose donkeys had been used in the research were then asked to tell all the other owners about the effects on their income. Owners who did cut their donkeys' nostrils ('bad' owners) were asked how often their donkeys developed infections or abscesses as a result, and how often they had to call the vet to treat them. They were asked how much loss they suffered when the donkeys were unable to work. Selected 'good' owners (who did not cut their donkeys' nostrils) were then asked to spell out the income they generated from their donkeys, and they also questioned the bad owners about whether they realised they were causing severe pain to their hardworking donkeys. The second session focused on the pain suffered by the donkeys. I brought donkeys with cut nostrils to the group so that they could see how the donkeys were expressing their pain. In the third session we targeted the owners who were still having problems understanding our message, and gave them extra information about donkey welfare. The owners were given time to develop their own views and reach their own decisions on nostril-cutting. The 'bad' owners came to acknowledge that it was a cruel act which should be eliminated. But in case they did not adopt the changes and reverted to their former habits, we arranged for a group of 'good' donkey owners to monitor them and report back on those who were still continuing the practice. Those who did so were given further education and guidance to help them accept the change. Conclusion In 2006, before I started the education and awareness-raising programme, I saw 600 cases of nostril-slitting. In 2008, after 2 years of work to eliminate the practice, I saw just 3 cases. So I achieved my goal of stopping this cruel practice.
Abstract This paper gives details of how I persuaded donkey owners in the brick kilns of Solapur to stop the practice of nostril-cutting. This was achieved by carrying out research on the reasons and beliefs behind the practice, and gathering evidence to demonstrate that a donkey with its nostrils cut suffers greatly and works more slowly as a result, damaging the owner's livelihood. The evidence was presented to the owners, most of whom decided for themselves to stop the practice. Introduction Nostril-cutting is an age-old traditional practice, which owners believe helps a donkey to breathe and enables it to work better. Before 2006, I used to see between 60 and 70 cases of nostril-slitting at every working site I visited. It is carried out during the summer period, in a very cruel way the donkey is forced down on to the ground, tied with rope, and held down by several men. No painkiller is used while the nostril wounds are inflicted with a blade, which is sometimes rusty. As well as the wounds themselves, the donkey may suffer additional injuries from its struggles on the stony ground. The nostril wounds are extremely painful for the donkey for about 2 weeks, and afterwards it suffers from flies and itching. The wounds often become infected. The owners I was working with were from the lowest class and very poor. They had low literacy levels and depended on their donkeys for their major source of income working for a daily wage in the brick kiln. My planned approach was to introduce the Donkey Sanctuary India, and explain how we could be of good use to the donkey owners, by helping them take care of their bread-winning partners, the donkeys. Materials and methods Research I made a list of those donkey owners who cut their donkey's nostrils in each area, and found out the traditional reasons why they did this. I also found out the technique used for cutting the nostrils. I looked at the type of work the donkeys were used for. I also found out which donkey owners in each area did not cut the nostrils, and what type of work their donkeys were doing. Evidence For 2 weeks, 2 groups of donkeys were observed working, 1 with their nostrils cut and the other without. I drew up different charts for each group, showing the donkeys' ability to work, the speed of their work, the quantity of bricks they were carrying, how they were breathing, and their body condition. Results The comparison showed that donkeys with cut nostrils did not work any faster than those without, and were not able to carry any more bricks. The speed of each donkey's work depended on their body condition and fitness. The nostril cutting did not lead to any improvements in the donkey's work. However, some negative effects of nostril-cutting were observed. Because the donkeys were in pain, they worked
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PARTICIPATORY PLANNING, MONITORING, AND EVALUATION: A CASE STUDY, INDIA

A. Kumar, A. Singh, and A. C. Bishwas
The Brooke India, F-86 Preet Vihar, Delhi 110092, India ashwanikumar101@gmail.com
Table 1. Indicators and sub-indicators S. No. 1. 2. 3. Issue Dehydration Lip lesion Wither wound Indicators of high standard a b a b a b c a b c d a b c a a b c a b c d e a b c a b c a a Observed by pulling skin near neck Healthy equine No cut mark on lip No red spot on lip No cut on wither skin No red spot/flesh on body No beating spot on wither No cut on skin No swelling on girth No red spot (flesh) on body No beating spot on body Hairless skin No cut on skin No red spot (flesh) on chest/shoulder Hoofs of all four legs are clean No eye redness No watery discharge No dirty eye Floor should be clean / not soaked Faeces should be 1 metre away from equine Floor should be level Mud floor No bad smell in feeding trough No dirty coat Shining hair No ticks on body Alert equine Equine eats full diet Good health By making the equine walk Equine does not run away on unhobbling
Abstract Community development is a major programme of the Brooke India: it is designed to mobilise and strengthen equine-owning communities and focus on sustenance of the activities and approaches related to equine welfare. The Brooke India selected Rathoura village, in Baghpat district, Uttar Pradesh as an intensive intervention village in 20078 based on the equine population and its low welfare status with prevalence of wounds, lameness, and dehydration. Various community engagement programmes enabled the community to participate actively in intervention for equine welfare. Proactiveness of the community could also be seen through the initiation of the Participatory Welfare Needs Assessment (PWNA) process, comprising participatory planning, monitoring, and evaluating equine welfare. This has enabled the community to develop a set of indicators for taking responsibility and thereby carrying out proper intervention. The process of planning, monitoring, and evaluation has resulted in the achievement of holistic equine welfare to a significant level in this village. Introduction Rathoura village lies in Chaprolli block and is located 38 kilometres from the district headquarters. The village comprises a total of 52 equine owners with 61 equines: 52 horses, 6 mules, and 3 foals. The main source of livelihood of the owners is working in brick kilns; they also transport goods and people by cart during the brick kiln off-season. However, people belonging to the Dhobi community have marginal land holdings which provide them with some additional food security. Methods Participatory tools mobility mapping, Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP), and a transect walk were used to identify issues related to different aspects of equine management and resources. The transect walk [1] was very useful in planning the intervention and identifying areas for special consideration. Based on this walk, a chart was drawn up containing indicators such as cleanliness, wounds, saddle, fodder, etc. Discussions about the indicators identified on the transect walk led to some owners raising the question of how an indicator can be assessed correctly if there are several aspects to it. For example, stable cleaning means, among other things, the floor should be levelled, faeces should be 1 metre away from the animal, and the manger should be odourless. The owners discussed this at length and finally decided to break each indicator into appropriate segments. This discussion brought more clarity and sensitivity about every issue. Subsequently, cause and effect analysis was done on 14 issues identified with the participatory tools. Continuing the process, and keeping in mind causes, what to do, when to do it, who will do it, owners themselves prepared the Village-level Work Plan (VLWP) with indicators such as dehydration, lip lesion, wither wound, girth/belly wound, wound on chest and shoulder, etc. After developing the VLWP, the indicators were further divided into sub-indicators for monitoring and evaluation (see Table 1).
4.
Girth/belly wound
5.
Wound on chest/ shoulder
6. 7.
Cleaning of hoof Eye
8.
Cleaning of stable
9.
Grooming
10.
Timely work from equine
11. 12.
Lameness Free roaming
57
58
After this, the owners started to monitor and evaluate every issue specifically using the PWNA process. They prepared a 'traffic light' monitoring tool (giving a green dot for no problem, a blue dot for a problem of medium severity and a red dot for a severe problem) to use with the transect walk. Good planning followed by effective monitoring and evaluation [2] played a major role in enhancing the effectiveness of intervention and helped owners to focus on improving the health of their equines. The owners divided the village into 4 parts and handed over the monitoring responsibility for each part to an owners' committee in order to cover all the equines. Results and discussion During monitoring, the committee discussed the findings and encouraged owners to improve the welfare of their equines by adopting the PWNA process. Consequently, the owners developed a better understanding of the welfare of equines and started to be more compassionate towards their equines. The process of participatory planning, monitoring, and evaluation has resulted in the achievement of holistic equine welfare to a significant level. A process of participatory monitoring and evaluation (M&E) After monitoring through PWNA processes, owners thoroughly discussed the process and decided to move forward by adopting a scoring system. They divided the welfare issues, giving each a weighting according to its importance. When monitoring was initially started, the owners had a limited understanding about welfare but through this process their understanding increased and peer pressure compelled them to put their ideas into action for the betterment of equines. By the process described earlier, the owners divided each welfare issue into 3 categories of severity, namely good, medium and poor, and this new process helped them to analyse each issue in detail. This process helped the community to identify the equines (and their owners) who required more attention in comparison with those with a better welfare status. The process created a competitive environment for equine welfare in the village because the owners got immediate results of their equine's status. Impact of participatory M&E Participatory monitoring and evaluation resulted in a positive impact on each and every issue in 3 PWNA processes. These impacts have been triangulated with treatment data analysis as well as other observations and are given in Table 2. The percentage scores are derived from 3 PWNAs, based on the average collective score of owners regarding specific indicators. The trend is for the scores to increase in all types of indicator; in other words there is a reduction in the incidence of specific problems in the animals.
Table 2. Animal welfare status during 3 PWNAs, and triangulation with treatment data and observation/discussion Status during 3 PWNAs Issue % 1st PWNA 2nd PWNA Dehydration 50.00 57.00 3rd PWNA 81.50 Dehydration has reduced significantly as owners have started to give drinking water to equines regularly during work Wounds have decreased: 7* in 20078, 4 in 20089, 4 in 200910. Reduction in wither wounds may be attributed to use of better quality saddle material, changing the bindi (U-shaped padding), and a cotton/ rubber tube strap Triangulation with treatment data (*) and observation/discussion
Lip lesion Wither wound
70.50 70.00
86.50 77.33 87.00 71.00 45.00
97.50 71.00 91.75 90.67 64.00
Girth/belly wound 73.00
Wound on Chest/shoulder
64.00
Cleaning of hoof 27.00
There were significant improvements in hoof cleaning as most of the owners started to clean the stables regularly Ocular cases* have decreased: 2 in 20078, 0 in 20089, 0 in 200910 Owners started to clean the stables clean and put down dry sand. Grooming practice has improved significantly.
Eye Cleaning of stable Grooming Timely work from equine Lameness
24.00 60.20 57.33 64.00 68.00
83.33 63.80 62.00 69.67 64.00
89.33 82.60 72.67 81.67 73.00
Cases of lameness have decreased: 11 in 20078, 10 in 20089, 6 in 200910. There is now regulation against overloading at the 3 brick kilns where the owners and animals work. Load capacity has been decided and is regularly monitored by the owners; those owners who do not follow the rules are fined.
Free roaming
82.00
82.00
91.00
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CMYK
Monitoring and evaluation was not limited to this. It progressed further as the owners themselves analysed the 3 traffic light exercises of PWNA and particularly considered those owners whose animals had welfare problems in all three exercises (see Table 3). The owners divided the total scores into 5 different categories and scales in order to observe changes easily, create competition amongst themselves and induce continuous corrective action. Such analysis helped them to identify the focus areas and specific needs of equines in each welfare category. Table 3. Analysis of the 3 traffic lights of PWNA according to owner Category Very poor Poor
Satisfactory
Changes observed other than those covered in the PWNA process Equine related changes The total number of treatments has been reduced to 20 in the year 200910 from 48 and 59 in 20089 and 20078 respectively. The number of colic and respiratory cases has been reduced by a significant level: for colic, 4 in 200910 compared with 6 in 20089, and 13 in 20078; and for respiratory, 0 in 200910 compared with 5 in 20089, and 9 in 20078. Management practice related changes Previously equines were given no proper rest during work, but the owners have now initiated adequate rest periods. Resource related changes Regarding farriery work, the owners used to wait until a shoe came off before replacing it; they now remove worn-out shoes and new shoes are fitted on a regular basis to front or hind feet jointly. Cart maintenance has also improved as most owners have started to check their carts, specifically for balance, air pressure, and nut-bolts. Almost all owners have replaced wooden stumps for tethering with rubber tyres or half-buried rope. This happened after they heard of 3 equines dying in adjoining villages after sustaining fatal injuries by falling on wooden stumps. Overall changes in each welfare issue were calculated on a scale of 0-10 using the traffic light tool (red dot for most severe=0, green dot for no =10) using the average score for owners across the 3 PWNAs. These scores were further categorised into the 5 Freedoms of equine welfare: freedom from hunger and thirst, freedom from discomfort, freedom from pain, injury, and disease, freedom to express normal behaviour, and freedom from fear and distress. A Welfare Index has been calculated based on the average scores in the 3 PWNAs of all freedoms (see Graph 1).
Scale 020 2140 4160 0 1 3
1st PWNA 1 Pal Anand Rajkumar Ramesh Sanjay 2 0
2nd PWNA Ramesh Pal Sanjay Nanu 1 Nanu 2 6 Anand Manjura Sukha Bablu 2 1 0 1
3rd PWNA
No. of owners Name of owner No. of owners Name of owner No. of owners Name of owner
Ramesh Pal
Nanu 2 Manjura
Moderate
6180
Nanu 1 Nanu 2 Samedin Good 81100 7 Manjura Sukha Bablu Ram Kumar 3
Rajkumar Samedin 8
Nanu 1 Anand Samedin Sukha Rajkumar Bablu
Graph 1. Percentage changes in 5 freedoms of equine welfare and welfare index
Ram Kumar
Ram Kumar Sanjay
12
12
12
Table 3 shows changes between the 3 PWNAs in animals belonging to each owner. Anand has steadily shown a positive change by moving from the satisfactory category in the 1st PWNA, to moderate in the 2nd PWNA, and subsequently to good in the 3rd PWNA. Rajkumar moved from the satisfactory category in the 1st PWNA, to good in the 2nd PWNA, and maintained this status in the 3rd PWNA. Sanjay showed a negative change in the 2nd PWNA by moving from the moderate category in the 1st PWNA to satisfactory in the 2nd PWNA, but showed considerable improvement in the 3rd PWNA by moving to the good category. Samedin and Ram Kumar have consistently remained in the good category during all 3 PWNAs. Nanu 2 and Manjura showed a negative change by moving from the good category in the 1st PWNA to moderate in the 2nd PWNA, and remaining there in the 3rd PWNA 61 62
2 Balancing The Needs of Humans and Animals - The Ethics of Working Animal Use
Conclusions The owners' level of compassion towards their equines increased significantly, leading to corrective action on issues affecting the well-being of the animals. By initiating and actively undertaking the entire programme of participatory planning, monitoring and evaluation the owners have experienced an empowering process. References [1] Annette Kolff, Head Agriculture Team, Intercooperation Bern. November 2005. Participatory monitoring and evaluation. NGO Programme KTN Series, Field Experiences, Karnataka-Tamil Nadu. 1. Page 7. [2] UNDP. 2009. Handbook on planning, monitoring and evaluating for development results. Chapter 1, Page 6.
ANIMAL WELFARE FOR WORKING EQUIDS: A CASE OF CULTURAL IMPERIALISM?

P. Sande
Danish Centre for Bioethics and Risk Assessment, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 25, DK-1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark pes@life.ku.dk
Introduction Concern about animal welfare has so far mainly been a preoccupation of rich countries in the West. However, until fairly recently the dominant view in the West was to assume without question that animals are there for us to use. Therefore there were very few ethical limits to animal use indeed. This changed in the early nineteenth century when movements and legislation aiming to prevent cruelty to animals first appeared. Next, the idea of animal welfare emerged; this was after the Second World War. The focus here changed from protecting animals from meaningless cruelty to shielding them from the adverse side-effects of intensive animal production and other forms of animal use. Of late, new attitudes to companion animals have developed, and this has given rise to the idea that animals deserve not only protection but also respect [1]. Throughout these developments in the moral agenda on animal treatment in the West, horses have appeared towards the top of the list. Thus cruelty against working horses appeared in the early anti-cruelty legislation while other species of animals were exempted. After the Second World War, in the more prosperous western countries, horses were rendered redundant by tractors and other agricultural machinery. Later they reappeared as companion animals. As a consequence, in these countries horses nowadays tend to enjoy more extensive protection than other farm animals. For example, in the United States, where very limited protection for farm animals exists, a ban on horse slaughter has now been put in place. With globalization the West has become increasingly aware of animal welfare in the developing world; and a growing number of animal welfare and animal rights NGOs take an interest in animal welfare issues in developing world countries. This is likely to affect other issues such as trade and aid. However, in many countries in the developing world animal welfare does not seem to play the same role as it does in the West. The animal welfare legislation that is in place in this part of the developing world is very often a legacy of imperial occupation; and against this background one might ask whether the western interest in animal welfare standards in the developing world can be seen as a case of cultural imperialism. This question is the focus of the present presentation. Before addressing the argument directly I will try to outline how concern about animal welfare in the West might affect developing world countries. How concern about animal welfare in the West may affect developing countries Western concerns about animal welfare could affect animal use in the developing world in 3 ways. First, through international organizations such as the OIE international agreements may be made which impose minimal welfare standards on poor countries. However, experience within the EU suggests that any such standards will be limited and difficult to enforce. Second, companies in wealthy parts of the world importing products from the developing world might work to their own animal welfare standards. Often these will be driven forward by media reports and lobbying by international welfare and animal rights organizations. The standards might be introduced as part of a product specification. Just as there are specifications governing such matters as the use of child labour, company rules may limit the ways in which working equids can be used and treated. Third, in several ways requirements on animal welfare might come to be tied up with aid to the developing world. This is most likely to happen where a project funded by aid involves animal use. Suppose it were to emerge, for example, in the western media, that (what by our standards counts as) severe cruelty to animals was taking place
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in a project financed by western taxpayers' money. This would probably lead to a public and political outcry, and this in turn could have a negative impact on aid to the developing world in general. Even if forecasts such as these are realistic, it makes sense to ask whether it is acceptable for wealthy citizens in the western world to impose their own standards of animal welfare on people who do not share them in the developing world. The poor man's ethics argument The question whether it is acceptable for people in the West to impose their standards of animal welfare on people in the developing world has been addressed in a paper by Doerfler and Peters. They raise the issue specifically in relation to agricultural production: The introduction of European ethical standards in tropical livestock agriculture is critical because it ignores existing moral standards in other cultures that constitute the individual and social identity of human beings in those cultures. Natural conditions widely determine decisions in animal agriculture and animal treatment. The magnitude of human intervention within the production system and the level of economic/technological development have an influence on ethical queries. [2] In this passage, and in the paper from which it originates, two lines of argument run in parallel. According to the first, it is wrong for people in the developed world to impose particular standards of animal welfare on people in less wealthy countries if the latter do not hold the ethical beliefs that support those standards as part of their cultural identity. As a matter of fact, people in less wealthy countries do not share our ethical outlook, and hence by imposing our standards we show a lack of respect for their cultural values. The second line of argument alleges that the way animals are kept in parts of the developing world reflects local conditions and cannot be changed. Thus, for example, where animal production is extensively based on pasture, it is inevitable that the animals will at times suffer as a consequence of food shortage owing to dry weather. Animals will suffer - as will humans - but this is due to natural and not human limitations. So far as this second line of argument is concerned, it is my clear impression that few, if any, observers living in the developed world will complain about animal hardships elsewhere if they are convinced that the suffering reflects inescapable local conditions and goes hand in hand with human misery. However, there probably will be disquiet if the claim is instead that just because people live in poor conditions they need to not treat their animals well. And controversy will arise if alternative approaches to animal use are available but are being resisted for cultural reasons. But this returns us to the first line of argument, which seems to raise the key issue. Are rich people in the West entitled to impose their standards of animal welfare on people who do not share their culturally formed perspective on animal ethics? This is a variety of what might be called the poor man's ethics argument. The case of human rights can be invoked to cast doubt on the general assumption, apparently underlying the poor man's ethics argument, that we are not entitled to impose ethical standards on people who do not share them. When it comes to issues of human rights, the dominant view now seems to be just the opposite: it is not just acceptable but desirable - and indeed many would say that people in the rich part of the world have a duty - to ensure that such rights are respected everywhere. The rights are, after all, human rights. Let me ask, then, whether animal welfare requirements are similar in this respect. One obvious difference emerges in international law. Human rights are underwritten by international conventions, which have been signed by a sufficient number of nations to be elevated to the status of international law. In reality and, in particular, politically - this makes a huge difference. However, it must be borne in mind that there was a time when human rights were not underwritten by international law. The question therefore is: Would it have been acceptable for developed countries to impose respect for human rights on less developed countries through trade
restrictions and the like at that time? Many commentators would answer 'Yes': they would insist that human rights are part of international law because they are universally valid, and not the other way round. Is it acceptable, then, to impose animal welfare requirements on other countries before their incorporation in international law - as it seems to have been with human rights? It might be said that the parallel is at odds with the following, reasonable, principle of tolerance. Except in cases where human rights (or entitlements of similar moral significance) are involved, people should be allowed to decide for themselves about ethical issues. Obviously, however, advocates of the animal cause will want to insist that animal welfare requirements are of similar moral significance to human rights. (They are after all thought of as animal rights, not western animal rights.) This, they might point out, is precisely why richer countries tend to have stringent animal welfare legislation. It is also why, with the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997, 'respect for the welfare of animals as sentient beings' was written into the EU treaty. Even if those holding these views are a minority, most people would probably agree nonetheless that it is reasonable to require that certain minimum standards of animal welfare are met in projects paid for by taxpayers in the developed world. On balance, the argument for resisting 'animal welfare imperialism' seems less than fully persuasive. It seems reasonable to insist that moderate standards of animal welfare are maintained in developing countries, not least when aid is involved. This is not at all to deny, of course, that the conditions under which animals are kept in some countries can introduce very real mitigating circumstances. Notes and references [1] For a fuller discussion of these ideas, see Sande, P. and Christiansen, S.B. (2008) Ethics of animal use. Blackwell, Oxford. [2] Doerfler, R.L. and K.J. Peters (2006) The relativity of ethical issues in animal agriculture related to different cultures and production conditions. Livestock Production Science 103: 25762.
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THE ETHICS OF CONDUCTING ANIMAL WELFARE RESEARCH IN POOR COMMUNITIES

H. R. Whay
University of Bristol, Animal Welfare and Behaviour Group, Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, Langford, Bristol Bec.Whay@bristol.ac.uk
1. Where the horse or donkey owners are too poor, vulnerable, or insufficiently educated to clearly understand the
scientific ideas being explained to them (e.g. explaining a vaccine trial) [3]
2. Where the researchers appear empowered and official 3. Where the owners have other dependency links with the researchers (e.g. expectations of free veterinary
services) 4. In very hierarchical societies where neither the researchers nor owners are familiar with participating in the type of discussion needed for obtaining informed consent Invasive animal research Research that can cause pain, suffering, or lasting harm to an animal is very tightly regulated in countries such as the UK. Even a procedure which is a common part of daily veterinary practice, such as venipuncture to obtain a blood sample, is regulated when it is used for research purposes as the animal will be exposed to the pain of needle insertion without obtaining any direct and benefit from the procedure. Such regulation is in place for the protection of both the animals involved in research and the researchers themselves. Unfortunately many countries in the developing world do not have or enforce such stringent regulation. Nyika [5] discusses the growing phenomenon of animal research being exported to developing countries to circumnavigate the legal protections placed on animals in western countries. While animal welfare research is intended to benefit animals, the fact that the legal protections are not in place or enforced does not mean that researchers and clinicians should not apply the same rigour to their study design. Factors to consider include the impact of the research on the research animal verses the benefit to the species. Ensuring an experimental design which has fully considered the 3Rs (reduction, refinement, and replacement) in relation to animals used means using good statistical analysis to ensure the minimum numbers of animals possible are involved in invasive studies and pre-identifying endpoints for procedures, e.g. limiting venipuncture to two attempts only. Intervention studies A growing area of animal welfare science, and one that is particularly relevant to working equids in poor communities, is intervention studies. Such studies aim to bring about changes, hopefully improvements, in animals' lives through reducing welfare problems. Intervention studies are intended to: 1. Directly benefit the animals involved 2. Allow us to learn which intervention approaches work most effectively, and 3. Provide us with more information about the causes of welfare problems Field studies and Participatory Learning and Action projects that involve working directly with equine owners to implement interventions on their own animals are most likely to have the greatest welfare impact and to be sustained in the long term. However, such studies also carry some inherent ethical risks. First, in general interventions are being targeted at the poorest communities where both the humans and animals are living extremely difficult lives. In such circumstances asking owners to make even very small changes may represent huge economic risks. For example, a horse owner who agrees to park his tonga horse in the shade while it is not working may lose custom because he is not directly available for customers. The loss of even one customer can represent an economic catastrophe. Second, if an intervention focuses on one major welfare problem, for example improving body condition, at the same time there may be a commensurate deterioration in another aspect of the animal's welfare, e.g. as the horse gains weight the harnesses become tight and causes pain. The greatest care is needed in running interventions that affect vulnerable animals and people; plenty of time should be taken to plan and implement them; and careful and responsive monitoring should be put in place to intercept problems as soon as they develop. Control groups Related to intervention studies is the need for control groups. Control groups allow us to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention and can distinguish changes seen in an experimental group from changes that were occurring in
Introduction Ethics is often thought of as the rules that distinguish between right and wrong, but it covers far broader issues than those governed by legislation alone. However, ethical questions are not always clear cut, so part of the function of ethics is to provide frameworks within which to think through moral questions. In research, ensuring good ethical practices protects the quality of the work done, allows collaborative work built on trust, holds researchers accountable, and protects research subjects [1]. For these reasons, applying ethical consideration to animal welfare research in poor communities is essential. Animal welfare research is generally seen as 'positive' animal experimentation. The purpose is to benefit the species on which the research is conducted. In much the same way that testing medicines and medical techniques for human benefit on humans is seen as morally acceptable. However, animals such as working equids and their impoverished owners may be particularly vulnerable to intentional or unintentional exploitation. Where people and animals are living in very impoverished and vulnerable circumstances researchers may feel a strong imperative to investigate and document their suffering [2]. This may be of considerable value in drawing attention to the plight of such people and animals and provide valuable information about how their condition may be improved. The cautionary point made by Macklin [3] is that such subjects are very easily manipulated by empowered researchers, this would amount to exploitation and exploitation is morally wrong. Animal welfare research is driven by a desire to improve the lives of animals. Approaches include cataloguing their problems, understanding the causes of such problems and instigating interventions to test hypotheses and implement changes [4]. This admirable desire does have the potential to lead to a lack of ethical questioning about how the research is being conducted. As more sophisticated methodologies and development approaches that aim to explore the personal situations and livelihoods of owners, their families, and wider communities are integrated with experiment design there is potential to overstep ethical boundaries of animal experimentation and human vulnerability. Researches may in fact become so 'goal' focused that they fail to review the route they use to get there. The following sections give examples of some ethical dilemmas associated with animal welfare research in developing countries. The list is not exhaustive and all research studies, clinical studies, and participatory learning and action projects should be subjected to ethical review before, during, and after they are run. Informed consent The concept of informed consent applies to both medical/veterinary and social research. It is the word 'informed' which is of critical importance. For example, simply asking a donkey owner if we can look at his animal is only a request for consent. However, explaining that while looking at the animal we will remove the harness, take the animal out of the owner's sight, take a blood sample, and that this process will take an hour, and then seeing whether the owner will agree is a request for informed consent. The problem with requesting informed consent is that it increases the likelihood of owners refusing their consent. This can result in difficulty recruiting sufficient animals or people on to a study, can bias sampling, and increase the time taken to conduct research. In the developed world the concept of informed consent is enshrined in research and provides legal protection for all involved. In the developing world there are many circumstances which can make it difficult to obtain informed consent to use an animal or person in research:
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the population as a whole. Factors outside the control of the study such a global economic recession, civil war, or the end of a drought can all cause a general change in animal and/or human welfare that would be attributed to the intervention if a separate control group is not used. The concern with control groups is that by implication an intervention or 'treatment' that we have reason to believe will be effective is being withheld. In poor communities this feels like a further injustice that is being added to their already difficult lives and that we are practising a deception in much the same way as when we fail to achieve informed consent. However, without control groups the research will be virtually meaningless. So far there seems to be no very good solution to this problem. Options include designing studies with 2 different interventions so that a 'positive' control is used (this still has scientific limitations in this context) or ensuring that at the end of the study the control groups are the first and most resourced recipients of the roll-out of the new approach. Conclusions The above examples illustrate how important ethical consideration is in animal welfare research among poor communities. It is the ethical review of our practices that ensures we have fully considered the implications of what we intend to do and that we have weighed up the potential costs and benefits to those involved. Ethical reasoning is often presented as complex and inaccessible to non-ethicists. It is the problems that are complex and not always easy to resolve: ethics should be seen as a tool to help give due consideration to such problems and to ensure that the interests of stakeholders, particularly the animals and owners from poor communities, are given equal and fair consideration against those of the researchers, research funders, practitioners, and welfare charities. Recommended further reading
Sande P and Christiansen S B, Ethics of animal use. Blackwell Publishing. 2008. Animal ethics dilemma, http://ae.imcode.com/en/1001. 'Ethics and animal farming: Using the ethical matrix to make ethical decisions about animal farming',
REVIEW OF BROOKE INDIA EUTHANASIA POLICY (2006-08) TO FACILITATE DECISION MAKING

P. Gogoi and M. Valliyate The Brooke India, F-86 Preet Vihar, Delhi 110092, India prakashg@thebrookeindia.org Abstract The Brooke India is working in 7 Indian states with 20 equine welfare units at district level. This working equine population is being sustained by marginalized livestock owners. The animals are an important means of transportation of goods and people, particularly in hilly areas; they are also used in the brick kiln, tourism and farming industries. Equine owners view their animals not only in terms of economic support but also with emotional attachment. In the Brooke, euthanasia is one of the major means of relieving immediate and long lasting pain and suffering commonly encountered in working equines. This paper aims to review the Brooke India euthanasia activity during a 3-year period (2006-8) in terms of its direct and partnership operations, unit-wise accomplishment, compensation money, seasonality, species, work type, and circumstances of euthanasia. The paper uses information gathered from 256 reported cases of euthanasia. It was observed that 9 District Equine Welfare Units (DEWU) reported a total of 145 cases of euthanasia; and 3 Partner Equine Welfare Units (PEWU) reported a total of 111 during the specified period. The findings highlight the number of euthanized animals according to work type, species, and equine welfare unit. Lameness is the most prevalent cause of euthanasia: of 256 euthanasia cases, 42 were the result of problems related to lameness. Quantifying such operational and clinical issues across all operational units will facilitate the organization's decision making. It will also support Brooke India and other animal organizations in focusing on the causes and prevention of pain and suffering in animals. Introduction In the Brooke, euthanasia is one of the major means of relieving immediate and long-lasting pain and suffering commonly encountered in working equines. The Brooke has laid out policies and protocols to practise and promote euthanasia within the organization as well as at institutional and stakeholder levels. It is now necessary to evaluate trends in euthanasia, so that the policies and protocols can be revised and updated where necessary. The Brooke treatment data were used to look at certain specific variables, such as the number of animals euthanized in relation to species, work types, the terminal cause of suffering by the animal, seasonal trends, compensation paid and the understanding developed among Brooke staff and other stakeholders on the concept of euthanasia and its implementation. Definition The term euthanasia is derived from the Greek words 'eu' meaning 'good' and 'thanatos' meaning 'death'. Euthanasia means a good death. The average person defines euthanasia in lay terms as 'putting a horse to sleep' or 'putting a horse down'. The understanding is that euthanasia is pain free and peaceful. The act of going to sleep is a pleasant and pain-free experience. Guidelines for recommending euthanasia The following criteria were used to evaluate the immediate necessity for euthanasia of animals to avoid incurable, excessive, and unnecessary suffering:
www.ethicalmatrix.net. Notes and references [1] Adapted from Resnik D B, 'What is ethics in research and why is it important?', 2010, www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis.cfm. [2] Zion D, Briskman L, and Bebe L, 'Returning to history: The ethics of researching asylum seeker health in Australia', American Journal of Bioethics, Vol 10, No. 2, 2010, pp. 4856. [3] Macklin R, 'Bioiethics, vulnerability, and protection', Bioethics, Vol 17, Nos 56., 2003, pp. 47286. [4] Whay H R, 'The journey to animal welfare improvement', Animal Welfare, Vol 16, 2007, pp. 11722. [5] Nyika A, 'Animal research ethics in Africa: An overview', Acta Tropica, Vol 112S, 2009, pp. S48S52.
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1. 2. 3. 4.
Is the condition chronic and incurable? Does the immediate condition carry a hopeless prognosis for life? Is the horse a hazard to itself or its handlers? Will the horse require continuous medication for the relief of pain for the remainder of its life?
Graph 2. Euthanasia cases by species
Coping with the loss Owners purchase their horses to support their livelihood. After a horse has died, it is natural and normal to feel grief and sorrow for the animal owner and their family. To ease the emotional and financial loss, the Brooke used to pay a token amount to the animal owner as well as to bury the animal properly. Method The Brooke clinical teams working in different districts kept records of their activities, including euthanasia cases. A 'Euthanasia form' was used to obtain the consent of the animal's owner and information about the animal, including its identification, species, work type, and circumstances necessitating euthanasia. The Euthanasia forms of 2006, 2007, and 2008 were collected from DEWUs and PEWUs and data compiled to analyse the situation, using Microsoft Excel. However, due to the lack of an organized reporting system no data relating to euthanasia were recorded in PEWUs during 2006. Results The results of the study are set out according to operational and clinical importance. Euthanasia cases in DEWUs and PEWUs Compilation of euthanasia reports from May 2006 to September 2008 gives a total of 256 euthanasia cases, which includes direct and partner operations. Nine DEWUs reported a total of 145 cases; and 3 PEWUs reported a total of 111 during 2007 and 2008 (Graph 1). Graph 1. Euthanasia cases in DEWUs and PEWUs
The clinical causes of euthanasia There were more than 15 major reasons causing veterinarians conduct euthanasia, involving incurable conditions or highly painful/suffering states. Among these were lameness, surra (trypanosomiasis), wounds, and gastrointestinal tract (GIT) diseases. Out of 256 cases, 42 were the result of problems related to lameness (Graph 3). Graph 3. Clinical causes of euthanasia
Euthanasia cases according to species Analysis of species shows that a total of 171 horses, 26 mules, and 58 donkeys were euthanized (Graph 2). The species of one animal euthanized in a DEWU was not reported. 71 72
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Euthanasia cases according to work type The data analysis shows that brick-kiln cart animals (BKC) and animals transporting goods by cart (TGC) were the highest risk group. A total of 33 BKC and 94 TGC were euthanized during the period (Graph 4). The graph also shows the number of work type wise euthanasia case by work type, including brick-kiln animal with pack saddle (BKP), ceremonial (Cer), foal, riding, transporting goods in pack saddle (TGP), and other, such as engaged in breeding. Graph 4. Euthanasia cases by work type
Occurrence of euthanasia cases according to unit Analysis by unit shows that DEWUs Baghpath, Bulandshar, and Saharanpur had fewer cases of euthanasia than Ghaziabad, Meerut, Muzaffar Nagar, Delhi and Noida (Graph 6). Graph 6. Euthanasia cases by unit
Compensation for euthanasia Data on compensation for a 6-month period (April-September 2007) were analysed to assess the utilization of the euthanasia fund (Graph 7). The amount of compensation paid varied from unit to unit and case to case, as it was decided by the veterinarian concerned according to circumstances. The seasonal pattern of euthanasia cases In 2006, the data show a moderate rise in DEWU cases during September (there was no reporting of euthanasia cases in PEWUs for this year). In 2007 again a rise is discernible during August to October. In 2008, there is in cases in May (Graph 5). Graph 5. The seasonal pattern of euthanasia cases The Ghaziabad and Delhi units spent 12,150 rupees and 5,200 rupees as compensation for 10 and 11 euthanasia cases respectively. In the same period, 5 animals were euthanized in Bulandshar without any compensation being paid to their owners. Graph 7. Compensation for euthanasia, April-September 2007
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3 Livelihoods, Rural Transport and the Global Context
This review of 256 cases of euthanasia over a 3-year time period provides an overall picture of Brooke India's euthanasia policy and interrelated issues. It necessarily does not represent the skills of Brooke veterinarians or views of animal owners towards euthanasia. The review and analysis derive from the 'Euthanasia form', which is mandatory for veterinarians to complete before euthanizing an animal, and which provides authentic operational and clinical information. The study demonstrates that there were more cases of euthanasia for horses than for mules and donkeys. across all units. Chronic lameness, surra, and wounds were the major clinical causes for euthanasia, although the animals may also have suffered from multiple problems. Seasonality of euthanasia could not be clearly discerned. However, moderate rises shown in the months of September and May may relate to the beginning and end of summer. The data for number of animals and amount of money spent to compensate the animal owners for euthanasia varies widely across units. This may demonstrate the units' independence in decision making and the differing socio-economic status of animal owners. It is evident that money spent on compensation was not proportionate to numbers of euthanasia cases: see Saharanpur (2 cases against 1,500 rupees) and Bulandshar (5 cases against no compensation money). The study will enable decision makers to review their activity and make necessary amendments to their policies and field operations. It will also help them to compare their direct operations with partnership operations. Organizations that care for equine animals can work on preventative measures for the main causes of euthanasia revealed in the study and other risk factors which lead to pain and suffering of animals. Further reading Euthanasia Policy for Working Horses, Mules and Donkeys, The Brooke's Welfare Policy. AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia (Formerly Report on AVMA Panel on Euthanasia), June 2007. M Berghs, B Dierckx de Casterl, and C Gastmans, 'The complexity of nurses' attitudes toward euthanasia: a review of the literature', Journal of Medical Ethics 2005, 31: 441-6, October 2004. T De Beer, C Gastmans, and B Dierckx de Casterl, 'Involvement of nurses in euthanasia: a review of the literature', Journal of Medical Ethics 2004, 30: 494-8, August 2003.
MODERNIZING RURAL LIVELIHOODS AND TRANSPORT IN AFRICA: DIRECTIONS AND DILEMMAS

D. F. Bryceson
Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
Modernizing agriculture and building rural roads for farming populations throughout the developing world have constituted the cornerstone of post-colonial development policies for the past 5 decades. The rational appears both reasonable and laudable. In most developing countries, populations have been overwhelmingly rural. Increasing their productivity and mobility has been seen as the most effective way of alleviating poverty and modernizing the nation. In addition to facilitating access to improved agricultural inputs and techniques, roads are intended to eliminate the disadvantage of rural remoteness, making it possible for rural dwellers to raise their standard of living. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the nature of the modernity being sought and the necessity for placing emphasis on roads rather than mobility on or off roads can be questioned. This paper considers the changing nature of African smallholder farmers, specifically their experience of deagrarianization, before turning to 3 key issues of rural welfare, namely: the improvement of agricultural yields, the diversification of non-agricultural activities, and the feasibility of rural transport interventions in Africa. Disappearing peasant farmers Peasantries, who have formed the bulk of the world's population for millennia, reside in rural areas, earning their living on the land as farmers engaged in both subsistence and commodity production. Their family units form the nucleus for organizing production, consumption, human reproduction, socialization, welfare, and risk-spreading. Peasant cash crop producers provided the political force behind the national independence movements that swept the African continent in the 1950s and formed the foundation for the economies of the newly independent countries that came into being in the 1960s. During that decade the economic performance of African countries was promising. African and Asian countries were both part of the 'third world' striving for higher standards of living. United Nations agencies and bilateral donors prioritized the modernization of peasant agriculture. The success of Green Revolution investments in raising rice and wheat yields in South Asia during the 1960s led African governments and donors to invest in developing staple food improvement packages, especially for maize. Beginning in the 1970s, peasant farmers in many African countries participated in subsidized fertilizer and seed programmes and began to experience increasing yields. Why do African staple food yields still lag behind those of the rest of the world? The African continent's improving staple food yields were short lived. In the mid-1970s, the economic shock of the oil crises undermined African peasants' prospects and their national economies. Most African governments had established agricultural parastatals to handle the marketing of the widely fluctuating stocks of commercial staple food crops produced by peasants. Peasants had been availed fixed pan-territorial prices regardless of the distance that they were located from urban centres of staple food demand. This, in addition to peasant farmers' subsidized crop input packages, had successfully incentivized peasant grain production. But, at the time of the oil crisis, as the cost of surface transport escalated, parastatal finances became severely stretched. This marked a profound turning point in the tripartite relationship between peasant producers, state infrastructure providers, and the global market.
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Peasant households were scattered throughout the length and breadth of the immense but sparsely populated African continent. Rising oil prices quickly undermined the competitiveness of their agricultural exports, which had to be transported exceptionally long distances to ports. African governments became severely indebted and were forced to seek debt financing from the IMF. In doing so, the World Bank and IMF gained leverage and soon the lead in African policy formulation with the introduction of structural adjustment programmes (SAP) aimed at reducing the role of the state in the economy and cutting back on state-provided infrastructure and services. SAP spelled the end of attempts to raise peasant staple food yields. Fertilizer and seed subsidy packages were retracted and yields declined: farmers deeply resented this, blaming the state for the subsidy removal. International financial institution-enforced economic liberalization policies compounded the problem with the dismantling of the market and productive service infrastructure that had ensured timely marketing and crop quality control for Africa's major cash crop exports since the colonial period. African peasant farmers' beverage and other traditional cash crop output was eroded. The 1980s is considered to be Africa's lost decade. Cutbacks in rural health, education, and, above all, agricultural support programmes produced a widespread malaise. Western donors seemed oblivious to the impact of SAP policies on peasant producers. In effect, SAP short-circuited the African Green Revolution efforts that they had previously initiated in collaboration with African governments. Aid disbursement to agriculture declined precipitously in the 1990s along with a long-term secular decline in the terms of trade for agricultural exports. In OECD countries, the falling prices have been offset by extremely high levels of agricultural subsidy to farmers, advantaging them relative to developing country farmers. Most recently, the growth and concentration of private agro-industrial enterprises has been impacting on commodity, rural labour, and, increasingly, land markets. Systems of biotechnology, global value chains, supermarket trade channels, and just-in-time production have spread. In the face of these trends, the remote locations and smaller scale of production of African peasants make it more difficult for them to meet delivery market specifications of regularity and product standardization and the productivity gap between African smallholder and western large-scale production. African farmers' value added averages $335 as opposed to $39,000 for farmers in the United States [1]. Rural ways of life, which have evolved over the millennia in Africa, have been finely tuned to the local environment, social consensus, and political balance. The undermining of the local economies of these communities suddenly by market shocks or gradually by worsening terms of trade, market disincentives, and obstacles has already and will continue to cause adverse welfare repercussions, social upheaval, and political destabilization. What do people do instead of farming? Over the last 30 years, Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced a process of deagrarianization entailing a reduction of household-based labour expenditure and agriculturally focused activities within peasant households. Rural intrahousehold relations are now characterized by more individualized decision-making. Local social norms are breaking down and inter-household economic differentiation is generating winners and losers, corroding the egalitarian legacy of tribal and other closely related communities. Deagrarianization in rural Africa has triggered depeasantization whereby a peasant household's work is less agricultural in nature and peasant households and communities have lost their coherence as social and economic units. The most salient trends in Sub-Saharan Africa have been a surge in a variety of non-agricultural activities, notably trade and mining, in place of export crop production. Activities formerly done on some sort of local exchange basis or as a contribution to village life are increasingly performed for cash. Money earning on the part of various categories of family labour becomes more common. Women, as wives, as well as youth and even in some cases children, may join male heads of household in working for cash. Households have gained multiple income streams, which are not always pooled within the household. Wives and youth may acquire some degree of autonomy over their earnings and make their own discretionary purchases. 77
Work experimentation is widely prevalent. Engagement in non-agricultural activities is no longer reserved for the agricultural off-season. Individuals may pursue 2 or more livelihood activities simultaneously or serially switch from one activity to another in the process of experimentation, trying to offset losses in one with gains in another. In many areas rural local purchasing power has imposed severe constraints such that people, especially youth, are motivated to be more mobile or migrate in order to facilitate their trading or other occupational activities. While it has been observed that cash-based work is on the increase, people have retained a strong desire to achieve basic staple food self-sufficiency at the household level as much as possible to avert having to be reliant on purchased food. The issue is to achieve a balance between subsistence food and income-generating work such that the rural household always has a subsistence fallback in case any or all of their other cash-earning activities fail. The array of work alternatives to agriculture is continually proliferating. Local services have dominated in more remote areas with restricted local markets and low income-earning populations that were historically not heavily involved in agricultural commodity production. Will roads and motorization solve the mobility restrictions of African rural dwellers? European colonial transport investment in Africa during the early part of the 20th century concentrated on railway construction, whereas the post-colonial transport policies of African states focused on building roads. Policymakers are primarily attuned to road development, but the African poor of the 21st century do not have the modal means at their disposal to fully benefit from roads. Only a small minority of the African population, those from the wealthy or possibly middle-income brackets, own cars (Table 1). The vast majority of daily trips beyond the confines of one's house in both rural and urban Africa are walking trips, even in well-connected settlements which have good road access. Historically the presence of tsetse and African horse sickness largely precluded the use of horses, although donkeys are utilized in some areas. Ethiopia is the notable exception with heavy reliance on equid transport. Approximately 45 percent of rural household trips are animal-aided [2]. The rural poor are the least mobile in terms of daily kilometres travelled and speed in rural Africa. A study of travel patterns in Uganda and Zimbabwe [3] showed they are generally 4 times less mobile than the rural high-income population by distance travelled and likelihood of availing themselves of fare-paid travel. The vast majority of trips are by foot. Wherever roads are built, the poor are the least likely to use and benefit from the road because the transport utility of a road i.e. its facility to make travel faster, cheaper, more reliable and/or safer is modaldependent. Those without ownership of wheeled motorized transport or money to travel on buses are likely to derive minimal benefit from their proximity to a road. A comparison of Zambian, Ethiopian, and Vietnamese rural dwellers' access to various forms of modal means of transport reveals interesting differentiation of mobility patterns. Vietnamese rural dwellers had a mobility advantage in all modes of transport except pack animals. The Vietnamese higher income groups are availed considerable access to motorized transport, notably motorbikes. By contrast, the high-, medium-, and low-income groups of Ethiopia generally do not own motor vehicles. The Vietnamese were in the habit of making shorter but far more frequent trips relative to their African counterparts. Table 1. Household ownership/access to modal means of transport (% of households) [4] Motorcycle Vietnam Ethiopia Zambia 25 0 0 Bus access 78 49* 15 Pack animal 32 59 10 Bicycle 55 0 38
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Thus, long-trip distances are not necessarily a positive sign of high mobility. They represent forced circumstances. People seek to minimize their trip distances especially when they are not availed motorized transport. On the other hand, when they are not availed proximate social services they travel longer distances out of necessity. They are more mobile, in a negative rather than positive sense. Conclusion Contrary to the view that peasant smallholders are backward, unproductive agricultural producers representing an archaic way of life, I have argued that rural trends over the last 3 decades have testified to the ingenuity and determination of diversifying small-scale rural producers in circumstances of protracted capital and infrastructural deprivation. For millennia, peasantries, practising various combinations of commercial and subsistence production, have endured. It could be argued more generally that peasants represent the most demographically numerous and enduring livelihood form in the world through recorded historical time. In an age of global financial crises, perhaps the economic wisdom of such conservative, yet highly adaptive and flexible livelihoods can be better appreciated. Why has there been such disdain and disregard for African small-scale rural producers and an inability to distinguish the potentiality of their agency as opposed to the deprivating context within which they are now marginalized? Due to a sequence of international policies triggered by the 1970s oil crises, African peasant agriculture was effectively jettisoned from the western donor development agenda. African governments, in the throes of debt conditionality, have been unable to address the productive needs of their rural electorates. In the name of modernization and efficiency, smallholder livelihoods have been marginalized with enormous consequences for social coherence and cultural continuity. Perhaps the shock of the global food price and financial crisis will open the minds of western donors to the possibility that African smallholder peasants not only have agricultural potential but social wisdom and economic caution about trusting all to the market. It is hoped that in the future enlightened donors and African governments will substitute their food aid and food imports to the continent with investment in African smallholder agriculture. The road bias in African transport policy is misplaced in terms of its naive assumption that road investment will necessarily lead to poverty alleviation. Motorized transport is largely the preserve of the well-off in urban areas. The key issue, so often ignored in African transport policy and which comes heavily to bear, is the mobile agent's choice of a transport modality. This is rarely a 'free choice' for the income-constrained poor. The cost of motorized transport is beyond the vast majority of rural Africans who mostly walk to their destinations. Efforts to make the poor more mobile should be directed at non-motorized transport, including equids, in the first instance in tune with environmental sustainability. Notes and references [1] World Development Indicators 2009, http://publications.worldbank.org/subscriptions/ WDI/WDI.html. [2] Bryceson, D.F., A. Davis, F. Ahmed, and T. Bradbury, April 2005, 'Framework for the Inclusion of Social Benefits in Transport Planning: Final Report', Transport Road Lab (TRL)/DFID, UK. [3] Bryceson, D.F., D.A.C. Maunder, T.C. Mbara, R. Kibombo, A.S.C. Davis, and J. Howe, 2003, 'Sustainable Livelihoods, Mobility and Access Needs', TRL Report 544, Crowthorne, UK. [4] See Bryceson et al., 2005, note 2, p. 52.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR NGOS INVOLVED WITH THE DRAUGHT SECTOR TO CONTRIBUTE TO NATIONAL LIVESTOCK POLICY FRAMEWORKS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
A. Walker-Okello
African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), Gigiri Court, Off United Nations Crescent, PO Box 45917 00 100, Nairobi, Kenya; and University of Edinburgh (CTVM/Centre for African Studies), 1 Summerhall Square, Edinburgh EH9 1QH, UK walker_anna19@hotmail.com
Abstract There is a large amount of evidence, both scientific and anecdotal, to suggest that draught power plays an important role in securing livelihoods in many developing countries. Despite this, national policies and institutional support for the draught sector, especially for working equines, is often weak or nonexistent. The reasons for this are many and varied; however, one explanation may be that livestock policies in many developing countries focus on promoting primary commercial growth (animal products), rather than supporting systems which assist the poor. Such policies may be counterproductive (or irrelevant) to the poorest people in a country, and could provide some explanation as to why draught animals are often left out of national policy dialogue. This paper, with a case example from Ethiopia, aims to demonstrate how NGOs with expertise within the draught sector may be able to utilise existing pro-poor policy channels, thus increasing the profile of draught animals in both the national and international policy arenas. Introduction Policy activities are undertaken by groups and organisations wishing to contribute to long-term changes in societal beliefs and attitudes towards a particular issue. Policies can be thought of as strategies of action used to achieve desired goals [1]. There are many levels at which policy is developed; however, the responsibility for draught animal health and welfare in most developing countries currently falls under the Ministry of Livestock, despite the unique contribution of this subsector to many aspects of society. Additionally, livestock policies in many developing countries consist of broad statements around intentions to improve infrastructure and services, rather than offering concrete strategies and budgets for implementation [2]. This makes it harder to analyse exactly where in the policy documents draught animals are/could be included, with the result that applying pressure to those responsible for policy implementation and enforcement becomes difficult. The role of livestock in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) The important contribution the livestock sector has, and will continue to play, towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) cannot be denied [3]. In many developing countries, livestock remains one of the few opportunities for the poor to generate income a factor which does not go unnoticed by organisations involved with the draught sector. Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) are the main point of policy dialogue in countries receiving concessional lending from the World Bank [2]. Analysis of the livestock policies contained in the PRSPs of 49 countries by the Food Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) in 2003 identified a number of policy weaknesses and opportunities which could be utilised by NGOs involved with draught animals. The overwhelming conclusion by the FAO was that all PRSPs failed to make a 'strong, coherent case for support (to the livestock sector)', with seemingly 'no connection between the importance of livestock to the national economy and the significance attributed in the PRSPs' [2]. One theory for this is that in many developing countries, more attention is given to commercial operations than species and structures relevant to the poor [2]. This fact is especially pertinent where draught power is concerned, and may offer an explanation as to why this subsector is seemingly overlooked or 'forgotten' at a national policy level in many countries.
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The case of Ethiopia: an opportunity for equine NGOs Ethiopia is a country in which at least 3 equine welfare NGOs operate [4]. The Ethiopian livestock system is the largest in Africa, with draught power, skins, hides, manure, meat, and milk all contributing significantly to the economy [2]. A specific recommendation which came out of the 2003 FAO report was that livestock policies in Ethiopia should concentrate on improving veterinary care and feed of work animals, including camels, mules and horses, species typically little-considered in the design of development projects [2]. Additionally, it was recommended that policy concerning draught animals be developed in conjunction with larger agricultural policies in Ethiopia, as their contribution 'straddles' the 2 sectors. Considering agricultural sectors are usually much better funded than the livestock, herein exists potentially an even greater opportunity for organisations experienced with draught animals. This case serves merely as an example of the enormous potential for equine NGOs to influence national policy in Ethiopia, and possible opportunities for collaboration with stakeholders whose mandate is to improve human livelihoods. There are undoubtedly similar situations or recommendations in many developing countries; it is a matter of understanding the policy environment, and seizing the opportunities. Practical considerations for strengthening of policies surrounding draught animals in developing countries Draught power has been deemed one of the most important (non-food) contributions of animals to human wellbeing [5]. However, in order to put forward consistent policy guidelines, organisations require a clear strategy and strong evidence (socioeconomic or otherwise) to support the arguments for why their policy recommendations should be considered. For example, do organisational policy strategies pertain to all draught animals, or just working equines? Should the policy strategy focus on improving existing animal welfare legislation, or promote institutionalisation of draught animals/equines in undergraduate or paraprofessional curriculae? To a certain degree these become clearer once individual policy analysis is undertaken; however, an agreed policy strategy will provide guidance on some of these issues. Analysis of existing policies is done in order to identify any major gaps. For example, a country may have animal welfare legislation; however, it may concern only animals which are transported to abattoirs. It is such gaps which are seen as opportunities for future policy recommendations; for example, the inclusion of all species in animal welfare legislation, regardless of the situation. Once there is an idea of the most important recommendations for that particular situation at that point in time, it is necessary to identify who the decision makers are, and what information they require. Looking at livestock policies in light of the greater national action plan and policy frameworks may help to identify further opportunities for the future inclusion of draught animals; for example, in wider agricultural or environmental policies rather than livestock itself. It has been estimated that annual work performed by draught animals worldwide would (at the time) require 20 million tonnes of petroleum valued at over $US 6 billion [6]. With such evidence, the environmental benefits of draught power could be promoted, along with its socioeconomic contributions, in arguments for support to this sector at a national or even international level. Other organisations which identify the important role draught animals play in poor communities, despite not being directly involved with livestock themselves, may wish to collaborate on policy issues. So long as the policy frameworks of a given country are understood, there undoubtedly exist tangible opportunities for organisations to engage in policy dialogue with decision makers, and potentially increase the profile of working animals in many developing countries. Conclusions NGOs and advocacy groups have in the past voiced similar concerns to the FAO: that livestock policies in developing countries are more geared towards economic growth rather than to support animals which contribute to 81
poverty alleviation in seemingly less tangible ways. NGOs are therefore in a good position to provide governments with policy guidelines aimed at supporting those activities not necessarily prioritised by decision makers. There are 2 important necessities for policy dialogue to occur: 1. Knowledge of the actors and processes (platforms) which can be accessed to result in policy formation in that particular country, and 2. Organisational consensus on the exact messages to be portrayed and what supporting evidence exists In particular, it would be beneficial to access policy platforms in conjunction with a number of stakeholders with similar mandates, focusing on experience sharing and common goals in order that a consistent, clear message may be delivered to in-country decision makers. References [1] Van Willingen, J. 1986. Applied Anthropology, Bergin and Garvey Publishers, Inc., Massachusetts. [2] Blench, R., Chapman, R., Slaymaker, T. 2003. 'A Study of the Role of Livestock in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers', Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Initiative (PPLPI) Working Paper 1, FAO, Rome, www.fao.org/ag/againfo/programmes/en/pplpi/publications.html. [3] United Nations. 2009. The Millennium Development Goals Report, www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/MDG_Report_2009_ENG.pdf. [4] Author's personal experience. [5] Bradford, G.E. 1999. 'Contributions of Animal Agriculture to Meeting Global Human Food Demand', Livestock Production Science, Vol. 59, pp. 95112. [6] Ramaswany, N. 1994. 'Draught Animals and Welfare', Revue Scientifique et Technique OIE, Vol. 13, pp. 195216.
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SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACT OF EPIZOOTIC LYMPHANGITIS (EL) ON HORSE- DRAWN TAXI BUSINESS IN CENTRAL ETHIOPIA
A. Nigatu and Z. Abebaw
Addis Ababa University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, SPANA project, PO Box 34, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia nigatakat@yahoo.com
The average duration taken for recovery of an early case of EL was 3.2 weeks. Ninety two percent of the respondents negatively associated EL with working efficiency. The survey also indicated that EL reduces daily income of owners by 25.5 Birr (46.1%) [Table 1], [Fig 1]. The data revealed that owners are forced to rest their EL affected horses for an average of 1.7 additional days per week compared to healthy ones. Table 1. Average income differences between EL-affected and EL-free carthorses Categories Average income/day/horse in Birr Average working days/week Income/week in Birr El free horse 55.30 6.1 337.30 EL affected horse 29.80 4.4 131.10 Difference 25.50 1.7 206.20
Introduction Livestock contribute to the livelihood of 60-70% of the Ethiopian population and equines are important animals in the farming and transport systems of Ethiopia [5], [9]. Livestock surveys estimate that the horse population of Ethiopia was about 1.79 million which are used for transportation of people and goods (63.7%), draught purpose (8.0%) and for other uses [4]. Horse drawn cart business has long been used as a source of income for significant proportion of urban population of the country [9], [12]. Carthorses are affected by many diseases; of which the major one is Epizootic Lymphangitis (EL). In a study undertaken in 28 towns of Ethiopia, EL is reported to occur with average prevalence of 18.8 % [1]. This study indicated that both Debre Zeit and Modjo towns had a prevalence of 19.8% where another study reported a prevalence rate of 5% in Akaki town [6]. SPANA project have conducted a treatment trial using iodides and established a treatment protocol for early cases of EL which is found to be effective in more than 85% of the cases [7], [8], [11]. There is scanty information on the impact of this disease on the livelihood of cart horse owning population of the country. The objective of the current survey was to make quantitative estimate on micro-level socioeconomic impact of EL on the livelihood of carthorse owning community in central Ethiopia. Material and methods A semi-structured questionnaire survey was conducted on 290 cart horse owners living in three towns of central Ethiopia, Debre Zeit, Modjo and Akaki in March, 2010. In the respective towns there were 1000, 400 and 404 horse drawn carts (data from municipality) and 130 cart horse owners from Debre Zeit and 80 owners from each of the others were interviewed. Losses were estimated from reduced working hours per day, treatment cost, absence from work, and death of EL affected horses. Data analysis was made using descriptive statistics with SPSS 15. Results and discussion The survey revealed that within the past two years the market price of a horse had increased by approximately 20% in the three towns. Currently, the average price of a cart pulling horse is 1616 Birr (1 US$ is equivalent to 13.45 Birr, the Ethiopian local currency). 58% of all respondents in the three sites were married and overall average number of dependents per household was 4.6 individuals. 77.6% of the total respondents reported to be completely dependent on the cart business for subsistence and the rest have additional income from farming, pension and other sources. The average length of experience of respondents in carting business was 6.8 years (range one month to 40 years). 284 (97.9%) respondents reported to have only one cart. 203 (70%), 78 (26.9%), 5 (1.7%) and 4 (1.4%) of the respondents had one, two, three and four horses respectively. Eighty six percent of the respondents recognized EL as primary health problem of cart horses followed by colic, lameness and respiratory problems. This is in agreement with other study which reported that 89.6% of the respondents prioritized EL [10]. The result showed that 161 (55.5%) of the overall respondents encountered EL on their horses at least once in their carting life. Out of 336 EL affected horses of the EL encountered group, 173(51.5%) either died or were euthanized. According to the respondents, the duration from the appearance of the first nodules to the involvement of many parts and final abandonment of the horse took on average of 14.6 weeks. 83
Figure 1. Average daily income differences between EL-affected and EL-free carthorses
Estimation of losses assumed constant prevalence of EL within each town in the 6.8 years average experience of owners. The income loss per week for horses that were affected by EL and either abandoned or died (173 horses) was estimated by multiplying the working duration of EL affected horse (14.6 weeks), income per week, and number of horses. The weekly income loss until death or recovery of EL affected horses was estimated from the difference between values obtained for EL free horses and EL affected horses i.e. 206.20 Birr. Similarly, income loss for recovered horses (163 horses) was estimated by multiplying the average recovery duration in weeks (3.2 weeks) by the average income per week. Accordingly, the total loss due to reduced income from the 336 horses EL affected horses within the 6.8 years was estimated to 628,373.88 Birr. 84
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A further income loss derived from replacement costs for horses that died or were euthanized. It was found that 173 horses were either humanely killed through SPANA's euthanasia programme or died from the disease in the 6.8 years. Therefore the replacement cost of horses that died or were euthanized due to EL in the 3 sites is estimated to be Birr 279,568 using the current market price of horses. The overall sum of losses from reduced income and death due to EL is 907,941.88 Birr. This huge income loss from a low-income business significantly affects the livelihood of dependants. Moreover, due to the contagious nature of the disease and opportunities for transmission in the survey sites, the study may underestimate losses. A total loss of US$1,683 per case of EL in carthorses has been reported earlier in unpublished data [11]. The difference in the amounts may be attributed to different methods of estimation and the number of different business areas involved. Other authors also confirm that EL is an economically important health problem of horses [3], [8]. Out of the 336 EL-affected horses, 298 (88.7%) were taken to the SPANA clinic for free treatment. According to the respondents, 150 (50.3%) of these horses recovered from the disease. This lower rate of recovery compared to the project's reported 85% recovery rate might be attributable to the inclusion of moderate cases and lack of compliance with the protracted treatment protocol. Treatment cost is estimated only for the sake of computations; it is not practical for owners to pay. Treatment of horses in other areas was found to be cost prohibitive. Antifungal drugs for EL treatment were not available in government and private veterinary clinics. However, 38 horses were taken to government and private clinics and to traditional healers, and owners were charged around 200 Birr per case. But the recovery success was less than 30%. In the SPANA project, the current estimated cost of treatment with iodides for a single carthorse (about 250kg) is approximately 700 Birr. Therefore, the estimated loss from treatment of the 298 horses covered by SPANA is 208,600 Birr. However, treatment response depends on the stage of the disease, compliance with the treatment regimen, and provision of good management [8], [11]. Conclusion and recommendations The survey revealed that EL is economically important disease of horses due to lesser pulling capacity, unwillingness of customers to use carts pulled by such horses, treatment cost, absence from work, and death of affected horses. EL is a primary health problem of carthorses in central Ethiopia which constrains the cart taxi business and poses severe economic crisis to the dependant community. SPANA is providing significant aid by treating early cases of EL and preventing spread of the disease through euthanasia of severely affected ones and educating owners and drivers on prevention of this economically important disease in its operation sites. In the light of these facts the following recommendations are proposed: Awareness enhancement education should be provided to horse owners and drivers and to the public for early treatment of horses showing signs of EL and preventive measures. Low-priced and effective antifungal drugs should be sought to treat the disease which will be readily available to equine owners and drivers both in government and private animal health sectors. Government organizations and concerned NGOs should work together towards the development of an effective vaccine and other sustainable ways of controlling the disease. REFERENCES [1] Ameni G., Epidemiology of equine histoplasmosis (epizootic lymphangitis) in cart horses in Ethiopia, The Veterinary Journal, Vol 172, pp. 160-165, 2006a. [2] Ameni G., Preliminary trial on the reproducibility of epizootic lymphangitis through experimental infection of two horses, The Veterinary Journal, Vol 172, pp. 553-555, 2006b. [3] Claire S., Epizootic lymphangitis in working equines: it's not just about the horse, Proceedings of the 47th British Equine Veterinary Association Congress BEVA Liverpool, United Kingdom, pp. 311-312, Sep. 2008. [4] CSA, Report on Livestock and Livestock Characteristics (Private Peasant Holdings), Central Statistical Agency, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Agricultural Sample Survey, Vol 2, 2008/09. [5] Demelash B. and Moges W., Causes and Factors Associated With Occurrence of External Injuries in Working
Equines in Ethiopia, International Journal of Applied Research in Veterinary Medicine, Vol 4, pp. 1-7, 2006 [6] Endebu B. and Roger F., Comparative studies on the occurrence and distribution of epizootic lymphangitis and ulcerative lymphangitis in Ethiopia, International Journal of Applied Research in Veterinary Medicine, Vol 3, pp. 15, 2003 [7] Getachew A., Endebu B., Gebreab F., Jones K., Aklilu N., Zerfu A. and Mideksa K., Treatment of epizootic lymphangitis in cart horses through participatory method, In: Pearson R. A., Muir C. J. and Farrow M. (Eds.), The Future for Working Equines. The Fifth International Colloquium on Working Equines, Proceedings of an International Colloquium held at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, 30th October to 2nd November 2006, The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth Devon, pp. 441-444, 2007. [8] Jones K., Guest Editorial: Epizootic lymphangitis, the impact on subsistence economies and animal welfare, The Veterinary Journal, Vol 172, pp. 402-404, 2006. [9] Michael H., A living from livestock: The Political Economy of Pro-Poor Livestock Policy-making in Ethiopia, Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Initiative, 2004 http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/projects/en/pplpi/docarc/wp19.pdf [10] Shelima B., Dinka H., Abelti A., Mume, T., Geleta, T. and Chala, R., Major constraints and health management of carthorses in the mid rift valley of Ethiopia, In: Pearson, R. A., Muir, C. J. and Farrow, M. (Eds.), The Future for Working Equines, The Fifth International Colloquium on Working Equines, Proceedings of an International Colloquium held at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, 30th October to 2nd November 2006, The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth Devon, pp.231-341, 2007. [11] SPANA Ethiopia, Epizootic lymphangitis: its current epidemiological status in Ethiopia a n d t h e w a y forward for its further study and control, Proceedings of a half day workshop held at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia, 2010, unpublished. [12] SPANA, Ethiopia, SPANA Ethiopia - Consultation Document on Welfare of Carthorses, Baseline Survey, Addis Ababa University, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia, 2004, unpublished.
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CONTRIBUTION OF DONKEYS TOWARDS THE LAMU ECONOMY AND THE CHALLENGES THEY FACE INFLUENCED EITHER LOCALLY OR GLOBALLY
O. J. Owiti and R. Abdalla
Lamu Donkey Sanctuary, PO Box 264 Lamu, Kenya jakomolo@yahoo.com
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donkeys and from here earn themselves a living, and buy feed for their donkeys and other animals. During the global economic downturn, a region which depends 90% on tourism like Lamu is often directly affected. Inflation and low purchase power has resulted in the reduction of the number of new buildings and developments in the public arena. This is directly proportional to the work done by donkeys, meaning a lower income for the owner. A non-working donkey brings no income to the owner, and is a creator of more debts. As one donkey owner from Shella village, Twaha Mohamed, puts it, in the last 2 months: he has a debt of 45,000 Kenya shillings (445) from the feed supplier. The majority of owners thus let their donkeys roam around town without water or proper feed. Effects of climate change on donkeys in Lamu The general climate changes experienced globally have not spared Lamu, with the current experience of unpredictable rainfall, indeed reduced levels of rain. Lamu Island is a hill of white sand emerging out of the sea and this has led to scarce vegetation especially grass and other ground-covering green plants, due to the poor ability of soil to retain water. The grazing fields are often bare with hot white sand present everywhere; the little rainwater there is gets swallowed faster by hungry non-fertile sand. The body condition of donkeys is often affected, as they have a lower energy intake than is required to maintain body health. The majority of the donkeys are seen scavenging in refuse sites with the intention of filling their stomachs. Lamu donkeys are mostly fed on maize husks from the maize-milling companies. This is low in energy value and lacks the vitamins usually found in green vegetation and grass. Lamu Donkey Sanctuary (LDS) has embarked on raising awareness about the importance of providing commercial mineral licks and some green forage for the working donkeys. While working in conjunction with local government authorities and environmental groups, LDS erected a wall on the perimeter of the town's main refuse dump site with a lockable gate, so as to keep donkeys out. In Shella, a village in the south of Lamu Island, the villagers constructed a wall around the dump and later collaborated with LDS to fix a gate and construct a small feed trough where edible waste, especially fruit peelings and vegetable remains, can be placed for the donkeys. Climate change has also contributed to the deaths of the donkeys through colic caused by swallowing plastic bags consumed on refuse sites. The donkeys which used to rush to the farms to graze while not working are today being seen roaming the streets of Lamu town searching for anything to consume, including fish bones to chew on. Lamu donkeys' contribution to transport systems Lamu Island includes Lamu town, Shella village to the south, Matondoni village to the north-west, and Kipungani village to the south-west. Population distribution in Lamu is centralised, with very sparsely populated farms comprising of farm workers and their families. The main transport system in the sea channels is boat, and on land it is donkey. Roads on the island are characterised by the presence of deep white sand which makes walking difficult. A network of footpaths crosses the island where the majority of active farms produce poultry, milk, and beef; the animal feeds are transported by donkey from Lamu town. The second busiest village on the island is the wealthy Shella village. People use boats to travel to and from Lamu. Shops, wholesale stores, and building sites are supplied by the donkeys. It's a common scene in the morning as donkeys line up from Lamu towards Shella carrying cement, crates of soda, bread, commodities, and pulling building posts among others. These groups prefer using donkeys because they are inexpensive and will deliver the loads at the door step. 88
Abstract Donkeys are the only mode of transport in Lamu, contributing immensely to the livelihood of the population. The donkeys are also regarded as part of Lamu culture. Despite this, donkeys face various challenges influenced by the geography and climate of the islands, and fluctuations in the global economy. Moreover, donkey users are not aware of the major contribution of donkeys to their livelihoods. Introduction Lamu archipelago is geographically located on the northern part of the coastal strip, bordering Somali. It comprises a series of islands inhabited either by people or mangrove forests. Major ones include Lamu Island, Pate Island, Kiwayu Island, and Manda Island. Lamu is recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site, thus making it a popular tourist destination [1]. These islands have villages which were built in the 17th century and still maintain the historical architecture and planning. Such narrow streets do not allow for the movements of motorised vehicles so donkeys are the main form of transport, especially for Lamu Island whose population is estimated to be over 30,000 people [2]. Unlike the rest of country and many other areas in the world where use of donkey transport is reserved for the less fortunate in society, Lamu Island's transport system using donkeys cuts across all social classes. The unique narrow streets of Lamu prohibit mechanisation, and so all commodities are moved from one spot to another using donkeys. The donkey is still regarded as the least valued among animals irrespective of the income earned from its hard labour, and is faced with challenges of food scarcity amid hard economic times and unpredictable weather patterns. Value of donkeys and their contribution to human livelihoods Just like organised motorised transporters in a modern town, the donkey transport system in Lamu is of high importance to both donkey owners and all residents in general. On the mainland the cost of a donkey is US$77 while in Lamu a donkey costs $192. The high cost of buying a donkey on the island is based on the fact that transportation is a good earner and the majority of donkey owners do depend solely on this business to ensure the livelihood of their families. Lamu Donkey Sanctuary is currently conducting community education with an aim to raising owners' awareness of good husbandry and appreciation of the contribution of donkeys to their household incomes. This activity has been carried out in Lamu, with attendants randomly selected among donkey users. Participants are asked for their perceptions of different animal species in terms of income generation and expenditure. The participants' perception of income is based on daily revenue: if they sell 1 'kuchi' chicken on Tuesday, they will make $38.46, but if the donkey is worked on the same Tuesday it will generate $25.60. The economy and its effect on welfare of working equines in Lamu Being the animal of the lowest rank in the minds of many keepers, donkeys are the hardest hit in cases where family income versus expenditure becomes out of proportion. In Lamu, donkey users get income from working with 87
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Involvement of various stakeholders to improve the welfare of donkeys In Lamu most of the population are Muslims. The imams play a central role in influencing the behaviour of the community. Through their preaching and teachings in mosques and also their involvement as decision makers in the council of elders, we partner with them in promoting animal welfare. The local chiefs are involved in promoting donkey welfare through community education in legal issues, such as creating awareness about the Cruelty to Animals Act (Chapter 360) and enforcing it. We also work with environmental groups like Lamu Safi (translated as Clean Lamu). Conclusion Donkeys in Lamu play a major role in ensuring the smooth running of transport systems and survival of Lamu families. The major problem facing the donkeys is the fact that their value is poorly recognised in the community; many believe that donkeys don't get sick unless it's time for them to die. Clear involvement of all stakeholders has to be maintained in order to tackle the underlining donkey welfare issues. References [1] Lamu World Heritage Website, www.lamuheritage.org. [2] Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
THE EUROPEAN DRAUGHT HORSE FEDERATION (FECTU) AND THE CONTEXT FOR WORK WITH HORSES IN EUROPE
P. Schlechter
FECTU asbl, 9 rue principale, L-7475 Schoos, Luxembourg pit.schlechter@fectu.org
Abstract: FECTU, founded in 2003, represents the interests and objectives of the European associations working for animal traction as a sustainable energy source. The draught-horse world in Europe is marked by disparate interests that arise from the many possible uses of these animals. The difference between Western and Northern countries and the countries in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe also plays a role. Public opinion towards animals in the service of humans is paradoxical, but meanwhile the users are becoming ever more professional and realistic. Lacking is a true bottom-up movement and global co-operation. FECTU FECTU was founded in 2003 [1]. Its purpose is to promote co-operation throughout Europe between organisations dealing with working horses and other draught animals. FECTU advocates working methods which harm neither the environment nor people, and supports all efforts intended to render draught animals more effective and which guarantee their welfare. The number of member organisations has risen from 7 initially to 17 today, coming from 9 European nations. The Federation is primarily active in information exchange between its members; in initiatives to promote the use of draught animals as a sustainable energy source; and in raising awareness among decisionmakers, government bodies, institutions, and the wider public. Naturally FECTU has to overcome some difficulties which arise from its international nature. Within the European Union some 25 different languages are spoken [2]. In order to function FECTU is obliged to communicate with its members in English, German, and French. In addition the geographic dispersal of members hinders face-to-face meetings and participation in conferences and practical demonstrations of animal traction. The potential of the Federation is further restricted by its limited financial resources. Inherent queries and problems within the horse scene In taking on the task of promoting modern uses for draught horses FECTU has laid claim to an uncommonly diverse field of activity. In Europe heavy horses are used in many sectors: work in farming and forestry, in market gardens and vineyards, in municipal maintenance and transport, for competitive and leisure driving, for the production of meat and mare's milk, in maintaining traditions, in equine therapy, and in socialising excluded groups. From this arise not only interesting synergies but also differing opinions between individuals and associations which deal with breeding and the use of draught horses. The world of draught horses in Europe is marked by differing interests and contradictions. Even the definition of draught horse is not firmly defined anywhere [3]. Since the triumph of the internal combustion engine in farming some heavy horse breeds have been bred almost wholly for show purposes or for meat production, and as a result are hardly usable as working horses by reason of conformation or character. Within FECTU there are organisations of professional users of horses and associations of hobbyists, and this mixture exists also within member organisations. What some do professionally to earn their living others do for amusement [4]. Among the hobbyists there are many who do not believe for a moment that horses can represent a serious alternative to powered machinery.
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Northern and Western Europe contrasted with Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe The use of draught horses in Northern and Western Europe is almost non-existent in economic terms. As a means of production horses are generally not taken into account in official statistics. In contrast, hundreds of thousands of people in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe are dependent on their working animals [5]. The majority of their owners wish they could have tractors. Unfortunately the countries in which there are many draught animals are dramatically under-represented in FECTU. Animals in the service of humans: public opinion The attitude of the average European towards physical effort is paradoxical. Someone who produces meaningful work using muscle power in order to earn money to feed their family is pitied or scorned. On the other hand, someone who pays money after work to waste muscle power through hard physical endeavour in sport or fitness training enjoys universal approval. This attitude has transferred itself to the evaluation of the use of animals. To use horses for hard work in farming or forestry is considered backward or even as cruelty to animals [6]. The picture of a team of horses has become, in the media, the stereotypical image of backwardness, a symbol of a way of life from which humankind absolutely must liberate itself. In contrast, the achievements of sport horses and their riders and drivers are admired. Farm teams in any event enjoy greater popularity in nostalgic countryside events which evoke romanticised good old days. This perverted view of bygone peasants in an idealised setting, on the one hand, reinforces the image of backwardness of animal power and, on the other, is used by agro-industry to draw a veil over the high-tech conduct of food production [7]. Interestingly the rejection of animals in the service of humans applies only as far as it concerns pure muscle power. When it concerns other characteristics of which humans make use, often precisely the opposite applies. The technical progress which has ultimately driven draught animals out of forestry and farming, transport, and the armed forces, has been strangely followed by numerous projects whose highest ambition is the development of a machine which resembles as closely as possible a model taken from the animal world. For example, there is the so-called Iron Horse [8] or the Walking Harvester [9] for forestry, and also the imitation pack animal BigDog [10] from Boston Dynamics. In the end such developments bite themselves in the tail. Where modern technology cannot serve, we take recourse to animals. Sniffer dogs, rescue dogs, and guide dogs for the blind are unsurpassable helpers; mules carry the most modern weapons to their point of use [11]; honeybees search out explosives [12]; dolphins and sea lions are used for mine detection and other similar underwater tasks [13]. Changing opinions and endeavours regarding draught animals Undoubtedly a development has taken place in the minds of those who in recent years have been seriously involved in the use of working animals. Some opinions have become more realistic. There are still people who believe that the use of auxiliary motors alongside animals is a heresy, that the work methods of the Amish in the USA can be adopted without problems, and that draught animal power is the worldwide cure-all for small farmers [14] and has a future in organic agriculture [15]. Meanwhile other views have gained acceptance. Distinct tendencies and assessments can be differentiated here. On the one hand, there are successful efforts to seek out niches within the existing social and economic setting in which draught animals can be used either in the short or medium term. These are usually projects where profitability has a subsidiary role and publicity a correspondingly greater one. They take place with the approval and support of local decision-makers who expect a positive response from the populace because their quality of life is improved, excluded groups are engaged, and it all fits with the general trend towards sustainability. A good example for this is the growing number of French town councils which use horses to care for parks and green spaces, to collect glass and paper for recycling, etc. [16]. On the other hand, there are efforts which involve a long-term vision of an extensive return of draught horses, for example in farming and forestry. Behind these efforts lies the conviction that industrialised agriculture and fully mechanised forestry have negative impacts on social structures and on the environment. Organic farming, which
is wrongly associated in the public mind with small local farm enterprises, is not excluded from these criticisms [15]. The use of fossil fuels and the compaction of soils in organic farming are just as high if not higher than in conventional industrial farming [17]. This explains the demand for a change in agricultural policy, for support and protection for small farming businesses in which draught animals make sense economically and ecologically, and in which the proprietors are protected from the need for large loans. In the context of such considerations FECTU strives to obtain official recognition from the EU of draught animals as a renewable energy source which is climatefriendly and avoids soil compaction, and to secure their systematic promotion in small-scale organic farming. Prospects The main problem remains the fact that in Europe there is no true bottom-up movement with the professional users of draught animals taking the initiative to make progress. Furthermore, there is insufficient demand for modern horse-drawn equipment to permit its logical development, its mass production, and its sale at reasonable prices. As a corollary, the lack of a varied and affordable arsenal of equipment hinders the retention or conversion to horse power. In those countries where many people still farm with draught animals a role is certainly played by illusory notions of the alleged blessings of motor-powered western farming and forestry. These notions are often enough spread and supported by governments and large investors. Most users of draught animals in the world are not aware of the absolute dependence of modern farmers on machinery manufacturers, parts suppliers, unstable prices for fuel, chemical fertilisers, seeds, and pesticides, nor of the massive state subsidies. In the light of discussions about renewable energy, climate change, sustainable business structures, and food security, one may ask if the users of animal power should not seek stronger international collaboration in order to secure the moral and economic recognition which they deserve. Notes and references [1] www.fectu.org. [2] The European Union with its 27 member states uses 23 languages. [3] In some European languages the term draught horse does not signify the intended use of the horse but its membership of a heavy breed. [4] One problem which arises from this is unfair competition complained of by professional horse men and women, when their prices are undercut by hobbyists who offer services at a price which hardly covers costs. [5] In Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria alone there are far more than 1 million equines in work. Figures for equine livestock in 2006 are: Poland, 307.000; Romania, 863.000; and Bulgaria, 270.000, http://earthtrends.wri.org/searchable_db/index.php?theme=8&variable_ID=342&action=select_countries. [6] The tendency to protect horses against humans takes extreme forms in wealthy countries. In the USA there have recently been efforts to alter the law to make the owner into a guardian, who would have duties towards the horse similar to a parent to an adopted child. See Dennis, G.M. Commentary: Animal Guardianship. In Equine Disease Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 4, p.1, October 2009. [7] Even a journalist who mainly supports agro-industry states: Obviously traders and producers consider that one should not admit the reality of food production to consumers. No industry conceals the origin of its products as much as agriculture. Miersch, M. Warum das Bild vom lieben Buerlein verlogen ist. In Welt Online, Wissen, 17 November 2009. [8] A powered tracked vehicle for moving timber, weighing 454kg, with a draught of 7,00011,000N, and a top speed of 6.5kmh. Spicar, H. Das Eiserne Pferd, ein kleines Nischenrckegert. In Der Fortschrittliche Landwirt, Vol. 4, 2006, www.waldwissen.net/themen/forsttechnik/forstmaschinen/bfw_eisernes_pferd_2007_DE. [9] In the 1990s the Finnish firm Plustech Oy developed a 6-legged harvester known as Plus Jack, but this was not pursued, www.redaktiongehl.de/files/Reportage%20_Waldroboter_Finnland_published_in_FLUID.pdf and
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www.sae.org/ohmag/toptech/05.htm. [10] BigDog is a rough-terrain robot that walks, runs, climbs and carries heavy loads. BigDog is powered by an engine that drives a hydraulic actuation system. BigDog has four legs that are articulated like an animals BigDog is the size of a large dog or small mule, www.bostondynamics.com/robot_bigdog.html and www.walkingmachines.org. [11] The CIA supplied the Afghan mujaheddin in the war against the Soviets with modern weapons and some 10,000 mules, and the US Army still trains soldiers how to load pack animals. Lubold, G. Fighting a high-techwar with a low-tech mule. In Christian Science Monitor, 4 May 2009, www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2009 /0504/p22s01-usmi.html. [12] Troy, J. Die glserne Biene-Honigbienen in der Kriegfhrung. In Pppinghege, R. Tiere im Krieg .Von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. F. Schningh, Paderborn 2009, pp.13547. [13] Pickrell, J. Dolphins Deployed as Undersea Agents in Iraq. In National Geographic News, 28 March 2003, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/03/0328_030328_wardolphins.html. [14] Most reports emphasise the positive aspects of animal power whilst ignoring negative ones. Wilson, R.T. Effects of Draught Animal Power on Crops, Livestock, People and the Environment. In Proceedings: Responding to Increasing Global Demand for Animal Products. International conference. University of Yucatan Cultural Centre, Merida, Mexico, 1215 November 2002, pp.11820. [15] The average size of organic farms in the EU in 2005 was 38.7 hectares, while conventional farms averaged 16ha. LLorens Abando, L., Rohner-Thielen, E. Different Organic Farming Patterns within the EU-25. In Statistics in Focus, Agriculture and Fisheries, Vol. 69, pp. 18, 2007 ) Vandana Shiva states on this subject: There was an old conflict between chemicalindustrial agriculture and organic farming. There is a new conflict emerging between authentic organic, based on small, biodiverse farms, and pseudo-organic, based on large-scale, monoculture corporate farms that grow for export. Shiva, V. Soil not Oil: Climate Change, Peak Oil, and Food Insecurity. Zed Books, London 2008, p. 125. [16] Since 2003 there has been an annual congress of town councils which employ horses. Their number has risen to 130. See Simon, D. 7e Congrs des Chevaux Territoriaux. Faire face aux nouveaux enjeux et dfis de demain. In Sabots, Traditions & Animaux du Terroir, No. 34, Janvier/Fvrier 2010, pp. 4850. [17] The preferred technique for controlling weeds in organic farming using a tractor requires multiple passes over crops with a reduced working width. This results in worse soil compaction than weed control using sprays which require fewer passes and a much greater working width. Herold, P., Schlechter, P., and Scharnhlz, R. Modern Use of Horses in Organic Farming, www.fectu.org/Englisch/Horses in organic farming.pdf.
MODERN HORSE-DRAWN EQUIPMENT

E. Schroll
Starke Pferde Magazine, Weisser Weg 109, D-32657 Lemgo, Germany ESchroll@starke-pferde.de
Abstract In the USA over the last 20 years an industry of horse-drawn implement manufacturers has developed, producing modern, up-to-date machines for a limited but growing market. In western Europe there are signs of a similar development. In this multi-media presentation you will be introduced, in words and pictures, to real implements and machines, sometimes shown at work. The decline of horse-powered operations in developed countries Throughout the nineteenth century, and until the middle of the twentieth century, draught animals, especially the draught horse, were the engine for the rapid development of industry and agriculture. In the USA, as early as the first half of the twentieth century, and in Europe after the Second World War, the seemingly limitless availability of oil, and the consequent mechanization of agriculture led to a dramatic decline in horse-powered operations, and the near extinction of many traditional breeds of draught horse. Gradually the machinery manufacturers ceased the production and development of horse-drawn implements in favour of the greater profits to be made from machines used with tractors; the horse farmers had to make do with their old tools, and eventually were overtaken by 'progress'. The enforced image of a 'rusty' horse farmer served as proof that this way of working was out of date, a relic of a long forgotten time. The wearing-out of the machines and the increasing lack of spare parts led eventually to people giving up, or replacing their horses with tractors. A similar fate threatened smalll farmers in many countries across middle and eastern Europe. New machines made by the Amish In the USA, the Amish people were separated from these developments and, for religious reasons, continued to use horses, so the mechanization and industrialization of agriculture largely passed them by. Nevertheless, or in fact because of this, they operated their farms with great success, and are counted as among the best farmers in the world. As a reaction to the large manufacturers' hostile attitude towards horse-drawn machinery, individual farmers and small Amish firms began first to restore old machines, then to copy them, and eventually to design and build new modern machinery. In 1994, manufacturers, inventers, and users of horse-drawn equipment came together for the first Horse Progress Days in Pennsylvania. From these small seeds has grown a small industry producing horse equipment in the USA. The Horse Progress Days event, taking place each year in a different state, has today become the largest trade fair for horse-drawn machinery in the world. Draught horses as an ecological alternative in Europe At the same time, though on a more modest scale, the demand for horse-drawn technology in Europe has increased, and was at first largely being met by implements imported from the USA. However, pioneers such as the Englishman Charlie Pinney soon began to develop and build new equipment. In Germany in 1996, the first 'PferdeStark' ('Horse-Power') event took place. This European version of Horse Progress Days has continued in subsequent years to provide the motivation for individuals and small firms to develop and offer new machinery. In contrast to the Amish, in western Europe the motivation for using draught horses is overwelmingly for ecological reasons. With the issues of protection of nature and environment, climate chaos, peak oil, and the renuciation of fossil fuels on one side, and the madness of industrial agriculture with its ecological and social consequences on the other, traditional agriculture with draught animals, for some people at least, is seen in a new light. In recent
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years, working horse associations have been formed, with the aims of making animal power socially acceptable, encouraging politicians to recognize it as a renewable form of energy, and promoting it as a modern ecological alternative. In this regard, providing animal welfare is maintained, new high-performance equipment featuring modern design can make a persuasive case for the practicality of animal power, and improve the image of the working horse. Overview, facts, and impressions This online presentation, specially produced for the ICWE, shows a variety of newly manufactured, modern horsedrawn machinery, categorized by function and farm size, which highlights both the direction and actual developments current on farms in the USA and western Europe today. This presentation makes claim neither to completeness, nor to the transferability of these machines and hitches to the developing world; but it does give an impression of the possibilities and fundamental potential of working animals. The presentation is available on the internet at www.modern-horse-power.org. Further resources and reading Administration des Eaux et Forts Luxembourg (Editor): Der Einsatz von Zugpferden in Land- und Forstwirtschaft, in der Landschaftspflege sowie im kommunalen und touristischen Bereich, Luxembourg 2005. FECTU: Fdration Europenne du Cheval de Trait pour la promotion de son Utilisation, www.fectu.org. France Trait (Editor): Outils traction animale Base Charlie Pinney (Charley-Pinney-Catalog), www.francetrait.fr/fr/materiel-traction-animale/preambule.html, France 2010. Cramer, J. and Letzel, T.: Moderne Pferdepower, DVD, Lemgo (Germany), 2005. Herold, P., Jung, J., and Scharnhlz, R.: Arbeitspferde im Naturschutz, Bundesamt fr Naturschutz, BfN-Skripten 256, Bonn (Germany) 2009. Horse Progress Days: Something for Everyone, Catalog, Mt. Hope, Ohio (USA) 2008. Horse Progress Days: www.horseprogressdays.com. IG-Arbeitspferde Schweiz: Pferdezug-Maschinen Dok, Diesbach (CH) 2000. Kendell, C.: Horses vs. Tractors, in: Rural Heritage 3/2005. Miller, L.R.: Haying with Horses, Sisters (USA) 2000. Miller, L.R.: Horsedrawn Plows and Plowing, Sisters (USA) 2000. Miller, L.R.: Horsedrawn Tillage Tools, Sisters (USA) 2001. Moore, S.: Implements for Farming with Horses & Mules, A Modern All-in-One Manual, Gainsboro (USA) 2006. PferdeStark: www.pferdestark.org. Pinney, C.: Living Horse Power Gebt das Pferd nicht auf, in: STARKE PFERDE 27, 28, 2003. Rural Heritage, Magazine, Cedar Rapids, USA. Sasimowski, E.: Racjonalne I nowoszesne wykorzystanie koni roboczych w rolnictwie, lesnictwie i ochronie srodowiska, Olsztyn (Poland) 1998. Schroll, E.: Horse Power and Progress, DVD, Lemgo (Germany) 2010. Skogshsten: Moderna Hstkrafter, Equipment folder, Sweden 2005. Small Farmers Journal, Magazine, Sisters, USA. STARKE PFERDE, Magazine, Lemgo, Germany.
COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT WORKING EQUINE COMMUNITIES: THEIR ANIMAL WELFARE AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS IN GWALIOR, INDIA
R. S. Kumar, R. Tomar, R. Kumar P., S. Nath, G. Murugan, and S. Ramesh
The Donkey Sanctuary India, Gwalior drskvet@rediffmail.com
Introduction There are about 3,000 working equines at Gwalior, central India. Most of them are mules followed by donkeys and horses. These animals are mainly worked at brick-kilns, stone quarries/crushers, construction sites, and potteryrelated works. The owners of these working equines are landless labourers and all of them belong to a common community called Prajapatis. Most of the owners work mainly in the brick-kilns for a period of about 67 months during the summer. Some of them work at construction sites in the city, some in quarries, and a few use their animals for pottery-making and related works. Some of them do all this work on a seasonal basis. Even though all of the owners work hard with their working equines, the welfare of their animals and their families' economic status differ significantly. The earning capacity and the economy status of the owners can be compared with the welfare status of their animals, their knowledge, skills, practices, and attitudes. So, using animal-based welfare measures on the working equines, different working groups' economic status were studied. Consideration of both health and behaviour is important when assessing welfare [1]. Behaviour is the expression of an animal's perception of, and interaction with, its environment. Health issues affecting an animal's welfare include acute diseases and disorders causing immediate suffering and long-term, progressive conditions causing chronic pain [2]. Physical observations of particular relevance to equines include body condition score [3, 4], hoof horn quality [5], and skin turgor as an indicator of hydration status [6]. Materials and methods Three different groups of working equines were included in this study. Group I consisted of equines working at brick-kiln sites (67 months); group II animals worked at stone quarries; and group III worked at city sites. Twenty five donkey owners from each group were selected and interviewed. Before interviewing the owners, their animal's welfare was assessed by animal-based measures. A list of health and behaviour parameters was devised using published research [1]. A range of indicators was selected to be representative of both behaviour and health status: Body Condition Score (BCS) was measured as per recognized guidelines [7]. The extent of wounds was observed over breast, withers, spine, girth, belly, and flank and tail base. Lameness was confirmed by swelling of tendons/joints, limb deformities, cow hocked conformation, hoof wall(s) too long, hoof wall(s) too short, hoof horn quality abnormal, hoof avulsion, sole surface abnormalities, and gait abnormality. Disease conditions were measured by interviewing the owners. Injury and disease status were also measured by abnormal mucous membrane, lesions at commissures of lips, missing teeth, molar hooks or sharp molars, eye abnormalities, coat condition, ecto-parasites, diarrhoea under tail, dehydration status, tether/hobble lesions or scars, and carpal lesions or scars. Temperament and behaviour were measured to assess the reaction of horses, mules, and donkeys to human approach, proximity, and touch. Clamping down the tail or tucking in the hindquarters in response to an observer walking along their side was recorded for donkeys. See Table The owners were interviewed about their earning capacity, feeding expenses, feeding and sheltering arrangements, number of animals, and their skills, knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Their economic status was assessed according to their children's education and living standards. 96
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Results The group I owners possessed mostly donkeys, followed by mules and horses. The reason is that the donkeys are less expensive. The group II owners also had mostly donkeys. The city-based group III owners mainly had horses and mules. Owners in the entire group had a minimum of 2 to a maximum of 7 animals. The average number of animals possessed by each group is given in Table 1. Table 1 Particulars Average number of working equines Equine species Group I (n=25) 3 mostly donkeys Group II (n=25) 4 mostly donkeys Group III (n=20) 4 mostly mules & horses
Table 3. Owners' skills, knowledge, and practices Particulars Group I Group II Group III
Harness, hobble and Made within the group; commonly use old, wornhalter-making skills out and infected harnesses Feeding practices
Made within the group; Made within the group; about 50% of the harness harness quality excellent materials were worn out and infected
Chick peas straws, rice Chick pea straws, rice Chick pea straws, rice bran, and seasonal bran, and seasonal bran, chick pea, and grazing grazing seasonal gazing Temporary with bricks Sheltered in rooms and in Sheltered mostly in and polythene sheets open spaces rooms, very few provide fans and water coolers Very poor (apply mud, Very poor (apply mud, Apply ointment and ash, battery oils, etc.) ash, battery oils, etc.); a turmeric powders few use traditional medicines
Shelter Table 2. Animal-based welfare measures Welfare measures BCS Extent of wounds Group I 12 (Poor to Moderate) Group II Group III Wound management
23 (Moderate to 33.5 (Ideal to Fat) Ideal)
7 5 % s u f f e r e d f r o m 55% suffered from 15% various harness-related various harnessrelated back sores back sores 50% were lame and most 5560% were lame Very few were lame of them had poor hoof care and most of them had poor hoof care 8% had various injuries; a 14% had various Very few had injuries few were suffering from injuries and there were some colic and some other cases of colic diseases Mostly dull, depressed Dull and some were Active, friendly, and a aggressive few were aggressive
Disease management F a u l t y m e d i c a t i o n s F a u l t y m e d i c a t i o n s R a r e l y u s e f a u l t y common common among few medications; mostly call practices owners vets Working attitude Mostly overload and Overworking common Sometimes overload but overwork but not overloading rarely overwork
Hoof care and lameness
Injury and diseases
Table 4. Owners' economic and socio-economic status Particulars Average monthly income (Indian Rupees) Schoolgoing children Overall living standards Group I 4,0008,000 (67 months a year) Very few Poor Group II 3,5005,500 (round the year) Most of them Good Group III 5,0007,500 (round the year) All Good
Temperament and behaviour
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Discussion From this study, using animal-based welfare measures it was evident that the welfare of equines belonging to group III was the best, followed by group II whereas the group I equines had the worst welfare. The group III equines were well taken care of and their welfare was compromised rarely. See Table 2. Usually in India, during the brick-kiln season, the working equines work for around 78 hours a day mostly in very hot conditions during the summer months. The brick-kiln work lasts for about 67 months a year without a break. Therefore the brick-kiln working equines and owners (group I) tended to do more work than the other two groups, which led directly to a compromise in equine welfare. The results also indicate that the group I owners' skills, knowledge, husbandry practices, and attitude were not good. This led indirectly to the poor welfare status of group I equines. See Table 3. There was a significant difference in income and animal welfare between group I and groups II and III communities. The socio-economic status of the group I owners was found to be comparatively poorer than that of the other groups. See Table 4. Hence group I was forced to do more work, and therefore the owners usually overloaded and overworked their animals in the brick-kilns. As they had work for about 67 months a year, they tried to earn the maximum during these months. The working conditions were not appropriate at the brick-kilns. There was no proper rest, no adequate drinking water, the terrain was rough, and hot weather made the Group I animals suffer the most. Therefore, to alleviate the suffering and pain of these working equines, the efforts of animal welfare organizations should be focused and targeted at improving the donkey owners' attitudes, practices, knowledge, and skills. The owners should be educated on the importance of proper rest, enough drinking water, proper loading, etc. Training on wound and disease management, its prevention and control, should also be given priority. These efforts will not only alleviate the welfare issues but will also slowly improve the owners' earning potential, thereby leading to working equine-dependent community development. It should be a participatory, whole-community-based approach. Along with this there should be proper veterinary service providers for maintaining primary equine health care. References [1] Pritchard, J.C., Lindberg, A.C., Main, D.C.J., and Whay, H.R., 2005. Assessment of the welfare of working horses, mules and donkeys, using health and behaviour parameters. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 69, 265-283, Available online at www.sciencedirect.com. [2] Rousing, T., Bonde, M., and Sorensen, J.T., 2001. Aggregating welfare indicators into an operational welfare assessment system: a bottom-up approach. Acta Agr. Scand. A: An Suppl. 30, 537. [3] Henneke, D.R., Potter, G.D., Kreider, J.L., and Yeates, B.F., 1983. Relationship between condition score, physical measurement and body fat percentage in mares. Equine Vet. J. 15, 3712. [4] Carol, C.L. and Huntingdon, P.J., 1988. Body condition scoring and weight estimation in horses. Equine Vet. J. 20 (1), 425. [5] Zenker, W., Josseck, H., and Geyer, H., 1995. Histological and physical assessment of poor hoof horn quality in Lipizzaner horses and a therapeutic trial with biotin and a placebo. Equine Vet. J. 27 (3), 18391. [6] Freeman, D.A., Cymbaluk, N.F., Schott, H.C., Hinchcliff, K., McDonnell, S.M., and Kyle, B., 1999. Clinical, biochemical, and hygiene assessment of stabled horses provided continuous or intermittent access to drinking water. Am. J. Vet. Res. 60 (11), 144550. [7] Svendson., E.D, Duncan., J., and Hadrill, D., 2008. The professional handbook of the donkey, 4th edition, 4013.
SURVEY OF DONKEYS IN NORTHERN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF NINGI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF BAUCHI STATE
M. Sanusi, D. J. U. Kalla, D. Zahraddeen, H. M. Mai, M. Abubakar, and I. Shuaibu
Animal Production Programme, School of Agriculture & Agricultural Technology, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, P.M. B. 0248, Bauchi 740004, Nigeria. demokalla71@yahoo.com
Abstract The study investigates the conditions of donkeys managed by farmers in Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi State. A total of 264 donkeys owned by 172 farmers were studied. There were significant differences between male and female donkeys in their girth, body length, and age; values being 126.1 0.58 vs 123.9 0.77cm (P<0.05), 79.7 0.61 vs 81.3 0.64 cm (P<0.05), and 6.2 0.22 versus 5.4 0.21 years (P<0.01) respectively. Most of the donkeys were of moderate condition score and aged 57 years. The common health problems of donkeys in the study area were trypanosomiasis, helminthiasis, and nutritional diseases with prevalence rates of 42.5%, 16.5%, and 15.7% respectively. Up to 8.9% of animals studied had fresh wounds on various parts of their body. Donkeys in the study area contribute to the socio-economic development of the farmers, hence the need to improve their management and welfare. Introduction Nigeria is estimated to have over 1 million donkeys [2]. They are distributed mainly in the northern part of the country. Donkeys are essential to the livelihood of many families, providing farm power and diversifying income. In spite of the increasing popularity of donkeys in Northern Nigeria they have received little or no attention from researchers and developmental agencies [1, 8]. In view of this, a survey for baseline information with respect to ownership patterns, management, health status, and welfare in the Ningi area of Bauchi State was undertaken. Materials and methods Location The study was conducted in Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria. It is situated on at 1010' North 950' East. The vegetation of the area is characterized by typical savannah grassland. Data collection A total of 264 donkeys owned by 172 farmers were studied from September to December 2006 at Ningi weekly market. Each animal's age, sex, body condition score (BCS), and live weight were determined [5, 6].The owners were asked to respond to questions on the management, health, and work performance of their donkey. Faecal and blood samples were also taken for trypanosomiasis and helminthiasis screening. The data obtained were subjected to simple descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results The results showed that the majority (86.6%) of the farmers were males. The average age of the farmers was 48 and 35 years for men and women respectively (Table 1).The total mean number of donkeys per farmer was 1.53. Only 6 (3.6%) of the farmers had more than 5 donkeys.
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Table 1. Profile of donkey ownership in Ningi Age (years) group of owners Male 20 21 40 41 60 61 3 52 75 19 Farmers Female 2 12 7 2 Total(%) 5 (2.9) 64 (37.2) 82 (47.7) 21 (12.2)
Table 2. Mode of acquisition and use of donkeys in Ningi Number of farmers Mode of acquisition Acquired from market Home bred/inheritance Gift Others 58 75 34 4 172 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 23 (13.4) 157 (91.3) 3 (1.7) Transport 47 80 2 172 27.3 46.5 1.6 100 4 (2.3) 1 (0.5) 1 (0.5) 2 (1.2) 0 2 (1.2) Figure 1. Age distribution of working donkeys in Ningi 0 2 (1.2) 172 (100) The majority of the donkeys studied were between the ages of 3 and 10 years. Donkeys over the age of 10 are rarely seen in markets and do little work for a farmer. A relatively small number of donkeys younger than 2 years are seen in some markets (Figure 1). Transport and farm work Others Reasons for keeping donkeys Farm work 42 24.4 33.7 43.6 19.7 2.3 100 Percentage
Number of donkeys per respondent 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total (%) 135 3 4 1 1 2 0 2 0 1 149 (86.6)
About one-third (33.7%) of the farmers bought their animals at the market; 43.6% were home bred, or inherited. Many of the farmers kept their donkeys for the purpose of transportation as shown in Table 2.
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The mean height at withers for male and female donkeys was 119.9 0.56 and 110.46 0.87 cm respectively. Male donkeys had a significantly (P< 0.05) larger chest circumference than the females. The average body length of female donkeys was significantly (P< 0.05) greater than in males. The mean live weights of male and female donkeys were similar (Table 3). Table 3. Linear measurements of height, girth, body length (cm), and weight (kg SEM), and estimation of male and female donkeys in Ningi Parameters Male Height Girth Body length Weight Body condition (1 5)score Age (year) 111.9 0.56 126.1 0.58a 79.7 0.61
b
Table 5. Some common diseases of donkeys in Ningi Disease Male Tryponosomiasis* Helminthiasis* 126 33 1 4 24 40 26 15 Frequency Females 39 31 1 4 5 21 7 9 Overall average 165 (42.5) 64 (16.5) 2 (0.5) 8 (2.1) 31 (7.9) 61 (15.7) 33 (8.5) 24 (6.5)
Values Females 110.4 0.87 123.9 0.77b 81.3 0.64a 141.7 1.76 3.3 0.82 5.4 0.21
b
Los NS * * NS NS
Arthritis Ectoparasites Eye infections Nutritional diseases Wounds on different parts of body Others
148.5 1.31 3.2 0.06 6.2 0.22

a
*confirmed by lab analysis
** Analysis of BCS showed that 37.8% of male donkeys were of moderate score, 9.8% emaciated, and 29.8% thin. On the other hand, 47% of female donkeys were moderate and 22% fat (Table 6). Table 6. 5-scale body condition score of donkeys in Ningi (the Pearson's equivalent is indicated in parenthesis) Condition score Male Donkeys Female 4 (4.0) 27 (27.0) 47 (47.0) 22 (22.0) 0 (0) 100 (100) Total (%) 20 (7.6) 76 (28.8) 109 (41.3) 59 (22.3) 0 (0) 264 (100)
Means in the same row having different superscripts differ significantly, * P< 0.05, ** P<0.01, Los = level of significance, NS = Not significant at 5%
Fifty-two female donkeys aged from 2 years old had foaled at least once, while 23% of them were tentatively diagnosed pregnant at the time of the investigation (Table 4).The health problems of donkeys experienced by the farmers in the study area are shown in Table 5. Table 4. Breeding values of female donkeys in Ningi Age groups 1 25 68 9 and above Total 11 6 1 18 2 6 11 1 18 Foaling per donkey 3 1 9 4 14 4 0 2 0 2 Total (%) 18 (34.6) 28 (53.8) 6 (11.5) 52 (100)
1 Emaciated (1) 2 Thin (2) 3 Moderate (3, 4, and 5) 4 Fat (6 and 7) 5 Obese (8 and 9)
16 (9.8) 49 (29.8) 62 (37.8) 37 (22.6) 0 (0) 164 (100)
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Discussion The fact that up to 13% of the respondents were females suggests that farming activities are not restricted to men in this part of the country. Donkeys, like most other livestock, are owned mostly by the adults and elderly. More than 90% of the respondents owned only 1 donkey: this is probably due to the fact that donkeys are kept only for their power, and not for any other purpose, such as milk or meat production. About 43% of the farmers were involved in home breeding of donkeys in the area. This implies that the population of donkeys in the area will increase. The largest number of the farmers in this study used their donkeys for transport only. Robinson [7] classified donkeys by size: from the Miniature Mediterranean (under 36 inches eqv. 90cm), Standard (36.0148? eqv. 120cm), Large Standard (48.0156? eqv. 140cm), and Mammoth (over 56? eqv. 140cm). The average size of donkeys obtained in this study suggests that donkeys in this part of the country are the 'standard type'. Linear measurements to estimate the weights of farm animals have been widely used. The method used in this study was described by Pearson and Quassat [6]. The small numbers of donkeys over the age of 10 years recorded in this study suggests that the life expectancy of working donkeys in Northern Nigeria is unlikely to be more than the 10 years. This is shorter than the 12 years previously reported in Morocco [6]. Most of the donkeys in this study were in moderate condition, but the number of thin donkeys was found to be very high (28.7%, see Table 2). This is an indication that donkeys in the area are fed poorly [3]. The presence of fresh wounds shows that the welfare of donkeys is being compromised [4]. The large number of adult farmers observed in the study implies that adult farmers were more engaged in farming and merchandising activities as compared to the youngsters. The farmers in this study chose mating partners for their donkeys. The aim of this was to select from the best parents. Conclusion Donkeys from the Ningi area of Bauchi State are used mainly as beasts of burden in various farming activities, but most of them have a poor body condition score. It is therefore suggested that the management of these animals should be improved in order to enhance their welfare and productivity. References [1] Blench, R., Jode, A., and Gherzi, E. (2004). Donkeys in Nigeria: history, distribution and productivity. In: Starkey, P. and Fielding, D. (eds) Donkeys, people and development: a resource book of Animal Traction Network for Eastern and Southern Africa (ATNESA), ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), Wageningen, The Netherlands. [2] FAO (1994). Annual production yearbook 1993, Vol. 47, FAO, Rome. [3] Fielding, D. (1987). Donkey power in African rural transport. World Animal Review 63: 2330. [4] IFAD/FAO/Government of Japan (1998). Agricultural implements used by women farmers in Africa, Italy, Rome. [5] Jones, R. S., Lawrence, T. L., Veevers, A., Cleave, N., and Hall, J. (1989). Accuracy of prediction of live weights of horses from body measurements. Vet. Record 125 (22): 54953. [6] Pearson, R. A. and Quassat, M. (1996). Estimation of live weight and body condition of working donkeys in Morocco. Vet. Record 138: 22933. [7] Robinson, J. (2003). Basic facts about donkeys from the Robinson Ranch and the American Mule and Donkey Society, 2901N Elm, Denton, TX 76201, USA. Donkey Facts (817): 328 684. [8] Uthman, A. (2009). Star feature: Where are the donkeys? Daily Trust Newspaper 21 April: 289.
ECONOMIC VALUATION OF THE IMPACT OF THE WORKING EQUINE IN THE PETEN AND CHIMALTENANGO COMMUNITIES IN GUATEMALA
C. R. Chang, M. Sapn, and D. Rodrguez
Fundacion Equinos Sanos para el Pueblo (ESAP), 3a Avenida Norte No. 28, Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala danilo@equinosano.org
Abstract The Fundacion Equinos Sanos para el Pueblo (ESAP) promotes the welfare of working equines in the rural communities of the Peten and Chimaltenango departments in Guatemala. ESAP has identified that using an equine contributes to the family economy, being the means of transportation for people and produce, especially in communities or land difficult to access. It is therefore important to establish an economic valuation of the impact of the working equine in the Peten and Chimaltenango communities. The main results obtained were as follows. (1) The value of the working equine is greater to the small producers; in these cases, it is inferred that if the working equine is lost, the families would lose the greatest part of their productive assets. (2) The contribution of equines, for example in crop transportation, to production and sale costs is significant. In coffee and corn crop transportation using equines is of major relative importance. (3) The use of equines in agricultural and cattle-raising activities in daily distances between 5 and 10 kilometers show the highest value for economic indicators (benefit cost relations between 2.09 and 3.57). Introduction ESAP has identified the main problems in equine welfare as: excessive work, overloading, bad management and maintenance practices, lack of veterinary services available, and mistreating animals which results in bad nutrition, dehydration, wounds and lacerations, common diseases, and plagues. There are no indicators at a national level to show the importance of working equines in economic terms. In order to involve potential beneficiaries and benefactors, ESAP has established that it is necessary to determine the economic importance of using working equines in the productive processes of low-income families in rural communities. Methods For the elaboration of the study of economic valuation of the impact of the working equine in the Peten and Chimaltenango communities, the following methodology was applied. First a document review was carried out from local and international databases. A survey of community members was developed to determine the economic use of the working equine and its economic value. Complementary information related to costs of production of the main crops (for Peten, corn, beans, and gourd seed; for Chimaltenango, corn, beans, and vegetables, e.g. cauliflowers), management and cattle feeding costs, and equine maintenance costs for each one of the productive systems was compiled in the communities and areas influenced by ESAP. Calculation of economic valuation indicators Based on the information provided in the surveys performed, 5 models of production (productive systems) were established. The cost of transportation was obtained by calculating the number of necessary trips to move the produce (equivalent to the number of days that the horse is used for this activity). The annual costs of maintenance of an equine unit were calculated using the survey results, using estimated expenses in the different categories of feeding, good management, care practices, and necessary equipment. The benefits that the working equine generated were calculated estimating the savings that the producers made because they did not have to rent one for their productive activities. The savings were calculated considering the 106
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renting cost per day or trip according to the distance that the equines had to travel multiplied by the days they were needed. Afterwards indicators such as benefitcost relation, net present value, and the internal rate of return were calculated for farmers using an equine in the different productive systems. Results and discussion For the economic analysis in this study, based on the results of the surveys and the complementary information obtained, 2 productive systems are considered for the Peten communities and 3 for the Chimaltenango communities: Peten Productive System 1 Producers with 34 acres or more, about 20 cattle units (average), and use of at least 3 equines for cattle ranching and transporting agricultural produce Peten Productive System 2 Producers who work mostly on their own agriculture plots and lend their services as day workers on near-by farms; they have less than 8 acres, in some cases rented, and usually 1 or 2 horses for transporting people and goods Chimaltenango Productive System 1 Producers who own between 0.33 and 0.55 acres of land for corn, beans, and vegetables, and a horse for transporting people and cargo (produce and wood) Chimaltenango Productive System 2 Producers who own 3 acres of land to grow corn, beans, and coffee, and a horse for transporting people and cargo (produce and wood) Chimaltenango Productive System 3 Producers who own 3 acres of land to grow corn, beans, and vegetables, and also have at least 2 cattle units for milk (cheese production), and have 2 equines for transporting people and cargo (produce and wood). Composition of productive assets of producers An economic indicator that shows the importance of working equines in the families of the producers is the composition or structure of the productive assets they own. Productive assets are assets or investments that producers use for their productive activities, the main ones being: land (working places) for harvesting or pasture, either owned or rented, cattle, facilities such as stockyards, galleys, feeding stations, and others (irrigation, storehouses, etc.), and the equine units owned. Table 1 shows the composition of the productive assets of the 5 productive systems Table 1. Structure of the Productive Family Assets for each Productive System (Percentage) Productive System Peten: Productive system1 Peten: Productive system2 Chimaltenango Productive system1 Chimaltenango Productive system2 Chimaltenango Productive system3 Lands 82% 55% 43% 88% 67% Cattle 10% 10% Equines 3% 45% 57% 12% 9% Others 5% 14%
As shown in Table 1, the economic importance of equines is greater to small producers. If the equine owned by a Chimaltenango small producer family is lost (productive system 1), these people would be losing almost 60% of their productive assets; and in the case of small producers in the Peten communities they would be losing 45% of their productive assets. The importance of the equine decreases as producers own more land and dedicate it to cattle raising. A similar situation applies to the productive system 2 of Chimaltenango (including as a main activity coffee planting). Added value of equines The contribution of the equine, as transporter of crops, to production and sale costs is significant. It is an added economic value in the costs, because in most cases it is an imputed cost since if the producer did not have an equine they would have to spend the same cost to rent it (real or financial cost). Table 2 shows the estimates of the contribution of equines to production and sale costs for each of the 5 productive systems.. Table 2. Contribution (Added Value) of the use of equines in the production and sale costs for each Productive System and Product Productive System Costs of Production (Quetzales) Peten: Productive system1 Peten: Productive system2 Chimaltenango: Productive system 1 Chimaltenango: Productive system 2 Chimaltenango: Productive system 2 (Coffee) Chimaltenango: Productive system 3 26,000.00 13,000.00 2,700.00 3,600.00 3,600.00 7,500.00 7,500.00 1,400.00 1,400.00 2,100.00 3,500.00 1,750.00 2,400.00 2,400.00 11,250.00 6,600.00 Corn Beans Gourd seed/ Vegetables/Coffee *
Costs Moving the Product using equines from 5 - 10 Km (Quetzales) Peten: Productive system 1 Peten: Productive system 2 Chimaltenango: Productive system 1 Chimaltenango: Productive system 2 Chimaltenango: Productive system 2 (Coffee) Chimaltenango: Productive system 3 1,250.00 1,000.00 600.00 800.00 800.00 500.00 375.00 200.00 250.00 375.00 200.00 150.00 400.00 400.00 1,350.00 1,100.00
Added value for using equines in the production costs (Percentage) Peten: Productive system 1 5% 7% 6%
Source: Based in the information from the Economic Analysis of the community surveys.
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Peten: Productive system 2 Chimaltenango: Productive system 1 Chimaltenango: Productive system 2 Chimaltenango: Productive system 2 (Coffee) Chimaltenango: Productive system 3
8% 22% 22% 22%
5% 14% 18% 2%
9% 17% 17% 12% 17%
Table 4. Calculation of economic evaluation indicators of using working equines Alternatives Evaluation Indicators Benefit / Cost Peten: Using an equine for cattle raising from a 5 to 10 kilometer distance Peten: Using an equine for cattle raising, in less than a 5 kilometer distance Peten: Using an equine in agriculture, in a 5 to 10 kilometer distance Peten: Using an equine in agriculture, in less than a kilometer distance Chimaltenango: Using an equine for cattle raising, from a 5 to 10 kilometer Chimaltenango: Using an equine for cattle raising, in less than a 5 kilometer distance Chimaltenango: Using an equine in agriculture, in a 5 to 10 kilometer distance Chimaltenango: Using an equine in agriculture, in less than a 5 kilometer distance 2.09 1.25 2.56 1.54 Net Present Value (Quetzales) 22,543 5,240 19,763 6,786
* Gourd seed for the productive systems of Peten, and vegetables and coffee for the Chimaltenango productive systems. SOURCE: Based on the Information from the Economic Analysis of community surveys. Equines are of major importance in the transportation of corn crops. Their significance is bigger in the productive systems in the Chimaltenango communities that produce mainly for family consumption. Equines also have a significant relative importance in the transportation of vegetables because of volume. Moving the coffee harvest is the activity where the working equine is used more, 27 trips for an average output of 54 hundredweight in the Productive System 2 of Chimaltenango; and moving the corn production in the Productive System 1 of Petn follows in importance (25 trips). Costs incurred by not having a working equine Table 3 shows costs incurred by farmers who do not have a working equine. Table 3. Annual costs that the producers must incur for not having a working equine (In Quetzales) Communities/ Productive Activity Daily distance they have to travel Less than 5 km Peten: Cattle raising activity Peten: Agricultural activity Chimaltenango: Cattle raising activity Chimaltenango: Agricultural Activity Q.7,200.00 Q.5,400.00 Q.5,400.00 Q.5,400.00 From 5 to 10 km Q.12,000.00 Q.9,000.00 Q. 9,000.00 Q.9,000.00
2.42 1.45 3.57 2.14
19,027 6,050 23,350 10,373
SOURCE: Based on the information from the Economic Analysis of the community surveys. The results of the calculations of the internal return rate were not shown in Table 4: in all cases this indicator was bigger than 100% because since the first year of analysis the fund of flows is positive. The small producers with less than 0.55 acres of land (productive system 1 of Chimaltenango), who travel a 510 kilometre distance show the highest benefitcost relation of 3.57 and a NPV of Q.23,350.00. The NPV [1] in this case shows the profit generated by the use of a working equine for 5 years. Conclusions By employing working equines low-income communities have a positive economic impact. It is important to understand that the significance of the equines' contributions increases with small producers: local, regional, and national authorities must devise programmes to protect this valuable asset. Note [1] The net present value (NPV) signifies the present value of the net benefits (income minus costs) generated by an investment when considering an updating rate in a determined period.
SOURCE: Based on the information from the Economic Analysis of the community surveys. Economic valuation of working equines The calculation of economic evaluation indicators was elaborated, comparing the benefits that the equine generates in the family productive activities with the investments involved in having them and the annual maintenance costs. Table 4 gives an analysis for a 5-year period, applying a 12% updating rate (the one used for development projects).
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DONKEY BREEDS OF NORTH-EASTERN BALOCHISTAN, PAKHTOONKHUA, AND SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN

A. Raziq , M. Khudaidad Yahya, Z. Rehman , and A. Jabbar
1
breeds are very important for work: they are very hardy and drought-resistant animals. Each breed is discussed in turn, giving its qualitative characteristics. Shinghari breed Habitat: The production area of this breed is Khurasan, the Suleiman mountain region, and the Marri and Bugti hills. The nucleuses of the breed are Kakkal of Kibzai tribe, Meerkhani of Buzdar tribe, Salatha and Hazargat of Maghdozai tribe, Zamari, Shighala of Mardanzai tribe, Sharan of Babakarkhail tribe, Kohai of Issot, Goshani area Baloch tribe and Masuri tribe of Bugti area. The nomads are the main traders and users of the breed. Figure 2 gives an example of the Shinghari breed. Phenotypic characteristics: There are many colours in the Shinghari breed of donkey, but the dominant and selective colour is white. The breed is large and well adapted to the ecology of the area. It can carry a load on its back up to 240kg on the plain and 160kg in mountainous areas. Age at first mating is 24 years depending upon feed availability and type of work. Vegetation: It consumes all types of grasses and bushes, and will even eat bark and wood from trees in times of feed scarcity. Population: There are about 1.2 million Shinghari donkeys and the trend is increasing in breeding herds. The sporadic use by ordinary people and carters in cities is decreasing because of Chinese-made rickshaws. However, a decrease in the cities is made up for by the mining industry. Special traits: Very hardy and consumes very fibrous feeding materials No leech infestation because it drinks water with closed jaws Highly resistant to diseases Very fit to work in mountainous terrain Can walk long distances, making it fit for the nomadic system Economic importance: It is used equally by city carters, nomads, and pastoral people. It is also widely used in the chromite mines, where demand for it is increasing [2]. The main marketing place is Mangrota camel fair. The price of a vigorous healthy male may reach 50,000 Rupees per head [3]. Sperki breed Habitat: The production area of this breed is as for the Shinghari, i.e. Khurasan, the Suleiman mountain region, and the Marri and Bugti hills. It is mostly found in the Kohlu district. Figure 3 gives an example of the Sperki breed. Phenotypic characteristics: Small, very wild, and not easy to handle, it is a threat to the Shinghari breed because of its high libido and ability to mate with Shinghari females. It can carry a load on its back up to 160kg on the plain and 6080kg in mountainous areas; it is used mainly for water transportation and light agricultural operations. Age at first mating is 2 years depending upon feed availability and type of work. Vegetation: It consumes all types of grasses and bushes, and will even eat bark and wood from trees in times of feed scarcity. Population: There are about 0.5 million Sperki donkeys; the trend is stable or even decline. Special traits: Very hardy and consumes very fibrous feeding materials No need of any care and management Highly resistant to diseases Ability to run fast Economic importance: This breed is mainly used for water transportation and light agricultural operations. The children of nomads are also carried by this donkey. In the cities of Punjab and Sind it is used to pull light carts; in these provinces it is used as a game animal for cart racing, hence fetching a high price. Conclusion The region has significant animal genetic resources and the donkey is one of the most important and useful of them. The donkey works hard for a long time but its role is not appreciated. Physical cruelty, wounds, and low-grade 112
President of the Society of Animal, Veterinary and Environmental Scientists (SAVES) 2 Livestock and Dairy Development Department, Balochistan, Pakistan
Abstract The donkey is a very important draught animal of in north-eastern Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtoonkhua, and southern Afghanistan. In this region, it is mostly used for pastoralism, pneumatic wheel carting, and light agricultural operations. The region is the habitat of many livestock breeds and the donkey is one of the most important. Unfortunately, the role of donkey is never praised by scientists and policy makers of the region. Studies of the breeds are even scarcer. This study was, therefore, conducted to discover the genetics of the donkeys of the region. The research was based on a survey report, prepared using a pre-tested questionnaire according to the perspectives of the donkey keepers and breeders. It was found that there are two donkey breeds (Shinghari and Sperki) in the region, which each play important roles in providing draught power in pastoral migration and other draught operations. This study suggests further work on the issues related to the donkey, especially its socioeconomic role in the life of donkey herders of the region. Introduction The study area (mostly composed of Pashtoon land) is the home tract of many important livestock breeds (Figure 1). The region has a very rich history. Avesta, the holy book of Zoroaster written in 25702523 BP, named the region Orawah. The expanse was also called Arya Warsha ('the place for grazing'). The Pashto word is 'Warsh' (grazing land). The region is still very famous for nomadic life and extensive livestock production [1]. The area lies in a semiarid region, receiving 200500mm precipitation bimodal. The region receives its precipitation both from the summer monsoon and Mediterranean breeze. There is an extensive livestock production system in the region. The livestock keepers practise nomadic, seminomadic, and sedentary production systems. The donkey, especially the Shinghari, is kept by the Afghan nomads and the Shinghari donkey breeders of north-eastern Balochistan. The Afghan nomads usually use the Shinghari donkey for pastoral migration. The migratory period starts with the onset of winter. A migration may originate from central and southern Afghanistan and may end up in any part of Balochistan or the Indus plains. With the onset of the spring season, the nomads return to the mountainous areas. The movement is along traditionally fixed routes. The migration involves both pastoral and trading activities: the migrants are accompanied by their flocks and trade goods which they transport on camels. The sperki breed of donkey is mainly used for light work, carting, and water transportation. This breed is mainly used by the semi-nomadic livestock keepers and the sedentary peoples. Materials and methods This study was conducted in 2009. Data were collected on the habitat, phenotypic characteristics of the donkey, vegetation of the region, donkey population size and trend, and special traits of the donkey, e.g. hardiness, disease resistance, walking ability, etc. The donkey's economic importance and socio-cultural role was discussed with the donkey herders on a pre-tested questionnaire. This study was entirely based on the information given by the donkey keepers, and the breeds were documented according to the perspectives of the relevant breeders. Results and discussion There are two breeds of donkey in the region. The Sperki breed is mostly found in the Suleiman mountain region, while the Shinghari breed is found in southern Afghanistan and the adjoining area of Kakar Khurasan. Larger breeding herds of Shinghari breed are found in the Suleiman mountain region (north-eastern Balochistan). Both
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feeding material are the common problems of the donkey in the region. There is no veterinary facility for this neglected animal. It is time to help the donkey of the region and mobilize donkey owners to give proper attention and care to this neglected animal. References [1] Habibi, A.H. 1999. The short history of Afghanistan. Qisa Khuani Bazar, Peshawar, Pakistan. [2] Raziq, A. 2008. Pastoral map of Pakistan. Online publication: www.lifeinitiative.net/docs/pastoral_map_of_pakistan.pdf. [3] Raziq, A. 2008. Mangrota camel fair. Online publication: www.lifeinitiative.net/docs/mangrota_camel_fair.pdf. Figure 1. Map of the region
Figure 2. Shinghari donkey
Figure 3. Sperki donkey
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4 Facilitating Human Behaviour Change
FACILITATING COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOUR CHANGE FOR IMPROVING LIVELIHOODS OF THE POOR

K. Kar
CLTS Foundation, R-109, The Residency, City Centre, Salt Lake, Kolkata, India
health implications form the basis and are tilted mainly towards material-focused solutions suggested by outsiders. In CLTS the assumptions are heavily based on collective local strengths of communities, their sense of selfrespect, and their capabilities to change. How do we move from top-down delivery to interactive participation of the stakeholders? Unlike earlier approaches to rural sanitation, in CLTS the outside facilitators visit communities not as advisers, educators, or providers of money or materials for improving sanitation. It is basically a learning exercise where a set of different participatory tools is used to facilitate visual analysis of the sanitation profile by the local communities. These visual analytical tools when used by the community members themselves, generate shame, disgust, fear, and self-respect and create an urge to move out of that situation through collective local actions. How do we initiate community-led collective behaviour change? The CLTS approach originates from Kamal Kar's evaluation of the traditional water and sanitation programme of WaterAid Bangladesh and its local partner organization, VERC ((Village Education Resource Centre a local NGO), and his subsequent work in Bangladesh in late 19992000. This led to the discovery of the CLTS approach in which use of PRA methods enables local communities to analyse their sanitation conditions and collectively internalize the terrible impact of OD on public health and on the entire neighbourhood environment. When triggered systematically and combined with a 'no-hardware subsidy' policy and a hands-off approach by the facilitator, CLTS can provoke urgent collective local action to become totally ODF. Triggering CLTS with communities The process of facilitating participatory exercises using different tools of CLTS, where a local community realizes the bad effects of open defecation and decides to stop it through collective analysis of its own sanitation situation and profile, is called 'triggering'. Triggering exercises are facilitated separately for the adults, children, and, where necessary, for the women. The final outcome of the triggering exercise is the community realization of ingesting one another's faecal matter due to open defecation followed by their collective decision of stopping it as soon as possible. Defecation area mapping In a defecation area mapping exercise, members of the local community join together and draw a large ground map of their village/neighbourhood using different colour powders, sawdust, ash, rice husks, or other local materials. While indicating the outer boundary of the village, on the ground map they indicate their houses (using cards), main landmarks like schools, churches, temples, and mosques, main roads, bushes, forest, water sources, etc. Finally, they show places of open defecation using yellow powder on the map and draw lines to connect those areas with their respective homes. Calculation of faecal matter Generally this participatory analysis follows immediately after the defecation area mapping is done. Members of the community discuss and calculate the average amount of faecal matter 1 person produces per day. If they decide the amount of faecal matter produced per day is 0.5kg, each family will calculate how much faecal matter it produces. If there are 5 members of a family, they would write 2.5kg on the card. Finally the community adds up the amount written on all the cards and calculates the total amount of faecal matter spread by them in the open on each single day. Calculation of household medical expenses Communities do this analysis in the same way as they calculate the amount of faecal matter produced. Participating members discuss and decide the average amount of money they spend on treatment of diarrhoea, dysentery, and other enteric diseases caused by open defecation. Often the cost varies greatly between families. However, once most families agree an average amount of money spent per month or year per family, they write the figure on the card. Then they calculate the total amount of money going out of the village every year/over the next 10 years. 116
Introduction More than 2.5 billion people of the world don't have access to basic sanitation facilities and the number of people practising open defecation (OD) globally is a staggering 1.8 billion. Due to large-scale practice of OD associated with other factors the global death rate of children is horrific and shocking 1 child is dying every 15 seconds. While most of those lacking access to safe sanitation belong to poor and ultra-poor population of the world, interestingly not all those practising open defecation are poor. A large majority of the world's poor is landless, marginal. Often the poor depend on livestock rearing and/or on working animals for their livelihoods. The population of working animaldependent poor is quite high in countries like India, Nepal, Bhutan, Egypt, Ethiopia, and most countries in subSaharan Africa. The practice of open defecation associated with a filthy living environment puts them at a higher risk not only of diarrhoea, typhoid, cholera, and other enteric diseases but many zoonotic diseases and other infections. Among some of the underlying causes contributing to extreme poverty, an unhygienic behaviour pattern such as open defecation by communities is one. As much as social and economic exploitation and discrimination and marginalization by class, cast, etc., lack of public participation in achieving a safe and healthy environment through collective behaviour change often increases the disease burden and cripples communities by pushing them down the poverty ladder. Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) has been very successful in building social solidarity by initiating collective local actions in achieving the 'common good' an 'Open Defecation Free' environment rather than achieving the 'individual good' of latrine acquisition by only a few in the community. Collective behaviour change could not only improve health but also arrest the economic downslide by drastically reducing household medical expenses and enhancing family income. Community-Led Total Sanitation Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) focuses on igniting a change in sanitation behaviour rather than constructing toilets. It does this through a process of social awakening that is stimulated by facilitators from within or outside the community. It concentrates on the whole community rather than on individual behaviour. Collective benefit from stopping open defecation (OD) can encourage a more cooperative approach. People decide together how they will create a clean and hygienic environment that benefits everyone. It is fundamental that CLTS involves no individual household hardware subsidy and does not prescribe latrine models. Social solidarity, help, and cooperation among the households in the community are a common and vital element in CLTS. Community-Led Total Sanitation or CLTS has a huge potential for addressing the rural/urban sanitation situation in developing countries, enhancing human wellbeing, and contributing to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by drastically reducing the incidences of enteric diseases and the burden of zoonotic and marginal infections, which are designated as 'diseases of poverty'. CLTS as entry point activity for holistic development CLTS could not only play a great role in triggering collective hygiene behaviour change but could also be an entry point for initiating many other interventions for improving wellbeing through a community-led process. Many good examples of such a development model have been created by empowered communities in many countries in ensuring food security, primary education, equal wages, local governance, and utilization of natural resources by groups of poor and landless, etc. The basic assumptions in the CLTS approach are radically different from the assumptions of traditional sanitation approaches where poverty, lack of local capacity, and ignorance of negative 115
Defecation area transect Members of the community gathered around the map are requested to take the facilitators to places which are being used for OD by many families. One or 2 groups of adults could visit more than one major OD area in and around the village. A lot of interesting discussions take place during OD area transects walks. Children are taken for transect walks separately from the adults. One of the main objectives of facilitating this exercise is to provoke an element of disgust and fear of contamination and disease. Diagramming faecaloral contamination route Drawing attention to the huge amount of faecal matter produced and spread in the open on a daily basis, the community members are asked where it all goes. Some might say it gets in the water through rain, or is brought home by flies, domestic animals, shoes, bicycle tyres, etc. As the members of the community respond to the questions asked by the facilitators, their answers are written on separate cards and are placed on the ground and a linkage diagram is drawn. This exercise provokes extreme disgust amongst the community analysts. Often at this point the triggering process reaches its peak when people spontaneously say: 'We have been eating each other's faecal matter.' Food and faecal matter Facilitators often collect raw faecal matter from OD areas during transect walks and bring it to the gathering around the ground map where everybody assembles after the walk. A plate of food is kept next to the faecal matter quietly. Fresh food and raw faecal matter quickly attract flies, which start moving between the two. Community members notice the phenomenon very soon and begin to react. Often reactions lead to women spitting profusely or even vomiting. An extreme level of disgust is generated at this point, which results in triggering. Water and faecal matter A sealed bottle of fresh drinking water (or a glass of drinking water sought from a household) is offered to a few members of the community. After some drink the water, the bottle is taken back, and the lead facilitator plucks a hair from his/her head and touches it on the faecal matter and dips it in the drinking water in the bottle. After a couple of shakes the same bottle of water is offered again to the same persons. Though the water looks as fresh and clear as it was before, people refuse to drink or even to touch it. Questions are then asked as to how many legs a fly has/whether flies could bring more or less faecal matter on their legs/whether people throw away food or plates, or glass or drink, once flies land on them. ODF declaration and celebration Once the community stops the practice of OD totally and continues to maintain this status for a few months and shows almost no indication of reverting to the practice of OD, rigorous verification and certification procedures are followed before they are declared ODF. The concerned community, natural leaders from neighbouring ODF villages if any, and agencies associated with the process of triggering, follow-up, verification and certification jointly agree the declaration of ODF status before a celebration is arranged. Natural leaders run the show and offer their support to any community wanting to become ODF. Emergence and role of natural leaders Natural leaders are the ones who emerge spontaneously during the process of triggering and post-triggering stages. These are the people who take the lead role in cleaning up the community and in ending OD, as they best understand the meaninglessness of constructing a few more latrines rather than eradicating OD. They are the ones who really get charged up from the entire process, want to stop OD with immediate effect, and jump into action, involving the community/neighbourhood in eradicating the practice. They could be schoolboys or girls, young men or women, elderly people, religious leaders, or formal/informal leaders of the village or community. Often these natural leaders don't stop after the community achieves ODF status but carry on with their efforts, addressing other common needs of the community, such as food security, livelihood issues, education, or protection from natural calamities. They may initiate other collective local actions in addressing issues like solid waste management, cleaning of public toilets, drains, and other such aspects. Outside facilitators provide follow-
up in these communities and keep an eye on the emerging natural leaders, who are different and could be used as community consultants in helping nearby communities later. Community award and penalty In order to enforce the law of no open defecation the empowered communities often form sanitation committees who keep watch and continually discourage people from defecating in the open. After the date of declaration of ODF the community often rewards any one who identifies an offender or contributes substantially in changing the collective or individual behaviour pattern. The reward could be a small amount of money or public thanks to natural leaders at a large village gathering. Often a village chief offers the reward of a sheep or a goat to the small hamlet of the village that achieves ODF first. Likewise, offenders are sometimes fined or penalized for their offence, as agreed by the community. Social solidarity Social solidarity is a very strong element of the CLTS approach where the better off and the poor of village come together and make all efforts to achieve OF status. Often the rich of the village help the poor with local materials for construction of latrines, for example bamboo, wooden planks, polythene, or even space for the landless. The village youth often dig pits for the elderly or disabled in the community. Global spread of CLTS and the future Since its innovation CLTS has spread in over 34 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America and tens of thousands of villages have been declared ODF, benefiting at least 1520 million people. Active promoters of CLTS include UNICEF, Plan International, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the national governments of many countries. References Further reading Chambers, Robert (2009) Going to Scale with Community-Led Total Sanitation: Reflections on Experience, Issues and Ways Forward. IDS Practice Paper, Brighton, IDS. George, Rose (2008) The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters. Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt & Company, New York. Kar, Kamal (2006) Subsidy or Self-Respect? IDS Working Paper 184, Brighton, IDS. Kar, Kamal with Robert Chambers (2008) Handbook on Community-Led Total Sanitation. London, Plan International (UK). French, Spanish, Portuguese, Bengali and Hindi translations are available for free download. Kar, Kamal and Petra Bongartz (2006) Latest Update to Subsidy or Self Respect? Update IDS Working Paper 257, Brighton, IDS. Kar, Kamal and Katherine Pasteur (2005) Subsidy or Self-Respect? Community Led Total Sanitation. An Update On Recent Developments. IDS Working Paper 257, Brighton, IDS. Mehta, Lyla and Synne Movik (forthcoming) Shit Matters. Films BBC/TVE: Earth Report Part 1 Clean Living Part 1 (Bangladesh) To order this please contact Dina Junkermann, TVE distribution manager: tel. +44 20 7901 8834, dina.junkermann@tve.org.uk. A clip from the film can also be viewed on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSCFJxhjNqg Knowledge Links, Delhi has produced the following films: No Shit Please! Understanding CLTS with Kamal Kar
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People and their Voices Ek Behtar Duniya Ke Liye (Hindi) To order them, please contact knowledgelinks@gmail.com. WSP: Awakening: The Story of Achieving Total Sanitation in Bangladesh Part 1 http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZObVlirCzQ. Part 2 http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HkiCi3AEa80&feature=related. For more information, contact Ajith Kumar, Ckumar1@worldbank.org WSP: Awakening Change: CLTS in Indonesia (in English and Bahasa Indonesia) Available from Water and Sanitation Program East Asia and Pacific. Contact Djoko Wartono dwartono@worldbank.org. On YouTube Plan, Bangladesh http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SPtM4pZrf1g http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mOG_vUgQCDc&feature=related IRSP Pakistan http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mzpR-xVH8nQ Website The CLTS website www.communityledtotalsanitation.org has much information about CLTS in different countries, publications, including research reports and conference papers, a library of photographs, and information about other websites and electronic sources.
MOVING FROM A TREATMENT-FOCUSSED TO PREVENTION-FOCUSSED APPROACH

S. Rogers
WSPA, 5th floor, 222 Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8HB, UK suzannerogers@wspa-international.org
Traditionally, World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) equine projects, in partnership with our member societies, have focussed on providing affordable, accessible veterinary care to communities that rely on working equines. However, running static and mobile clinics is expensive and reaches only a limited number of equines. Furthermore, we questioned whether we were making a meaningful difference to their welfare. The veterinary activities and educational activities were not significantly changing the way owners worked and cared for their animals, thus our projects were not addressing the causes of the problem; rather, we were focussing on alleviating the symptoms. This paper describes our experiences in trialling the incorporation of lessons from the field of human behaviour change into our work, focussing on our projects in Cambodia, Uruguay, and the Palestinian territories. Introduction WSPA has a network of more than 1,000 member societies in over 150 countries, some of which become partners in projects. In the past our equine projects were treatment focussed we ran static and mobile clinics to provide veterinary treatment alongside educational activities such as training farriers to improve their skills, and providing information to owners through leaflets and lectures. Running clinics is expensive in terms of resources and cost, and the number of equines we were reaching wasn't a large enough percentage of the population to be really making a difference on a population level. We also questioned if we were making a meaningful difference on an individual level; although many of our activities were focussing on important preventative veterinary care, such as vaccination and deworming, or providing treatment of lesions to prevent pain, we did not feel we were making a difference to their daily lives. The member societies were reporting that veterinary activities and education were not significantly changing the way that owners managed and cared for their equines. We wanted to make our projects reach more animals in a more impactful way by changing the focus from 'cure' to prevention. With help from Dr Whay from Bristol University, we researched the field of human behaviour change and social marketing (an application of marketing, along with other concepts and techniques, to achieve specific behavioural goals for a social good). This paper describes our experiences of trialling such approaches with communities reliant on working equines. I will explain how we are changing the focus of our work and will include examples of the changes owners are making that will improve the lives of their equines. The concepts behind the approach can be applied across different cultures and contexts to improve the effectiveness of many aspects of our work. Methods The field of human behaviour change covers the study of the motivations involved, stages of change, and methodology to promote change. WSPA is not seeking to re-invent this knowledge but to apply the lessons learnt from the humanitarian and social marketing sectors in the context of animal welfare. It can be expected to be more difficult to change human behaviour for the benefit of an animal rather than when behaviour change will benefit the human themselves. Awareness is not the same as behaviour change in the same way that we know that smoking is bad for us and vegetables are good for us but do not necessarily behave accordingly, equine owners know that their animals need a good diet and care but if they don't have the resources then this awareness does not change anything. To change
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their behaviour people must feel involved and learn by 'doing' telling people what to do, or giving them information does not automatically lead them to do this. Methods of encouraging change are varied and include mass communication, incentives, capacity building, cognitivebehavioural modification, social marketing, and participatory action research. We have focused on participatory and social marketing techniques within WSPA, we have called this type of work 'human behaviour change' (HBC). We use this term for changing the way that owners care for and work their animals, and for involving people in the planning, running, and evaluation of projects run by our member societies, as well as other activities such as lobbying and wider education programmes. Results We have built the capacity of our partner societies to improve their projects For example, after training, our Cambodian vets changed the way they interact with owners during mobile clinic activities they now focus on 'learning by doing' and emphasize the importance of prevention. Thus the member society is targeting its activities more effectively as well as giving the owners the tools to change their behaviour. We have engaged with equine-owning communities In 2009 we trained 85 owners as community facilitators across our projects; on average, each facilitator has gone on to encourage a further 20 people to consider, in a meaningful way (i.e. they have been involved in at least 2 exercises about animal welfare), the welfare of their equines. Thus, we have reached at least 1,700 owners (and many more animals), and the sphere of influence of this work is likely to be much larger as each project continues. For example, one community facilitator ran the exercises with children at a school and the teacher, although sceptical at first, ended up wanting to learn how she could incorporate welfare exercises into her work. Owners have changed the way they care for and work their equines In Cambodia prior to our work, owners did not provide water in the stables, but now our member society and community facilitators report that many of the owners always provide water in the stables. Also, the owners are starting to change the way they manage their income. In the past, they would spend their money straightaway; this was fine in the dry season when they made more money, however, in the wet season, when their income is lower, this could be problematic, especially as their ponies are more likely to suffer from infections and diseases. Now, the owners save their money in the dry season so they have reserves to take care of their ponies in the wet season. In the Palestinian territories children have been seen to chastise others who hit donkeys. Communities have worked together to address some of the needs identified For example, in Cambodia where the roads are badly made, 2 communities have been working together to fill the holes in the roads to make the journey smoother for horses pulling carts. In Uruguay, the community has worked together to plan a 'festival' at which horse owners prepare their horses and carts for a parade. This was planned because the community wanted to show off their healthy horses to each other, to promote interest in the project, and to inspire more people to change the way they care for their animals. The event will build a valuable base for further work together. We have seen improvements in the welfare of equines In Uruguay our partners have noticed that owners care more about their horses now. For example, many owners now provide their equines with water and a comfortable place to rest, and the stables and beds have been improved. Calls for veterinary care emergencies at 'Borro' neighbourhood where the HBC project is focussed, decreased from 87 calls in 2008 to 23 calls in 2009, tentatively suggesting that this improved care is preventing problems.
Lessons learnt Obtaining data to provide scientifically robust evidence that our new approach is more impactful than our old one is difficult. However, we are improving our monitoring and evaluation methods and have many examples of changes of management practice and subsequent observed positive effects on the welfare of equines. Mixing a service-based (i.e. mobile clinic) with participatory approach is not ideal. A project should start with a participatory approach and only after initial research and action will it be viable to consider how you could work with the community to provide a veterinary service. However, in some projects the mobile and static clinics are acting to bring the member societies and communities closer together. The mobile clinic can provide a good platform for educational activities, training, and advice on preventative care. Care needs to be taken that the preventative and husbandry advice is not lost with the owner focussing on the provision of medicines. The HBC programme reaches further than working with individual horse owners. The concepts can also be applied to make workshops more effective, to change the way mobile clinic staff interact with animal owners, and to change the way vets teach owners or other vets about prevention. Summary The aim of WSPA's working equine programmes is to build the capacity of our member societies to improve the effectiveness of the work they do with equines. We are moving away from a treatment-focussed approach towards a prevention-based approach working through member societies to reach horse-owning communities. The examples presented show that the methods used have potential to help us achieve our aim, but we need to improve the information we get back from the communities to truly evaluate the extent of changes made as a result of our projects.
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WORKING AT DEEPER LEVELS TO ENABLE CHANGE

S. J. Price
The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, Devon EX10 ONU, UK sally.price@thedonkeysanctuary.com
had helped them to become more open in sharing their other problems and helping each other. Realizing that one member in the community had skills in farriery, after the workshops the community began to go to that person, which has greatly reduced the number of hoof problems in their donkeys. Therefore community education programmes have the potential to bring communities together and make them stronger. Working in this way we are developing their critical awareness and inner life skills which have the potential to change how they view themselves, their lives, and their ability to do something to overcome their problems and improve their lives. What we are doing is potentially very powerful as we are facilitating the change of the collective consciousness of a community [2]. This framework interlinks well with the second framework that I use. The life skills framework These are the core life skills needed to be developed in people to bring about behaviour change [3]. They were first applied in HIV/AIDS behaviour change programmes, but are now universally recognized as key life skills to be developed in people while implementing any behaviour change programme. The principle is that inner life skills need to be developed in people before outer behaviour change can be created. They are: Empathy and self-awareness Critical thinking and creative thinking Problem solving Decision making Dealing with stress and emotion Interpersonal and communication skills Within donkey welfare education programmes these inner life skills are equally relevant. We need to develop peoples empathy towards the animals: their ability to understand how a donkey thinks and behaves and therefore what the donkey needs. Their critical thinking skills are developed in relation to understanding cause and effect: if I do this, this could be the consequence to my donkeys welfare, or these are some of the root causes of donkey welfare in my community. By developing their creative thinking skills we can enable people to come up with a wide and innovative range of choices or solutions that they could adopt for improving donkey welfare. Regarding communication skills we develop their skills in communicating with donkeys and how to understand the donkeys non-verbal body language, and also how to communicate with other people or groups in promoting donkey welfare. We develop the decision-making and problem- solving skills of the community by using participatory tools. Finally we may need to develop peoples skills in how they deal with their stress and emotion, in places where they are using their donkey as a vehicle to express this. Donkey welfare education programmes These 2 frameworks have contributed, in a complementary way, to how we develop our programmes. Examples follow from the work that our Egypt team has been doing in the brick kilns in Helwan Province, Cairo. In El Besher brick kiln our Egypt team formed a donkey club because many donkeys had beating wounds and children collectively promised to stop beating the donkeys. However, on our next visit, some children were crying and trying to beat the donkeys with small strips of plastic. They were crying because they couldnt get the donkeys to move; both children and donkeys were confused. The educators had worked at the level of beliefs and thus increased their level of empathy, but hadnt given the children any new skills to replace the old behaviour. This experience served as a good reflection on the fact that, when we do raise peoples levels of empathy, we also have a responsibility to equip them with the skills complementing their raised empathy. The educators then helped the children understand the different ways they could communicate and work with the donkeys without beating them. The children now wave their hands and use small sticks to encourage their donkeys to move, and there are no beating wounds on the donkeys. 124
This paper discusses 2 frameworks that I found useful when working in the field of human behaviour change. I used them during 16 years of working in the humanitarian development work fields of HIV/AIDS, life skills, and postconflict education. It discusses how I have applied these frameworks within the Donkey Sanctuarys community development and education programmes in our overseas projects. The logical levels framework Many behaviour change programmes work on the principle that if you give people skills then this will automatically lead to behaviour change. The logical levels identify all the levels that make up a person or a community, and how if we work at these levels we can greatly increase the chance of bringing about behaviour change [1]. These levels are interlinked and when we work at one level it can influence change in other levels too. The logical levels are: Beliefs Identity Spirituality Skills Behaviour Environment Programmes aiming to bring about behaviour change fall short of engaging with the higher levels. However, it is often when we work at these levels that we can create a lever for change. Beliefs In any education programme, peoples beliefs greatly influence its success or failure. For example, if people do not believe that something is relevant or true to them, or if they dont believe it is possible for them to do anything about their situation, then however engaging the programme is, it is unlikely to bring about behaviour change. Therefore, before designing education programmes, it is crucial to find out the beliefs that the people hold. Identity This level is linked to peoples self-esteem. Often when we engage people as educators or as CAHW, or when we work in partnership, with active roles for them in implementation, their sense of identity and their self-esteem will increase Spirituality Spirituality is a level that development workers in the West often forget to consider; it can be a powerful motivator for change. Not necessarily having a religious context, this is more about how people feel connected to something bigger than themselves. People may be reluctant to change if they dont believe that the change will make a difference, but if they believe that their actions will affect a whole group of people and a bigger cause, they are more likely to be motivated to change. In our community development programmes we work collectively with people, engaging them at the level of spirituality. When our Mexico team first started doing community education workshops in Chiquispac in Mexico State using participatory approaches, the community were able to realise the root causes of the welfare problems affecting their donkeys and the solutions to these problems. The community said our workshops on donkey welfare
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When carrying out a participatory baseline survey in these brick kilns, our Egypt team found in their needs assessment that one of the main welfare problems was children beating the donkeys in the belief that it will make them work harder. One of the consistent beliefs that came out during focus-group workshops with the children was: Horses feel pain but donkeys dont. Therefore although empathy education is very important, the team first had to address the belief the children held. The team first educated the children on the reasons why donkeys do not show their pain in the same way that horses do, going back to the donkeys origins. In this way the children were able to understand how a donkey thinks and behaves and the reasons behind this, which in turn increased their level of empathy and understanding towards donkeys. Another belief the children voiced was, that there is nothing they could do about not beating the donkeys, because if they do not work hard and beat the donkeys, the older boys and foremen would beat them. Up to this point the education programme had focused predominately on the children but from this the team realized all the different groups that had an impact on donkey welfare. Therefore when the Egypt team designed its programme they incorporated working in a participatory way with all these different groups including the owners, foremen, stockmen, drivers, older boys, and men working there, from the baseline survey to implementation and monitoring. A year later, in one of the kilns, there is a better working relationship between the children and the adult workers and there is no beating wounds in the donkeys. Conclusion The real test is long-term and sustained improvements for donkey welfare. However, these are sometimes difficult to measure due to other factors that have an impact on the lives of the generally poor people who use donkeys. However, we are working to improve the monitoring and evaluation in our programmes by involving the owners and the people who work with donkeys in the process. A lot is talked about behaviour change and how difficult it is to change peoples behaviour. However, by using these frameworks, we can identify resources that can help us to reflect and work at deep enough levels to unlock the potential for behaviour change in people and communities. References [1] Dilts, R., Changing Belief Systems with NLP, Meta Publications, Capitola, Ca, 1990. [2[ Freire, P., Education for Critical Consciousness, Sheed & Ward, London, 1973. [3] WHO and UNICEF, Guidelines for HIV/AIDS and Life Skills Education, 1998. Further reading Freire, P., Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Penguin, Middlesex, 1970. Price, S., New tools for Change, paper presented at XIII International AIDS conference, Durban, South Africa, 2000. VSO, Participatory Approaches: A Facilitators Guide, VSO, 2004.
IMPROVING EQUINE WELFARE THROUGH COLLECTIVE ACTION: THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY-BASED INSTITUTIONS IN INDIA
D. Kandpal, M. Ali , K. Guha, and N. Kumar
The Brooke Hospital for Animals (India), F-86 Preet Vihar, Delhi 110092, India dev@thebrookeindia.org
Introduction Working equines share a close interdependence with their owners. A large number of poor people in rural and urban India rely on these animals to earn a basic living. Though their subsistence requirements are not met fully from their animals, they have few alternatives [1]. In the absence of opportunities for credit, the equine owners are not able to organise themselves to pursue their common interests and often face difficulties in acquiring animals and meeting various needs [2]. Further, working equines are mostly overworked, underfed, and not well cared for [3, 4] which leads to low work outputs and reduces their longevity [5]. The situation is often compounded by a lack of accessible and affordable animal health services. A successful intervention to improve the welfare of equines needs to address these issues in combination and not in isolation with the active involvement of equine owners [6]. The adoption of good equine health, welfare, and working practices is an important means for traditional equineowning communities in the developing world to secure their income. The Brooke India, an animal welfare charity funded by the Brooke UK, has adopted a participatory communitybased approach to improve the welfare of working equines in Delhi and Western Uttar Pradesh. One of the key strategies adopted by the Brooke was the formation of Equine Welfare Self-Help Groups (SHGs) to empower marginalised equine-owning communities. This paper describes the challenges faced by marginalised equineowning communities in India and how their collective actions reduce their vulnerability and contribute towards equine welfare. Methodology A study was carried out in 7 districts of Western Uttar Pradesh and Delhi Union Territory, where the Brooke Hospital is providing services to understand the socio-economic profile of equine owners. About 154 equine owners were selected randomly in 15 villages and a few locations of Delhi Union Territory and a pre-tested structured schedule was used to elicit information on their education, land, livestock assets, occupation, income, recent crises, credit requirements, and support from financial institutions. Secondary data were collected from 9 districts of Western Uttar Pradesh (Ghaziabad, Baghpat, Bulandshahr, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Aligarh, Bijnor, and Meerut) where 215 SHGs of equine owners were formed, and details of savings, loans, and collective action towards equine welfare were analysed. Results and discussion Profile of equine keepers The study found that more than 74 percent of equine owners belong to the Hindu prajapati community and 15 percent belong to Muslim communities, such as prajapati, shekh, dhobi, darji, ansari, etc. About 50 percent of those studied indicated that they were either illiterate or did not have any formal education. Most of their communities are socially marginalised, politically powerless, and lacking in welfare schemes. Traditionally the prajapati community is engaged in pottery making; however, as the demand for earthen vessels has declined over time, they rely on income from brick kilns. During the brick-kiln off-season equine owners either engage their animals in the business of transporting goods/people or sell their animals and depend on other livelihood activities such as dairy, agriculture, labour, etc. The majority of equine-owing communities are found to be landless and only 15 percent possess land with an average holding of about 1 hectare. Only 31 percent of equine owners keep a single species of equines while others rear cattle/goats along with equines as an additional
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source of income (see Figure 1). Figure 1 - Livestock assets possessed by equine owners
Figure 2 - Areas of credit requirement
Around 15 to 25 equine-owning families are found in a few villages/clusters of a district where the Brooke is delivering equine treatment services. The lack of cohesiveness among these communities due to their scattered location, fragmented work place, seasonality of employment, and migration is a major challenge for sustaining any equine welfare initiative. It was found that 22 percent of equine owners earn less than a dollar a day, far below the poverty line. About 50 percent of them indicated that they had faced a crisis situation during the last few years primarily due to death of their animal and sickness of family members. It was found that 88 percent of equine owners required credit for the purchase of animals, treatment costs for family members and animals, and marriage (see Figure 2). Lack of access to credit at an affordable rate was found to be a major impediment for equine-owning communities and their animals, especially in the case of death of an animal. The study found that only 3 percent of equine owners could avail themselves of a loan from a bank while most of them depended on local money lenders who offer loans at high rates of interest and usually against collateral (66 percent). This indicates that limited access to credit can jeopardise the health and welfare of working equines and the livelihood system of equine owners. To empower equine-owning communities to overcome these challenges, Brooke India started to facilitate the formation of SHGs in its operational areas.
SHGs in the context of equine welfare In India, SHGs evolved around rotating mutual savings and credit, as a stable and viable alternative to the poor. In the last two decades several development organisations have successfully mobilised and built the capacity of poor and marginalised communities to tackle various issues through the formation of SHGs. In the context of equine welfare, common interest or affinity groups of 1020 men or women from equine-owning communities were promoted. Role of community-based institutions Between 2007 and 2009, 215 groups were formed in 9 districts of the project area of Brooke India. The total number in these groups was 2,753 with saving of 3.2 million rupees (Rs.3,232,091) (see Table 1). Such a group formation with substantial credit at its disposal helped the members to meet their various basic needs at a low rate of interest and without any collateral. More than 48 percent of total loans availed by the members was spent on equine-related activities. The highest number of such loans was taken for acquiring equines, followed by feed and resources such as carts, farriery, saddles, etc. Only 7 percent was spent on treatment services from local service providers (see Figure 3). The remaining 52 percent of loans related to marriage, treatment, education of children, and incomegenerating activities. The community-based institutions evolved their own rules, regulations, and systems. Members of these groups undertook several collective initiatives for improving the health and welfare condition of their animals (see Table 2). Through these initiatives they developed the capacity for negotiation, bargaining, and conflict resolution leading to improved access to high-quality services at an affordable rate. Brooke India facilitated periodic meetings of group representatives where they shared their achievements with other members of equineowning communities, and thus their innovative practices were adopted and replicated.
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Table 1. Status of equine welfare SHGs formed 20079 in Western Uttar Pradesh Sl. No. Name of Brooke India intervention districts Total number of Total members groups in groups Estimated no. of equines benefited Total savings in Rs.
Type of collective actions by community-based institutions Bulk purchase of feed by group members
Benefits/impact on equines and equine-owning communities Better quality of feed free from adulteration in sufficient quantity during off season Collective bargaining to bring down price Improved body condition and working efficiency Expenditure on feeding of animals reduced Additional source of income Hoof injury and lameness reduced Drudgery of animal owners while pulling the cart reduced Reduction in cart-related wounds in animals Consistent improvement in health and welfare Peer pressure leads to positive and immediate welfarerelated actions Improved husbandry practices and optimum work load means animals are in better condition Sense of pride and competition among equine owners Addresses issues related to animals, owners as well as stakeholders such as farriers, hair clippers, harness makers, medicine sellers, etc. Enhanced problem-solving capacity Wage rate increased through collective negotiation with the brick-kiln contractor Improved working conditions such as construction of water troughs and levelling uneven tracks Reduced service fee with assured high volume of service uptake Improved quality of services leading to better welfare condition of animals Waiting time and travel time for seeking and providing services reduced Incidences of tetanus reduced and awareness about signs and symptoms improved among equine owners and local service providers Capacity of local service providers in administering injections and handling animals improved through technical support of Brooke (under supervision of veterinary doctors)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Alighar Baghpat Bijnor Bulandshahr Ghaziabad Meerut Muzaffarnagar Noida Saharanpur Total
9 16 37 18 37 20 28 13 37 215
111 241 540 210 441 242 357 148 463 2,753
139 301 675 262 551 303 446 185 579 3,441
86,950 487,600 339,225 191,840 678,460 215,636 502,410 116,420 613,550 3,232,091 Collective action planning with time line and responsibilities to address specific equine welfare issues Balanced feeding and development of local entrepreneurs to sell and promote balanced feed Levelling of uneven road in brick kilns through negotiation with and support of brick-kiln contractors Owner themselves monitor the welfare status of their working animals together on a regular basis
Figure 3: Purpose of equine related credit
Negotiation with brick-kiln owners for increasing wages and improving working conditions and facilities
Negotiation, conflict resolution, and mutual agreement with service providers such as farriers, hair clippers, and local health providers
Community-led vaccination against tetanus
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Lessons learnt The establishment of community-based institutions since 2007 has generated the following learning points and interesting challenges for the organisation as well as members of the SHGs: There is a close link between equine welfare and cohesive community groups Initially there was lack of clarity and conviction among Brooke India staff on how SHGs can play a role in equine welfare. During the initial period, around 2025 groups became defunct for various reasons such as a lack of adequate inputs from staff, conflict between group members, lack of clarity on the purpose of group, migration, and also because of the influence of local money lenders. The participation level was very low in those villages where the group did not function well. On the other hand, where a group worked well collectively, evidence of welfare improvement was visible both in the equine-owning community and working equines. Group processes lead to community empowerment Traditional equine-rearing communities have a limited capacity to raise their voices against exploitation and to negotiate with local service providers. Collective engagement and availability of credit has expanded equine owners' actions, which were earlier restricted to mere existence. This has provided them with the ability to gain control over their environment. The group process has also promoted mutual learning and strengthened the capacity of equine owners to solve their common problems, an essential prerequisite for implementing good animal welfare practices [8]. A long-term strategic engagement required Brooke India monitors the performance of each group and the best groups are advertised at cluster, district, and country level. Visits of group representatives and field staff to observe the functioning of other self-reliant community-based institutions within and outside areas of operation were a source of inspiration and motivation. It is recognised that a long-term and dedicated effort is required to strengthen the leadership, financial management, and record-keeping of these groups [9]. Conclusions Equine health and welfare problems cannot be prevented or cured without good husbandry and management practices by the owners [7]. As the number of SHGs grows, they can be effectively networked and evolve into selfreliant and self-sustainable community-owned institutions. Such community-based institutions can bring perceptible improvements in the health and welfare conditions of equines as well communities on a larger and visible scale by collaborating with and seeking cooperation from stakeholders such as the District Administration, Animal Husbandry Department, Brick Owners' Federation, Equine Fair Organisers, and Animal Transporters. Acknowledgement Contributions of all the staff of Brooke India District Equine Welfare Units are gratefully acknowledged. References [1] IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development), Livestock services and the poor: a global initiative, collecting, coordinating and sharing experiences, Rome, 2004. [2] Livestock in Development, Livestock in poverty focused development, Crewkerne, 1999. [3] Pritchard J C, Lindberg A C, Main D C J, and Whay H R, Assessment of the welfare of working horses, mules and donkeys, using health and behaviour parameters, Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Vol 69, No 3, pp. 26583, 2005. [4] Rahman S A, Walker L, and Ricketts W, Global perspectives on animal welfare: Asia, the Far East, and Oceania, Rev. sci. tech. Off. Int. Epiz., Vol 24, No 2, pp. 597610, 2005. [5] Gebresenbet G, State of the art in animal welfare and work environment analysis, Proceedings of 1st Regional Workshop on 'Animal Welfare, Livelihoods and Environment', Nairobi, Kenya, September, pp. 1017, 2007. [6] RSPCA International, With welfare in mind: animal welfare in international development programmes, West 131
Sussex, UK, 2008, www.rspca.org.uk. [7] Van Dijk L, Pritchard J C, Pradhan S K, and Wells K, Sharing the load: a guide to the improvement of the welfare of working animals through collective action, Practical Action Publishing, London, 2010 (in press). [8] FAO, Capacity building to implement good animal welfare practices, Report of the FAO Expert Meeting, FAO Headquarters, 30 September3 October 2008, Rome, pp. 1112, 2009. [9] Sinha F, Self-help groups in India: a study of the lights and shades, EDA, Gurgaon, India, p. 158, 2006.
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CHANGING ATTITUDES TOWARDS DONKEYS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

P. A. Jones
Donkey Power Facilitation and Consultancy, PO Box 414, Tshitandani/Makhado 0920, South Africa asstute@lantic.net
But also
Donkeys never get sick Donkeys never die
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4]
Introduction Behaviour change can take place only in the context of attitude change and towards donkeys, especially in southern Africa, negative attitudes have developed especially in the last century (see Table 1). Addressing these attitudes has become urgent because, even where donkeys are popular and in demand, there is prejudice against them. Donkey handlers and owners (henceforth referred to as DHOs, handlers being more important than owners and, often, different people) themselves often subscribe to some of the erroneous beliefs. These must be held in contradiction of their own experience, yet they also have to justify the presence of donkeys not only to their neighbours, but to the authorities who are supposed to be helping them improve their lives. This justification is difficult if their attitude is shaky. In turn, this impacts on their treatment of their animals. Changing and strengthening attitudes is thus the first urgent step. Table 1. Erroneous beliefs held about donkeys in southern Africa Donkeys and people Farmers want cattle not donkeys; donkeys are only for the lowest orders of society Donkeys kick and bite, they are dangerous; they tend to kick people to death are disease-ridden; they can infect the people who handle them are inedible, except by lions; they attract lions, which then eat people smell bad have no owners or names are non-productive; they are expendable cause road accidents are stupid and stubborn wont work in the rain need shoes on their feet Donkeys destroy trees and the environment generally, causing erosion tear grass out of the ground graze 24 hours out of 24 and thus consume more than cattle Donkey manure is poisonous to plants urine burns the soil Donkeys poison the ground and kill pastures eat more than cattle eat more than goats do waste fodder have a higher impact on the remaining vegetation Feral donkeys, in particular, impair subsistence goat keeping There are too many donkeys
Almost all of these attitudes can be refuted by simple observation, but it is only DHOs who undertake such observations, so published research is important. Some things are half-true, such as the tearing-up of grass roots (donkeys will also dig for them with their front hoofs), but have specific contexts which need to be known. Southern African societies are not yet fully democratized, and are better characterized as hierarchical and authoritarian. The people at the bottom, who include most DHOs, are not listened to; they are told. The attitudes and opinions that must change first, therefore, are those held by people in authority, including animal welfare agencies [5]. The behaviour that can be expected to result will not directly affect the animals, but will have an effect on DHOs, who may change their behaviour. It is not, therefore, a very participatory process. Economic arguments for donkey ownership are powerful and should be convincing, but they are not enough. The whole image of the donkey needs to change before policy-makers, bureaucrats, and even welfare agencies can deal with the animal realistically. While a donkey is still seen as an inferior kind of horse, owned only by those unable to improve themselves, and a threat to the environment, no intervention will be very helpful either to DHOs or to donkeys [5]. But the donkey is not without its supporters in southern Africa, and some go quite far in putting their positive prejudices on record [6, 7]. However, these are self-published, so it can be assumed that such messages are not spreading very far. It needs much more active involvement across the class boundaries, and I use the word 'class' advisedly as being a much stronger barrier than race, to address the prejudices directly affecting owners and their donkeys. I see the exercise as one of 'raising the profile' of donkeys, but the strategies I have employed and describe here are really aimed at bringing about attitude change. Only a few have also been aimed at bringing about behaviour change, and they are categorized separately. Strategies adopted Ideally, one wants to employ the 'SPICE' principles of 'extreme persuasion' [8]: S = simplicity, keeping the message straightforward and uncomplicated P = peer pressure, encouraging conformity with others, do what they do I = inconsistency, i.e. embodying a slight surprise, to gain attention C = confidence, giving no hint of doubt E = empathy, an understanding of the underlying situation and feelings Although none of these is really inconsistent with participatory learning, the idea of 'extreme persuasion' is. However, when dealing with bureaucrats and the like, extreme persuasion may be more appropriate. Participatory learning can come later, when the bureaucrats acknowledge the need. In southern Africa, so far, it is mainly the NGOs that see the need; bureaucrats are a long way from that. The strategies summarized in Table 2, therefore, are not those in which DHOs are expected to participate and from which they may benefit. They are directly aimed at those in authority over them. All of them have been used by me and others, and sometimes the effect is surprising. What is beyond doubt, however, is that they should be used more. 134
Donkeys and the environment
Donkeys and other animals
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Table 2. Strategies to bring about attitude change in those in authority Strategy Target group Effect Change of behaviour towards donkeys? If they ever see them
Education packages, mainly aimed at schools Formation of farmer groups Interaction with extension officers Curriculum development
Youth who may ultimately be DHOs DHOs
Enlightenment and encouragement Empowerment, improved access to training and equipment Enlightenment and encouragement Enlightenment and encouragement
Sometimes and by passing on information to DHOs Sometimes
Presentations at conferences and workshops Distribution of T-shirts
Academic researchers, NGOs, especially those unfamiliar with donkeys General public
Enlightenment
Engagement in debate; enlightenment Enlightenment
Possibly
Extension officers but also DHOs Youth who may ultimately be DHOs
Sometimes and by passing on information to DHOs Sometimes and by passing on information to DHOs
Radio and TV programmes Publication of journal articles Book publication
Depending on timing and language Depending on language and market NGOs and extension officers
Possibly
Enlightenment Enlightenment
Possibly, if they ever see them Possibly and by passing on information to DHOs
Conclusions It can be seen that the main anticipated effect of these strategies is to bring about enlightenment. This is not quite the same as a change in attitude, but since many of the prejudices against donkeys which are listed in Table 1 arise either from ignorance or deliberate misinformation for instance, on the part of cattle owners [3] enlightenment has a very positive role to play in attitude change about donkeys. It would be nice to think that 25 years of this kind of effort is seeing some result, specifically in changes of behaviour towards donkeys. The demand for donkeys is certainly increasing, as is the media attention concerning them. However, the economic pressures of climate change are probably more powerful, in making the need for donkeys more keenly felt [9] [10]. References [1] Jones, P.A., 'Overcoming ignorance about donkeys in Zimbabwe: a case study', Proc. Colloquium on Donkeys, Mules and Horses in Tropical Agricultural Development, Edinburgh, Scotland, pp 31118, Sept 1990. [2] Starkey, P., 'The donkey in South Africa: myths and misconceptions', in P. Starkey (ed), Animal traction in South Africa: empowering rural communities, pp 13951, Development Bank of Southern Africa, Halfway House, South Africa, 1995. [3] Jacobs, N.J., 'The great Bophuthatswana donkey massacre: discourse on the ass and the politics of class and grass', American Historical Review, Vol 106, No. 2, pp 48550, April 2001. [4] Jones, P.A., Donkeys for development (latest edn), pdf version available from author, South Africa, 2010. [5] Jones, P.A., 'The future of donkeys in southern Africa and welfare implications thereof', Proc. 5th International Colloquium on Working Equines, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, pp 4219, OctNov 2006. [6] Dommett, P., Alternative draught power: a guide to the working of draught horses, mules and donkeys in South Africa (3rd edn), privately printed, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, 2006. [7] Walton, J., A tribute to the donkey, Kenilworth, South Africa, 1999. [8] Dutton, K., Flipnosis (forthcoming, see www.flipnosis.co.uk). [9] Jones, P.A., 'How donkeys may help farmers adapt to climate change', Proc. Colloquium on Strengthening Local Agricultural Innovations to Adapt to Climate Change, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (unpublished), August 2009. [10] Jones, P.A. and Maroge, M.J., 'Changes in livestock emphasis to help farmers adapt to climate change', Proc. 44th Conference of the South African Society for Agricultural Extension, Langebaan, South Africa (unpublished), May 2010.
It will be observed that not much mention is made of electronic media. This is because southern Africa is not yet well enough equipped with the technology, so that even those in authority can seldom gain good or reliable access to the internet, on which many media now increasingly rely. Influencing DHOs All this is not to say that direct approaches to DHOs are not made; they are, and they are much more participatory. However, without the funding that can only come from those in authority, these approaches are necessarily few and far between, and their effect is consequently limited. With some of the strategies, the approach to DHOs may not be describable as direct, but it is still participatory in that it involves the transmission of information between those occupying very similar social positions. Sometimes it may be a question of the literate sharing information with the illiterate, where children may be literate and adults illiterate. Such strategies are listed in Table 3. Table 3. Strategies to bring about attitude change in donkey handlers and owners
Strategy Training workshops Leaflets, handouts, and posters
Target group DHOs DHOs and extension officers
Effect Encouragement Enlightenment and encouragement
Change of behaviour towards donkeys? Sometimes Sometimes and by passing on information to DHOs
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A STUDY ABOUT THE KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND THE PRACTICE OF HOBBLING EQUIDS IN MEERUT DISTRICT, INDIA
A. Ahmad, S. F. Zaman, M. Aravindan and S. R. Thanammal
The Brooke India, F-86 Preet Vihar, Delhi 110092, India azeem@thebrookeindia.org
hobbling, parts of the body where hobbles are applied and advantages and disadvantages of hobbling. One FGD was held in each of 7 villages, 6 where hobbling was practised and 1 in a village where hobbling was not practised. Villages with a self-help group, a good rapport with the Brooke and a record of high levels of community participation were selected. Information was recorded on a paper chart along with the date, name of owners and village, and was accompanied by a photo. Each FGD was conducted by a facilitator with a recorder and an observer. The same methodology was followed for each of the 7 FGDs. On average 1011 owners participated in each discussion. Finally, data were entered into a spreadsheet and analysed using descriptive statistics, graphs, and charts. Results and discussion Disadvantages of hobbling Analysis indicates that the owners understood that hobbling affects the 5 freedoms (freedom from hunger and thirst; pain, injury and disease; discomfort; fear and stress; and freedom to express normal behaviour). They also knew that hobbling affects equines physically (eating behaviour) as well as mentally (restricts movement). Various side-effects identified by the owners were fractures, swellings, wounds, infection of tendons and, in extreme cases, strangulation. The first disadvantage identified by the community was 'the animals cannot express their normal behaviour and symptoms of diseases like pain'. Even after recognizing the harmful effects of hobbling, owners still practised hobbling because they said it was the only control method to prevent animals from kicking, fighting, and biting; to accommodate animals in a smaller area; to offer food to a group of animals; to enable easy handling; and to prevent soiling of the stable and during transportation. Method of hobbling More than 40% of animal owners were using hobbling in 3 forms, i.e. hobbling fore legs (agadi), hobbling hind legs (pichadi) and hobbling fore and hind legs together (dawan). The owners' perceptions behind using these 3 methods were solely utility-based. For example, pichadi was used to facilitate proper eating and to prevent kicking; agadi was used to prevent the animal from running and to occupy less stable area; and dawan was used during grazing to control the pace so that the animal did not go far. A neck rope was the only alternative method available to the community and was used by 60% of owners. It has fewer complications and is generally suitable for docile equines, but it does not work for aggressive animals believed to need hobbling. Who hobbles the animal? Besides the owner, his wife and children were also involved in the hobbling practice. It was found that owner's involvement in hobbling is only 46% but his family members have more involvement. According to the owners, their wives and especially their children did not know the harmful effects of hobbling. Faulty hobbling practices could lead to the development of wounds and lameness in the long run. Location of hobbling The study indicates that more than 70% of owners hobbled equines in the courtyard and stables; 30% hobbled in other places, such as under a tree, in an open place, at market and at tonga stands. Most of the animals were hobbled for 15 hours per day (average). This included 4 hours (approx.) during daytime and 11 hours at night. From the analysis it can be said that the courtyard was the first choice of the owner, followed by stable, and then under a tree. Owners felt that location of hobbling and hobbling duration were related. Hobble material It was found that more than 90% of owners used synthetic hobble material, and most of the hobbles were made by the owner. Cotton and jute were identified as the best hobbling material by the owners. They understood that the
Abstract A Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) study about hobbling equines was conducted by Brooke India in Meerut, India because the prevalence of this welfare issue was found to be high (81%) in welfare assessment data from 2007. Although no mortality was recorded, workdays were lost due to ensuing complications and animal welfare was also compromised. Hobble injuries are very painful ailments where equines suffer mentally as well as physically. To understand the motivational side about hobbling in terms of owners' Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices and to find out ways to minimize the challenges to animals welfare, KAP was conducted in 7 villages: 6 where hobbling was practised and 1 where it was not. One focus group discussion (FGD) was held in each of the 7 villages. For each FGD, 3 participatory rural appraisal (PRA) tools trend analysis, system analysis, and force field analysis were employed using pre-decided variables. It was found that the community realized that the 5 freedoms of equines were affected by hobbling. Of the 40% of owners who used hobbling, 3 methods were practised: fore legs tied together, hind legs tied together, and fore legs tied to hind legs. The owner (46%) and his family and children are involved in the process. 70% of owners hobble their equines in the courtyard and stable and 30% hobble their animal under a tree for 15 hours a day. 90% of owners used synthetic hobble material such as nylon and plastic, but cotton and jute are identified as the best material. 46% of animal owners use a neck rope compared to 54% who hobble their animals' limbs; 36 % below the fetlock joints and 20% above fetlock joints. Owners expressed that hobbling above fetlock is harmful for equines. Introduction India is home to more than 1.77 million equines, most of them supporting the livelihood of their poor owners [1]. Hobbling is a restraining method for equines carried out by tethering the legs during resting times. Most of the equine owners' practices in hobbling result in welfare problems such as wounds and swelling and may even lead to lameness. Hobbling has a very strong community component, unlike other welfare issues which are dependent on work load, work type, and genetic make-up. Development of hobbling lesions depends upon the hobbled body part, type of material, and tightness of the hobble that is chosen by the owner. The study aimed to find out community perceptions about hobbling in terms of KAP and to discover ways to minimize the challenges to animal welfare. Knowledge, attitude, and practice constitute a triad of factors that are interlinked. Knowledge is the capacity to acquire, retain, and use information; a mixture of comprehension, experience, discernment, and skill. Attitude refers to inclinations to react in a certain way to certain situations; to see and interpret events according to certain predispositions; or to organize opinions into coherent and interrelated structures. By practice we mean the application of rules and knowledge that leads to action [2]. . Methodology Three PRA tools trend analysis, system analysis, and force field analysis were selected for the study. In the main, focus group discussions (FGDs) were used to collect relevant information from owners. Variables were as follows: for trend analysis, hobble material, equine species, place of hobbling, type of hobble, lesion prevalence and parts of the body where hobbles are applied; for system analysis, purpose of hobbling, hobble material, equine species, place of hobbling, who does the hobbling, type and time of hobbling; for force field analysis, purpose of 137
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material had a role in developing hobbling lesion. However, due to non-availability of animal-friendly material such as cotton and jute, nylon and plastic were used. Preferred hobbling method and part of the body where hobble is applied A neck rope was used by 46% of animal owners and limb hobbling was used by 54%. Out of the 54% practising hobbling,-36% of hobbling was below the fetlock joints and 20% above the fetlock joints. The owners considered that hobbling above fetlock is harmful for animals as it can lead to tendonitis, fractures, swellings, and wounds. Below the fetlock joint was seen to be a safer part for hobbling. Conclusions From the analysis it was found that the community realized that hobbling affects eating behavior, restricts rolling and can induce symptoms of diseases such as pain. Forty percent of animal owners used hobbling in 3 forms: fore legs (agadi), hind legs (pichadi), and fore and hind legs together (dawan) during grazing. Besides the animal owner (46%), his family and children are involved in the process. Regarding the location, 70% of owners hobbled equines in the courtyard and stable and 30% under a tree. In a day equines were hobbled for 15 hours. For material, 90% of owners used synthetic hobbles. 46% of animal owners used neck rope against 54% using limb hobbling. The issue was found to have a strong community motivational side and therefore KAP seemed to be an effective technique in identifying the perceptions of equine owners, which are mostly subjective. In general KAP is mostly used in social sectors when it is linked to behaviour change of the community. It is a big challenge for Brooke staff to facilitate behaviour change of the equine-owning community pertaining to hobble injuries. References [1] National Research Center of Equines District Hisar (http://hisar.nic.in). [2] Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, Volume 1, Issue 1, 1995, pp. 81.
KNOWLEDGE NETWORKS AMONGST DONKEY OWNERS IN ETHIOPIA

A. P. Stringer1, G. L. Pinchbeck1, C. E. Bell2, F. Gebreab3, G. Tefera3, K. Reed4, A. Trawford5, and R. M. 1 Christley
1
School of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool, Leahurst Campus, Neston, Cheshire, UK 2 Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Roslin, Midlothian, UK 3 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Debre Zeyit, PO Box 34, Ethiopia 4 SPANA, 14 John Street, London, UK 5 The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, Devon, UK stringer@liverpool.ac.uk.
This study aimed to identify the networks through which working-donkey owners and users in Ethiopia acquire and disseminate existing knowledge about donkey health. Information about these networks can be used in generating hypotheses regarding knowledge diffusion and subsequent adoption of new ideas and innovations. Ethiopia has the largest population of donkeys in Africa and the second largest donkey population in the world after China [1]. Their role in the socio-economics of the country is substantial, with the majority of the Ethiopian population dependent on traditional subsistence agricultural production [2]. Identification of the sources of information regarding donkey care currently used by Ethiopian working equid users will be beneficial to nongovernmental organisations, charities, and government departments when deciding how best to disseminate information. It has been noted that some individuals become aware of mass media programmes through discussions with other individuals, however their influence on behaviour is unclear [3]. Understanding how information is acquired and what reliability owners place on it is an important consideration when designing an educational or extension programme. This study was conducted using questionnaires with open questions, which were administered to individuals (n=40) and groups (n=16). The questionnaires were administered in either of the local dialects (Amharic and Oromo) spoken in the regions as dictated by the participants, with the assistance of an Ethiopian national as translator and facilitator. The facilitator had previous experience in the field of animal health and had received training in questionnaire administration. The study was carried out in 8 sites representing a range of agroecological zones (Table 1). A total of 80 participants took part in focus groups, 10 participants (2 groups of 5) taking part from each site, whilst a further 40 participants also took part in individual interviews. Sites were designated as either 'exposed' if they had previous known exposure to an equine non-governmental organisation or equine education programme, or 'unexposed' if they were a population without previous known exposure to an equine non-governmental organisation or equine education programme. The sites were selected from two regions of Ethiopia: Oromia and Amaharaland. Donkey owners identified a number of sources which they contacted for information regarding donkey health with varying frequencies (Table 2). The focus groups also identified that this information was predominantly transferred verbally (with the exception of 1 group having received a leaflet handout from an equine charity). Table 1. Site location and details Village name Debre Zeyit Shashemene Region Oromia Oromia Zone East Shewa West Arsi Woreda Ada Shashemene Long./lat. position N8 45.6 E39 00.1 N7 14.5 E38 31.2
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140
Gamo Sheno Ziway Gemeda (Akaki) Merino (Akaki) Debre Brehan
Oromia Oromia Oromia Oromia Oromia Amhara
East Shewa North Shewa East Shewa Addis Ababa Area Addis Ababa Area North Shewa
Dugda Kimbibit Batu Akaki Akaki Basuna Warano
N8 09.5 E38 53.3 N9 24.3 E39 21.2 N7 57.9 E38 43.2 N8 49.2 E38 47.6 N8 48.2 E38 46.7 N9 37.3 E39 39.3
Private veterinarian Other
0 1
1 0
Table 3. Owners' responses to whether they were sought for advice or offered advice concerning donkey health Owners sought for advice Total Yes No 29 11 Owners offering advice 34 6
For individuals in unexposed villages one of the most common sources for information on donkey health or advice was Bureau of Agriculture extension agents, who are based in each village. One of the major duties of the extension agents is to provide advice and disseminate information about agricultural technologies [4]. This finding is consistent with previous work that found that extension agents were the most important dissemination pathway for information about agricultural technologies [4]. Neighbours, many of them family and farmers, were also an important source for information, again consistent with a previous study [4]. In those villages exposed to an external equine veterinary clinic (The Donkey Sanctuary) fewer individuals reported using extension agents as a source of information, suggesting either that individuals placed a greater level of reliability on the information provided by this source or that the provision of free veterinary care may have led to increased use of this source. The majority of donkey owners reported they were sought for advice by others regarding donkey health and that they were willing to offer up advice to others if asked (Table 3). Table 2. The responses volunteered by individuals regarding information sources for donkey health advice in both exposed and unexposed sites Responses for individuals in areas exposed to donkey sanctuary clinics (n=20) Donkey sanctuary Family Extension agents Kebele representative Neighbours Friends Elders Villagers Traditional medicine person 7 16 6 3 8 3 3 1 0 Responses for individuals in areas NOT exposed to donkey sanctuary clinics (n=20) 0 18 13 3 8 2 4 2 2
Information from this study has been used subsequently in another large-scale study to investigate knowledge networks amongst Ethiopian donkey owners and to explore the association between the features of these networks and owners' levels of knowledge regarding donkey health and welfare. References [1] Anon., 2007. Statistical database website. Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations. http://faostat.fao.org/. [2] DFID (Department for International Development), 2006. Ethiopia country assistance plan, 200610. Consultation draft. www.dfid.gov.uk. [3] Boulay, M., Storey, J. D., and Sood, S., 2002. 'Indirect exposure to a family planning mass media campaign in Nepal'. Journal of Health Communication 7 (5): pp. 37999. [4] Tesfaye, A., Jermal, I., Ferede, S., and Curran, M., 2005. 'Technology transfer pathways and livelihood impact indicators in central Ethiopia'. Tropical Animal Health and Production 37 (Supp. 1): pp. 10122.
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THE POTENTIAL OF THE WHOLE-COMMUNITY APPROACH TO ACHIEVE THE WELFARE OF DONKEYS AND MULES
A. R. Moreno
The Donkey Sanctuary, Mxico. Av. Universidad 3000 Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia. Col. Gran Usuario UNAM CP 04510 Mxico, DF Mxico donkeysanctuary_avril@yahoo.com
immediate feedback to the children to modify their ideas or to give correct information that would help change their perceptions about their animals, and even sometimes surprise them. This can be great fun for the children. A participatory technique with adults, using the 'Ranking welfare problems and traditional methods' tool, which is useful when working with illiterate people because, in groups and using different colour cards, they just have to represent the welfare problems and the methods that the community uses to face them. One advantage of this tool is that people can hear the solutions their neighbours are using regarding the animal welfare problems they are facing; and thus information is shared which was not shared in the past. A drawing technique with owners, using the 'Drawing a donkey and marking its body' tool, which is used in groups. Group members are asked to draw a donkey and make marks on the parts of its body that are commonly affected according to what they have seen in the community or with their own animals. This tool is easy to use with illiterate people and allows them to discuss in groups their doubts, concerns, and perceptions. Adopting all these kinds of participatory sessions at the sites, has had obvious effects on the way that people are starting to get involved with their animals' problems. We have heard many times in these meetings people saying things such as 'I never thought that a donkey needed to be bathed' or 'dewormed'. Almost all these meetings have enabled us to assess education and training needs, but the most important thing is that people are asking us for that education or training once they realize that there are many problems that can be prevented by having proper knowledge. People are also able to identify the resources they have in their community or nearby, and even in some cases to detect what community situations are affecting their animals' welfare. That is when the whole community approach becomes valuable. A more concrete example of how this approach has helped to involve people in taking care of their animals is the one that emerged in the community of El Zapote in the Municipality of Azoy in the State of Guerrero, Mexico. People joined with us; they drew the donkeys in teams; they discussed in teams what they saw as the main diseases and the traditional solutions; then discussion took place with the whole group. The participants asked the vet many questions. They began to admit that there were many things they did just by intuition, and that, since the animals were so important for their work, they needed to have some training about how to detect the signs linked to some health problems and the best solutions. They also manifested their need to get help from their local authorities to get a local vet, maybe an advanced student. The partnership approach was demonstrated when they considered the problems and the solutions, and we made the commitment to try to get a vet student from the university if the community took the responsibility of providing food and housing. An agreement was made. Then they fulfilled their tasks and we fulfilled ours: a vet social service student was designated for a couple of months in the community, and more vet assistance supplied and further educational sessions took place. Such outcomes never happened when just providing the clinic service, because neither the owners nor the vets had enough time to talk, ask questions, or explain. Even when there was conversation it was less efficient than holding a session involving a group of many people who could share experiences and solutions. We could see that, resulting from the experience, people started to change some feed practices that were causing colic, sometimes even causing the death of donkeys. The clinic records show the impact of the project on general body condition and we will be able to assess more accurately the impact of the educational sessions after one and a half months. We will be able to record people's behaviour and knowledge before the sessions, immediately after the sessions, and after a while to see if they are incorporating the new knowledge in the relationship with their animals. So, our next step is to take priority communities (those committed to animal welfare) and use the tools in a zone or community, taking advantage of our experience and strengthening the whole-community approach work.
The Donkey Sanctuary in Mexico has worked for 25 years for the welfare of donkeys and mules. The evolution of this project is very interesting and allows us to reflect on the most efficient way to make improving the welfare of donkeys and mules a reality. The Donkey Sanctuary in Mexico was founded in 1985 with the task of procuring health for equids using a protectionist approach. It was seen as important to use veterinary medicine to improve the animals' health immediately; to reach as many animals as possible; to give some recommendations to the owners to prevent animal disease; and even, in extreme cases where the negligence or improper management of the owner put the animal's welfare at risk, to seek ways to remove the animal from the owner [1]. Very soon it was considered important to build awareness with the owners of the donkeys and mules, as well as with the children whose families own these animals and would be the future owners. Thus the Donkey Sanctuary began to develop educational activities using informative materials, meetings, informal conversations, and activities for children using puppets in scenarios characterized both by austerity and by the enthusiasm of delivering a message for the sake of animals. The veterinary work was still seen as a key means to improve the conditions of the animals, so that the greatest percentage of time and resources was directed at medical work and animal husbandry. Some years later, simultaneously with the evolution of international positions on animal welfare, the Donkey Sanctuary programme in Mexico began to move from a protectionist approach to one based on the animal welfare concept which, in relation to working equids, inevitably involves an in-depth look at the impact human beings (owners) have on the provision, or not, of optimal living conditions for animals [2]. It was realized that this approach had to be applied because the resources that an organization such as the Donkey Sanctuary has are not unlimited: we cannot provide free services and free medicines forever, but we still want donkeys to enjoy long, high-quality lives. The Donkey Sanctuary began to contemplate the importance of information and training activities that veterinarians and farriers were carrying out with people, which would gradually lead to sustainability in animal welfare and to remove the dependence on our services. This meant that people should begin to take responsibility for themselves, and take care and provision of the quality of life of their donkeys, mules, and horses, which necessarily implied they should be taking an active role in decision making regarding the care of their animals [3]. And so we began to adopt a community-development perspective in our educational programme. Such a perspective needs to develop a whole-community approach [4]. This means involving as many people as possible linked with the donkeys and mules (owners, children, authorities, teachers, and local veterinarians), as well as analysing all the factors impacting on the animals' welfare for better or worse (soil type, climate type, access to water and other utilities, veterinary services providers, cultural practices, beliefs that shape attitudes and hence behaviour towards animals, to name a few) [4]. Some of the tools and techniques we have used are: A playful technique with children, using the 'Vote with our feet' tool, which enables children to express their opinions and perceptions about donkeys and about their needs. The advantage of this tool is that we can give
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Table 1. Examples of participatory tools used with different target groups at different sites Population Tools used Community Children Participatory games to assess their Mazatepec perceptions about donkeys features and needs, and to link the importance that customs San Agustn have on the lack of welfare Citlali Based on the results of the games, puppet shows; sessions about characteristics linking them with donkey needs, proper management of harnesses to prevent injuries, importance of hoof cutting; activities to strengthen life skills such as recognize and name their emotions, coping strategies (because children beat each other when they're angry, they pursue and harass the animals, sometimes causing them harm) Young people Participatory tool to assess their perceptions Mazatepec about animal welfare and the problems that donkeys, mules, and horses face in their community as well as the animals needs Ethical values workshop where they let us Mayorazgo know their communitys main ethical values, de Len and the strengths and weaknesses of those values in the community and at home; links with ethical aspects in the actions related to providing animal welfare Participatory tools to understand what they think about animal welfare and animal needs; community strengths and weaknesses to respond to those needs; community resources in terms of vet services, pharmacy, water access, work journeys of the animals, etc. Participatory tools to assess how they perceive their animals body condition, and if it has changed since the clinic has been giving the service (and how and why) La Loma San Mateo Azoy Arcelia El Zapote Lomalapa Vistahermosa Tecorrales Altamirano Zacualpan Acajete Veracruz Sites Municipality Acajete Almoloya de Jurez State Veracruz Estado de Mxico
Key informants
Contact with community leaders or key Azoy informants, such as the local cattle society, local vets, local development programme Olinal managers, or others Chiquispac They have joined us in the workshops and, in the case of Olinal, our programme complements the rural development programme they are carrying out (specifically one related to water capture) Participatory induction course to enable them La to develop their practices with a whole- Esperanza community approach Long-term visits to the communities to provide vet service and the rural development approach; use of games with children to transmit information about animal diseases, needs, and care; informal talks and interviews with owners
Azoy Olinal Coatepec
Guerrero Guerrero Estado de Mxico
Vet social service students
Juchique de Ferrer
Veracruz
Parents (of the children we had worked with) Owners: women and men
Almoloya de Jurez
Estado de Mxico
[1] The Donkey Sanctuary Mxico website, www.fmvz.unam.mx/donkey/ . [2] Broom, D.M., 'Animal Welfare: Concepts and Measurement', Journal of Animal Science, Vol. 69, No. 10, pp. 416775. Oct. 1991. [3] FAO, 'Creacin de capacidad para la implementacin de buenas prcticas de bienestar animal', Informe de reunin de expertos de la FAO. Sept. 30thOct. 3rd., 2008. Organizacin de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y la Alimentacin. Roma, 2009. [4] Voluntary Service Overseas, Participatory Approaches: A Facilitators Guide part one: Principles, VSOUK, March 2010, http://volzone.vsoint.org/mod/data/view.php?d=6&advanced=0&paging=&page=1.
Temascalcingo Estado de Mxico Guerrero Azoy Guerrero Olinal
Participatory tools to hear their proposals and their thoughts on how the Donkey Sanctuary Chiquispac can support their own initiatives to achieve welfare 145
Coatepec
Estado de Mxico
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MINIMIZING PREVALANCE AND SEVERITY OF LIP LESIONS IN WORKING DONKEYS OF RUSTAM COMMUNITY THROUGH AWARENESS RAISING: A PILOT PROJECT BASED ON LIP LESION RISK ASSESSMENT, 2006 FINDINGS
S. Z. A. Shah1, R. Eager2, S. Nawaz1, M. Khan1, and G. Khan1
1
Table 1: Lip lesion survey in 32 different locations of Brooke Mardan Work type Species assessed Number animals assessed With lip lesion % according to work type 76 65 36 70 overall
TGC
The Brooke, Opposite Telephone Exchange, Charsadda Road Peshawar, Pakistan 2 The Brooke, 30 Farringdon Street, London EC4A 4HH, UK zahirshah75@yahoo.com
Donkeys Horses
381 65 66 512
291 42 24 357
TPC Introduction Horses, mules, and donkeys play an important role in rural and peri-urban areas throughout Pakistan. According to the 2006 Government of Pakistan livestock census [1], equine animals numbered 4.8 million (90% donkeys, 6% horses, and 4% mules). Besides transportation of people, they are used for transporting goods to local markets. These animals suffer from work-related injuries (WRI) on a day-to-day basis. WRIs like lip lesions (see Figure 1) can be painful and may impede an animal from eating and drinking, leading to emaciation. Figure 1. Lip lesion
Horses
Total animals assessed
TGC=transportation of goods by cart; TPC=transportation of people by cart
Community group organization Plans were discussed with animal owners individually and a meeting of animal owners was called in their working area. The aims and objectives of the project were discussed in detail with the participants: 20 animal owners showed a willingness to be part of the pilot project, and they jointly decided place, day, and time of a weekly meeting. Collection of project baseline A welfare assessment was carried out to provide a baseline of the animals' welfare status at the start of the project. Prevalence and severity of lip lesion, owner's behaviour, working conditions, and available resources were recorded. Owners' awareness regarding lip lesion Owners identified and marked various parts of one of their donkeys which were more likely to sustain WRIs. They prioritized lip lesion as the most important issue based on the criteria of 'pain and suffering', 'predisposing factor for other body injuries', and 'stopping animals from normal eating and drinking'. Owners realized that lip lesion is painful for donkeys and paying attention to prevent lip lesion meant addressing a number of welfare issues.
A pilot project was launched in the Rustam community of Mardan District of Pakistan to reduce the prevalence and severity of lip lesion in donkeys used for transportation of goods by cart (TGC) by creating awareness about the welfare issue. A group of 20 donkeys and their owners was taken as the target of the pilot project. The aims and objectives of the project were explained to all group members. Methods Selection of community Using a survey 512 equines were assessed for lip lesion prevalence (Table 1). Out of 32 locations, Rustam community had the highest prevalence and severity of lip lesions and was therefore selected to launch the pilot project.
A local clergyman briefed participants about animals' rights in Islam. He explained the commandments of God and his Prophet PBUH about animal welfare. He explained that we have a right to get work from our animals but animals have rights for better feeding, watering, proper rest, and kind treatment. Participants pledged to treat their animals more kindly. A local bit-maker advised on proper bit selection, fitting, and maintenance. He explained that different donkeys need different sizes. He demonstrated proper bit fitting, the advantages of good bit fitting, and the disadvantages of bad fitting. He advised participants to clean bits regularly and to remove a bit from the animal's mouth when feeding, watering or when the animal is not working. Advantages of proper grooming were explained and demonstrated. Grooming kits were given to the participants at subsidized rates, and the participants started grooming their animals. A participant who had a well maintained harness was asked to explain to his colleagues how he did this. Cleaning his harness regularly, oiling it, keeping it away from sun, rain, and dust, and repairing in a timely fashion were explained. 148
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Another participant who had a healthy donkey explained about feeds and feeding practices, managed from his own local resources. Feeding a mixture of feeds such as green grasses, wheat bran, grain, or oats with salt and butter ghee kept his donkey healthy and strong. However, he stressed the owneranimal bond which directly affected the health of both concerned. The advantages of cart maintenance, equally and properly inflated tyres, greased wheels, ball bearings, and a balanced load were discussed. A local lubricating expert explained the importance of greasing weekly. Participants discussed good and bad driving skills and effects on their donkeys. They pledged not to jerk the reins while driving because it causes tension in the lip. They also pointed out that beating and driving fast adds to the animals' suffering, including lip lesions.
Figure 2. Impact of awareness raising among owners on prevalence and severity of lip lesion in donkeys of Rustam community, Mardan
Results A welfare assessment was carried out following intervention to identify changes in welfare status. A 7% decrease in lip lesion prevalence was identified. Severity of lip lesions also decreased (Figure 2, Table 2). A positive change in response to observer approach (84% to 77%) was observed; animal coat health in 15 out of 20 animals improved; while signs of faecal soiling were reduced (41% to 16%). Hobbling/tethering incidence was reduced (100% to 64%) and breast and shoulder wounds reduced from 27% to 7%. A decrease (32% to 23%) in the number of animals with girth/belly wounds was recorded. Ribs/flank wounds decreased by 9%. Hind leg wounds decreased by 5% while wounds in the knee/hock region were reduced from 82% to 50%. Improvement was observed in the animals' body condition score from 1 or 2 to 2.5, and from 3 to 4 respectively. Table 2: Change in lip lesion severity before and after pilot project Confining the group to only 20 donkey owners (essentially willing) did not stop other owners and animals benefiting from the pilot project. After the pilot project, another study was planned to test a desirable bit in the same community. Interestingly, only 9 out of 65 donkeys were found with positive skin-broken lip lesion indicating the dissemination of the message to non-group members of the Rustam community. They were found to have benefited equally from the message given by the project when interviewed. Discussion The study demonstrated a reduction in both prevalence and severity of lip lesions following intervention. The improved response to the approach of an observer may indicate reduced fearfulness and enhanced owneranimal bond, potentially due to regular grooming of animals, which promotes understanding between an owner and his animal. Improvement in indicators for coat health and evidence of faecal soiling were further evidence of proper and regular grooming and improved feeds and feeding practices. The increase in animal body condition score seen during the study suggests that revised feeds and feeding practices were improving nutritional status. Malnutrition not only reduces the body condition score of a donkey but also slows down the wound-healing process [3]. This finding is in line with the reduction in body lesions seen. The reduction in body lesions may result from improvement in harness maintenance (for rib, girth, and wither lesions) and from improved stable management practices (shoulder and breast lesions). The reduction in limb lesions may indicate a positive change in animal driving skills. Conclusion Animal welfare issues are generally interrelated and improvement in one issue may subsequently improve others. The majority of animal welfare issues, especially those due to human behaviour and knowledge, can be improved through consistent awareness-raising programmes for animal owneres as described here. Improvement in welfare parameters by raising awareness shows that we can monitor the effects of our mass awareness-raising projects for sustainable animal welfare.
Category Lip lesion (before project) Lip lesion (after project)
Superficial 100% 89%
Skin broken 60% 11%
Deep 23% 0%
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Acknowledgments Profound thanks to the initiator of the study, Major Muhammad Farooq Malik, Chief Executive, The Brooke Pakistan, for his firm support and personal interest in the research of supporting field teams. Sincere thanks to Major Mohammad Anwer Asim, Chief Veterinary and Training Officer, The Brooke Pakistan, who supported me both technically and morally to accomplish this task. Sincere thanks to Dr S. F. Zaman, Senior Researcher, The Brooke India, for his valuable inputs. References [1] Agricultural livestock census. Agricultural Census Organization, Government of Pakistan, Lahore, Pakistan. 2006, www.statpak.gov.pk/depts/aco/statistics/licestock.html [2] Fielding D and Krause P. Donkeys: the tropical agriculturist. Macmillan Education Ltd, London and Basingstoke. 1998. [3] Fielding D and Starkey P (eds). Donkeys, people and development: a resource book of the Animal Traction Network for Eastern and Southern Africa (ATNESA). Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), Wagenningen, The Netherlands 2004. [4] Hadrill D. Horse healthcare: a manual for animal health workers and owners. ITDG Publishing, London. 2002. [5] Lip lesion risk assessment report. 2006, http://ims.thebrooke.org/Risk Assessment.
ENGAGING COMMUNITIES IN PARTICIPATORY METHODS TO IDENTIFY AND PRIORITISE ISSUES OF CONCERN TO OWNERS OF WORKING HORSES IN LESOTHO
M. M. Upjohn, K. L. P. Verheyen, and G. Attwood
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, London, UK Malealea Development Trust, Motsekuoa, Lesotho mupjohn@rvc.ac.uk
Introduction A UK-based equine charity established a training programme covering farriery and saddlery skills and an equine nutrition programme in Lesotho in 2007. The aim of this study was to use a participatory approach to identify and prioritise equine issues of concern to owners of working horses in Lesotho. Specific objectives were to (1) create local horse owner discussion groups; (2) create community maps of the areas covered by owner discussion groups; (3) facilitate discussion by owners of issues relating to horses; and (4) enable owners to rank these issues in order of priority so that future educational interventions could be targeted at those topics deemed most important by owners. Methods Drawing on Participatory Rural Appraisal techniques [1, 2, 3], 3 one-day participatory workshops for horse owners were organised in individual geographic locations (in Mafeteng, Matsieng, and Malealea). Owners worked together to create a map of their local area, by sketching on the ground, using locally available materials such as bottle tops, small stones, and maize cobs. Features incorporated in the map included roads/tracks, rivers and water sources, location of villages, number of horses in each village, and availability of horse-related services, such as a farrier, saddler, and equine health advice/drugs. Each participant also identified the location of their own home on the constructed map. As the map was created, owners were encouraged to identify and discuss issues associated with owning horses. They ranked these issues in order of relative importance, using a matrix drawn on the ground. Each selected issue was written on a card and represented as a column and a row in the matrix. Each issue was discussed and compared against each other issue to identify which was the more important. Discussions included owner agreement of criteria based on which issues could be compared and prioritised, thereby enabling owners to determine those which they perceived as having the greatest impact on horse health and welfare. At the end of the ranking exercise, the number of times each issue had been selected as the priority issue was summed to calculate an overall score for each issue and thereby create a summary ranking scheme. Results In the Mafeteng area 26 owners attended, creating a local map which incorporated 3 villages (containing 62 horses); 5 issues were ranked. Their most important issue was perceived to be mouth problems, with nutrition issues and infectious diseases ranked equal second, and foot problems and parasites (both endo- and ectoparasites) ranked equal fourth. In the Matsieng area, 14 owners attended, creating a local map which covered 10 villages, containing 60 horses; again, 5 issues were identified for ranking. This group ranked mouth problems as most important, followed by all forms of infectious/parasitic disease (a combined category); nutrition issues were third, husbandry-related topics (including wound management) were fourth, and foot problems were fifth. In the Malealea area, where 16 owners attended, a local map incorporating 15 villages covering 163 horses was drawn. Of the 5 issues ranked, mouth problems were deemed the most important, followed by nutrition issues ranked second, a combined disease category (including colic) third, feet problems fourth, and husbandry-related matters (including wound management) fifth. All 3 discussion groups expressed an interest in convening followup meetings to further explore the issues identified and, in particular, to learn more about how to address the priority problems through learning materials to be developed to support such discussions.
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Conclusions Whilst there was considerable overlap between the groups in the issues identified by owners, priorities did vary somewhat between locations. There is a clear need for owner education on a broad range of topics. Further owner group discussions could refine the scope of owner-identified high priority topics to be incorporated in learning materials to be developed to support future horse owner learning and discussion groups. Owner learning and discussion groups may also precipitate the establishment of open invitation community workshops and subsequent smaller 'learning circle' programmes whereby community groups discuss issues to identify and enact potential locally generated solutions to priority problems. Acknowledgements World Horse Welfare, Lesotho Department of Livestock, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Ntate Moso Ranoosi, Ntate Peo Ntho References [1] Chambers, R. Rural development: putting the last first. Longman Scientific and Technical, Essex 1983. [2] Chambers, R. Treading more carefully: participatory rural appraisals past, present and future. New Ground, 13, 8397, Spring 1993. [3] Chambers, R. Whose reality counts? Putting the first last. ITDG Publishing, London 1997.
THE IMPACT OF FARMERS AGENTS IN IMPROVING DONKEY WELFARE IN TWO DISTRICTS OF WORKING SITES OF THE DONKEY SANCTUARY ETHIOPIA - TIGRAY PROGRAMME H. Yhidego Abstract Impact assessment on welfare improvement of donkeys by Farmers' Agents and target farmers were undertaken in two districts of intervention areas of the Donkey Sanctuary Ethiopia - Tigray programme. The first impression showed that working to improve the welfare conditions of donkeys belonging to selected owners and expanding to others using closer mates is a promising approach and needs to be expanded. Introduction Tigray region has one of the densest populations in Ethiopia, with about 350,000 donkeys. The people have a high demand for donkey use and hence a number of donkeys are moved into the region continuously from neighboring regions. Donkeys are full time working equids involved in a multitude of activities, but poor image and attitudes towards them lead them to be in a low welfare status. Of all activities that donkeys are expected to work in, tasks like transporting salt bar, firewood and charcoal, construction materials, straw and cactus fruit and leaves are the major ones affecting the lives and welfare of donkeys. Mekelle is the capital city of the region and seat of the Donkey Sanctuary regional programme. From a number of poor welfare areas in the region, the Donkey Sanctuary Ethiopia Tigray programme is currently working in seven districts within a 100km radius, carrying out integrated veterinary intervention, adult education, school children's education/ target classes, mini media, clubs, herding children, working with the local radio station, saddlery training and production as well as distribution of improved saddles, continuing professional development for animal health professionals and Development Agents, and working with different communities to reduce the suffering of donkeys and mules. As part of community development in welfare of donkeys, for the last year the project started to select farmers/ owners/ Agents to help improve the welfare of their donkeys and also help others in doing so. Agents were selected based on their relative care of their working animals, hence most of the Agents' donkeys have relatively the worst welfare status compared to other owners in their respective village, for example having donkeys with skin problems, wounds, emaciated, unhappy and generally less wellbeing, and are renowned in their locality to represent such households. A few of the owners with better handling of donkeys and with donkeys representing better or best welfare were included with the intention of sharing their experiences. Other criteria were that the selected ones needed to be those who can read and write and were willing to teach about donkey welfare after training. To start with two districts were selected, Enderta and Hintalo Wajirat, where the welfare status of donkeys is relatively low. From each district two peasant associations were selected and from each peasant association two villages, hence a total of eight villages and 39 Agents were selected and have been working for the last one year. An entry point training on health and welfare problems of donkeys and mules was given to the Agents and the agreed working system was designed in such a way that after the training each Agent was expected to improve the condition of his donkey(s) in a short period, i.e. to manage them at least the same way as other domestic animals in a household, principally in feeding, water provision, shelter, veterinary services and always to think that animals should be rewarded based on the benefit they provide, not on some other cultural and religious grounds. Once the Agents had brought the improvements they were expected to select 5 other target farmers from their neighbors, relatives and people that they can easily influence and able to persuade, and bring the same improvement, enlightening owners in their respective locality of all opportunities. With this system the target farmers were also expected to work with as many other owners as was possible to influence. The intention is that the Agents and
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target farmers will graduate in improved welfare of donkeys in the coming years and that this success will diffuse to other owners. The objectives of this paper are to review the impact of the farmers Agents in improving donkey welfare and to make recommendations on important points. Methodology The project team evaluated the impacts of Agents' intervention using: 1. Discussion with the Agents to realize their activities. 2. Visits to their houses to look for animal shelters and feed and feeding practices. 3. Looking the condition of the donkeys for comparison with others and to see the difference in conditions from a year before. 4. Discussion with some target farmers to know their interest in the work of the Agents and to find out what they did so far. Results and discussion Evaluations of impact were done by the team at the beginning of the intervention, after 6 months and at the end of the year. Table 1 summarises the intervention sites, agents and targets. Districts Peasant Associations Villages No of No of Agents Target Farmers Agents improved welfare of donkeys No Enderta Mytsedo Embafikadu 5 Egrihariba Arato Endabashelama Milate Hintalo Wajirat Araasegeda Ara Myhydi Fikralem Aderak Belat Total 5 4 25 25 20 3 4 4 % 60 80 80 Targets improved welfare of donkeys No 11 10 9 % 44 40 45
Table 1. Intervention sites, number of farmers' Agents and target farmers and their achievements in improving donkey welfare. Impacts: 1. The different approaches used to evaluate the impact of farmers' Agents on welfare improvements in donkeys showed progress in the fundamental indicators of welfare conditions i.e. improvement in body condition and reduced prevalence of wounds. 2. It was possible to prove that Agents could tell others and talk explicitly about donkeys and their wellbeing, which is difficult for many owners due to the poor image of donkeys and inherited behaviors. They were able to convince and change others and use all possible opportunities to transmit messages. 3. Some of them built new shelters or improved existing shelters, while others separated donkeys from the stable of other livestock and upgraded the frequency of watering, feeding and treatment services. 4. Comparing the condition of the Agents donkeys to other donkeys in their vicinity and to their own donkeys a year ago, there is clear improvement. 5. As each Agent had to select five target farmers to pass on knowledge, some of them managed to pursue five others, some four and few of them three out of five. 6. Some target farmers were convinced that the welfare of their donkeys was in a lower state than other livestock in the household, despite donkeys working the most. They agreed to work with the Agents and will discuss the wellbeing of this most neglected household livestock species with other owners. Donkey owners are trapped by traditional, cultural and religious beliefs, although they know very well that donkeys are the most useful animal for individual households, and once they break the silence it seems trouble-free to continue working for the wellbeing of donkeys. This is working for the Agents.
5 6 6 4 4 39
25 30 30 20 13 188
4 5 6 4 3 33
80 83 100 100 75 85
10 23 22 12 9 108
40 76 73 60 54 57 Figure 1. An Agent with his relatively better condition donkey visiting one of the mobile clinics of the project for a veterinary check-up
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Conclusions The owner-to-owner approach uses donkey owners to bring change for themselves and others they know and can influence, such as relatives, neighbors and diffusing to others. Taking the pillar of giving at least the same treatment to donkeys as to other animals in a household is one of the approaches that can lead to sustainable intervention. The reason for sustainability is that the welfare of these animals is directly related to the welfare of the people who rely on this part of their livestock. Recommendations The approach of using people who know each other very well, speak the same language, have common interests, similar living standards and uses of donkeys, spend long periods together and can influence each other most, proved to be the right tool to lead to sustainable improvement in welfare condition of donkeys. It deserves to expand to all the villages of these districts and to other districts where welfare problems are serious. Planned regular monitoring and evaluation of the activities of Agents and target farmers is essential. Agents and target farmers need to have planned refresher workshops and trainings which lead them to improve their capacities to address welfare issues and internalize their responsibilities. Reporting of activities makes the Agents responsible. Ranking of Agents based on their achievements can create a competitive environment.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AS A MODE OF IMPROVING THE WELFARE OF WORKING EQUINES: SHARING EXPERIENCES FROM KENYA W. O. Okello, J. Ojwang, and S. Onyango
Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (KSPCA), PO Box 24203-00502, Nairobi, Kenya waltokello@yahoo.com
Abstract Globally, working equines play a central role in the development of communities where they are used as the main source of draught power. Using a Community Development (CD) approach we are working with donkey users' associations, women and youth groups, schools, and community- based organizations (CBOs). Donkey welfare is integrated into activities promoting sustainable livelihoods and improved environments. Community participation and use of life skills for children form the basis of our CD approach. This paper attempts to describe the use of a CD approach involving the formation of donkey users' groups, which is helping to bring about positive improvements in donkey welfare, owners' socioe-conomic conditions, and the general environment in some areas. We believe a well structured CD approach can improve donkey welfare as well as people's livelihoods and environment. Introduction Over the years the Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (KSPCA), through funding from the Donkey Sanctuary, has been holding mobile donkey clinics and running community and children education programmes in order to improve the welfare of donkeys in Kenya. In the areas with the greatest welfare problems, approaches had to be integrated within and relative to the livelihood of the donkey users and the environment where both people and animals live. Brief situational analysis of donkey users in the peri-urban areas of Kenya In Kenya most of the welfare problems of donkeys are seen in the urban and peri-urban areas. The majority of donkey users are the youth who seek employment by using donkeys for transportation of merchandise within these areas. The society sees these youth as non-achievers who use low-status animals as their mode of employment. Because of these factors, among others, the donkey users have low self esteem, making them develop indifference to the rest of society, and a low empathy towards their donkeys. This is compounded by alcohol and drug abuse used to help cope with the socio-economic pressures they face. Misuse of the money they have earned pushes them further below the poverty line and this makes them unable and unwilling to pay for any health care or repair of their harnesses and donkey carts. Having looked at how much some of the donkey users earn per day across some of the donkey users' groups, we found out that some of them make as much as US$20 a day, while some the lowest paid personnel in Kenya earn only US$4 a day [1]. If we compare the donkey users in the rural areas and those in urban and peri-urban areas, we see that the former group has high empathy and understands animal welfare better since they have domesticated donkeys for longer periods and use them for subsistence purposes. Because of this, and somewhat reduced economic pressure in these areas, their donkeys' welfare is better, although they do suffer from drought in the semi-arid and arid areas. In the urban and peri-urban areas most donkey users acquire donkeys only for commercial purposes. The donkeys provide the only means for generating an income, and are therefore driven hard each day, resulting in poor welfare. In the urban peri-urban areas the bond between the donkey and donkey user is broken due to socio-economic pressures. CD can be used to address this gap so that both the welfare of the donkey and the user is improved. It also increases the capacity and the willingness of the donkey users to pay for veterinary services, farriery, and
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harness. For this to occur, CD values such as self-determination and participation are essential. Most communities act according to their self-interest, and experience shows most people are willing to actively participate only if their situation will be improved. Even though CD does not solve all the problems facing donkeys and the community, it does give the communities the ability and confidence to solve some of their problems. The CD approach to improving donkey welfare We are involved in various types of CD activities, for example skilling donkey owners and other stakeholders in collective decision making, capacity building on donkey health and welfare issues, community engagement, education of children using life skills and environment, supporting community initiatives in terms of donkey welfare, and strengthening CBOs that are involved in animal welfare or education. Some of these activities are outlined below. In order to have proper decision-making processes we work with existing donkey users' groups or help form them in areas with poor donkey welfare, usually peri-urban. We use participatory approaches and practical sessions with donkey owners' groups and other stakeholders, such as cart makers, opinion leaders, and local animal health providers, to carry out capacity building on donkey health, including harnessing and animal welfare issues. Other issues discussed are simple body condition scoring, basic accounting, business etiquette, basic traffic rules, and animal welfare legislation. This is to impart knowledge on basic donkey care (including preventive medicine) and animal welfare, and change behaviour through helping the donkey owners understand the direct link between good welfare and improved livelihoods. Thus donkey owners are empowered to treat simple ailments affecting their donkeys or to utilize local animal health providers. We work with CBOs and support community initiatives such as community animal welfare days to sensitize the rest of the community about animal welfare, including animal welfare legislation. This is done to prevent cruelty to animals and also to encourage the existing best practices within the community. Changes in the welfare of donkeys are assessed by animal-based indicators, such as body condition score, demeanour, wounds, lameness, and hooves. These indicators are triangulated with our veterinary records and those of local animal health providers and the views of the community. Changes in the behaviour of donkey owners are assessed qualitatively through focus group workshops, semi-structured interviews, and community opinion among others. Monitoring of the strength of the group is done through assessing leadership and teamwork. This is triangulated through looking at the accounts and investments made without our input. These CD activities provide a local forum that empowers the community to tackle animal welfare problems through provision of skill and knowledge on such issues and to change behaviour and attitude, thus improving the welfare of donkeys. Brief case study: Kagoto donkey users' self-help group Kagoto is in Nakuru North district of Kenya. In 2003 we received various complaints from members of the public about mistreatment of donkeys in Kagoto. We visited the area in 2004 and encountered whipping of donkeys, overriding, and harness sores. Most of the donkey users were using drugs and alcohol. We provided palliative treatment and talked to the donkey users at local gatherings. The welfare of donkeys did not improve much. In 2008, using a CD approach, we encouraged the donkey users to establish a formal group with a patron, chairman, secretary, and treasurer [2]. They would collect money on a weekly basis and save it in the bank for future investment. So far the group has invested in planting kale and tree seedlings which they sell to the community. They have also received a car-washing machine from a well wisher. The group has partnered the animal welfare club in the Kagoto primary school: they provide tree seedlings to the school and the children plant them as a way of improving the environment. We established the animal welfare club so as to teach children about animal welfare using life skills. Having networked with the Ministry of Youth Affairs, the group won a tender to carry out reforestation of Kirima Top Forest in Nakuru. They have also planted trees around the water tanks where they draw 159
the water as a way of improving their immediate environment. We are in the process of partnering with the local radio station so that the group can inform the community and neighbouring communities about animal welfare, and about how taking good care of their donkeys has helped them socially and economically, and to advertise themselves as a group to the community. In 2006 of the 132 donkeys seen 99 had wounds [3]; by 2010 only 4 donkeys of the 103 donkeys seen had wounds [3]. Cases of whipping and overriding are minimal because the group itself disciplines errant members by not allowing them to draw water from the water tanks a form of self-policing/peer pressure (the group runs the water tanks). On average the body condition score of these donkeys is 3 and the general welfare of these donkeys has greatly improved. One of the main problems is internal squabbles among the group members. We are trying to tackle this by advising them to have a chairman on an annual rotational basis. This is also aimed at developing leadership skills. Conclusion If well articulated, CD can be used to improve animal welfare, community livelihood, and the environment through integration of these principles. Acknowledgement We would like to thank the Donkey Sanctuary Kenya team for the useful information they provided for this paper. Reference [1] Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of minimum_wages_by_country. [2] KSPCA Donkey Health and Welfare Improvement Project, Strategy Plan 200811. [3] KSPCA Donkey Health and Welfare Improvement Project, case records and fieldwork reports 200610.
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MEDIA IN PROMOTING EQUINE WELFARE: A CASE STUDY OF HESHIMU PUNDA RADIO PROGRAMME IN KENYA
R. W. Kikwatha and F. Ochieng
Kenya Network for Dissemination of Agricultural Technologies (KENDAT) fochieng@kendat.org
KENDAT Heshimu Punda case study Introduction Heshimu Punda is a donkey welfare improvement project being implemented by KENDAT in partnership with Brooke UK. As part of the broad intervention strategies, HP has been promoting a radio programme known as Mtunze Punda Akutunze for the last 6 years. Mtunze Punda Akutunze has been instrumental in reaching out to larg communities, including in areas where the project has no direct operations and even beyond the country borders. The aim of the programme is to create awareness and lobby for implementation of good donkey welfare practices amongst young donkey owners and users, thus positively changing their attitudes and behaviour towards donkeys. The project recognizes that youth form the majority of donkey owners, have high radio listenership, are likely to be influenced by their peers, and believe in radio messaging. HP radio implementation strategy Choice of radio station. A survey is carried out first to establish the most effective radio station. The survey gives information regarding the most preferred station, time slots, preferred language, and preferred presenters. Target audience. The radio strategy is designed to create awareness on donkey welfare which will lead to changes in attitude and practices among the youth who are highly opinionated, interact very closely with donkeys, are prone to drug abuse, are energetic and likely to overwork donkeys, and have a high demand for more money and are therefore likely to mistreat and abuse donkeys. Target issues. Radio programmes are designed to address specific donkey welfare issues guided by baseline information collected using scientific methods such as welfare assessment, donkey user/owner behaviour and practice surveys, analysis of clinical data, and routine scouting. Some of the target issues addressed include injurious donkey whipping and control and management of parasites. Publicity for programme. Intensive publicity, especially to make the community and the youth aware of the radio station and time of airing the programme, is given through fun clubs, school clubs, village opinion leaders, announcements in community group meetings, public meetings, churches, mosques, and posters on public notice boards. Generating information for radio programmes Information for radio messaging is generated through different ways. Scientific welfare assessment is conducted to provide animal-based and other relevant information related to the target issue. This information gives valid and reliable information which is triangulated with information from other sources. Focus group discussion is organized with youth groups to discuss in detail donkey welfare, historical perspectives of donkey use, reasons behind donkey misuse and abuse, possible solutions, and how to sustain good practices. The most significant method of generating views and radio messages from the youth is the use of outside broadcasts (OBs). These take the form of public debates where donkey owners and users, selected stakeholders, and HP staff come together to discuss issues related to target issues. The OBs are planned in a sequence as follows: The first OB is conducted to review practices, and youths set commitments The second OB looks at the progress made and challenges faced, and also revises actions The third OB looks at the results with regards to the commitments made and also looks at the objectives of the programme being aired.
Introduction The word 'media' refers to any kind of format used to convey information. Media technologies have undergone an incredible transformation over the last few decades. Growth and development of the new media have led to their wide diffusion and application, thus increasing their economic and social impact. There is now a wide choice of media but mass media are most commonly used. Mass media refers to those types of media designed to reach large numbers of people. There are different types of media, including television (cable, network, satellite, etc.), radio, film and video, print (newspapers, magazines, direct mail, etc.), photography, and electronic (e-mail, the web, etc.). All media produce a variety of genre, which refers to a particular type of style or content. Mass media genres can be divided into four basic types: Informative media, such as news shows, newspapers, informative websites Educational media, such as books, educational video, educational software programs Persuasive media, such as all types of advertising, television infomercials, newspaper editorials, websites that attempt to persuade Entertainment media, such as magazines, movies, novels, entertainment-related websites For the purposes of this paper, we focus on the role of radio in promoting animal welfare. Why radio in animal welfare Radio messaging provides an effective way to specifically target your prime audience. Every radio station appeals to its own unique demographic. This natural division of interests into specific listener groups makes radio the prime medium for animal welfare messaging. Radio listenership is also divided by station and listening time. It has been shown that the majority of adults listen to the radio on their way to and from work, while younger listeners are more often tuned in during the afternoon, after school. This means that it is possible to make programmes to suit specific age groups with a high degree of precision. With this division, it becomes possible to define media literacy, meaning the ability to listen, understand, analyse, and critically evaluate information presented on radio. As such, the right language, style, format, and content can be designed to suit that specific group. People usually tend to develop a personal relationship with their favourite radio stations, programmes, and presenters. They know the station's personalities and they tune in for entertainment and information. This loyalty allows you to develop a relationship with these listeners and, as a result, listeners (in Kenya) have been found to be more accepting/believing of radio information than of any other type of media. Radio is actually an extremely cost-effective medium through which to advertise or create awareness. It reaches a wide range of listeners and covers expansive geographical areas at the same time with the same cost. Challenges of using radio programmes for attitude, behaviour, and practice change 161 How to associate change in attitude, behaviour, and practices to radio messaging How to monitor and evaluate changes as a result of radio messages Choice of the right channel, language for the right audience
Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) One of the key outputs for the radio project being implemented is the development of a toolkit defining media approach and methodology for reaching out to the youth. This will be assessed to check appropriateness in
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promoting donkey welfare. Another monitoring strategy is to assess changes in donkey prioritization by youth, adoption of welfare-friendly practices, and improvement in donkey welfare. To achieve this several tools are used, including: Force-field analysis and Venn diagrams to determine factors promoting or hindering donkey image and welfare Metric analysis to gauge practices amongst youthful listeners and users A participatory community welfare-based assessment to assess changes in the welfare of donkeys owned or used by youthful radio listeners Other tools and methods for M&E include welfare assessment, where specific donkeys are selected and assessed to capture their welfare status in related to the target issues. The assessment is done before the radio intervention starts and after (at the end of the year) to determine the changes that have taken place. Donkeys are selected from the youth who attend the OBs. OBs are also used for M&E. The OBs are repeated with the same people to assess changes in attitudes, knowledge, perception, and behaviour. Comparative analysis is done for subsequent OBs in order to identify any changes. Listener feedback is another way whereby listeners are given an opportunity to give their feedback about the programmes through writing letters, sending text messages, phoning, and emailing. This information is continuously analysed to identify changes in attitudes, knowledge, perceptions and behaviour. Field visits are also carried out to confirm some of the information given through listener feedback, and finally home visits and scouting are carried out to assess changes in the practices of the young listeners. Reporting Comprehensive reports are made to capture the welfare status of the donkeys before and after the programme on the basis of the M&E process. The proceedings of the OBs clearly outline the participants' attitudes, knowledge, perceptions, and behaviour in relation to the target donkey welfare issue. Details of any surveys/studies conducted to give baseline and other information are documented and a summary of the radio programme scripts for the programmes aired provided. Conclusion Radio is a good tool for promoting animal welfare if it is done systematically so that assessment of changes resulting from radio messages can be monitored and measured. This is possible if it is implemented locally with specific targets so that its wide coverage does not curtail monitoring efforts.
SLITTING NOSTRILS IN DONKEYS A MYTHICAL BUT PAINFUL QUACK PRACTICE IN THE SOUTHERN REGION OF BROOKE (PAKISTAN) COPING THROUGH AWARENESS
S. Nawaz , Z. Shah , N. Soomro , H. Laghari , M. Kashif , and S. A. Brohi
1
The Brooke (Pakistan) South Region, RCVH, M. A. Jinnah Road, Karachi, Pakistan 2 North Region, Charsadda Road, Larama, Peshawar, Pakistan karachi@thebrooke.org.pk
Abstract Slitting the nostrils of donkeys is a painful/unlawful act commonly carried out by traditional practitioners. Communities covered by the Southern Region of the Brooke (Pakistan) routinely adopted such a cruel practice. It was believed to be helpful in thermoregulation and breathing, especially during work in hot and humid climates. During the year 2008, a total of 398 donkeys were examined in 3 densely populated districts of Sindh and Baluchistan provinces of Pakistan. Results showed 51% prevalence in Karachi, 82% in Jacobabad (Sindh), and 86% in Jaffarabad (Baluchistan). Based on these findings, strategies were made and implemented by the Southern Region of the Brooke (Pakistan). Owners' awareness programmes were launched and found to be highly useful in the prevention of slit nostrils. The majority of the traditional practitioners attended Community Based Animal Health Worker (CBAHWs) training and now work as motivated health workers. A second study was conducted for impact analysis and internal monitoring of the interventions. Statistical procedures were applied and showed a significant difference between the data of the surveys. The study showed a 78% decline in the prevalence of slit nostrils in all 3 districts. This follow-up survey observed 422 donkeys, and indicates a decreasing trend in the slitting of nostrils of new animals and shows owners prefer donkeys without slit nostrils. Analysis of the data shows that the strategies were found useful in educating owners/users and helped to improve animal welfare in these districts of Pakistan. Introduction Many poor communities in the different regions of Pakistan are being supported in multiple ways by about 5 million equines [1]. More than 1 million donkeys in Sindh and about 0.47 million in Baluchistan are used mainly for transportation of goods as well as of people [2]. The majority of the owners believe in myths and traditional types of healing. The practice of frequent use of nose string in working male donkeys was observed in the Sialkot district of Punjab (Pakistan). It is a tradition practised by the owners which is not only a persistent source of undue suffering for the donkeys but also affects their health status resulting in their poor efficiency [3]. Slitting nostrils in donkeys is a traditional but painful practice in southern parts of the country. The climate of the area means it is hot in summer with maximum temperatures of 4550C. The working animals become so exhausted that they show signs of severe panting. Owners assume that the nostrils obstruct the passage of air while the animal breathes. Traditionally, owners believe slit nostrils facilitate easy breathing, increased work capacity, and reduced internal heat in hot season. Nostrils are incised, usually with a sharp knife or blade, by the so-called slit nostril experts the traditional practitioners. Nostril slitting is practised without giving sedatives or tranquillizers to the animals. Wounded animals are left without proper dressings or treatment (Figure 1). However, the donkeys' reactions to the severe pain are associated with different injuries and conditions [4].
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Figure 1. Donkey with freshly slit nostrils
change between data of 2008 and 2009 (see Figure 3). Table 1. Prevalence of slit nostrils before and after interventions in Brooke operational districts, South Region
Year 2008 (before interventions)
District Karachi Jacobabad Jaffarabad
Slit nostril Yes 71 31 189 291 68 45 163 276
% 51 82 86 73% 44 76 79 65%
Slit nostril No 68 7 32 107 88 14 44 146
% 49 18 14 27% 56 24 21 35%
Prevalence % 51 82 86
The deformed nostrils are unable to indicate severity of heat stress and exhaustion as these parts are not dilated properly while animals show panting during work. This makes owners unaware of the severity of the issue and thus gets more work from their animals that lead to collapse for the animals. The study enabled us to see the prevalence of nose slitting in the region and to design interventions for creating awareness amongst owner/users and relevant stakeholders to give up this traditional practice. It also enabled us to monitor interventions and inspired confidence for future planning to expand the activities in and around the Brooke communities. We believe this will gradually help improve animal welfare and will protect animals from such a brutal practice. Materials and method The primary survey was conducted in 2008 to investigate the prevalence of slitting nostrils among 398 donkeys from 14 donkey-owning communities in the Southern Region of the Brooke, including Karachi, Jacobabad, and Jaffarabad. Based on these findings, the welfare issues were recognized and a long-term awareness campaign planned to focus the attention of potential stakeholders in equine communities of the districts concerned. Brooke staff conducted awareness sessions amongst organized peer groups of donkey owners/users in communities. Awareness-raising activities such as camps and campaigns were designed for the purpose. Owners/users and relevant stakeholders were educated through pictorial banners, intensive and extensive awareness-raising meetings, and materials at animal fairs and working places to discourage the practice. Messages were also delivered through extension materials and demonstrations to tackle the issue of exhausted animals affected either by climatic conditions or by overwork during hot days. The slit nostril experts were motivated and trained as CBAHWs by the Brooke to operate as animal health workers instead of traditional practitioners or quacks. To monitor these activities, the Brooke conducted another study through its welfare assessment team in 2009. Observations of 422 donkeys from 21 communities of the same area were studied for slit nostrils, and results were compiled to monitor the effectiveness of the Brooke awareness campaign. Results Findings of both studies are given in Table 1. Figures before awareness-raising interventions revealed the prevalence of slit nostrils as highest (86%) in Jaffarabad followed by 82% in Jacobabad, and 51% in Karachi. After the intervention the figures were 79% in Jaffarabad, 76% in Jacobabad, and 44% in Karachi. The overall percentages of animals having slit nostrils in operational areas before and after interventions were 73% and 65% respectively. The percentage of animals without slit nostrils was observed before and after the activities as 27% and 35% respectively. A 78% reduction in the occurrence of nostril slitting was observed. Comparative analysis of the study is shown in Figure 2. A statistical test was applied and showed a significant difference (p<0.05) in the
Total 2009 (after interventions) Karachi Jacobabad Jaffarabad Total
44 76 79
Figure 2.
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5 Decision-Making in Health and Disease
Discussion The prevalence rate cannot be reduced in animals already having slit nostrils. However, the incidence of fresh cases can be minimized with a series of focused awareness-raising interventions. Thus, the issue can be tackled in the long run by creating awareness in equine- owning communities of the cruelty of the practice. For this purpose, equine owners/users in communities, work places, and animal fairs were taken into account in order to design interventions to change their perceptions about the issue. Through pictorial banners, leaflets, demonstrations, and owners/users meetings, awareness on issue was aroused. The issue was treated with other welfare issues during walks and events arranged from time to time, for example World Animal Day celebrated during the last 2 years in all 3 districts. Equine owners were educated on the importance of regularly giving fresh water, including normal saline, to their animals especially in summer. Owners/users awareness was raised on the prevention and management of heat stress in their animals. Thirteen water troughs and 14 shed/shelters were constructed in communities of the region through participatory action. More than 400 canvas water buckets were distributed amongst the communities at subsidized rates. For short-term and immediate results, the source of the nostril-slitting practice was thought to be eliminated. The quacks of the area were educated about the facts of the issue and were motivated to stop this traditional practice and to join Brooke efforts of animal welfare through participation in CBAHW training arranged by Brooke South. Four practising quacks joined the training and became trained animal health workers. Initially they were given first aid kits and basic medicines used in veterinary practice. They were linked with equine owners/users and relevant stakeholders. Furthermore, 7 seven other slit nostril experts from the communities were identified and motivated enough to quit practising nostril slitting. They also actively supported Brooke teams in delivering and arranging awareness-raising camps and campaigns. Welfare assessment data are being used for internal monitoring of the interventions. The results showed a reduction in the prevalence of the practice pointing to the right direction towards the goal. In future the same activities will be continued to cope with the issue in and around Brooke operational areas. Acknowledgments The author would like to express his gratitude to Brooke field staff and equine owners for their cooperation and support in execution of the study. The decision of slit nostril experts to leave traditional practice and to join the Brooke programme as CBAHWs is highly appreciated. Sincere thanks are registered for the valuable comments of my friends Dr Imtiaz Ahmed Salik and Dr Abid Pervez Shah. References [1] Anonymous. Economic survey. Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Finance, Economic Adviser's Wing, Islamabad, 20067. [2] Anonymous. Survey of Pakistan, livestock census, livestock population and domesticated poultry birds by administrative unit. 2006. [3] Iqbal, A., Hassan Raza, S., Ahsan-Ullah and Riaz, M. Developments and research in equine husbandry and welfare: some issues in Pakistan. Proceedings of 5th International Colloquium on Working Equines. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, pp 1114, 2006. [4] Houpt, K.A. Aggression and social structure. In: Dometic animal behaviour. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK, pp 3787, 2005.
DISASTER RISK REDUCTION: THE BANGLADESH STORY

D. Haider Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Centre (BDPC), Dhaka, Bangladesh Background A country born out of a bloody freedom struggle in 1971 and currently home to 16.2 million people within a 145,570 sq km land area, Bangladesh is identified as a developing country. It is an agrarian economy; 41% of the population are literate, of which 31% are female. With a per capita income of $520 (2008), the country has managed to continue an annual average growth of 5% since 1990 despite political unrest and repeated devastating disasters. Bangladesh is distinctly identified as a high-risk country on the world map. Its vulnerability to natural disasters is rooted in its geographic location in the worlds largest delta compounded with a series of hydro-meteorological and geo-physical factors, including huge inflow of monsoon water from upper riparian countries, a low floodplain, and storm surges across the long funnel-shaped coastline with tropical climate. Topography Bangladesh, in the low-lying GangesBrahmaputra River Delta or Ganges Delta, practically provides the drainage for the mighty rivers of the South Asian region (see Figure 1). This delta is formed by the confluence of the Ganges (local name Padma or Pdda), Brahmaputra (Jamuna or Jomuna), and Meghna rivers and their respective tributaries. The Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually gush into the Bay of Bengal. There are 232 rivers and rivulets. The alluvial soil deposited by these rivers has created some of the most fertile plains in the world. Bangladesh has 58 trans-boundary rivers, making water issues politically complicated to resolve. The country has 700 km of coastline. Most parts of Bangladesh are less than 12 m above sea level. Figure 1. Regional view: Bangladesh, the drainage system of the mighty rivers
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Disasters Flood, tropical cyclone, tornado, tidal surge, drought, and large-scale riverbank erosion are regular phenomena in Bangladesh, creating repeated havoc and disrupting the lives and livelihoods of the disaster vulnerable people in most parts of the country (see Figure 2). Since independence in 1971, the country has endured approximately 200 disaster events causing the loss of more than 600,000 human lives and destroying years of development gains. Figure 2. Disaster areas of Bangladesh
The cyclone that hit the country in 1970 and killed about half a million people was the worst in the recorded history of the world. The severe blow to the economy wrecked by the floods of 1987, 1988, and 1998 took a long time to recover from. The floods of 2004 affected over 34 million people and caused a loss of over US$3.2 billion in infrastructure, crops, and properties. Riverbank erosion, on the other hand, is a slow onset and silent disaster in this land of mighty rivers, leaving over 10,000 people (on average) homeless and destitute every year. Category 4 cyclone Sidr in 2007 claimed 3,447 lives, injured 55,282 people, and affected 9 million people in 30 districts. A total of 2 million people had to take refuge in the emergency shelters. About a quarter of the world heritage site Sundarbans (a tropical mangrove forest) was damaged and it will take 40 years to recover from the catastrophe. The loss was estimated to be around $1.7 billion. Before the country could recover from the onslaught of Sidr, it was hit by cyclone Aila in May 2009. The death toll from the cyclone rose to 121; at least 58,450 domestic animals were killed [1]. Records of the last 200 years show that at least 70 major cyclones have hit the coastal belt region of our country. Examples of severe tropical cyclones are the Barisal cyclone of 1584, the Bakerganj cyclone of 1876, the Urir Char cyclone of May 1985, the November 1970 cyclone, the great cyclone of 1991, and of course Sidr of 2007. When disasters strike, the poor suffer disproportionately. Disasters destroy the meagre physical assets that they have, and severely affect their livelihoods including their precious asset: livestock. Disasters thus further entrench poverty and inequalities. Hazards such as floods, cyclones, and droughts are noted for aggravating poverty in 2 ways: through destruction of food stocks and the scanty assets, including livestock, crops, and houses, of the poorer households; and through making employment opportunities scarce, leading to food insecurity, malnutrition, disintegration of families, and social unrest. To make conditions worse, Bangladesh is identified as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change impact: 70 million people are estimated to be affected annually by floods, and 8 million by drought; up to 8% of the low-lying lands may become permanently inundated due to sea level rise; salinity ingress is threatening food security all by 2050. The total population in the 19 districts of the coastal zone amounts to 35.08 million, the male population being 17.9 million and female 17.1 million [2]. Agricultural labourers, small farmers, fishermen, and the urban poor make up 70% of the 6.85 million households on the coast and the coastal population is projected to grow to about 41.8 million in 2015, and 57.9 million in 2050. The extent of poverty is relatively high compared with the remaining part of Bangladesh: 52% are poor and 24% are extremely poor. Climate change is threatening huge problems for this large and growing population. Disaster management capacity Over the years the government and NGOs in Bangladesh have developed expertise in post-disaster relief and rehabilitation operations as a result of managing big disasters repeatedly and by disaster management capacitybuilding initiatives undertaken since 1992. Bangladesh is considered a world leader in disaster management. The death toll of category 4 cyclone of 1970 was 500,000 while in the same category cyclone in 2007 the figure was 3,447. This is indicative of a marked improvement in the disaster management capacity of the country. Bangladesh has an elaborate system, from national to local level, for disaster management. There are Disaster Management Committees (DMCs) at all levels. However, the area where the country is still limping is saving the livelihoods of the people, i.e. saving their assets of crops, fish stock, livestock, and houses. The damage estimates of each disaster reach billions due to this loss of livelihoods and infrastructure. Since independence, huge funds have been spent in Bangladesh on disaster management: relief, rehabilitation,
Flood and river erosion areas Cyclone and surge areas Drought areas
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and disaster preparedness. After the cyclone in 1991, over US$1 billion was spent. The government and donors spent over $290 million on the emergency relief operation after the floods in 2004. In addition, the government allocated more than 700,000 tonnes of food grain in 2004 under its normal relief programme in the form of Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF), Food for Work, Test Relief, etc. After Sidr in 2007, more than $500 million were allocated for response and recovery, including loans from the World Bank. On the other hand, the biggest programme to date in Bangladesh has been the CDMP (Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme), with a completed 1st phase of $26 million and ongoing 2nd phase of $50 million. However, since the 1990s, it has been recognised that relief/rehabilitation support cannot ensure sustainable recovery, especially of the livelihoods of the poor and low-income groups; nor can it save them from the onslaughts of nature's fury. Instead the need of the hour is to invest in disaster risk reduction by capacity building and vulnerability reduction of the communities to shield them from the risks of these natural hazards. Loss of livestock in disasters The Bangladesh economy is still largely agrarian. Agriculture in this country has not yet been able to reap the benefit of technological advancements in this sector, and therefore livestock is still very crucial in agriculture in addition to being an important asset on its own. To a farmer his bull or cow is as precious as his own life! Studies show that people are often reluctant to leave their homes to take refuge in the cyclone shelters until the very last moment, at 'danger signal number 9' or '10', because they do not want to leave behind their livestock; and they cannot take the animals with them due to lack of provision for livestock in the shelters (see Table 1). This results in more casualties. Women are the main care takers of livestock. So, they are often the victims of such delays in evacuation to safety. Table 1. Loss of livestock in some major disasters Disaster Sidr 2007 Tornado 2005 1 district only Flood 2004 Cyclone 1970
Sources: [3] [4]
humanitarian standards are met during the relief and recovery process. The field of disaster management has evolved considerably over time, particularly over the last 2 decades, to the point that today it can be considered a professional discipline, with its own fundamental principles, body of knowledge, and methods of practice. Shelter-based community risk reduction project of BDPC Figure 2. Frontal elevation of shelter at Morrelganj
Cattle lost 21,100 35 1,451 280,000
Poultry lost 611,347
2,54,488
Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Centre (BDPC) Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Centre (BDPC) has been working since 1992 to promote capacity building of all stakeholders in disaster risk management and to promote mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction (DRR) into development policies and planning and community empowerment for sustainable DRR and climate change adaptation. BDPC believes that disaster risk is rooted in conditions of physical, social, economic, and environmental vulnerabilities that need to be assessed and managed on a continuing basis. People's livelihoods and their empowerment are critical elements for DRR. Although we do not directly get involved in relief operations, we facilitate coordination and advocate promoting the rights of the affected communities so that minimum 171
BDPC is implementing a shelter-based community risk reduction project at the Sidr affected area in the southern part of the country: Morrelganj Upazila of Bagerhat District. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is building 4 cyclone shelters at Morrelganj (see Figure 2). BDPC is working on social mobilisation among the target beneficiaries, namely all the people within a 1 km radius area around each shelter. The objective is to inculcate ownership within the community, so that they manage and utilise the shelter building before, during, and after the cyclone. As part of that process, we carried out extensive consultation with the community to assess their needs and views about the usage of the building. One of the points to come across strongly, quite understandably, is the need to shelter their livestock. BDPC carried out a livestock survey (see Table 2).
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Table 2. Livestock count in Morrelganj SL No. 01 02 03 Shelter site Khawlia 01 Khawlia 02 Hogolpati - 01 Hogolpati - 02 Total Cattle 104 173 174 201 652 Goats 108 128 265 190 691 Hens and ducks 999 1,758 1,333 1,857 5,947
SYNOVIAL SEPSIS IN WORKING EQUIDS: RESPONSE TO TREATMENT IN 57 CASES

H. S. Gamal, A. Aly, D. Micheal, D. I. Rendle, and V. Epstein
Animal Care in Egypt, El Habil Road, Luxor, Egypt hanagv500@hotmail.com
Abstract Relationships between historical and clinical factors and outcome were investigated in 57 cases of synovial sepsis presented to a charitable clinic. Cases were treated with synovial lavage combined with systemic, regional, and intra-articular antimicrobial administration. Cause of injury, time from injury to treatment, site of injury, and number of flushes required did not appear to affect outcome. A significant association was identified between degree of lameness at admission and degree of lameness at discharge (p=0.01). Equids presenting with a lameness of 910/10 were 11.3 times more likely to be lame at discharge than equids presenting with a lameness of 34/10. Introduction Synovial penetrations are common in working equids and result in severe lameness. The condition not only represents a major cause of morbidity but has significant economic implications for the human population. Current evidence would indicate that the most effective treatment is lavage of the synovial structure with systemic and sometimes additional regional administration of broad-spectrum antimicrobial drugs [1, 2, 3, 4]. Arthroscopic examination in association with lavage of the affected synovial structure is considered by many to be the gold standard especially when treating chronic cases [1, 2, 3, 4]. Arthroscopic examination is expensive, labour intensive, and is not available in charitable clinics. Through-and-through lavage of the synovial cavity using largegauge needles provides an effective substitute [5]. To the authors' knowledge there are no reports of the treatment of synovial sepsis in working equids. The following study aimed to investigate factors that might influence the success of treatment for synovial sepsis in a charitable clinic; specifically whether outcome could be predicted from the cause of injury, time from injury to treatment, the degree of lameness at admission, the synovial structure affected, and the number of times lavage was required. Materials and methods Study design Case records for working equids presented to Animal Care in Egypt between July 2008 and December 2009 were reviewed. All animals in which synovial sepsis was diagnosed were considered for inclusion. If soft tissue or skeletal injuries that could potentially limit return to soundness were present concurrently the cases was excluded. Data were collated using Microsoft Excel [6] prior to analysis using Stata software [7]. Relationships between clinical and historical case data and degree of lameness at discharge were investigated using Fisher's exact test. Relationships between clinical and historical case data and duration of hospitalisation were investigated using a one-way ANOVA. Significant results were further investigated using univariable logistic regression. The significance level was set at p 0.05 for all tests. Diagnosis In the majority of cases diagnosis was made by observation of saline exiting a wound following distension of the synovial cavity. Failing this synovial fluid was analysed visually, microscopically, and using a refractometer. Synovial sepsis was diagnosed if total protein concentration exceeded 40g/l and greater than 80% of the leucocytes within the sample were identified as polymorphonuclear cells [4]. In selected cases radiographic examination also facilitated diagnosis. Treatment Following diagnosis the affected structure was lavaged immediately via standard approaches [8] using 1421
Morrelganj, being in the coastal belt, bears the brunt of climate change, salinity ingress. On top of this, indiscriminate shrimp cultivation over the last 15 years has almost destroyed the biodiversity of the area and there is very little green left in the area. Thus survival of livestock becomes a challenge in the absence of pasture. There are some 1,334 households comprising 5,045 people in the target area. They still have some livestock, as revealed in the survey, for which they need shelters to protect them against tidal surge. Therefore, as per the demands of the community, all 4 shelters have the ground floor as open space, for sheltering the livestock. Guidelines for shelter management have been developed under this project, and they contain suggestions regarding the care of livestock in the shelter during the disaster period. References [1] The Daily Star, 27 May 2009. [2] BBS, 2003. [3] 'Damage Loss and Needs Assessment for Disaster Recovery and Reconstruction', by GOB with support from EC, 2008. [4] 'In-depth Recovery Needs Assessment of Cyclone Aila Affected Areas', funded by ECHO.
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gauge needles and 24 litres of sterile saline per structure. Restraint was achieved by chemical sedation using detomidine and butorphanol. Horses were treated standing; donkeys were cast and physically restrained in lateral recumbency. Regional analgesia was performed for cases involving the distal limb. A minority of cases were treated under general anaesthesia induced and maintained with ketamine hydrochloride. Following lavage each synovial cavity was infused with 150300mg gentamicin; the dose being determined by the size of the synovial cavity. In all cases the limbs were dressed following surgery and remained covered until all associated wounds had epithelialised. Short periods of daily exercise were enforced from the day following surgery in an attempt to limit intrasynovial adhesion formation. Where possible, the day after surgery and every other day thereafter intravenous regional perfusion (IVRP) was performed. Following placement of a tourniquet, 250600mg gentamicin diluted in 2040ml 0.9% sodium chloride was infused intravenously proximal to the lesion and distal to the tourniquet. The tourniquet was released 30 minutes after infusion of gentamicin [9]. Synovial lavage was repeated if the degree of lameness failed to improve and synoviocentesis indicated persistent inflammation (total protein in excess of 20g/l and neutrophil percentage in excess of 80%). Repeat flushing was not performed more frequently than every 48 hours. On the alternate days IVRP was performed. In the absence of bacterial culture and sensitivity techniques antimicrobial selection was empiric and influenced by availability and cost. A combination of procaine penicillin (22,000IU/kg BID) and gentamicin (6.6mg/kg SID) administered for 5 days was the first choice in all cases. Thereafter oral enrofloxacin (7.5mg/kg SID PO) was administered if there was a suspicion of persistent infection; otherwise oral trimethoprim sulphadoxine (20mg/kg BID PO) was administered. Oral antimicrobials were administered until there was no clinical evidence of intrasynovial or wound infection. Flunixin meglumine 1.1mg/kg IV BID was administered as necessary to provide analgesia. Body weights were estimated using a weight tape. Results Forty seven donkeys and 10 horses met the inclusion criteria. Results are presented in Table 1. Results of statistical analysis are presented in Table 2. The results of univariable logistic regression indicated that animals presenting with a 910/10 lameness at admission were 11.3 times more likely to be lame at discharge than those presenting with a 34/10 lameness (OR 11.3, Standard Error 9.42, p=0.04). Table 1. Outcome following treatment for synovial sepsis in 57 working equids. Cases are presented according to the cause of injury, the duration of injury, the synovial structure infected, the number of flushes performed, and the degree of lameness at presentation. The percentages of animals working sound (<3/10 lame), sound (0/10 lame), and the duration of hospitalisation are presented for each category.
Duration 024h 2472h >72h Structure Carpus DFTS Fetlock Tarsocrural joint Other Number of flushes 0 1 23 >3 13 24 13 7 23 42 23 12 77 96 77 86 54 71 46 43 13 14 22 22 12 15 9 10 11 21 26 16 18 19 92 73 100 100 73 50 47 89 70 45 15 17 17 15 20 9 27 21 16 47 37 89 96 71 56 67 52 23 15
Lameness at presentation 34 22 12 10 13 39 21 18 23 100 92 70 69 78 67 50 23 12 17 22 21
Cases (%)
Number of cases working sound at discharge (%)
Number of cases sound at discharge (%)
Duration of hospitalisation (days)
56 79
Cause Bites RTA Palm spikes Others 175 24 12 12 9 42 21 21 16 92 92 92 67 63 50 67 44 16 21 15 14
910
Table 2. The significance of clinical and historical data on outcome in 57 working equids with synovial sepsis. Numbers shown are p values generated by Fisher's exact test (working soundness at discharge and soundness at discharge) and one-way ANOVA (duration of hospitalisation). Significance is assumed at p<0.05
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Working sound at discharge Cause Duration Structure Number of flushes Lameness at presentation 0.365 0.80 0.222 0.229 0.010
Sound at discharge 0.702 0.393 0.246 0.369 0.014
Duration of hospitalisation 0.261 0.855 0.927 0.067 0.067
the limitations of lavage in comparison to lavage with associated arthroscopic examination and debridement [3] their outcomes would seem to indicate that prognosis is by no means hopeless if effective lavage cannot be achieved. Seven of the 13 cases returned to complete soundness. A limitation of the current study was the difficulty in definitively diagnosing sepsis. Differentiation between sepsis and inflammation can be difficult even when all diagnostic modalities are available and it was possible that some cases which were severely inflamed were treated as septic. A further difficulty was the objective grading of lameness in donkeys at walk. Further investigation with greater case numbers ought to be performed to substantiate these preliminary findings. Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to Gigi Kay for her ideas and to Kim Taylor, Jane Harry, and the other staff at ACE for their care of the cases. Thanks also to Patrick Pollock, and Claire Wylie and Richard Newton for their assistance with the manuscript and statistical analysis respectively. References [1] Bertone, A.L. Infectious Arthritis. In: Diagnosis and management of lameness in the horse. Eds: Ross, M.W. and Dyson, S.J. W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia, pp 598606, 2003. [2] Schneider, R.K. Orthopedic Infections. In: Equine surgery, 2nd edn. Eds: Auer, J.A. and Stick, J.A. W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia, pp 72736, 1999. [3] Meijer, M.C., van Weeren, P.R., and Rijkenhuizen, A.B. Clinical experiences of treating septic arthritis in the equine by repeated joint lavage: a series of 39 cases. Journal of Veterinary Medicine. A. Physiology, pathology, clinical medicine 47 p 351, 2000. [4] Bertone, A.L. Infectious Arthritis. In: Joint Disease in the Horse. Eds: McIllwraith, C.W. and Trotter, G.W. W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia, pp 8193, 1996. [5] Schneider, R.K., Bramlage, L.R., Mecklenburg, L.M., Moore, R.M., and Gabel, A.A. Open drainage, intra-articular and systemic antibiotics in the treatment of septic arthritis/tenosynovitis in horses. Equine Veterinary Journal 24(6) pp 4439, 1992. [6] Microsoft, Seattle, Washington, USA. [7]StataCorp LP, College Station, Texas, USA. [8] Applied Anatomy of the Musculoskeletal System. In: Diagnosis and management of lameness in the horse. Eds: Ross, M.W. and Dyson, S.J. W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia, 2003. [9] Santschi, E.M., Adams, M.S., and Murphey, E.D. How to Perform Equine Intravenous Digital Perfusion. Proceedings of the Annual Convention of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, Baltilmore, USA. p 199, 1998. [10] Morton, A.J. Diagnosis and treatment of septic arthritis. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Equine Practice 21(3) pp 62749, 2005. [11] Wright, I.M., Smith, M.R., Humphrey, D.J., Eaton-Evans, T.C., and Hillyer, M.H. Endoscopic surgery in the treatment of contaminated and infected synovial cavities. Equine Veterinary Journal 35(6) pp 61319, 2003.
Discussion The results presented indicate that degree of lameness at admission is the only factor of those investigated that had a significant affect on outcome. As sample sizes were relatively small it is possible that with greater case numbers further significant associations might have been identified. There were non-significant trends towards both number of flushes and degree of lameness at presentation being associated with duration of hospitalisation. The cause of injury did not significantly influence outcome. The nature and distribution of injuries in this study is very different from previous reports of pleasure and sports horses yet the outcomes appear similar and this is likely due to the fact that synovial cavities react in a similar manner to contamination regardless of type and source. We had suspected that bite injuries might be associated with a less favourable prognosis as a result of the crushing and tearing associated with such an injury and the contamination with oropharyngeal bacteria. This did not prove to be the case. One major difference between this and many previous studies of synovial sepsis is the discharge of relatively lame animals due to their economic importance. Unfortunately long-term follow-up was not possible. An unexpected finding was the absence of any significant relationship between duration of injury and outcome. Most clinicians would consider that prognosis reduces as the time between synovial penetration and treatment increases [10]. However, one previous study reported similar findings following arthroscopic lavage despite delays in treatment [11]. Potentially confounding factors in this study might be the relaxed attitude of owners towards veterinary care of working equids. Injuries that owners perceive to be less severe might be left a number of days prior to presentation even if a synovial cavity is penetrated. Severe soft tissue contusions are more likely to be presented soon after injury. It was impossible to account for the variation in nature and severity of the injuries that accompanied synovial sepsis. Injuries to the fetlock and tarsocrural joints appeared to be associated with a better prognosis; however these results were not statistically significant. A possible explanation would be the greater ease with which a thorough flush of these joints can be achieved in comparison with other synovial structures. In cases where more flushes were required a less favourable prognosis would be expected as repeated flushes were performed as a reaction to a poor response to treatment. Cases that received a single flush appeared to do better (although this result was not statistically significant). Results were similar for cases that were flushed twice or more times. Thirteen cases did not receive any effective synovial lavage. Many were chronic cases in which it was assumed there were fibrinous adhesions and pannus deposition that prevented lavage. Some, however, were less than 48 hours old and in these cases it was presumed that there was extensive synovial hyperplasia, pannus formation, or peri-articular swelling that had led to collapse of the synovial cavity. Whilst these cases might indicate 177
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CONTROLLED FIELD TRIAL OF A BEHAVIOURAL PAIN ASSESSMENT TOOL IN DONKEYS

1 2 4 R. C. Roy , R. Eager , F. Regan (nee Ashley) and F. Langford
1
Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, UPEI, 550 University Avenue, Canada, C1A 4P3 2 The Brooke Hospital for Animals, 30 Farringdon Street, London EC4A 4HH, UK 3 University of Bristol, Animal Welfare and Behaviour Group, Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, Langford, Bristol, UK 4 Scottish Agricultural College, Sir Stephen Watson Building, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Eh26 0PH cyrilroy1972@hotmail.com
Forty male donkeys that had been working regularly for at least 1 month (as ascertained by owner history) were used. Two donkeys were selected from each of the identified brick kilns, thereby making a total of 20 brick kilns, to achieve the sample population. This methodology allowed paired sampling from each brick kiln. One donkey from each brick kiln was randomly assigned to either the 'drug' group or the 'placebo' group. Male donkeys were selected because only male donkeys work in Ghaziabad brick kilns, thus reducing the sex confound. All selected animals were offered unlimited water before the experiment started. The selection of each donkey from the identified brick kiln depended on the owner's consent and the ability of the animal to fulfill specified criteria. Criteria to select donkeys included age and body score. Only donkeys aged 515 years and with a body-condition score of 23 (on the scale of 15) were included. The body condition scoring system of 1=very thin to 5=very fat used by Pritchard [5] in the the welfare assessment of donkeys in India was used for this study. Animals with any visible injury to either or both of their eyes and ears were excluded from the study as observing the posture of these body parts was used extensively in the behaviour protocol. Animals which were suffering from non-weight-bearing lameness (animals which cannot walk) and/or suffering from other medical problems such as colic and respiratory problems were also not included in the study. It was presumed that all donkeys working in the brick kilns were experiencing some chronic and acute painful condition because of the nature of the work. Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAID) and placebo used The NSAID used in this study was oral Meloxicam syrup (Metacam) and the dosage rate followed was 1.2 mg/kg body weight. Both the NSAID and placebo were administered orally with a 100ml syringe. The placebo was made using starch powder and (food grade) vanilla to bring it to a consistency and colour similar to the drug being used. Experiments in equine species have shown that meloxicam absorption is 100% in 23 hours after oral administration [8]. The body weight of the donkeys was calculated by using the nomogram developed by Pearson [3] for estimation of body weight. The 2 variables used in this nomogram to calculate the body weight of donkeys were heart girth and length of the animals [3]. Experimental method On each day of data collection, 2 donkeys were selected from a brick kiln, according to the criteria described above. The experimenter remained blind to the treatment group to which the donkeys were selected. The experiment was started 1 hour after the animals had finished work for the day. Hobbles and other pieces of equipment were removed before the observation started. Both donkeys were subjected to pre-drug/placebo observation of postural (10 instantaneous scans) and event (continuous focal scanning) behaviour for 10 minutes (Table 1). Observations were carried out in an 'experimental area' which was 2mx2m, quiet, and separate from other animals. Prior to behavioural observation animals were habituated to the area for 5 minutes. After the pre-drug behavioural observation had been completed each donkey was given either the drug or placebo and returned to the normal resting environment. Two hours after the administration of the drug/placebo, the animals were unhobbled, returned again to the quiet 'experimental area', and the same postural and event behaviours were recorded again for 10 minutes (Table 1). Pain-related behaviour assessment tool The postures and event behaviours observed during the pre- and post-placebo/drug administration are listed in Table 1.
Abstract Behavioural indices for pain in donkeys are believed to be more subtle than in horses. Therefore, more sensitive behavioural indices for pain recognition and quantification are needed. An ethogram of behaviours involving postures and events with predefined criteria was used in this tool to identify and quantify pain-related behaviours in donkeys. The posture behaviours recorded were position of ears, eyes, head, muzzle, tail, and head. The event behaviours recorded were body movements, feet movements, oral movements, vocalization, and self-focus behaviours. Posture behaviours were recorded using instantaneous scanning, 1 scan per minute for 10 minutes; event behaviours were recorded continuously for the same 10 minutes. Forty donkeys from 20 brick kilns were used as paired samples. The analgesic used was meloxicam (Metacam). The observer was blinded to the treatment. Behaviours were recorded before administration of the drug or placebo and then again after 2 hours of giving the drug or placebo. After the meloxicam administration there was a significant increase in walking, sniffing, and chew/bite behaviour. This indicates that a reduction in walk, sniff, and chew/bite behaviours are predictable indicators for pain in donkeys. This study shows that recording specific posture and event behaviours for a short duration could be used as a tool to recognize pain in donkeys in the field as well as in a clinical setting. Introduction There are an estimated 44 million donkeys in the world [2] of which the majority are found in developing countries. India has an estimated 1.6 million donkeys [6]. Donkeys in developing countries are vital in providing draught power to transport goods for the poor. In doing so, donkeys can suffer several welfare problems. Most literature suggests that donkeys are more stoic than horses in expressing pain-related behaviour [7]. Therefore, it is important to study and understand pain-related behaviour in donkeys to be able to pick up more subtle behaviour changes than those shown in horses. Further, there is lack of reliable literature and research work on this species to enable recognition and measurement of pain and its mitigation. A welfare assessment carried out by Brooke Hospital for Animals UK in developing countries including India showed that 70% of the donkeys were thin, 94.7% had limb-associated abnormalities, and 12% had hind quarter lesions [5]. This study uses a behavioural pain assessment tool developed by researchers of the University of Bristol. The tool has been successfully used to assess pain in donkeys in a clinical setting (unpublished data collected by F.H. Ashley). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether this behaviour-based assessment tool will be able to recognize pain in working donkeys under field conditions. Materials and methods Animal selection Donkeys working in the brick kilns of Ghaziabad district, Uttar Pradesh, were used for this study. In these brick kilns, pack donkeys are extensively used for transporting bricks to and from the furnace. Each donkey carries around 4050 bricks weighing 120150kg for an average 56 hours per day. 179
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Table 1. Posture and event behaviours measured in the behaviour assessment tool Posture behaviours (10 instantaneous scans in 10 minutes) Position of ears Position of eyes Position of the head Position of the muzzle Head orientation Position of tail Forwards, sideways, backwards, combinations Open and alert, closed or semi-closed, rolling eye High, level, low, very low Normal, relaxed and droopy, fixed or clenched No turn, look turn, body turn (lying down or standing up), limb turn Relaxed, lifted, swishing, tucked Figure 2. Box plot showing the frequency of 'sniff' behaviour in 10 minutes before and after placebo and Meloxicam. The post-Meloxicam group showed significantly higher sniff behaviour. The boxes indicate the upper and lower quartiles of the number of sniff behaviour with the median as the line in-between. The whiskers indicate the maximum and minimum values of the sample. * indicates an outlier, defined as those values which are above 1.5 times the interquartile range from the upper quartile.
Event behaviour (continuous observation for 10 minutes) Body movements Feet movements Oral movements Standing up or down, rolling Walking, pawing, limb lifting, weight shifting Sniffing, flehmen response, licking and chewing, yawning, chewing and biting Snort, bray Body rub, eye rub, stretch
Vocalization Self-focus behaviour
Statistical analysis Analyses were carried out using Minitab 15. As most of the data were not normally distributed, a nonparametric alternative of 2-way ANOVA, Friedman test was used for analysis, blocked by donkey to minimize individual variation. The level of significance was set at p=<0.05. Results Walking (S=9,df=1,p=0.003), sniffing (S=9.94,df=1,p=0.002), and chew/bite (S=9,df=1,p=0.003) behaviours significantly increased after administration of Meloxicam when compared with pre- Meloxicam administration. This change was not seen when comparing pre- and post-placebo behaviour. Figures 1 to 3 compare the distribution of data and the medians of the 4 groups: pre-drug, pre-placebo, postplacebo, and post- drug for all the significant behaviours. Figure 1. Box plot showing the frequency of 'walking' behaviour (bouts per 10 minutes) before and after placebo and Meloxicam. The post-Meloxicam group showed significantly higher walking behaviour. The boxes indicate the upper and lower quartiles of the number of walking bouts with the median as the line inbetween. The whiskers indicate the maximum and minimum values of the sample. * indicates an outlier, defined as those values which are above 1.5 times the interquartile range from the upper quartile.
Figure 3. Box plot showing increased 'chew/bite' behaviour (bouts in 10 minutes) before and after placebo and Meloxicam. The post-Meloxicam group showed significantly higher chew/bite behaviour than others. The box indicates the upper and lower quartiles of the number of chew/bite bouts with the median as the line in-between. The whisker indicates the maximum value. As chew/bite behaviour is rarely shown by groups other than the post-Meloxicam group, the median line alone is indicated at 0. * indicates an outlier, defined as those values which are above 1.5 times the interquartile range from the upper quartile.
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Discussion The present study aimed to test the efficacy of a behavioural pain assessment tool that had been developed in a clinical setting under field conditions in the brick kilns of India. Observation and recording of all the equine behaviours set out in the tool were possible without difficulty under field conditions. The scanning of the posture behaviour and observing the frequency of event behaviours for 10 minutes was practical, making the tool applicable under field conditions.
1
PARTICIPATORY ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF EPIZOOTIC LYMPHANGITIS IN ETHIOPIA

C. E. Scantlebury , G. P. Pinchbeck , K. Reed , F. Gebreab , A. Zerfu , N. Aklilu , K. Mideksa3, and R. Christley1
Epidemiology and Public Health Research Group, School of Veterinary Clinical Science, University of Liverpool, Leahurst Campus, Neston CH64 7TE, UK 2 Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad (SPANA), 14 John Street, London WC1N 2EB, UK 3 SPANA, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Addis Ababa University, PO Box 34, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia claire.scantlebury@liverpool.ac.uk
1 1 2 3 3 3
Three behaviours walk, sniff, and chew/bite changed significantly after the administration of the drug (Meloxicam). This result indicates that exploratory behaviours like walk, sniff, and chew/bite increase after pain reduction with analgesics in donkeys. This suggests that these particular behaviours are potential indicators of a pain-free state. This result also suggests that pain behaviour in donkeys is similar to the horse pain behaviour in terms of the animals going to a 'switched off mode' as established by Price et al. [4]. Conclusion The behaviour assessment tool used in this study is valuable in identification of pain-related behaviour in working donkeys under field conditions. Exploratory behaviour (walking, sniffing, and chewing/biting) could be used as predictable indicators of (an absence of) pain in working donkeys. Using behaviroural tools for pain identification could lead to better recognition of pain by veterinary health providers, animal owners, and other stakeholders, which in turn will help better management of pain. References [1] Ashley FH, Waterman-Pearson AE, and Whay HR. Behavioural assessment of pain in horses and donkeys: application to clinical practice and future studies. Equine Vet. J. 2005, 37: 56575. [2] Bodo I. A global review of the genetic resourses of equidae. FAO. Animal Production and Health Papers. 1992: 21526. www4.fao.org/cgibin/faobib.exe?rec_id=331907&database=faobib&search_type=link&table=mona&back_path=/faobib/mona&la ng=eng&format_name=EFMON. [3] Pearson RA and Ouassat M. Estimation of the live weight and body condition of working donkeys in morocco. Vet. Rec. 1996, 138: 22933. [4] Price J, Catriona S, Welsh EM, and Waran NK. Preliminary evaluation of a behaviour-based system for assessment of post-operative pain in horses following arthroscopic surgery. Vet. Anaesth. and Analg. 2003, 30: 12437. [5] Pritchard JC, Lindberg AC, Main DCJ, and Whay HR. Assessment of the welfare of working horses, mules and donkeys, using health and behaviour parameters. Prev. Vet. Med. 2005, 69: 26583. [6] Starkey P and Starkey M. Regional and world trends in donkey populations. In: Starkey and Fielding (eds) Donkeys, people and development. 2000. This publication was supported by CTA and Neda, The Netherlands. www.atnesa.org. [7] Taylor TS and Matthews N. Mammoth asses selected behavioural considerations for the veterinarian. Appl. Animal Behaviour Sciences 1998, 60: 2839. [8] Toutain PL, Reymond N, Laroute V, Garcia P, Popot MA, Bonnaire Y, Hirsch A, and Narbe R. Pharmocokinetics of meloxicam in plasma and urine of horses. Am. J. Vet. Res. 2004, 65: 1542. [9] Whitehead G, French J, and Ikin P. Welfare and veterinary care of donkeys. In Practice 1991, 13: 628.
Abstract A participatory study to assess the impact of Epizootic Lymphangitis (EZL) was conducted in consultation with carthorse owners and drivers in 9 different regions of Ethiopia. Focus groups were used to explore owners' understanding and experience of this disease. Additionally, the effects of EZL on the infected animals and the subsequent socio-economic consequences for the owners/drivers were investigated. Introduction and rationale Epizootic Lymphangitis (EZL) is currently endemic in Ethiopia where it affects horses, mules, and occasionally donkeys. Despite eradication from Europe in the early 1900s, EZL currently infects horses in parts of Northern, Western, and Eastern Africa and Asia where eradication policies involving mass slaughter may be impractical. Classically, this is a chronic, progressive, suppurative, pyogranulomatous fungal disease of the skin, although it may present in ocular, pulmonary, or mixed forms. In advanced cases there is extensive distribution of pathology throughout the body, which often results in debilitation and severe lameness. The yeast phase of the causative fungus Histoplasma capsulatum var farciminosum is found in the host whereas the mycelial phase persists in the environment. There are limited studies reporting potential risk factors for EZL. Two cross-sectional studies found a negative correlation with altitude [1, 2]. In Ethiopia, regions between 1500 and 2300 metres above sea level have the highest prevalence, probably due to favourable environmental conditions for survival of the organism. Transmission is considered to be associated with season, fly vectors, wounds, or contact with discharge from ruptured lesions although further epidemiological studies are required to quantify these. Essentially, the importance of this pathogen within the equine population in Ethiopia is due to the high prevalence of disease (~19%; range 039% in horses [1]) and the economic impact due to loss of equine productivity and mortality. Ethiopia hosts the second largest equine population in the world with an estimated 7 million equids half of Africa's equid population [3]. Equines are used mainly as draught animals in Ethiopia, and play an essential role in day-today life in both rural and urban centres [4]. They are used to transport goods including crops, firewood, household consumables, and water. In addition, horse-drawn taxis and carts are used to generate revenue as a source of sustainable income for a significant number of Ethiopian families [5].They often provide the only affordable transportation service in many towns [1]. Jones [6] stated that the impact of EZL on poor families as well as in terms of animal welfare is devastating. In a study investigating the economics of the cart-horse industry in Ethiopia, Abebaw [7] reported that losses to the owner due to morbidity of a horse with EZL resulted in more than 50% reduction in daily earnings. The SPANA team in Ethiopia regularly see EZL cases with a variety of presentations at their mobile clinics. This
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experience, along with previous cross-sectional studies implicating EZL as a problem in Ethiopia, prompted this study to be designed and conducted in collaboration with SPANA, Addis Ababa University Veterinary Faculty, and the University of Liverpool Veterinary School. Methods This participatory study was designed to address 4 main research questions: Is EZL recognised by carthorse owners/drivers and is it considered an important disease locally? What factors do carthorse owners/drivers associate with the development of disease? What happens to a horse with clinical disease and does this affect the economic value and use to the owner? Are measures taken to reduce disease occurrence and what makes an intervention sustainable for adoption by the owner? Focus group discussions were held with carthorse owners and/or drivers attending 7 SPANA clinic sites and with owners/drivers in 2 towns not previously attended by SPANA. A semi-structured discussion format was used that incorporated pre-designed key questions. Photographs depicting different stages of EZL were used along with participatory methods such as disease ranking and matrices. Two animal health assistants trained in these methods facilitated translation during the discussions from Amharic/Oromic to English and vice versa. All focus groups were recorded using handwritten notes and audio-recording. Data were compared between towns at varying topographical areas and also towns with and without access to SPANA clinics in an attempt to explore the influence of the educational programme provided by SPANA. Disease ranking data were collated and compared between highland, midland, and lowland regions. Narrative data were analysed using thematic analysis (a qualitative analytical method used to summarise key topics arising during discussions). Results A total of 72 focus groups (involving 358 participants) were conducted over a 5-week period. Group size varied from 2 to 10 people. EZL, known as 'Nidift' (Amharic) or 'Bitchee' (Oromic), was identified as the most common disease in 17 of 22 groups from the midland and lowland regions. The combined rank scores of 19 groups showed EZL was considered the most important disease affecting horses (3 groups could not agree on ranking). In summary, carthorse owners/drivers considered that EZL was transmitted via contact with infected horses, flies and insects, wounds, and if the owners' attention to the hygiene of the horse was poor. The effect of the disease on the horse was described as varying in accordance with the progression of the disease and included stiffness and lameness, inappetance, loss of condition, and weakness and was characterised by skin wounds that were described as swellings that rupture releasing discharge and having a pungent smell. EZL was described as reducing the working efficiency of the horse due to a gradual inability to pull a cart and a reduction in the number of people or loads they were able to carry. Additionally, people were unwilling to hire these taxis due to the appearance and pungent smell of the horse. This had a direct impact on the achievable daily income. Owners tried to use the horse for as long as possible by reducing the distance, working hours, and loads carried. If the horse could no longer work, owners reported no option other than to abandon the animal due to socio-economic pressures. This resulted in death of the horse. Specific measures to prevent EZL were not always considered or put into practice, often due to lack of resources and knowledge. Specific measures that were used included washing the horse regularly, replacing materials in areas of the harness that had been in contact with an infected animal, keeping the stable clean, providing good feed for the animal, using kerosene to repel flies, and keeping the animal inside after work to protect it from flies.
However, the use of each of these measures varied according to their practicality, perceived efficacy, and also by region. Conclusions Findings from this study provide an insight into the wealth of local knowledge regarding EZL and the sociological impact of this disease within the working equine owners' community. This is a disease with far-reaching welfare implications, not only due to difficulties in treating cases but also due to the effect of abandonment of horses. A wider variety of themes was described among midland and lowland groups compared with highland groups. This may reflect the low prevalence of disease in highland regions where owner/drivers are likely to have less experience of EZL. There was limited dialogue regarding treatment options and disease prevention in general, but particularly regarding disease prevention in areas not accessed by SPANA clinic. This may demonstrate areas to focus education initiatives. Themes arising within the analyses provide hypotheses which can be explored further with traditional quantitative studies. With further epidemiological investigation, it is hoped that interventions that are practical, affordable, and sustainable can be developed to prevent this disease. References [1] Ameni, G., Epidemiology of equine histoplasmosis (epizootic lymphangitis) in carthorses in Ethiopia, The Veterinary Journal, Vol. 172, pp.1605, 2006. [2] Bojia, E. and Roger, F. Comparative studies on the occurrence and distribution of epizootic lymphangitis and ulcerative lymphangitis in Ethiopia, The International Journal of Applied Research in Veterinary Medicine, Vol. 1, No. 3, 2003. [3] FAOSTAT, FAO Statistics Division 2010, 05 March 2010. [4] Pearson, R. A., Alemayehu, M., Tesfaye, A., Allan, E. F., Smith, D. G., and Asfaw, M., Socio-economic issues of donkey use and management. In: Use and management of donkeys in peri-urban areas of Ethiopia, Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Draught Animal Power Technical Report 5, pp.1536, 2001. [5] Dinka, H., Shelima, B., Abalti, A., Geleta, T., Mume, T., and Chala, R., Socio-economic importance and management of carthorses in the mid rift valley of Ethiopia. Proc. Fifth International Colloquium on Working Equines, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, pp.1818, 2006. [6] Jones, K. Epizootic lymphangitis: the impact on subsistence economies and animal welfare, The Veterinary Journal, Vol. 172, pp. 4024, 2006. [7] Abebaw, Z., Assessment of socioeconomic impact of epizootic lymphangitis (EL) on horse drawn cart taxi business in selected towns of Central Ethiopia: (Debre Zeit and Debre Berhan), submitted as thesis for BA to Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Business and Economics (unpublished), 2007.
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PARASITES AND THEIR CONTROL IN WORKING DONKEYS: THE NEED TO DEWORM AND FREQUENCY OF ANTHELMINTIC TREATMENT
G. Mulugeta, F. Burden, and A. Trawford
The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, Devon, EX10 0NU, UK m.getachew06@yahoo.co.uk
the income of the owner and community. Although data are not available, our long-term experience/observations and information obtained from the owners in areas where the DS projects operate in Ethiopia showed improved body condition and work performance and increased longevity of working donkeys. Therefore, there is no question that working donkeys need anthelmintic treatment. However, anthelmintic treatment should be coupled with improved diet and good management to get the maximum improvements. Do all donkeys need anthelmintic treatment? Donkeys in the wild often have a very good body condition without any anthelmintic treatment despite being diagnosed with a high faecal egg count. Similarly, domestic donkeys which are rarely used for work (e.g. Masai donkeys in Kenya), or working donkeys which are better looked after (e.g. coastal donkeys in Kenya and lowland donkeys in Ethiopia) are often seen with impressive body condition throughout the year without any anthelmintic treatment. This indicates that these animals can tolerate parasitic infection, provided they are not under stressful conditions and their immunity is not compromised. This makes sense when we think that donkeys did not need anthelmintics to survive throughout their evolution, and many may not need them today. Dosing these less susceptible animals yields very little benefit but it does reduce the level of acquired immunity in youngsters and may introduce drug resistant parasites. Selective treatment based on faecal egg count is not applicable both from its economic and practical point of view. Therefore, targeting those working donkeys with poor body condition thought to suffer more from parasitic infection is highly recommended although poor body condition may not be directly related to worm burden. Such an approach also helps to reduce the development of anthelmintic resistance by increasing parasitic refugia. How frequently do we have to deworm working donkeys that need anthelmintics? The frequency of anthelmintic treatment (FAT) in equids in the developed world is based on a number of factors most of which are not applicable in most developing countries. As drugs are expensive for poor donkey owners, treating animals only when a threat occurs means money is not wasted. The development of anthelmintic resistance from over-use of drugs should also be taken into account. Therefore, understanding factors that increase risk for parasitism in working donkeys will help in designing a more rational strategic anthelmintic treatment programme (SATP) so that anthelmintics are utilised reasonably and effectively in a sustainable way. The Ethiopian experience Previous epidemiological study to determine the seasonal patterns of strongyle faecal egg output in working donkeys showed high prevalence of strongyle infection with significantly higher faecal egg output during the rainy season compared to the long dry season [6]. A mathematical model based on the biology of strongyles and environmental factors to simulate the effect of timing and frequency of anthelmintic treatment (FAT) has shown that parasite levels fall rapidly and remain below the pre-treatment level for many years if donkeys are dosed only once a year [4]. These studies have shown that the exposure level the animals are experiencing to parasitic infection at different times of the year is the key factor that determines parasitic infection level in working donkeys. The DS project is practising the biannual anthelmintic treatment regimen; treating donkeys at the end of the rainy season (October) and at the end of the dry season (May). A further unpublished field study to determine the FAT and the best time of deworming working donkeys in the midlowland region of Ethiopia has shown that donkeys dewormed in October were diagnosed with a significantly lower mean epg in May compared to the pre-treatment mean epg in October for 2 consecutive years (Table 1). Table 1. The mean faecal strongyle egg count (epg) before and after treatment at the end of the rainy season and dry season in a donkey population, Akaki, Ethiopia
Abstract In many developing countries donkeys are extensively used for work and may be maintained on a low-quality diet. They are often highly stressed from overworking, poor management practices, and other disease conditions. In such populations of working donkeys, parasites are one of the major health problems, often leading to poor work performance and early demise. Most of the parasite control strategies used in the developed world are not applicable in most developing countries. Because of this anthelmintic treatment is the main alternative method currently in practice. However, drugs are expensive for poor donkey owners, and treating animals only when a threat occurs means money is not wasted and the rise of anthelmintic resistance is reduced. The DS projects in Ethiopia practise a biannual deworming programme. Recent studies, however, have shown that donkeys dewormed at the end of rainy season were diagnosed with a significantly lower mean epg at the end of the dry season compared with the pre-treatment mean epg for 2 consecutive years (p<0.0001). There was no statistically significant difference in mean epg between donkeys treated annually and biannually (p<0.0001). This clearly indicates that working donkeys may not need deworming at the end of the dry season. Parasite infection in working equids Although similar parasitic infections exist in equids raised under the temperate and tropical climatic conditions, working donkeys have been shown to have differing profiles of parasitic disease and treatment needs when compared with their non-working counterparts [11, 8, 4, 6]. Hence most of the parasite control strategies used in the developed world are not applicable in most developing countries where working equids are kept under extensive management systems by resource-limited communities. Because of this anthelmintic treatment is the main alternative method currently in practice by most animal charity organisations working with working equids. In the past, helminth control in donkeys was deemed unnecessary, and the traditional perception among most people, that donkeys never get sick, can be attributed to a general lack of knowledge of the effects of helminths on donkeys. The following questions are often raised when it comes to anthelmintic treatment in working donkeys: Do working donkeys really need anthelmintic treatment? Do they benefit from it? Do all donkeys need anthelmintic treatment? How frequently do they have to be dewormed? To answer these questions, the effect of parasites, the general epidemiology of parasitic infection in working donkeys, management practices, animal factors, environmental factors, and the different parasitic control strategies should be considered. Effect of parasites on working donkeys In addition to zebras and other wild animals, donkeys may be more resistant to parasitic infection than other equids, and infection may appear to cause less severe clinical disease [7]. However, in many developing countries, donkeys are often stressed from overworking, poor management, malnutrition, and other diseases conditions. In such a highly stressed population of working donkeys, parasitic strongyles are one of the major health problems often seen causing severe gut pathology [9, 10, 3, 8, 5]. They have a direct effect on health and production, which in turn, results in the early demise of an animal, or reduction in their work output and ultimately in 187
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Number of donkeys Sample date October 2006 May 2007 October 2007 May 2008 examined 101 99 99 98 Mean epg + se* 2050 + 427.31 356 + 74.54 654 + 136.34 258 + 87.25
undergo arrested development during such unfavourable environmental conditions [2, 8]; rather they survive primarily as long-living adult worms [2].Therefore, targeting high parasite load acquired during the wet season is highly recommended. The chance that larvae produced from the survived adult parasites develop and infect donkeys is quite minimal in the dry season. Moreover, there will be no over-wintering of larvae unlike in most temperate regions. Therefore, the chance that the larvae will contribute to the resistance parasitic population is also low. On the other hand, deworming donkeys at the onset of the rainy season increases the proportion of resistance parasites; because the parasites survived the treatment they will have a greater chance to reproduce, contaminate pasture thus infecting donkeys, and assume the greater proportion of the resistance population. Conclusions It is much more logical to approach worm control from a preventive rather than therapeutic point of view. The goal in parasite control is not to eradicate but to reduce parasite reproduction and contamination of the environment so that there are fewer worm larvae in the next generation to infect the animals. From the findings of this study, the poor local economic climate and the possibility of anthelmintic drug resistance developing due to anthelmintic over-use mean that the annual anthelmintic treatment regimen at the end of the rainy season seems to be ideal for the control of gastrointestinal parasite of working donkeys in the mid-lowland tropical conditions of Ethiopia. References [1] Awake, T., Donkeys in North Gondar: Socio-economic importance, management and health constraints. DVM Thesis, Addis Ababa University, 1995. [2] Eysker, M. Over-wintering of non-migrating strongyles in donkeys in the highveld of Zimbabwe, Research in Veterinary science, 42, 262-263, 1987. [3] Feseha, G., 1998. Helminth parasites of working equids: the African perspective. Proceedings of the eight International Conference on equine infectious diseases, Dubai, 318-323, 1998. [4] Getachew M., Trawford, A., Feseha, G., Reid, S.W.J., Love, S and Innocent, G.T. Control of equine cyathostomins under the mid-lowland tropical weather condition of Ethiopia: A mathematical modelling approach, th nd The fifth International colloquium on working equines, Addis Ababa/Ethiopia, pp. 73-81, 30 October-2 November, 2006. [5] Getachew, M., Feseha, G., Trawford, A. and S.W.J., Reid, Gastrointestinal parasites of working donkeys of Ethiopia, Tropical Animal Health and Production, 42 (1), 27-33, 2010. [6] Getachew, M., Feseha, G., Trawford, A. and S.W.J., Reid. A survey of seasonal patterns in strongyle faecal worm egg counts of working equids of the central midlands and lowlands, Ethiopia, Tropical Animal Health and Production, 40 (8), 637-642, March, 2008. [7] Malan, F.S., Horak, I.G., Vos De V. and Wyk Van J.A. Wildlife parasites: Lessons for parasite control in livestock, Veterinary Parasitology, 71, 137-153, 1997. [8] Matthee, S., Krecek, R.C. and Guthrie, A.J. Effect of management intervention on helminths parasites recovered from donkeys in South Africa, Journal of Parasitology, 88, 1, 171-179, 2002; [9] Pandey, V.S., Khallaayoune, K., Ouhelli, H. and Kakkak, A., Parasites of donkeys in Africa. Proceedings of The Second International Colloquium on working equines, Rabat, Morocco, 35-44, 1994. [10] Svendsen, E.D., The Professional Handbook of The Donkey (3rd ed). Whittet Books Limited. London, UK, pp. 227-238, 1997 [11] Wells, D., Krecek, R.C., Wells, M., Guthrie, A.J. and Lourens, J.C., Helminth levels of working donkeys kept under different management systems in the Moretele 1 district of the North West Province, South Africa, Veterinary Parasitology, 77, 163-177, 1998
* Fitted mean value for the negative binomial distribution linked with identity function
There was no statistically significant difference in mean epg between donkeys treated annually and biannually (p<0.0001). After 2 years' annual deworming the faecal strongyle egg count was significantly reduced and the number of donkeys diagnosed with more than 300 epg was less than 25% (Figure 1). This figure shows that individual donkeys differ markedly in their susceptibility to strongyle infection and a small proportion of the herd is responsible for the majority of pasture contamination. Figure 1. Scatter diagram showing the distribution of faecal strongyle egg counts among the donkey population before and after annual anthelmintic treatment
This study has shown that donkeys acquire high parasitic infections during the wet rainy season and the level of parasitic infection acquired during the subsequent long dry season is minimal. The mid-lowland region of Ethiopia is characterised by a rainy season of June to September and a long dry season of October to May. The long dry season is characterised by absence of rainfall, warm to hot temperature, and scarce herbage coverage, which is an unfavourable environmental condition for the development and survival of the parasites. This indicates that deworming donkeys at the end of the dry season may not be necessary. Our experiences in Ethiopia [1] have shown that working donkeys can easily gain body weight/condition during the rainy season when pasture/grass is available and work load is reduced. On the other hand, the long dry season is the time of the year when donkeys are under stressful conditions and become immuno-compromised, and hence parasites have a detrimental effect. Moreover, studies have shown that cyathostomins in working donkeys may not 189
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FIRING (A MUTILATION) OF WORKING EQUINES IN INDIA: A COMPARATIVE ETHNIC PRACTICE IN DELHI, LUCKNOW AND HYDERABAD CITIES
P. Gogoi and T. Dennison
1 2
mutilation, a cruelty and a non-cognizable offence. In this paper, data on firing from three cities has been compared with four other variables to find the most vulnerable group of animals and their mental demeanor. Methods A protocol of Guidance notes to accompany working equine welfare assessment [1] was applied to assess the prevalence and intensity of firing lesions among working equine animals in Delhi, Lucknow and Hyderabad during the period 2008 - 2009. Four intensities of firing lesions were differentiated: score 0 = no firing lesion; score1 = healed lesion; score 2 = firing lesion with broken skin or redness; score 3 = firing lesion with visible muscle and bone. Scars are usually hairless. Any sign of a firing lesion or firing scar on any part of the body was recorded, using the score appropriate for the most severe part of the lesion. Six trained welfare assessors assessed the animals. A Brooke para-veterinarian guided the team to find animals at their grazing or working sites. The animals were sampled according to census sampling from Brooke operational sites and were assessed at their working spot or at their stable. At each site, data were recorded by hand and entered into a dedicated web-base database. The database was transferred to Microsoft Access and analyzed for the prevalence of each welfare parameter. Results and Discussion A total of 867 equine were assessed: 337 from Delhi, 133 from Hyderabad and 399 from Lucknow. Of these, 585 were horses, 126 were mules and 156 were donkeys. 1. Prevalence of firing in three cities: Delhi, Hyderabad and Lucknow The prevalence of firing was 2% in Lucknow, 9% in Hyderabad and 1% in Delhi (Figure 1). The comparative severity of firing lesions in Delhi, Hyderabad and Lucknow shows that almost all firing lesions were superficial or healed or a scar (score 1). A score 2 firing lesion was reported in a donkey from Lucknow, representing less than one percent of the sample population. Figure 1. Prevalence (%) of firing lesions in Lucknow, Hyderabad and Delhi
The Brooke India, F-86, Preet Vihar, Delhi 110092, India The Brooke UK, 30 Farringdon Street, London, EC4A 4HH, United Kingdom email: prakashg@thebrookeindia.org
Abstract Working equine species are reared by communities for their livelihoods, carrying out draught, pack, ridden work and other purposes such as for ceremonial or breeding use. Due to a lack of veterinary services or following traditional practices, equine-owning communities often carry out mutilation practices such as hot iron firing, which cause multiple welfare problems to equine animals. Firing is considered as an offence in Indian law and referred in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 as a non-cognizable offence. This paper aims to study the practice of firing of working equines; in terms of species and work type. It also covers the inter-city prevalence of firing and the general attitude (demeanour) of fired animals. The study analyzed the existence of these practices in Delhi, Lucknow and Hyderabad cities in India. Using a welfare assessment tool, a total of 867 animals were assessed during 2008 to 2009, comprising of 67.5% horses, 18.0% donkeys and 14.5% mules. The practice of firing was found in 2.9% of the study population: 3.9% of horses, 0.8% of mules and 0.6% of donkeys were mutilated by firing. The prevalence of firing was found to be highest in Hyderabad (12 out of 133 animals). It was most prevalent in horses compared to other species and in animals transporting people by cart (TPC) compared to other work types. The study identified vulnerable animals of concern according to their species and work type in three cities. Such welfare issues quantified across the country would enable service providers such as Animal Husbandry department and municipal bodies to focus their activities on prevention. Introduction The Brooke is an international equine charity working in India and several other developing countries since 1934. The Brooke India is working along with its partner organizations for working equine animals belonging to the poorest of the community, with the vision of sustainable improvement of equine welfare [1]. The description of animal welfare as adopted by OIE (Office International des Epizooties) in May 2008 is animal welfare means how an animal is coping with the conditions in which it lives''. Welfare has also been defined by way of two questions are the animals healthy; do they have what they want? [1]. The Brooke aims to achieve welfare of working equines by using the framework of the Five Freedoms. They include 1. Freedom from Hunger and Thirst; 2. Freedom from Discomfort; 3. Freedom from Pain, Injury or Disease; 4. Freedom to Express Normal Behaviour; 5. Freedom from Fear and Distress [2]. The Brooke along with University of Bristol, U.K. developed a welfare assessment tool in 2003 covering both the physical and mental status of animals [3]. Firing is usually practiced by equine owners and local health providers and has been carried out for thousands of years, traditionally as a treatment for chronic lameness, especially for joints. Firing may also be used for decoration or as identification mark on any part of the body. Firing is the application of a heated metal instrument (usually referred to as an iron) to the skin and in some instances to the deeper tissues of the affected area. The practice is performed without proper restraint and application of sedatives and analgesics. During the process of firing, the animal experiences severe pain and discomfort and as a result its welfare status is compromised. Finally an open wound forms in the area of firing which quite often leads to other complications. Even though the prevalence of firing is relatively low, from an animal welfare point of view it is important because of the intensity of pain and suffering it causes. In the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960, mutilation is an offence. Section 11 (1)(k) considers firing as a 191
2. Distribution of firing according to species Table 1 shows that most fired animals were horses (23), followed by mules (1) and donkeys (1). The prevalence of firing in horses across all cities was 5.0%. Among horses the highest number of fired animals were reported from Hyderabad (52.2%) followed by Lucknow (34.8%) and Delhi (13%) respectively.
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Table 1. Firing lesions by species in Lucknow, Hyderabad and Delhi Species/ Sites Donkey Horse Mule Lucknow 1 8 0 Hyderabad 0 12 0 Delhi 0 3 1
dealing with animal cruelty issues to focus their activity on creating awareness among equine owners and stakeholders to stop this brutal activity. It enables them to cater their services to the neediest animals and contribute to animal welfare in a more effective way. This study could also be used to Here 22 fired animals showed alert demeanor (attitude score 0), 3 fired animals showed apathetic demeanor (attitude score 1) and no animals fell into the category of severally depressed (attitude score 2) category. Discussion The findings from Lucknow, Hyderabad and Delhi city gave a comparative picture of fired animals. The study tried to cover all the working equine species and work types found in each of the selected cities in order to identify the work types and species most vulnerable to the practice of firing. The study demonstrates a higher percentage of firing lesions among horses compared to donkeys and mules. Swelling of tendon and accumulation of fluid on limbs is found in most working horses; this may lead owners to mistreat with hot iron rods. It is evident that animals transporting people and goods by cart bear more firing lesions compared to other work types; this may be attributed to their heavier loads and longer working hours. The study will enable service providers such as the Animal Husbandry department, local municipal bodies and other organizations monitor the neediest animals for an effective animal welfare programme. Acknowledgment: This study was supported by the Brooke India and the Welfare Assessment unit of Brooke UK. The author would like to thank the Welfare Assessment unit and Dr. Syed Fareh uz Zaman, Team Leader, Causal Research from Brooke India for their assistance with data collection and allied technical support. We would like to thanks all the owners who kindly permitted assessment of their animals. References [1] Gogoi P et al. Animal Welfare in India Specific reference to Working Equines, ISEE National Seminar, December 2009, pp 250-251 [2] Dawkins M.S., 2008.The science of animal suffering. Ethology 114, 937-945 [3] Wathes, C., 2009. Farm animal welfare in Great Britain: Past, present and future, Farm Animal welfare council, Government of United Kingdom (UK), London. < http://www.fawc.org.uk/pdf/ppf-report091012.pdf> dated 20th December 2009. [4] Pritchard JC, Lindberg AC, Main DC, Whay HR, 2009. Assessment of the welfare of working horses, mules and donkeys, using health and behaviour parameters. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 69, 269-83
3. Distribution of firing according to work type In all three cities, animals from six work types were found with firing lesions (Table 2). These work types were Transportation of Goods by Cart (TGC), Transportation of People by Cart (TPC), Transportation of Goods by Pack (TGP), Ceremonial (Cer), Bricks transported by cart (BKC), and Bricks transported by pack (BKP). Two hundred and seven animals worked as TGC and 111 animals worked as TPC; out of these animals 9 TGC (4.4 %) and 11 TPC (10 %) animals had firing lesions. Table 2. Firing lesions among different work types Cities/Work type Lucknow Hyderabad Delhi Total TGC 4 3 2 9 TPC 1 8 2 11 TGP 1 0 0 1 Cer 0 1 0 1 BKP 2 0 0 2 BKC 1 0 0 1
4. General demeanor among fired animals The general demeanor (assessment of animals interest in surroundings, curiosity and spontaneous movement of its body parts to correspond with its surroundings) of animals was also assessed to monitor their mental health. A three score system was adopted for assessing general attitude (Table 3). Table 3. General demeanor among fired animals Attitude Score 0 (Alert) Attitude Score 1 (Apathetic) Attitude Score 2 (Severely depressed) 0 0 0
Lucknow Hyderabad Delhi
8 11 3
1 1 1
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IMPORTANT FACTORS IN DECISION MAKING IN TETANUS CASES IN DONKEYS: EXPERIENCE OF DONKEY HEALTH AND WELFARE PROJECT, ETHIOPIA
G. Ayele1, E. Bojia1, M. Getachew1, 2, M. Tesfaye1, E. Manyahilishal1, 1 1 1 2 B. Amare , A. Abebe , F. Seyoum , and G. Anzuino
1
plugging of ears using cotton-plug, a dark, quiet, and well-bedded box were provided to limit external stimuli that might disturb the animal and exacerbate hyperesthesia. Relaxation of the muscle tetany was attempted using acepromazine (ACP). Intravenous or stomach tube-feeding were provided during the critical stage when the animals could not eat and drink. Soft feeds and water were made easily available and accessible for those donkeys which could eat and drink. Gentle manual evacuation of the rectum and catheterization were performed in some donkeys to relieve their discomfort. Statistical analysis Descriptive statistics, 2-sample t-test, and chi-square test were performed using SPSS 15.0 for Windows. For all tests the level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results Hyperesthesia, elevated tail, flicking of the nictating membrane on touch, extended head, stiff gait, dilated nostrils, and erected ears were the common clinical signs observed. Locked jaw, dyspnoea, and recumbency were also seen in some donkeys. Drenching animals with herbal medicine in an attempt to treat tetanus by owners was a very common feature observed. Analysis of the data showed 66.3% and 33.3% survival rate and case fatality rate, respectively. Age (p=0.213) and sex (p=0.352) had no significant effect on the outcome of the disease. The frequency of complete locked jaw, dyspnoea, and recumbency was significantly higher in non-survivors. Drenching with herbs or plants was significantly associated with the survival rate where only 14.3% (1/7) of the drenched survived. The mean time elapsed before presenting to clinic had a significant effect on the outcome of tetanus (Table 2). TAT administration was not statistically associated with outcome (p=0.67). The overall mean time of recovery was 20.004.50 which ranges from 13 to 30 days. There was significant difference in the mean duration to recovery between TAT (19.504.40) administered donkeys and those without TAT (21.001.00) (p=0.011). The nonsurviving donkeys were dead or euthanized within 3 days on average after the first sign of tetanus was observed. Table1. Mean SD of age, pulse rate, respiratory rate, rectal temperature, and interval between the appearance of clinical signs and hospitalization and their effect on the outcome in 45 donkeys for tetanus, 20089, Ethiopia Range Survivors(N=30) Non-survivors (NS=15) 10.304.67 58.2712.30 38.5314.71 37.450.56 4.572.22* Total (N=45) p-value
Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Donkey Health and Welfare Project 2 Donkey Sanctuary UK ayele_thevet@yahoo.com
Abstract There is not enough information on tetanus in working donkeys and factors that affect the outcome of the disease. Medical records of 45 working donkeys with a history of tetanus presented to the Donkey Health and Welfare Project, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia between 2008 and 2009 were reviewed. The animals were admitted to the clinic for intensive treatment. The cases were divided into survivors and non-survivors groups. The clinical data of survivors and non-survivors were compared using a 2-sample t-test and chi-square test. The average time interval between the first clinical signs and recovery was 19.003.50 days for survivors. The survival rate was 66.3%. The first week appears to be the critical period for survival. Further data analysis showed no association between Tetanus AntiToxin (TAT) treatment and outcome. The occurrence of tetanus in working donkeys showed seasonality. The majority of tetanus cases were observed during the wet rainy season. Time elapsed between first clinical signs and hospitalization, complete lock jaw, dyspnoea, drenching pneumonia, and recumbency were the major indicators of poor prognosis for working donkeys suffering from tetanus. Introduction Tetanus is caused by a gram-positive, spore-forming anaerobic bacterium, Clostridium tetani [1, 2]. The disease is characterized by generalized muscular rigidity and spasms, hyperesthesia, convulsions, respiratory arrest, and death [1, 3]. Tetanus affects mammals worldwide, but the horse seems the most susceptible of domestic animals [3, 11]. Early diagnosis and therapeutic intervention is imperative for any chance of survival. Despite advances in understanding of the pathophysiology, there is no readily available diagnostic test that detects the presence of the toxin. The diagnosis is based on wound history and characteristic clinical signs [11]. Since routine vaccination of horses against tetanus was started, the occurrence of the highly fatal disease has decreased dramatically in the northern hemisphere [11]. In contrast, equids living in third-world countries where vaccination is often not performed are still frequently affected by tetanus [5]. The objective of this retrospective study was to describe the clinical course of tetanus in donkeys and to identify factors that could be useful for reasonably accurate prognosis and therapeutic decision making. Materials and methods Animals and study design The medical records of 45 working donkeys treated for tetanus upon presentation to the Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Donkey Health and Welfare Project clinic in 20089 were reviewed. This includes 25 males and 20 females ranging in age from 2 to 20 years. The diagnosis was based on the presentation of typical clinical signs of tetanus. For each case, data on full anamnesis, clinical examination, wounds, and outcome were recorded. Based on the outcome cases were divided into survivors (S) and non-survivors (NS). (See Table 1.) Treatment and supportive care All donkeys were treated with Procaine penicilline (20000IU/kg) q12h. In addition Tetanus Anti-Toxin (TAT) was administered to 38 donkeys. Any wound or foot abscess was cleaned, debrided, and flushed with saline, iodine, and hydrogen peroxide (3%) as appropriate. Supportive treatments such as handling the animals quietly, gentle
Age (year) Pulse rate (bpm) Respiratory rate (rpm) Temperature Time between first clinical sign and hospitalization (days)
220 3680 1480 3638.9 19
8.424.69 58.7310.11 42.4717.01 37.510.64 2.801.97
9.044.71 58.5810.75 41.1616.22 37.490.61 3.982.28
0.213 0.90 0.429 0.273 0.011
*Significantly different from mean value of the survivors group, p<0.05
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Table 2. The association of some of the factors with the outcome in 45 working donkeys treated for tetanus, 20089, Ethiopia
Survivors Sex Male: 15 (50%) Female: 15 (50%) TAT: 26 (86.7%) No TAT: 4 (13.3%) Wound: 17 (56.7%) No wound: 13(43.3%)
Non-survivors Male: 10 (66.7%) Female: 5 (33.3%) TAT: 12(80.0%) No TAT: 3(20.0%) Wound: 10 (66.7%) No wound: 5 (33.3%)
Total Male: 25 (55.6%) Female: 20 (44.4%) TAT: 38(84.4%) No TAT: 7 (15.6%) Wound: 27 (60.0%) No wound: 18 (40.0%) Recumbent: 22 (48.9%) Not recumbent: (51.1%) Dyspnoea: 14 (31.1%) Normal: 31 (68.9%) Completely locked: 11 (24.4%) Not completely locked: 34 (75.6%) Pneumonia: 7 (15.6%) No pneumonia: 15 (84.4%)
p-value 0.352
TAT status
0.670
Wound
0.376
Recumbency
Recumbent: 7 (23.3%) Not recumbent: 23 (76.7%)
Recumbent: 15 (100%) Not recumbent: 0 (0%)
0.000 Discussion The present retrospective study shows that tetanus is one of the major fatal and infectious diseases of working donkeys in Ethiopia. An overall survival rate of 46% (n=56) was reported in working donkeys of Morocco suffering from tetanus [5]. This survival rate is considered low compared with this retrospective study. This may be attributed to the difference in treatment protocol, grade of cases presented, and external environment in which donkeys were kept. The clinical course and prognosis for survival depends on the immune and vaccination status of the host, the dose of clostridial inoculation, and the duration and availability of aggressive treatment and supportive care [7]. Age was not a predisposing factor to tetanus in the present study. Similar findings were reported in a retrospective study of 56 horses and donkeys [7]. However, it was reported that young horses are particularly vulnerable to tetanus [6]. Age predisposition for developing tetanus should be studied using case-control methods. A study undertaken in Morocco showed that there was no association between TAT treatment and outcome [10]. In the present work, although animals without TAT were fewer in number, a similar result was obtained. This suggests that tetanus antitoxin may not be beneficial or economically justifiable in the treatment of tetanus in working animals in the developing world [10]. However, a large sample size and a randomized, double-blind ended clinical trial is required to justify this. The current study reveals that completely locked-jaw, dyspnoea, recumbency, drenching pneumonia, and a long time interval between the first clinical sign and hospitalization were indicators of poor prognosis. A similar study of equids revealed dyspnoea and recumbency as poor indicators of prognosis [6]. In the present study the surviving donkeys recovered within 34 weeks after the first sign of tetanus was observed, which is consistent with other findings [3, 6]. Neuronal binding of the tetanus toxin is irreversible. Recovery requires regrowth of axon terminals and toxin destruction, which explains the time taken to achieve full recovery [8, 9]. The first week appears to be a critical period for survival in working donkeys; non-survivor donkeys died or were euthanized 17 days after the first clinical sign was observed. Similar findings have been reported [1, 6]. The high numbers of tetanus cases observed during the long rainy season might indicate the association of the disease with the wet season. In the rainy season the feet of a donkey become soft and easily penetrated by sharp
Dyspnoea
Dyspnoea: 4 (13.3%) No dyspnoea: 26 (86.7%)
Dyspnoea: 10(66.7%) Normal: 5 (33.3)
0.001
Complete locked jaw
Completely locked: 3 (10.3%) Not completely locked: 27 (90.0%) Pneumonia: 1 (3.3%) No pneumonia: 29 (96.7%)
Completely locked: 8 (53.3%) Not completely locked: 7 (46.7%) Pneumonia: 6 (40.0%) No pneumonia: 9 (60.0%)
0.003
Drenching pneumonia
0.003
Most of the tetanus cases occurred during the long rainy season, from June to September. The highest number of cases was recorded in June and July (Figure 1). Figure 1. Seasonal variation in the number of tetanus cases presented to Donkey Health and Welfare Project, 20089, Ethiopia
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objects. In addition, mud sticks to the feet facilitating anaerobic conditions for the organism to replicate and produce exotoxin. This time of the year is the time where land is ploughed, increasing the chance of donkeys to contract the Clostridium tetani organism. This study indicates that time elapsed between first clinical sign and hospitalization, completely locked jaw, dyspnoea, drenching pneumonia, and recumbency can be used as indicators of poor prognosis of tetanus in working donkeys. References [1] George LW, Large Animal Internal Medicine, Mosby, St Louis, 1990. [2] Weinstein L, 'Current concepts: tetanus,' N Engl J Med, Vol 289, pp. 12936, 1973. [3] Ansari MM and Matros LE, 'Tetanus,' Compend Contin Educ Pract Vet, Vol 4, pp. S4739, 1982. [4] Muylle E, Oyareat W, Ooms L, and Decraemere H, 'Treatment of tetanus in the horse by injection of tetanus antitoxin in to the subarachnoid space,' J Am Vet Med Ass, Vol 167, pp. 478, 1975. [5] Kay G and Knottenbelt DC, 'Tetanus in equids: a report of 56 cases,' Equine Vet Edu, Vol 19, pp. 10712, 2007. [6] Galen GV, Delgusie C, Sandersen C, Verwilghen D, Grulke S, and Amory H, 'Tetanus in the equine species: a retrospective study of 31 cases,' Tijdschrift voor Diergeneeskunde, Vol 133, No. 12, 15 June 2008. [7] Beaty HN, Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1987. [8] Attygalle D and Rodrigo N, 'New trends in the management of tetanus,' Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther, Vol 2, pp. 7384, 2004. [9] Cook TM, Protheroe RT, and Handel JM, 'Tetanus: a review of the literature,' Br J Anaesth, Vol 87, pp. 47787, 2001. [10] Kay G, 'How useful is tetanus antitoxin in the treatment of equidae with tetanus? A comparison of three treatment protocols used in the management of 56 cases of equine tetanus presented to the SPANA clinics in Morocco in 20032004,' The Future for Working Equines. The Fifth International Colloquium on Working Equines. Proceedings of an International Colloquium held at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, 30 October2 November 2006. The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, Devon, EX10 ONU. [11] Green SL, Little CB, Baird JD, Tremblay RRM, and Smith-Maxie, LL, 'Tetanus in the horse: a review of 20 cases (1970 to 1990),' J Vet Intern Med, Vol 8, pp. 12832, 1994.
THE DONKEY SANCTUARY INDIA'S MANAGEMENT OF EQUINE INFLUENZA IN NOIDA AND THE NEIGHBOURING OPERATIONAL AREAS: A SUMMARY
P. Sushmita, N. Surajit, and G. Murugan
Donkey Sanctuary India, B-163 Shivalik, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi 17, India sushmitaparai@gmail.com
Abstract This paper gives details of how an outbreak of equine influenza in Noida and neighbouring operational areas was managed by the Donkey Sanctuary India. It was managed by establishing a probable diagnosis, confirming the existence of an outbreak, confirmatory diagnosis, and the implementation of treatment control and preventative measures. Introduction Equine influenza virus is extremely contagious. The short incubation period and persistent coughing, which releases large amounts of virus into the atmosphere, contribute to the rapid spread of the disease [1]. An outbreak of equine influenza (H3N8) was reported in India in June 2008 after a gap of 2 decades. The outbreak started from Jammu & Kashmir, a northern state of India, and spread to other parts of the country, affecting equines in 11 states [2, 3]. The outbreak was notified to OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) on 28 November 2008. Noida is in the National Capital Region of India in the northern plains of the country. The Donkey Sanctuary India provides free emergency and routine treatment services, through a mobile clinic, to the donkeys and mules present in this area. Chronological events and steps to manage the outbreak Establishing a probable diagnosis Two mares and a mule were reported on 11 October 2008, with a cough and serious discharge in Sector-135 Noida (Noida district of Uttar Pradesh State in India is divided into various geographical sectors). Standard treatment for respiratory infection was initiated. Two days later, on 14 October, 31 donkeys with the characteristic dry harsh cough and nasal discharge were reported in Faridabad, Haryana State in India, near Sector-88. Their history revealed that their owners had returned from Beri, an equine fair located in Haryana approximately 65km north-west of Delhi, a couple of days previously (the fair had been held on 57 October). They had come across horses coughing and with nasal discharge at the fair, and had even purchased 2 mares with similar symptoms after getting treatment for them from somebody at the fair itself and being reassured that there was nothing to worry about. Now all their donkeys were coughing. The 2 major features of equine influenza are its rapid spread and the dry deep cough [1].The nature of initiation, quick spread, and clinical signs indicated the acute respiratory infection to be equine influenza. Confirmation of existence of outbreak An outbreak is defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the occurrence of more than the expected number of cases of a disease in a given area, among a specific group of people, and over a particular period of time. The sudden occurrence and the number of affected animals indicated an outbreak, so the Donkey Sanctuary India team immediately sought additional advice. An outbreak of equine influenza was confirmed by vets in the Indian Army who had an internal notification of an equine influenza outbreak, and had already begun restricting the movement of equines. Confirmatory diagnosis Whole blood and serum samples for analysis were collected and sent to the National Research Centre on Equines
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(NRCE), Hissar, Haryana State. A total of 1,175 serum samples from equines in non-government organisations and private farms from various states of the country were examined by NRCE, and out of these 265 samples tested positive for antibodies against equine influenza infection in horses [4]. NRCE supported the presumptive diagnosis of equine influenza by confirming 3 out of 5 samples sent by the Donkey Sanctuary India team to be positive for equine influenza. The sample collection was carried out in sterile conditions and all precautions taken to ensure no transmission of the disease between the sites. Implementation of treatment, control, and preventative measures An outbreak is usually an unexpected event and necessitates quick action and rapid control. Clinical management of the cases. As for all viral diseases, treatment was largely supportive. Donkeys with temperatures above 40C were given flunixin meglumin (1.1mg/kg body weight i/v). Those with purulent nasal discharge were given antibiotic (trimethoprim-sulfadiazine, 30mg/kg body weight p/o). They were also given oral multivitamins for 5 days for support. Owners were strictly advised to rest all patients, with/without fever. Owners of those with occasional coughing were advised to give them 250g of jaggery (unrefined sugar extracted from sugar cane) with a teaspoon of turmeric powder every day for 1 week. Initiate panic control measures. All equine owners who were contacting us were advised not to panic. They were informed that proper rest and care would lead to an uneventful recovery, and reassured that despite the high morbidity rate, the mortality rate was low. They were told to give their animals complete rest, good feed, clean water, and jaggery (unrefined sugar extracted from sugar cane) with turmeric. Prevent further spread. Responding quickly, the DSI team prepared leaflets in the local language and started reaching out to the community to inform them about the outbreak and various do's and don'ts. Community meetings were organised to inform people about the disease, how it spreads, and what needs to be done if animals show symptoms. Mass canvassing was carried out to advise equine owners to stay away from the equine fair at Garh in Garhmukteshwar, a city in the Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh. The fair one of the biggest of its kind was due to be held on the banks of the river Ganges in the first half of November. Figure1. Information leaflet in local language and its translation In donkeys, mules and horses there is a risk of spreading equine influenza. Please do the following to protect your animals from the disease: 1. Do not buy new animals. 2. If your animal is coughing or has discharge from its nose, then immediately keep it away from other animals and inform the vet. 3. Do not put sick animals to work this could put their lives at risk. 4. Keep animals in the shade. 5. Put a blanket on them at night. 6. Give animals plenty of feed and jaggery. 7. After taking care of animals be sure to wash yourself thoroughly. 8. If your relatives have sick animals do not visit them. Please co-operate with us to protect your animals from this disease. For advice please call any of our helpline numbers.
Results
Figure 2. Equine population at risk and actual number of cases reported
Figure 3. Time distribution and frequency of cases of equine influenza
All data were collected through direct observation by the Donkey Sanctuary India, Delhi Project vets (the authors) who operate a free mobile treatment clinic in the Noida area, supported by the Donkey Sanctuary UK. The data were collated and analysed from clinical records routinely collected. Approximately 650 equines, mostly donkeys, were at risk in the DSI operational area in Noida. Approximately 150 cases were reported to DSI, which the vets attended. All cases had an uneventful recovery except 4. Of these, 2 were very young donkey foals of hardly a month's age and 2 were donkeys aged approximately 2.53.5 years. Post-mortem examinations could not be conducted; however, clinical findings indicated myocardial compromise.
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Discussion Clinical and lab findings confirmed the respiratory infection in Noida and the neighbouring operational areas of DSI to be equine influenza. The outbreak was recorded at the initial stages of the nationwide outbreak. The epidemiological pattern of the outbreak conformed to the earlier reported outbreaks with the characteristic incubation period of 34 days, rapid spread, and high morbidity with low mortality and mostly uneventful recovery in equines. The donkeys showed more prominent coughing than horses or mules. The donkey is reported to have a different susceptibility to a number of diseases as compared with the horse, some of which are endemic throughout the world e.g. African horse sickness, equine viral arteritis, equine infectious anaemia, and glanders [5]. Conclusions The quick and alert approach of the DSI team, who launched immediate awareness measures based on presumptive diagnosis, helped contain the spread of equine influenza. The containment of cases by this quick management helped the poor donkey owners' community avoid economic loss due to the outbreak and they could continue working and supporting their families. References [1] A.J. Higgins and J.R. Snyder (Editors), The Equine Manual, 2nd Edition, Philadelphia, Saunders Elsevier, 2006. [2] N. Virmani, B.C. Bera, B.K. Singh, K. Shanmugasundaram, B.R. Gulati, S. Barua, R.K. Vaid, A.K. Gupta, and R.K.Singh, 'Equine influenza outbreak in India (20082009): virus isolation, sero-epidemiology and phylogenetic analysis of HA gene', Vet. Microbiology, ISSN: 1873-2542, Abstract, January 2010. [3] www.flu.org.cn/en/news-14625.html. [4] N. Virmani, B.C. Bera, B.K. Singh, B.R. Gulati, A.K. Gupta, and R.K. Singh, 'Resurgence of equine influenza in India', 15th Annual Convention, ISVIB-2009 Compendium, p. 70, February 2009. [5] A.K. Thiemann and N.J. Bell, 'The peculiarities of donkey respiratory disease', www.ivis.org/special_books/Lekeux/bell/ivis.pdf.
INVESTIGATION OF HEALTH AND WELFARE PROBLEMS OF DONKEYS AND MULES INVOLVED IN THE SALT BAR TRADE FROM AFAR TO DIFFERENT PARTS OF NORTHERN ETHIOPIA
Y. Hagos
Tigray Donkey Health and Welfare Project, PO Box 164, Ethiopia hagos733@yahoo.com
Abstract Tigray branch Donkey Health and Welfare Project has been working to reduce the suffering of donkeys and mules in the region through integrated veterinary service, education, and community development activities. The objectives of investigating the health and welfare issues of donkeys and mules that are involved in the salt bar trade were to make a preliminary survey of basic health and welfare problems, identify possible areas for intervention, and point out matters which deserve further studies. Based on a semi-structured questionnaire interview with traders, observation of animals, and examination of harnesses together with visits of the production area the following major problems were identified: exhaustion, weight loss, lameness, wounds, parasitism, respiratory problems, colic, and sudden death. The project started to address the parasitism and wound problems. The causes of sudden death and colic in the subjects should be investigated further. Introduction Ethiopia has a large equine population mainly used for pack transport. Donkey Sanctuary/Donkey Health and Welfare Project has been working in the Tigray region since 2002 with the aim of improving the health and welfare of donkeys and mules through integrated veterinary service, education, and community development interventions. One of the major tasks of donkeys, mules, and camels in northern Ethiopia (Tigray and part of Amhara regional states) is pack transport of salt bars from neighbouring Afar regional state to northern Ethiopia markets, mainly Mekelle. The salt trade dates back thousands of years and became the livelihood supplement of many subsistent farmers in the region. Some have been involved in the trade up to 45 years. For most of the Arho salt traders, it takes 2 weeks for a return journey and a trader usually drives on average 8 equids or a few camels with some donkeys or mules. Tax collectors have estimated that about 25,000 donkeys and about 100 mules are working with numerous camels in this trade. People prefer to use salt bars for home consumption and salt-lick for their livestock. The weight of a salt bar is 68 kg and an average 70 kg and 120 kg is carried by donkey and mule respectively. The salt production and trade extends from September to June but the number of donkeys participating in the trade decreases dramatically from March to June owing to absolute failure to thrive. July and August are non-trade months because it is the rainy season. The salt production area, the Danakil, is a very arid, inhospitable part of the globe: 120 m below sea level with an average temperature of 48C. It is believed that it was part of the Red Sea and an earth quake dramatically transformed the region's geography lifting the earth's crust to create an inland sea. This gradually evaporated to leave huge expanses of salt flats surrounding the salt lake of Aferar and Asale. The production area is about 150 km from Mekelle. The worst part of the journey is at the halfway point with a 3 km steep climb for the laden animals. Due to the nature of the environment and heavy loads the salt trade may possibly be one of the worst human activities in the globe, hence the traders and pack animals are believed to have a very poor level of welfare. Investigation of the problems was initiated because of the following rationale: The majority of the donkeys and mules are from the working districts of the Project and cases linked to the salt
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trade appear commonly. Donkeys and mules are repeatedly observed with problems while transporting the salt bars. The Project team observed exhausted and abandoned donkeys on the route when a visit was made two and half years back for another epidemic problem in a district of Afar. As yet there has been no attempt to examine or alleviate the welfare problems of the animals.
Parasitism
39
28
71
As indicator observed grossly visible once: parascaris on faeces, larval gastrophilus on rectum, and nasal bot during sneezing, lice and tick infestation Encountered once or more Encountered once or more Encountered sudden death of unknown cause
Tigray Donkey Health and Welfare Project works to reduce the suffering of donkeys and mules, so investigation of health and welfare problems in the salt trade became a fitting subject matter. Objectives of the investigation were to: 1. Explore the major health and welfare problems of donkeys and mules involved in the salt trade 2. Set up possible intervention areas for the Project and execute them accordingly 3. Identify issues which deserve further exploration Materials and methods A semi-structured questionnaire was used to investigate the major health and welfare problems of donkeys and mules involved in the trade. Respondents were selected based on donkey and mule possession: 39 traders were interviewed in the production area, on the trade routes, and at resting sites. For this a visit of the production area was made twice in 2008. Animal observations were made to assess wounds, dehydration, lameness, skin disease, ophthalmic problems, and other problems. Harness examinations were undertaken to assess their condition and defects. Results Based on interviews, animal observations, and harness examinations health and welfare problems were identified. Interview The results of the semi-structured questionnaire interviews with 39 respondents are presented in Table 1. Rectal prolapse, skin diseases, ophthalmic problems, and hyena bites were also raised as health problems by significant numbers of respondents. Traders explained that they used traditional medication and interventions mainly for wounds, colic, and respiratory problems. Table 1. Major health and welfare problems and their rates S/N Type of identified health and welfare problems Exhausted, abandoned, dead animals Weight loss Lameness Wound No. of respon d-ents 39 No. of respondents who mentioned each problem 38 % Note
6 7 8
Respiratory problem /locally Asso/ Colic /locally Atsreshinti/ Sudden death/ locally Mendef/
39 39 39
25 24 16
67 62 41
Harness examination The aim of the harness examination was to identify visible defects, and the exercise revealed that some of the pack saddles were ragged, thin, with no proper straps, breechings or gutter to fit the conditions of the landscape, hard loads, and weather of the route. When the salt bars came into contact with the skin, the coat and skin were removed, becoming a source for different sores. The balance control and corrections is usually unachievable due to the dark tour and extremely exhausted drivers. Animal observation A number of donkeys and mules with different sores, lameness, weak and desperate were observed in the production area, route and resting centers (see Figure 1). Wheat straw taken from home barely lasted for the first few days of the trip; water was scarce for the greater part of the journey in Afar; and at times animals stayed up to 3 days in the production centre without feed and water due to an unpredicted dispute on taxation, price of salt bars with the local people, religious or public holidays, etc. Research subjects: Investigation of causes of sudden death. Investigation of causes of colic /abdominal pain/ Figure 1. An extremely exhausted donkey lagging behind the crowd
97
Encountered, observed frequently, and common to see Observed visible weight loss after complete trip Encountered lameness once or more Encountered wounds once or more
2 3 4
39 39 39
36 29 28
92 74 71
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Discussion Although it is known that donkeys and mules are hardy and can work incessantly in hot and semi-arid areas the climatic conditions and hostile terrain of this part of Afar mean they face severe challenges. From the investigation it is understood donkeys and mules involved in the salt trade suffer a number of welfare and health problems, including wounds, parasitism, lameness, sudden death, respiratory problems, colic, as well as a decrease in body weight after each trip. On top of the extreme temperatures of the trade routes lack of feed and water exacerbate the situation. As a result it is not uncommon to see weak, exhausted, abandoned, and dead animals. This indicates that intervention to address the problems is worthwhile. Conclusion and recommendations From the results it is perceived that there are a number of health and welfare issues that must be addressed. Traders are presently using traditional practices, but the results are not hopeful because they do not have access to adequate services for the many habitually occurring problems. Auxiliary focus group discussion with traders and other responsible bodies to substantiate the issues is desirable Local people and clan leaders around the production area should be persuaded to allow trucks to go right to the production centre to free the pack animals from this drudgery permanently. Possible interventions for the project Deworming. In 2009 the team dewormed 1,500 donkeys and 151 mules involved in this task. Deworming was carried out at resting centres and in the districts as part of the regular biannual strategic deworming programme with ivermectin, and will continue to reach more animals. Production and distribution of improved pack saddles. Recently production and distribution of improved pack saddles with gutter, straps, and breechings has begun trials and follow-up is proceeding.
ZOONOTIC AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: DEALING WITH DISEASE OUTBREAKS A REPORT ON SURRA (TRYPANOSOMIASIS) IN GUJRANWALA, PAKISTAN J. I. Gondal and H. Ahmad
The Brooke, Street# 3, House# CB- 46 Allama Iqbal Town, Gujranwala Cantt: Pakistan dr.jg74@yahoo.com , gujranwala@thebrooke.org.pk
Abstract A project was conducted to study the prevalence, clinical signs, treatment response and necropsy findings in equines suffering from surra in Gujranwala. For this purpose 73497 animals were tested over a period from April 1997 to January 2010. The data showed that out of 73497 animals tested, 2910 were positive. From April 1997 to March 1998, the prevalence was 10.46%. In the month of September 1999 the maximum Surra prevalence was 38.02%, which is now reduced to 3.96% in April 2009 to January 2010. Clinical and necropsy findings were characteristic for the disease. Out of 2910 infected animals, 2744 responded to Isometamedium chloride and Trypanil prosalt while 166 animals died. Introduction Surra is a frequently fatal parasitic disease caused by Trypanosoma evansi. Trypanosoma evansi affects a wide range of hosts including horses, mules, donkeys, camels, buffaloes, elephants, pigs and deer. This was the first trypanosome shown to be pathogenic for mammals and was identified by Griffith Evans, a British veterinarian. In majority of infections this parasite is monomorphic in character but polymorphism occurs sporadically. The disease has a wide distribution in the area of Africa, Middle East, Central and South America, Pakistan, India, Burma, Sri Lanka, China, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. In some countries the disease incidence increases during rainy season when there are large biting fly populations. The case fatality is 100% in horses if untreated but it is much lower in cattle and buffaloes which may act as reservoir hosts. Transmission and Pathogenesis The disease is transmitted by biting flies such as Tabanus, Stomoxys and Lyperosia. No cyclical development occurs in these flies. Three factors are concerned in infection and spread of disease. 1. A reservoir of the protozoa. 2. An inoculator in the shape of a biting fly 3. A susceptible animal Background Before the Brooke's intervention in Gujranwala, this disease was causing a major threat to the working equines of the area: owners were not aware of this problem and were suffering huge losses due to surra outbreaks. In 1997 the Brooke operation was initiated against surra in Gujranwala. First of all a survey was carried out of the target area, which included brick kilns, the static clinic, wayside stations and different treatment points. Animals displaying poor body condition, conjunctival petechiae, ataxia or elevated temperature were suspected cases of surra and were selected for surra screening (blood sampling) and given treatment. In October 1997 it was observed that approximately 21.32% of the equine population suffered from this disease, which rose to 38.02% by September 1999. Then Brooke Gujranwala addressed the problem and started creating awareness among the owners on this issue and its treatment, which was provided at mobile treatment points as well as at the Static Clinic. The number of cases began to reduce gradually. In October 2005 once again an outbreak of surra was detected in the brick kilns in Gujranwala. A total of 1407 equines at 87 brick kilns were screened for surra and 423 positive cases were treated on the spot.
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Methods Data from a total of 32434 horses, 11297 mules and 29766 donkeys that presented to the Brooke Gujranwala from October 1997 to January 2010 were included in this study. All the animals were thoroughly examined with particular reference to trypanosomiasis. The temperature was recorded and conjunctiva examined for petechiae, anemia, icterus and conjunctivitis. In some cases, oedema especially under the belly and on hind legs was observed. In advanced cases staggering and in-coordination of the hind legs was observed, particularly in horses, the superficial lymph nodes of which were swollen. Animals with poor body condition (and during an outbreak, all animals) were subjected to fresh blood examination under a field microscope to assess the density of protozoa. Confirmation of diagnosis was determined by one or more positive results using the following criteria: 1. The periodic presence of live parasite in the peripheral blood, detected in a wet blood film, taken from a peripheral vein such as the facial plexus or marginal ear vein 2. Parasite detected in Giemsa-stained smears of peripheral blood. Some positive smears were seen in the laboratory after staining the slides. Indirect tests for T. evansi include: Complement Fixation Test, Mercuric Chloride Test, Stilbamide Test, ELISA and animal inoculation. No serological tests were used in the Surra diagnosis, but it was broadly assessed that animals displaying poor body condition, conjunctival petechiae, ataxia or elevated temperature could be suspect cases of surra. Figure 1. Blood smear preparation and examination
Figure 3: Petechiae in the conjunctiva
Results As shown in Table 1, 73497 equines were tested out of which 2910 were positive for surra by wet blood film examination and/or stained blood smear and clinical examination. Table 1. Animals tested for Surra from April 1997 to January 2010 Period Animals Tested Horses Apr 1997 To Mar 1998 Apr 1998 To Mar 1999 Apr 1999 To Mar 2000 Apr 2000 To Mar 2001 Apr 2001 To Mar 2002 Apr 2002 To Mar 2003 528 1717 861 2686 4895 6043 4790 2933 2402 1115 1202 1620 1642 32434 Mules 67 240 163 690 2024 2576 1967 935 901 363 408 477 486 11297 Donkeys 236 798 575 2200 4681 6165 4061 2608 3733 842 1053 1466 1348 29766 831 2755 1599 5576 11600 14784 10818 6476 7036 2320 2663 3563 3476 73497 Total Positive Cases Lab 86 195 88 33 56 16 11 56 316 56 75 84 34 1106 Clinic 1 38 172 178 201 90 61 121 552 104 93 113 80 1804 87 233 260 211 257 106 72 177 868 160 168 197 114 2910 10.46% 8.45% 16.26% 3.78% 2.21% 0.71% 0.66% 2.73% 12.33% 6.89% 6.30% 5.52% 3.27% 3.96% Total %
Figure 2. During clinical examination most of the animals were found in a poor body condition with a rise in temperature and some had a staggering gait.
Apr 2003 To Mar 2004 Apr 2004 To Mar 2005 Apr 2005 To Mar 2006 Apr 2006 To Mar 2007 Apr 2007 To Mar 2008 Apr 2008 To Mar 2009 Apr 2009 To Jan 2010 Total
209
210
CMYK
Figure 4. Number of animals tested for surra per annum
Animals found positive in the laboratory as well as by clinical examination were treated with Isometamidium chloride (Trypamidium): 125 mg in 500 ml of dextrose for horse and 62 mg for donkeys. This drug has a risk of causing shock if over-dosed or if the speed of I/V fluid administration is too high, which causes restlessness, salivation, sweating, shivering, frequent defecation and may lead to death if not checked in time. Animals were also treated with Trypanil Prosalt (the two salts, Sulphate and Chloride, are for short term and long term effects): for horses 2.5 gm diluted in 15ml distilled water and for donkeys 1.25gm diluted in 10ml of distilled water, administered sub-cutaneously. Both drugs (Trypamidium and Trypanil Prosalt) were not administered at the same time. Good nursing and care are of utmost importance, including rest, a balanced diet, supportive treatment (tonics, vitamins and electrolytes) and follow-up treatment is most important for complete eradication of the disease. Control of Trypanosomiasis The control of Surra is dependent on the therapy and the elimination of blood sucking flies. The following measures are adopted: a. b. c. Improve drainage systems to destroy breeding places for flies Pour of kerosene oil onto stagnant water. Sprays for the inside walls of animal houses include chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides and organophosphates such as minalathion. Regular sprays on the animal may be used every three weeks. The insecticides include 0.5% methoxychlor, 0.25% carbaryl or 1% giodrin Wounds on animals should be covered properly. Use disposable syringes. Isolate cases and surround them with a smoke ring to prevent access to biting flies. Euthanize animals when treatment is unlikely to succeed or not giving favourable results. Bury the carcass.
Necropsy Findings After postmortem the necropsy findings were characteristic: body fat stores were found to be depleted, with marked anemia, enlargement of liver, spleen and lymph nodes. Necropsy of cases dying of acute Surra (positive for T. Evansi) revealed a general congestion in the visceral organs and extensive hemorrhages in all tissues. Treatment
d. e. f. g. h.
We also organized surra awareness camps in different areas and capacity building of equine owners in communities; this is a ongoing process. Conclusions 1. We have reduced the prevalence of surra from 10.46 % to 3.96% in the project area.Surra exists in Gujranwala area in acute, sub acute and in chronic forms. 2. The disease is more prevalent and fatal in horses than donkeys. 3. Awareness about the disease by education of owners has been established and periodic meeting are being held by the Brooke vets on control of surra in equines. 4. Monitoring of the prevalence of the disease has been adopted as a regular and ongoing process by Brooke Gujranwala. 5. Prophylactic and curative treatment is being carried out as a regular treatment protocol. 6. The disease has been brought under control to some extent by adopting proper surra control protocols and administration of prophylactic treatment. The owners are regularly advised to keep the flies away from their animals by use of fly repellents and generation of smoke screens. FURTHER READING Abo-sheada, M.N.H, Anshassi, G. Mustafa and Z.Amr, 1999. Prevalence of Surra among camels and horses in Jordan. Prev. Vet. Med., 38:289-293. [2]. Elamin, E.A., M.O. EI Bashir and E.M.A Saeed, 1988. prevalence and infection pattern of Trypanosoma evansi in camels in mid-eastern Sudan. Trop.Anim. Health and Prod., 30:107-114. [3]. Luckins, A.G., 1988. Trypanosoma evansi in Asia. Parasitology today, 4(5):137.142. 211 212 [1]
[4]. Memon, P.B., 1956. The Incidence Of Surra and Tabanid flies in Rajisthan. Indian J.Vet. Sci.,27:1-16 [5]. Singh, B. and S.J. Joshi, 1994. Epidemiology, Clinico-Pathology and Treatment of Clinical Trypanosoma evansi infection in Buffalo (Bubalus bobalis). IndianVet. J., 68:975-979. [6]. Suryanarayana, C.,S.L. Gupta and R.P. Singh, 1985. Prevalence of Trypanosoma evansi infection in equines of Hisar, Haryana. Indian J.Anim. Sci., 55(10):883-884. [7]. Ventura, R.M., E.T.Gentildaf and M.G.Teixeria, 1997. Molecular markers for characterization of Trypanosoma evansi. In: proceedings of the First internet conference on salivarian Trypanosomes, FAQ Animals Productions and Health papers 136, FAQ, Rome
IDENTIFICATION OF SPECIES AND SEX OF WORM PRESENT IN ANTERIOR CHAMBER IN EQUINE EYE
A. Shukla , R. Tiwari , S. Kumar , and P. S. Banerjee
1 2
The Brooke India, F-86 Preet Vihar, New Delhi, India Division of Parasitology, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly, UP, India alok@thebrookeindia.org
Abstract Ocular setariosis is a rare eye problem affecting equines. It causes uveitis and if not treated in time can lead to blindness. Working equines in developing countries may be more prone to infestation compared with equines maintained on stud farms, due to their close proximity with ruminants and vectors such as mosquitos. During the period October 2008November 2009, 12 horses and 3 mules, aged 4 months to 15 years, with partial to complete corneal opacity were treated surgically for ocular filariasis at the mobile clinic of Brooke Hospital for Animals in western Uttar Pradesh. The worms were taken to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly, for species and sex identification. Of the 16 worms collected, 15 were Setaria digitata (8 male, 6 female, and 1 immature); the morphological character of 1 worm was close to Setaria marshalli. Introduction Eye problems are a significant welfare issue in working equines. In one study in Delhi they affected 66% of horses and 64% of mules [1]. Ocular setariosis is one of the eye problems encountered in working equines. Working horses and mules are more prone to infestation due to their close contact with ruminants and vectors (mosquito) in the poor hygienic conditions in which they live. Fifteen such cases presented at the Brooke's mobile clinics and were surgically treated. Setaria digitata [2, 3] occurs mainly in the peritoneal cavity (although young worms have often been found in the eyes) of zebu, water buffalo, and cattle. In addition immature worms have been found in sheep, goats, and horses. S. digitata generally occurs only in Asia, but has been found in goats in Saudi Arabia [4]. Culex quinquefasciatus demonstrates its potential competence for serving as a transmission vector of S. digitata. This mosquito might therefore be responsible, at least in part, for the prevalence of cattle lumbar paralysis in Taiwan, as described in a 2004 report [5]. Setaria equina primarily presents in the peritoneal cavity but sometimes in the pleural cavity, lungs, scrotum, intestine, and eye of the horse, donkey, mule, and zebra and occasionally in cattle and humans throughout the world. One study in India found Setaria equina in 3% of 86 horses and 40% of 10 donkeys [6]. Another study examined several collections of Setaria from the aqueous humor of the eye of equids and found they were all S. digitata, not S. equina [7]. Setaria marshalli occurs in the peritoneal cavity of animals in Burma, India, and the Far East [8]. Materials and methods Surgical approach Surgery was performed under standing sedation using xylazine at 1.1mg/kg and butorphanol at 0.01mg/kg. Auriculopalpebral and retrobulbar nerve blocks were achieved with 2% lignocaine hydrochloride. Topical anaesthesia was also achieved using 4% lignocaine hydrochloride eye drops. A small incision was made on the limbus at the 1 o'clock position. The worm came out along with aqueous humor. Worms were preserved in 10% formalin for detailed morphological identification. A topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory eye preparation (diclofenac sodium eye drops) and an antibiotic (gentamicin eye drops) were administered for 1 week, each at 3 drops 6 times a day. Recoveries were uneventful in all cases. Case details, proximity to other species and recovery days are summarised in Table 1.
213
214
Table 1. Surgical cases of ocular setariosis S. No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Species Horse Horse Horse Horse Mule Horse Horse Horse Horse Horse Horse Horse Horse Mule Horse Sex Mare Stallion Stallion Stallion Male Stallion Mare Mare Mare Mare Stallion Stallion Mare Gelding Stallion Age 3 yrs 2 yrs 8 yrs 3 yrs 4 months 2 yrs 5 yrs 8 yrs 6 yrs 8 yrs 10 yrs 7 yrs 6 yrs 6 yrs 8 yrs Worm present 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 No. of days 8 15 2 5 10 21 20 8 12 10 10 28 18 14 24 Contact with other animal Water buffalo Water buffalo Water buffalo Caprine Water buffalo Water buffalo Caprine Caprine Water buffalo Water buffalo Water buffalo Water buffalo Water buffalo Water buffalo Water buffalo Days to recovery 21 24 22 18 24
caudal appendages were 6070 from the posterior end. In one worm the genital organs was not clearly distinct, this was considered to be an immature worm. In one female worm the vulva was 575 from the anterior end; it had a round tail, the terminal knob was absent and lateral appendages were 31.555 from posterior end. The species characteristics were similar to Setaria marshalli. Morphological features of different Setaria species are summarised in Table 2. Table 2. Morphological features of Setaria according to the literature [9] Morphology Peribuccal ring 24 Lateral prominences 17 22 24 28 19 24 28 21 26 Male: Length 3646mm 300500 Absent Dorsal and ventral prominences Female: Length Width (micron) Vulva distance from mouth Tail Caudal appendages distance Terminal knob indented 6278mm 500700 500600 400500 6070 Present 90mm 600 600 450 Very close to end Absent, round tail end 5060mm small 70130mm 7501200 410820 340 to 550 60100 notched 60120mm 600900 460830 430650 90130 2 triangular shape 2 large 2 present S. digitata S. marshalli S. equina cuticular S. cervi cuticular
Small, uneven Absent, spike - surfaced at end of tail 5080mm 400600 Absent 4060mm 380450 Absent
Worms were cleaned in lactophenol for 15 minutes for better examination of morphological features. They were examined under a microscope at 10x and 40x magnification. Photographs were taken of the anterior and posterior and the length of different organs was measured. The morphological features observed were four prominences in the peribuccal region: the lateral ones were projected outwards and almost triangular in shape, and the dorsal and ventral ones were an irregular shape. Male Setaria digitata were identified based on the presence of spicules and attenuated and spirally-rolled posterior end; they were 3644mm long and 300500 wide with a stout right spicule and a left spicule; the terminal knob over the tail was absent; the distance of the anus from the posterior end was 400450. Female Setaria digitata were identified on the basis of the opening of vulva near the anterior end in the oesophageal region and an attenuated posterior end, bent into a loose spiral, ending in a rounded terminal knob; they were 6278mm long and 500700 wide; the vulva was 500600 from the mouth; well-developed lateral
Width Terminal knob
Results and discussion Of the 16 worms collected, 15 were Setaria digitata (8 male, 6 female, and 1 immature); the morphological character of one worm was close to Setaria marshalli. In the Setaria digitata identified in this study, the distance of the anal opening from the posterior end was 367.5388.5 in females and males. Morphological features are summarised in Table 3.
215
216
CMYK
CMYK
Table 3. Morphological features of Setaria eye worms identified in this study Morphology Lateral prominences Dorsal and ventral prominences Female: Length Width ( Micron) Vulva distance from mouth Tail Caudal appendages distance Terminal knob Anus distance Male: Length Width Projection distance Terminal knob Anus distance S. digitata triangular small 6085 mm 500 650 590 600 Terminal knob. 52.5- 84 present 367.5- 420 4065 mm 550600 75 absent 346.5 S. marshalli 95 mm 598.5 577.5 round 31.5- 52.5 absent 262.5 -
Figure 2. Photomicrographs of S. digitata
S. digitata female (Anterior end)
S. digitata male (Posterior end)
The animals were in close proximity and/or contact with water buffalo and housed near to the village pond. This could be a predisposing factor for ocular setariosis in equine animals living in rural areas. References [1] J.C. Pritchard et al. (2005) Assessment of the welfare of working horses, mules and donkeys, using health and behaviour parameters. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 69, 26583. [2] S. William Decruse and R. Kaleysa Raj (1990) Proceedings Indian Acad. Science (Animal Science), Volume 99, No.2, March 1990,103-112. [3] Railliet and Henry (1911) Sur une filaire peritoneale des porcins. Bulletin de la Societe de Pathologie Exoitque. 4:pp 386-389 [4] O. M. E. El-Azazy and Y. F. Ahmed (1999) Patent infection with Setaria digitata in goats in Saudi Arabia, Veterinary Parasitology 82, issue 2, 161-66. [5] Kwong-Chung Tung et al. (2004) Demonstration of vector competence of Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) for Setaria digitata. Veterinary Parasitology 123, Issues 34, 27984. [6] Rai, P. (1958) Indian Journal of Helmithology. 10: 97-110. [7] Yeh, L.S. (1959) Journal of Helminthology. 33: 1-98. [8] Sung-Whan Wee et al. (1996) Setaria marshalli infection in neonatal calves. The Korean Journal of Parasitology 34, 207-10. [9] Norman D. Levine (1975) Nematode parasites of domestic animals and of man, Department of Veterinary Pathology and Hygiene, University of Illinois, genus Seteria Viborg, 46874.
Figure 1. Uveitis caused by ocular setariosis
S.digitata uveitis (Day1) 217
Recovery after surgery (Day 25) 218
BUCCO-DENTAL PATHOLOGIES OF WORKING EQUINES IN MOROCCO

M. Ouassat, M. Crane, and E. M. Misri
Institut Agronomique et Vtrinaire Hassan II, Rabat, Maroc Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad (SPANA) m.ouassat@iav.ac.ma
Introduction The understanding of the nature and treatment of equine dental pathologies has advanced rapidly in the last decade demonstrating the common occurrence of numerous dental disorders in horses and highlighting the importance of good dental care in the welfare of the horse (Dixon 2005). In contrast, literature on working equine dental pathologies is limited to a few articles (Toit et al. 2009). In developing countries, the obvious welfare issues concerning dental problems in working equines can have a big economic effect on the poorer people who generally use these draft animals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the dental problems on the welfare of the working equine in Morocco and their body condition score. Method Dental examinations were performed on 165 unsedated animals (42 horses, 74 mules, and 49 donkeys) at 5 refuges of the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad (SPANA, Morocco). Following oral lavage, animals were examined using a Haussmann speculum, and a standard dental chart concerning each animal was completed. Specific teeth and incisor problems were recorded, including: sharp enamel points, diastemata, worn teeth, overgrown teeth, displaced teeth, periodontal disease, caries, wave mouth, smooth mouth, shear mouth, and step mouth. Dental-related oral soft tissue injuries, such as oral calluses and ulcers, were also recorded. Results The 165 animals examined were aged after their incisors between 1 and 14 years. Eighty five per cent of all animals examined presented teeth problems and/or oral diseases. Findings included: Cheek teeth were the most affected with 75.8% followed by the incisor teeth with 20%, and the canines with 4.2 %. The most predominant pathology observed was overgrown teeth with 88 cases (62.8 %). Dental and oral pathology increased with age from 50% in animals less that 5 years old to 93% in those over 15 years. Teeth overgrowths and hooks problems become serious only beyond 15 years old. We did not find a significant relationship between teeth anomalies and body condition scoring. However, in many cases examined the loss of cheek teeth and partial and/or mobile dental fractures was accompanied by oral soft tissue injuries (tongue, cheeks, and the gingiva) possibly preventing weight gain. Conclusion Dental disorders are a significant problem in the population of working equines in Morocco. Overgrown teeth represent in this study an overall prevalence of 63%. Bucco-dental pathologies were correlated to age. Overgrown teeth became a problem at the age of 9 years. Wave mouths and hooks became a problem at 15 years which highlights the importance of managing dental disorders from a young age to prevent progression to more serious disorders in older animals. There was no significant association between body condition score and bucco-dental diseases observed. Regarding the complexity of the causes behind low BCS (parasitism, feed, workload, and time, etc.), a further large-scale study is required to investigate the complex interrelationship between these potential causes of weight loss. 219
References Dixon, PM. Dental anatomy. In: GJ Baker. and KJ Easley (Eds.), Equine Dentistry. Elsevier Saunders, pp. 2548, 2005. Du Toit N, FA Burden, and PM Dixon. Clinical dental findings in 203 working donkeys in Mexico. Vet. J. 178:3806, 2008. Du Toit N, FA Burden, and PM Dixon. Clinical dental examinations of 357 donkeys in the UK. Part 2: Epidemiological studies on the potential relationships between different dental disorders, and between dental disease and systemic disorders. Equine Vet. J. 41 (4): 395400, 2009. Du Toit N, FA Burden, and PM Dixon. Clinical dental examinations of 357 donkeys in the UK. Part 1: Prevalence of dental disorders. Equine Vet. J. 41 (4): 3904, 2009.
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PARASITE CONTROL AMONG WILD HORSES KONIK POLSKI (E. CABALLUS) AND PRZEWALSKI HORSE (E. PRZEWALSKII) ON RESERVES IN POLAND AND UKRAINE
K. Slivinska , Z. Wroblewski , J. Gawor , and Z. Jaworski
1 2 3 4
Lichtenfels [2]. A total of 67,891 GI-parasite specimens were isolated after deworming. In addition, a post-mortem survey was performed on the dead wild horses (n=8) during last the 7 years 20039, using partial helminthological section following the method described in [3]. Results According to data from the coprological examination, all horses (95.2%) were infected with the strongylides (mean EPG 871.0854.8), while only 33 horses (26.6%) were infected by ascarides (mean EPG 159.4138.1), and 16 horses (12.9%) were infected by Strongyloides westeri (232.892.5). Faecal samples of horses that were positive for cestode infection pre-treatment were not examined for all horses (Table 1). Table 1. Results of faecal egg counts in Konik polski (Equus caballus), n=124, Poland, 20078 Horse Strongylidae EI, % Equus caballus, n=124, Poland
EPG = eggs per gram EI % = prevalence
Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Sciences of the Ukraine, B. Khmelnitskogo 15, Kyiv, Ukraine 01601 ? Gabinet weterynaryjny, Mickiewicza 41, Pisz, Poland W. Stefanski Institute of Parasitology of PAS, Warsaw, Poland 4 University of Warmia and Masuria, Olsztyn, Poland horsecez@gmail.com
Abstract The study was performed to evaluate the parasitological situation among wild horses from nature reserves in Poland and Ukraine using the methods of diagnostic deworming, McMaster technique and post-mortem survey of horses. Gastro-intestinal (GI) parasites are represented by five nematodes (Strongylidae, Strongyloididae, Oxyuridae, Ascaridae, and Habronematidae), one cestode family (Anoplocephalida), and one larva of the insecta family (Diptera: Gasterophilidae). The present results are compared with those of earlier studies of wild horses from a similar reserve in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine. A parasite control programme for wild herds is proposed. Introduction Horses kept in reservations need good welfare. Wild horses that live in herds need two types of human activity. One is connected with breeding and the other is special veterinary care. Human interference should be limited, but the fact that horses inhabit limited space and cannot freely migrate like wild horses in the past means that we must monitor the herds regularly. Wild harems in their natural environment are able to deworm themselves by eating special herbs. When the area inhabited by the harem is limited, animals might not be able to find the right herbs. Water and the grazing area are often contaminated by manure. Parasite control is often undervalued but it is extremely important. That is why the creation of the right parasite control programme is necessary. In this study, we observed the parasitological situation among wild Polish primitive horses, Konik polski (E. caballus), living in natural reserve conditions in Poland, and compared it with the situation of Przewalski horses (E. przewalskii) in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ), Ukraine. Comparative analysis of the findings from similar reserves could be the basis for the ecological management and control of the parasitological situation in natural reserves of wild horses. Materials and methods The study was carried out at Popielno Station of Polish Academy of Science, Roztoczanski National Park (NP), Biebrzanski NP, Narwianski NP, Zielony Ostrow NP, Bialowieska Puszcza NP, and private farms Majdan, Siriusz, and Monki during 20078 in Poland. A total of 124 naturally infected Polish primitive horses with different faecal worm egg counts (eggs per gram, EPG) were examined. Faecal egg counts were carried out on the day before treatment using the McMaster technique with a sensitivity of 25 EPG [1]. Animals were treated with abamectin (4mg) + praziquantel (50mg) paste at a dose of 1ml per 20kg bodyweight (b.w.) and ivermectin 18.7mg + praziquantel 140.3mg paste at a dose of 1.07g per 100kg b.w. Faecal sampling for expelled parasites (200g from each horse) was performed 24, 36, and 48 hours after treatment. In the laboratory, samples were washed with tap water and preserved in 40% alcohol. Gl-parasites isolated from the faeces were fixed in 70% alcohol, counted and identified down to species level using keys after 221
Mean EPG Parascaris equorum EI, % 26.6 II SD Strongyloides westeri EI, % 12.9 II 232.8 SD 92.5 0 Cestoda
II 871.0
SD 854.8
95.2
159.4 138.1
II = intensity in infected horses After deworming nematodes were recorded in all surveyed horses (100%), while tapeworms were found in 50 horses (40.3%) (Table 2). Table 2. Results of diagnostic deworming survey in Konik polski (Equus caballus), n=124, Poland, 20078 Parasite Strongylinae Cyathostominae Parascaris equorum Oxyuris equi Habronema muskae Anoplocephala perfoliata Gasterophilidae EI, % 54.8 100 25.8 33.1 21 40.3 46.0 II 13.8 526.3 3.1 14.1 5.8 7.0 3.4 SD 11.1 348.7 2.1 11.8 6.2 7.0 2.6
222
The GI-community was represented by 4 nematodes (Strongylidae, Oxyuridae, Ascaridae, Habronematidae), 1 cestode family (Anoplocephalidae), and one larva of the insecta family (Diptera: Gasterophilidae). The nematode family Strongylidae was represented by the subfamilies Strongylinae and Cyathostominae. The nematode of the subfamily Strongylinae occurred in 54.8% of horses. While the nematode of the subfamily Cyathostominae occurred in 100% of horses. Oxyuris equi was recorded in 33.1%, Parascaris equorum in 25.8%, and Habronema muskae in 21% of horses surveyed. Tapeworms (Anoplocephalidae: Anoplocephala perfoliata) were recorded in 40.3% of horses surveyed; the mean number of tapeworms per infected horse was 7.07.0 (Table 2). The mean number of specimens of Strongylinae was 13.811.1, and for Cyathostominae, 526.3348.7. The mean number of oxyurid specimens per horse was 14.111.8, while that of ascarid specimens per horse was 3.12.1, and habronematid specimens per horse was 5.86.2. One non-helminth GI-parasite, the larvae of Gasterophilus intestinalis (Diptera: Gasterophilidae), was also recorded. The prevalence of G. intestinalis was 46%. The mean number of G. intestinalis specimens per infected horse was 3.42.6 (Table 2). In the dissected Konik polski (n=8), 4 cases of stomach rupture were recorded (larvae of the Gasterophilus intestinalis (Diptera: Gasterophilidae) were found). Three cases of haemorrhagic nodules and blood vessels swollen by larvae of the Strongylinae (Nematoda: Strongylidae) were recorded. A single case of ileocaecal ulceration and rupture in the presence of specimens of the Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae was also recorded (Table 3). There were fatal accidents of horses connected with the adaptation period in a new territory. It is significant that all horses observed post-mortem were not dewormed before transportation into the new area. Probably this fact increased the negative influence of stress on the horses. Table 3. Results of helminth survey of the dissected Konik polski (E. caballus), n=8 in the Poland, 20038 Horse No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 sex, age (years) M, 2 F, 6 F, 4 F, 5 M, 2 F, 2 Biebrza NP, 2006 Biebrza NP, 2006 Biebrza NP, 2006 Biebrza NP, 2006 Biebrza NP, 2007 Biebrza NP, 2008 stomach rupture stomach rupture stomach rupture stomach rupture haemorrhagic nodules, swollen blood vessels (colic) haemorrhagic nodules, swollen blood vessels (colic) haemorrhagic nodules, swollen blood vessels (colic) ileocaecal ulceration and rupture Gasterophilidae Gasterophilidae Gasterophilidae Gasterophilidae Strongylinae Strongylinae none none adaptation period after transport Place, data Pathology GI-parasite Notes
Discussion and conclusions The present results are comparable with the earlier studies of wild Przewalski horses which are kept under natural conditions in Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine similar to Polish reserve conditions [4]. Strongylinae, Cyathostominae, Parascaris equorum, Oxyuris equi, Habronema muskae, Anoplocefola perfoliata, and Gasterophilidae parasites were recorded in the wild Konik polski in the Polish reserves in this study. Such groups and species of parasites, except of Habronema muskae, were recorded in the Przewalski horses in the CEZ, Ukraine. In both species of horse, in general a higher diversity of helminths was connected with a lower intensity of the parasite infestation. Such results could have been caused by the similar methods of parasite survey and climate conditions in both areas. Our survey suggests that a programme of parasite control of wild horses should encompass: 1. Clinical observation of horses' health: anorexia, colic, allergic reactions, pain, diarrhoea such symptoms point to parasites problems. 2. The coprological examination of fresh faecal samples by the flotation method (McMaster technique) every 4 months (minimum twice a year). In our study some GI-parasites (Strongyloides westeri) were recorded by the use of ovoscopy, not by helminthoscopy (after diagnostic deworming and post-mortem survey). 3. Diagnostic deworming of all the horses removed from the harems (usually in the autumn, during the breeding selection) is a very important method because not all the internal parasites may be diagnosed during the coprological examination. Helminthoscopy of faecal samples of all dewormed horses should be done. Recovered parasites should be collected and their species identified. 4. Deworming of new horses in their place of origin and quarantine in the new place 21 days before they are introducted into the harems. Faecal examination taken before the end of the qurantine is also recommended. The period of full adaptation of the new horses is usually about 2 years. 5. Post-mortem examination of all dead horses. Cases of fatality in horses because of parasite infection are rare but during our observation 8 cases were observed: 4 cases of stomach rupture connected with bot larvae (Gasterophilidae) (horses during the adaptation period); 1 case of intestine rupture connected with tape worms (Anoplocephalidae); and 3 cases of colic connected with large redworms (Strongylinae). Consequently, the parasitological situation among wild horses in the nature reserves in Poland and Ukraine is similar. The cases of the horses that died after parasite infection were examined. Strongylinae, Cyathostominae, Parascaris equorum, Oxyuris equi, Anoplocefola perfoliata and Gasterophilidae parasites were recorded in wild Konik polski in Poland and Przewalski horses in the CEZ, Ukraine using McMaster, diagnostic deworming, and dissecting methods of parasitological survey. Habronema muskae and Strongyloides westeri were recorded only in the Konik polski. A parasite control programme for wild harems is recommended. References [1] Herd R.P. 1986. Epidemiology and control of parasites in northern temperate regions. The veterinary clinics of North America: equine practice. Parasitology, 2(2), 33755. [2] Lichtenfels J.R. 1975. Helminths of domestic equids. Proceedings of the Helminthological Society of Washington. [3] Kotelnikov G.. 1984. Helminthological investigation of animal and area. oscow (in Russian). [4] Slivinska K., Dvojnos G., and Kopij G. 2006. Helminth fauna of sympatric Przewalski's Equus przewalskii Poljakov, 1881 and domestic horses E. caballus L. in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, Ukraine. Helmintologia, 43 (1), 2732.
7 8
M, 1 F, 6
Majdan, 2006 Popielno Station, 2003
Strongylinae Anoplocephalidae
none none
223
224
WHEN IS DENTAL TREATMENT REQUIRED IN WORKING EQUIDS? A SURVEY OF MEXICAN DONKEYS

N. du Toit, F. A. Burden, and A. T. Trawford
The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth EX10 0NU, UK Nicole.dutoit@thedonkeysanctuary.com
(range 225 years). BCS ranged 14.5 with a median of 2.5. Due to practical difficulties in acquiring faecal samples, FEC were only performed on 161 donkeys (79%). The FEC ranged 05750 epg with a median of 600 (1001550). Dental disease was observed in 62.1% (126) of all donkeys, with sharp enamel points observed in 98% of donkeys. The 4 (2%) donkeys that did not have sharp enamel points were over 20 years of age and had advanced dental disease. Serious dental disease that required urgent dental treatment (any disorders other than ulcers, calluses, and focal overgrowths) were detected in 18.2% (37) of the donkeys examined. Maxillary cheek teeth enamel points were very common (95.8%) and often very severe (60.3% were grade 3) compared to mandibular cheek teeth (68.7% sharp; 38.4% grade 1). Individual enamel points other than the buccal and lingual aspect of maxillary and mandibular cheek teeth were also observed in 70 teeth. Focal overgrowths were observed in 32.5% of donkeys, with maxillary 06s having 79% of these. Mandibular 06s were the most common overgrown tooth (31%) with 18.7% of donkeys having one or more overgrown teeth (Table 1). Maxillary 06s were the most commonly worn tooth overall (37.6%) followed by the mandibular 11s (14.9%), observed in 16.3% of donkeys. Sloping overgrowths involving most of the occlusal surface ('ramps') were present in 8.4% of donkeys and most commonly affected the mandibular 06s (91.7%). Table 1. Prevalence of enamel overgrowths and dental disorders in 203 working donkeys examined in Mexico Dental disorder Diastemata Missing teeth Overgrown teeth Worn teeth Displaced teeth Focal overgrowths Ramps Buccal calluses Buccal ulcers Pulpar exposure Fractured teeth Wave mouth Step mouth Smooth mouth Shear mouth Disorder prevalence (%) 3.9 0.5 18.7 16.3 1.5 32.5 8.4 13.3 14.3 0.5 2 5.9 1.5 3.9 0.5 226
Abstract A small survey of working donkeys in Mexico illustrated a high prevalence of dental disease (62%). However, only 18% of cases were severe enough to have an apparent impact on the a donkey's welfare and required dental treatment. Many donkeys manage well with some degree of dental disease and owner education about agerelated dental disease and the need for supplemental feeding will alleviate some of the welfare implications of dental disease, particularly where resources for dental treatment are limited. Introduction Dental disease has been shown to be a significant problem with a high prevalence in equids [1], including working equids. It can have a negative impact on the welfare of the animal, not only by causing pain but also by decreasing the efficiency of mastication resulting in malnutrition [2, 3]. Determining the significance of dental disease in an individual animal can be complicated by the presence of concurrent disease, parasite burden, and environmental factors, e.g. poor diet. Furthermore, treatment of dental disease is limited by expertise, availability of dental equipment, time, and economics. Thus dental treatment needs to be prioritised to animals where it is likely to have an immediate positive impact on the animal's welfare. The aim of this study was to perform a clinical dental survey of donkeys presented for routine treatment to the mobile clinics run by the Donkey Sanctuary-World Horse Welfare-Universidad Nacional de Autonome Mexico programme, to determine the prevalence of all dental disease and, more specifically, significant dental disease that required immediate treatment. Materials and methods Ten villages in 8 geographical areas in Mexico were visited by mobile veterinary clinic teams over a 9-day period. A full clinical and oral exam using a full mouth speculum and light source was performed without sedation. Body condition score was assessed on a 15 grade scale utilising half grades, and the provision of supplemental feeds as reported by owners was recorded. Faeces was collected to perform faecal egg counts (FEC) using a FECPAK F100 system (FECPAK international). All dental abnormalities including small focal overgrowths (usually on upper 06s and lower 11s) and soft tissue injuries such as dental-related buccal calluses and ulcers were regarded as dental disease. Donkeys having only sharp enamel points (overgrowths) on the buccal aspect of the maxillary arcade and lingual aspect of the mandibular arcade were not classified as having dental disease. Enamel points were graded 03, with 0 indicating absence of enamel points and 3 indicating very large/sharp enamel points. Age was estimated from mandibular incisor occlusal table appearance, overall body appearance, and owner information. As more accurate ageing was usually not possible, age was classified into 5 groups of 5-year intervals: 05 (n=53); 610 (n=81); 1115 (n=15); 1620 (n=33); 21 years (n=21). Kruskal-Wallis chi-squared analyses were performed to determine whether there were any significant associations. R V2.3.1, R Foundation for Statistical Computing was used for statistical analyses. P<0.05 was taken as statistical significance. Results A total of 203 donkeys were examined and donkeys of 610 years represented the most common age group
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Buccal calluses and ulcers were observed in 13.3% and 14.3% of donkeys, respectively. Calluses were mostly associated with enamel overgrowths on the maxillary 07s (32.6%), whereas ulcers were more commonly associated with maxillary 06 overgrowths (48.4%). Smooth mouth (3.9%), wave mouth (5.9%), step mouth (1.5%), and shear mouth (0.5%) were observed with a low prevalence. Other abnormalities noted were missing tooth (1), exaggerated transverse ridges (2 teeth), laterally displaced teeth (3), supernumerary tooth (1), dysplastic tooth (1), pulpar exposure (1), and fractures (4). Dental disease was not statistically significantly associated with BCS (P=0.74; 1=0.11), but was significantly 2 associated with age group (P<0.001; 4=31.4). The prevalence of dental disease in donkeys 05 years of age was significantly less than donkeys 610, 1620, and >20 years of age (P 0.009), and significantly less dental disease was present in donkeys 1115 years of age than in donkeys >20 years of age (P=0.04). FEC was not statistically significantly associated with age groups (P=0.55) or BCS (P=0.4). Supplemental feed was not statistically significantly associated with BCS (P=0.3) or dental disease (P=0.45). Discussion The prevalence of dental disease in this survey of a small selection of Mexican working donkeys was only slightly less (62%) than the prevalence reported for a UK population of donkeys (73%), although this could be attributed to the greater median age of the UK population (28 years) [4]. The significance of age to the prevalence of dental disease is also illustrated in this population of working equids, with a significantly higher prevalence in donkeys over 20 years of age as seen in a UK population [5]. The clinical significance of dental disease could not be demonstrated in these Mexican donkeys, as BCS was not significantly associated with dental disease. Other factors that could affect BCS such as parasite burden and diet should also be taken into consideration. However, in this small study there was no statistically significant association of BCS to either FEC or supplemental feed, indicating that multiple factors are associated with poor BCS. Sharp enamel points on the buccal aspect of the maxillary arcade and lingual aspect of the mandibular arcade are now regarded as a physiological rather than pathological change [6] and were observed in 98% of these donkeys. These enamel points were sometimes associated with ulcers or calluses (14.3 and 13.3% respectively), but most donkeys did not have any lesions. Therefore it seems likely that another contributing factor such as tight nose bands or head collars together with sharp enamel points were resulting in these painful lesions. This highlights the importance of owner education on correct tack and management, rather than treatment of enamel points which will reform within a few months with normal masticatory action. Feeding of supplemental food was not associated with dental disease or BCS indicating that the feeding of food was generally dependent on the environmental factors and availability of feed, rather than donkey factors. There were 37 donkeys (18%) that required urgent dental treatment as they had direct welfare implications such as painful diastemata and displaced teeth, or 'broken mouth' (irregular overgrowths and worn teeth) resulting in inadequate masticatory surfaces. Treatment for these donkeys should be aimed at ensuring oral comfort by rasping of severe hooks and sharp points, extracting loose and fractured teeth, and floating teeth directly opposing diastemata to decrease the impaction of food into these diastemata. More importantly owners should be educated as to the need for supplemental feeds in affected animals. If time and resources allow other donkeys with less severe dental disease may be treated to slow down the progression of dental disease. Acknowledgements We would like to thank the staff and vets of the DS-WHW-UNAM programme for their help with this project. References [1] Uhlinger C, Survey of selected dental abnormalities in 233 horses. Proceedings of the 33rd American Association of Equine Practitioners Annual Convention, 33:57783, 1987.
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[2] Dixon PM, Tremaine WH, Pickles K, Kuhns L, Hawe C, McCann J, McGorum BC, Railton DI, and Brammer S, Equine dental disease. Part 3: A long-term study of 400 cases: disorders of wear, traumatic damage and idiopathic fractures, tumours and miscellaneous disorders of the cheek teeth, Equine Vet J, 32(1):918, 2000. [3] Lowder MQ and Mueller PO, Dental embryology, anatomy, development and ageing, Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract, 14(2):22745, 1998. [4] du Toit N, Burden FA, and Dixon PM, Clinical dental examinations of 357 donkeys in the UK. Part 2: Epidemiological studies on the potential relationships between different dental disorders, and between dental disease and systemic disorders, Equine Vet J, 41(4):395400, 2009. [5] du Toit N, Burden FA, Dixon PM, Clinical dental examinations of 357 donkeys in the UK. Part 1: Prevalence of dental disorders, Equine Vet J, 41(4):3904, 2009. [6] Dixon PM, Morphology: dental anatomy, In: Equine Dentistry. Edited by Baker GJ and Easley KJ. Elsevier Saunders, 2548, 2005.
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SEROPREVALENCE OF THEILERIA EQUI AND BABESIA CABALLI IN ZAMORANOLEONS DONKEYS IN ZAMORA PROVINCE, SPAIN
J. B. Rodrigues , S. Sousa , A. Gonalves , A. Almeida , and L. M. Madeira de Carvalho
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Figure 1. The Zamorano-Leons donkey
Figure 2. Donkeys ploughing the land
University of Trs-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Ap. 1013, 5001- 801 Vila Real, Portugal Vasco da Gama University School, Estrada da Conraria, 3040-714 Castelo Viegas, Coimbra, Portugal 3 Interdisciplinary Centre of Research in Animal Health, FMV, Technical University of Lisbon, Plo Universitrio do Alto da Ajuda, Av. da Universidade Tcnica, 1300-477 Lisboa, Portugal joaobrandaorodrigues@gmail.com
Abstract In the west of the Zamora Province in the Castilla y Len region, one of the most rural and isolated areas of Spain, the Zamorano-Leons donkey a native endangered breed is still playing a central role in the traditional daily rural activities practised by the local inhabitants. In February 2010 a study was carried out to understand the prevalence of equine piroplasmosis in the population of Zamorano-Leons donkeys, involving collecting blood samples from 86 animals of different gender and age, in 13 villages in the Zamora Province. Equine piroplasmosis is a tick-borne disease of equids, caused by Theileria equi and Babesia caballi. These intra-erythrocytic parasites are responsible for high morbidity and mortality rates in equids. The cELISA tests (competitive Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) revealed a seroprevalence of 21%, with 8 of the 86 donkeys testing positive for Theileria equi (9.3%), 10 for Babesia caballi (11.7%), and 1 of these 18 animals positive for both. The results of this study clearly demonstrate the importance of equine piroplasmosis affecting the Zamorano- Leons donkey population. As far as we know this is the first study on intra-erythrocytic parasites in endangered Iberian breeds of donkeys and the results obtained reveal its importance in order to preserve this unique genetic heritage. Introduction In the west of the Zamora Province in the Castilla y Len region, one of the most rural and isolated areas of Spain, is the main area of distribution of a local endangered breed of donkey, the Zamorano-Leons (Figure 1): there are no more than 800 animals in the breeding programme (around 750 females and 50 jack) but there are only 160 foals per year, on average, according to the data in the studbooks. The local inhabitants still live in a traditional way, with the donkey playing a central role in their subsistence farming system, being the main aid in many daily rural activities (Figure 2), transportation, and production [1]. The vast majority of these animals have daily access to pasture, which increases the possibility of contact with ticks, the main biological vectors in the transmission of equine piroplasmosis. Equine piroplasmosis is a tick-borne disease of equids, caused by Theileria equi and Babesia caballi [2]. These intra-erythrocytic parasites are responsible for high morbidity and mortality rates in equids. Theileria equi is the more dangerous, because of recurrent clinical symptoms, even after specific medical treatment [3]. Detection and identification of piroplasms by microscopic examination of thin blood smears can be a difficult task. The World Organization for Animal Health (Office International des Epizooties, OIE) recommends the cELISA tests (competitive Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) as the test of choice to diagnose equine piroplasmosis in animals with clinical signs or that are going to be moved into or from enzootic areas [4]. Equine piroplasmosis is often diagnosed in Spain (with reported values ranging from 3 to 77%) [5] and this study aimed to understand the prevalence of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in the Zamorano-Leons donkey in the main distribution area of this breed, the Zamora Province in Spain (Figure 3).
Methodology In February 2010 blood samples were randomly collected from 86 ZamoranoLeons donkeys in 13 different villages in the west of the Zamora Province, by venipuncture of the jugular vein. A total of 172 blood samples were collected (86 samples of 10ml in sterile anticoagulant-free tubes and another 86 samples of 5ml in sterile EDTA tubes). The relevant data about the sampled animals were collected on a short questionnaire: age, gender, body condition score (BCS), activity, previous clinical symptoms of piroplasmosis, and presence of ticks. Blood samples were kept refrigerated at 4C, and frozen at -20C at the end of the day (Figure 4). The serological analysis of the blood samples was conducted in the Parasitology Laboratory of Vasco da Gama University School, using a commercial Theileria equi cELISA antibody test kit and Babesia caballi cELISA antibody test kit (VMRD ) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Figure 3. Zamora Province, Castilla y LenFigure Figure 4. Refrigerated samples during fieldwork
Results From a total of 86 donkeys involved in this study, 65 were females (75.6%), 8 jacks (9.3 %), and 13 geldings (15.1%). The animals were divided into 3 different age groups: 15 animals (17.4%) less than 2 years old; 49 animals (60%)
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between 2 and 10 years old; 22 animals (25.6%) more than 10 years old (Figure 5). All the animals seemed healthy on clinical examination, with the vast majority of them with BCS 3 (ranging between 2 and 5). Due to lack of training of the vast majority of the owners, we were unable to gather reliable information indicating the past presence of clinical symptoms related to equine piroplasmosis infection, mainly because the clinical symptoms in donkeys are not very specific (e.g. intermittent fever, dull appearance, non-responsive to stimuli, loss of BCS ) [3, 7]. No ticks were found on any of the 86 donkeys included in this study, which could be expected given the seasonal nature of these parasites and the time of sampling, February. However, 26% of owners confirmed the presence of ticks on their animals in previous years, during the spring and summer. Figure 5. Distribution of animals by age and sex Figure 6. Serologycal analysis in the laboratory
Figure 9. Distribution of positive animals by sex
DiscussionThis first report on the seroepidemiology of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in the ZamoranoLeons donkey population reveals that equine piroplasmosis represents a major problem, with 21% of the animals studied being infected in the Zamora Province, the main distribution area of this endangered breed. In this region of Spain, most of the animals have daily access to pasture, and are therefore exposed to ticks, the equine piroplasmosis biological vectors, which can explain the results obtained in this study. The total seroprevalence for equine piroplasmosis was 21%, with 18 animals being positive in a total of 86 sampled (Figure 6). Anti-Theileria equi antibodies were observed in 8 samples (9.3%) and antibodies against Babesia caballi observed in 10 samples (11.7%) (Figure 7). One of the donkeys was positive to Theileria equi and Babesia caballi, simultaneously. Only females and geldings were positive to equine piroplasmosis, with no significant differences between genders (Figures 8 and 9). The jacks were all negative, probably because they are kept inside all the time, due to their aggressive behaviour, and have no contact with ticks. Figure 7. cELISA tests results Figure 8. Distributions of animals found positive by sex and age Acknowledgments We would like to thanks ASZAL (Asociacin Nacional de Criadores de Ganado Selecto de Raza ZamoranoLeonesa) for the precious help during the fieldwork and for letting us have access to the ZamoranoLeons studbook database. References [1] Garca, J., Razas Asnales Autctonas Espaolas, Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentacin, Madrid, 2004. [2] Mehlhorn, H. and Schein, E., Redescription of Babesia equi (Lavaran, 1901) as Theileria equi (Mehlhorn, Schein, 1998), Parasitol. Res. 84, pp 46775, 1998. [3] Anzuino, J., Exotic Infections. In The Professional Handbook of the Donkey, 4th edn, Wiltshire, 2008. [4] Office International des pizooties, Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals (Mammals, Birds and Bees), 5th edn, Paris, 2004. [5] Habela, M., Babesiosis Equina, O Mdico Veterinrio 37, pp 318, 1993. [6] Retrieved from http://webcarta.net/carta/mapa.php?id=3804&lg=pt. [7] de Waal, D.T. and Van Heerden, J., Equine Piroplasmosis. In Coetzer, J.A.W. and Tustin, R.C. (Eds), Infectious Diseases of Livestock, 2nd edn, pp. 42532, Oxford University Press, New York, 2004.
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INTESTINAL PARASITISM IN A POPULATION OF DONKEYS (EQUUS ASINUS) REGULARLY DEWORMED, NORTH-EAST PORTUGAL
S. Sousa , J. B. Rodrigues , M. Nvoa , S. Mora , R. Paiva , and L. M. Madeira de Carvalho
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The Mirands donkey (Figures 3 and 4) presents morphological and behavioural characteristics very similar to those of the ZamoranoLeons donkey, a native Spanish breed [4, 5, 6]. These are robust animals [7] and their physical characteristics are related to their functions and use.
Vasco da Gama University School, Estrada da Conraria, 3040-714 Castelo Viegas, Coimbra, Portugal 2 University of Trs-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Ap. 1013, 5001- 801 Vila Real, Portugal 3 Associao para o Estudo e Proteco do Gado Asinino (AEPGA), Largo da Igreja, 5225-011 Atenor, Miranda do Douro, Portugal 4 Centro de Investigao Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal, FMV, UTL, Plo Universitrio do Alto da Ajuda, Avenida da Universidade Tcnica, 1300-477 Lisboa, Portugal ramalhosousa@gmail.com
Abstract In Portugal, donkeys represent a large legacy of social, cultural, economic, and ecological importance. The only native breed of donkeys, the Mirands donkey, is composed of a small number of animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the parasitic infection, particularly the variation in the rate of positivity, the level of parasitic infection (LPI), and the biodiversity of parasites in a population of 62 Mirands donkeys, exposed to anti-parasitic control every 6 months, with subcutaneous administration of 2% ivermectin (1ml per 50kg BW), between July 2005 and February 2010. During this period, there was a decrease in the positivity rate, from 87% (54/62) in 2005 to 32% (20/62) in 2010, as well as a decrease in the LPI. In 2005, 70.4% of the infected animals had levels higher than 1,000 EPG (strong LPI) and in 2010, 75% of the infected animals had levels lower than 500 EPG (weak LPI). Biodiversity also decreased during this period: there was a decrease of Strongylinae in relation to Cyathostominae. Considering that consistent levels of parasitic infection are still observed in this population and that the most observed Strongylidae is the genus Cyathostomum, these results are worrying because this agent is frequently noted by its ability to acquire resistance to anti-parasitic drugs. Introduction During the last years, the number of donkeys has declined in Portugal and its disappearance is considered possible. One of the main causes was the mechanization of agriculture in the 1960s, that strongly reduced the importance of working animals [1]. Nowadays, donkeys are important not only in traditional farming activities but also they are closely associated with aging and isolation of the rural population (Figure 1. Recently, donkeys have been used in leisure activities promoting rural tourism in the Trs-os-Montes region [2, 3] (Figure 2).
Figure 3. The Mirands donkey
Figure 4. Geographic representation of Trs-osMontes region, Miranda do Douro [5]
This native breed comprises a small number of animals. In order to study, promote, and maintain this important national genetic heritage, the Association for the Study and Protection of Donkeys (AEPGA) was created in May 2001. Parasitic infections are common in donkeys [8, 9] and may have a negative impact on health and animal welfare, on their ability to work [9, 10], and on their body condition [11]. The average life expectancy of donkeys is related to the degree of infection by helminths [12]. Information about the biodiversity of parasites in donkeys, their prevalence, and transmission is scarce. It is important to have such information in order to adopt appropriate therapeutic measures [13, 14, 15, 16]. Treatment is important because it improves the animals' ability to work [16]. Some helminth parasites frequently found in donkeys are listed in Table 1 [17]. Table 1. Helminth parasites frequently found in donkeys Classe Nematoda Famlia Strongylidae Subfamlia Strongylinae Gnero ou Espcie Strongylus vulgaris Strongylus equinus Strongylus edentatus
Cyathostominae Strongyloididae Ascarididae Oxyuridae Figure 1. Donkeys are used in transportation of the rural population of Trs-os-Montes, Portugal Figure 2. Donkeys are used in leisure activities, promoting rural tourism Trichostrongylidae Cestoda Anoplocephalidae Trichostrongylinae Ascaridinae Strongyloides westeri Parascaris equorum Oxyuris equi Trichostrongylus axei Anoplocephala magna Anoplocephala perfoliata Anoplocephaloides mamillana
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About 70 species of intestinal strongylids are known in equids [18, 19]. This group of parasites may include 67100% of all the intestinal nematods present in one animal [20]. In the same animal a mixed infection may be observed with more than 20 different species of strongyles [20, 21]. Strongylids, in particular small strongylids or cyathostomins, are the most important parasites in equids. They are associated with severe colitis, chronic diarrhoea, and a mortality rate of 50% [21]. The occurrence of parasitic infections at consistent levels has been observed in equids regularly dewormed [22]. Study of parasitic biodiversity allows the careful evaluation of the resistance to anthelmintics [21]. In Portugal, parasitism in equids is characterized by a high number of parasites and a large biodiversity with the presence of species potentially highly pathogenic. Despite the rapid development of anthelmintic drugs in the last years, they have not eliminated parasites, particularly gastrointestinal parasites. Understanding about the parasitic population, as well as anthelmintic administration with measures of husbandry, hygiene, and sanitation, are the key to an integrated control of parasitic diseases in equids [23]. Considering the importance of parasitic infection by strongylids in donkeys, the aim of this study was to evaluate the variation in the rate of positivity as well as the level of parasitic infection and the biodiversity of gastrointestinal parasites in a population regularly dewormed. Method Between July 2005 and February 2010, 62 animals from the Miranda do Douro donkey breed, belonging to rehabilitation centres at Atenor, Duas Igrejas, and Pena Branca, in Miranda do Douro County, were exposed to a anti-parasitic control every six months, with subcutaneous administration of 2% ivermectin (1ml per 50kg BW). The group is composed of entire males (n=3), castrated males (n=10), and females (n=49); they are all adults. Every year, before the spring anti-parasitic control, during February and March, individual faecal samples were collected by rectal palpation (Figure 5). The diagnosis of parasitic infection associated with gastrointestinal strongylids and faecal egg counts (EPG) were performed following the modified McMaster method [24] (Figures 6 and 7). The study of biodiversity was performed by individual faecal larva culture following the Roberts and O'Sullivan method [24] (Figure 8). Figure 7 Strongylid egg observed by optical microscopy, 400x Figure 6 Procedure to evaluate faecal egg count following the modified McMaster method
Figure 5. Faecal samples collected by rectal palpation
Figure 8. Sample preparation and optical microscopic observation, 40x
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Figure 11. Evolution of the level of parasitic infection
Figure 9. Larvae morphotypes from genus Cyathostomum sensu latum (400x): Cyathostomum type A and Cyathostomum type D. Results During the study, there was a decrease in the positivity rate. In 2005, it was observed that 54 (87%) of 62 animals presented strongylid eggs in faeces; in 2006, 25 animals (40.5%) tested positive; in 2007 and 2008, 24 animals (38.7%); in 2009, 22 (35%) animals; and in 2010, 20 animals (32%) (Figure 10). Figure 10. Annual variation in positivity rate Throughout the study a decrease of parasite biodiversity was ovserved. In 2005, Cyathostominae were observed in 46 (85.2%) of the 54 positive samples, and it was possible to identify genus Poteriostomum (7.9%), Gyalocephalus (31.5%), and Cyathostomum sensu lato (85.2%), morphotypes A (85.2%), B (17%), C (51%), D (50%), E (3%), F (9%), G (16%), and H (6%). Strongylinae occurred in 30 (55.5%) of the 54 positive faecal samples and it was possible to identify Strongylus vulgaris (98%), Oesophagodontus (1%), and Triodontophorus (1%). Trichostrongylus axei occurred in 17 (31.5%) of the 54 positive samples. In 2006, Cyathostominae were observed in 24 (96%) of the 25 positive samples and it was possible to identify Gyalocephalus (12%) and Cyathostomum sensu lato (100%), morphotypes A (100%), C (40%), and D (60%). Strongylinae occurred in 3 (12%) of the 25 positive samples with the identification of Strongylus vulgaris (100%). In 2008, 2009, and 2010, only Cyathostominae were observed in positive samples with the identification of Cyathostomum sensu lato (100%), morphotypes A (100%) and D (40%). See Figure 12. Figure 12. Observation of biodiversity of strongylids during study
The level of parasitic infection (LPI) also decreased over the considered period. In 2005, it was observed that 38 (70.4%) of the 54 positive animals had a strong LPI (>1000 EPG); 10 (18.5%) animals had a medium LPI (>5001000 EPG); only 6 (11.1%) had a weak LPI (<500 EPG). In 2006, 11 (45%) of the 25 positive animals had a strong LPI (>1000 EPG); 9 (36%) animals had a medium LPI (>5001000 EPG); and 4 (16%) had a weak LPI (<500 EPG). In 2007, 5 (22%) of the 24 positive animals had a strong LPI (>1000 EPG); 9 (36%) animals had a medium LPI (>5001000 EPG); and 10 (42%) had a weak LPI (<500 EPG). In 2008, 2 (8.3%) of the 24 positive animals had a strong LPI (>1000 EPG); 9 (37,5%) animals had a medium LPI (>5001000 EPG); and 13 (54,2%) had a weak LPI (<500 EPG). In 2009, 10 (45.5%) of the 22 positive animals had a medium LPI (>5001000 EPG) and 12 (54,5%) had a weak LPI (<500 EPG). In 2010, 5 (25%) of the 20 positive animals had a medium LPI (>5001000 EPG) and 15 (75%) had a weak LPI (<500 EPG). See Figure 11. 237 238
Discussion and conclusions Anti-parasitic control every 6 months, with subcutaneous administration of 2% ivermectin, during the last 6 years, has decreased the rate of positivity, as well as the level of parasitic infection and the biodiversity of gastrointestinal parasites. Cyathostomum sensu lato became the only genus of strongylid observed in the last 3 years. Biodiversity of parasites decreases with anti-parasitic control but, nevertheless, considering that consistent levels of parasitic infection are observed in this population and that the most observed strongyle is the genus Cyathostomum, we must consider that these results are worrying because this parasite is known by its ability to acquire resistance to anti-parasitic drugs. References [1] Barbosa C, 'O gado asinino em Trs-os-Montes. Contribuio para o conhecimento da sua importncia socioeconmica', V Colquio Hispano-Portugus de Estudos Rurais, Bragana/Portugal, pp. 12, 2324 Outubro de 2003. [2] Sames LMR, Estudo do Gado Asinino no Parque Natural do Douro Internacional. Instituto da Conservao da Natureza, Parque Natural do Douro Internacional, Vila Real, 2000. [3] Bacelar AC, A utilizao do Burro (Equus asinus) como recurso ecoturstico. Relatrio de Estgio realizado no mbito do II Curso de Ps-Graduao de Turismo de Natureza. Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Cincias, Porto, 2006. [4] Aranguren-Mendez J, Gomez M, and Jordana J, 'Hierarchical analysis of genetic structure in Spanish donkey breeds using microsatellite markers', Heredity, Vol 89, pp. 20711, 2002. [5] Quaresma M, Nvoa M, Monteiro A, Almeida JM, Portas M, 'A raa Asinina de Miranda', Revista Portuguesa de Cincias Veterinrias, Vol 100, pp. 22731, 2005. [6] Garca Jey, El asno Zamorano-Leons, una grande raza autctona, Diputacin de Zamora, Espaa, 1999. [7] Nvoa M, Raa Asinina de Miranda. Relatrio de Estgio da Licenciatura de Medicina Veterinria. Universidade de Trs-os-Montes e Alto Douro. Parque Natural do Douro Internacional. Instituto da Conservao da Natureza. Vila Real, 2002. [8] Gebread F, 'Enfermedades y problemas de salud en los burros del extranjero, In: The Donkey Sanctuary compilacin', Svendsen, ED (Ed.), Manual professional del burro. Tercera Edicin, Whittet Books, Mxico, 1999. [9] Matthee S, Krecek RC, Milne SA, Boshoff M, and Guthrie AJ, 'Impact of management interventions on helminth levels, and body and blood measurements in working donkeys in South Africa', Veterinary Parasitology, Vol 107, No. 2, pp. 10313, 2002. [10] Swann WJ, 'Improving the welfare of working equine animals in developing countries', Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Vol 100, Nos. 1-2, pp. 14851, 2006. [11] Yoseph S, Smith DG, Mengistu A, Teklu F, Firew T, and Betere Y, 'Seasonal variation in the parasite burden and body condition of working donkeys in East Shewa and West Shewa regions of Ethiopia', Journal of Tropical Animal Health and Production, Vol 37, pp. 3545, 2005. [12] Svendsen ED, The Professional Handbook of the Donkey, Whittet Books, England, 1997. [13] Wells D, Krecek RC, Wells M, Guthrie AJ, and Lourens JC, 'Helminth levels of working donkeys kept under different management systems in the Moretele 1 district of the North-West Province, South Africa', Veterinary Parasitology, Vol 77, pp. 1637, 1998. [14] Matthee S, Krecek RC, and Milne SA, 'Prevalence and biodiversity of helminth parasites in donkeys from South Africa', Journal of Parasitology, Vol 86, No. 4, pp. 75662, 2000. [15] Medica DL and Sukhdeo MVK, 'Estimating transmission potential in gastrointestinal nematodes (order: Strongylida)', Journal of Parasitology, Vol 87, No. 2, pp. 4425, 2001. [16] Morris C, Trawford A, and Svendsen E, 'Donkey: hero or villain of the parasite world? Past, present and future', Veterinary Parasitology, Vol 125, pp. 4358, 2004. [17] Soulsby EJL, Helminths, Arthropods and Protozoa of Domesticated Animals, 4th Ed., Baillire Tindall, London, 1986.
[18] Love S and Duncan J L, 'Could the worms have turned?', Equine Vet. J., Vol 23, No. 3, pp. 1524, 1991. [19] Lichtenfels JR, Kharchenko VA, Krecek RC, and Gibbons LM, 'An annotated checklist by genus and species of 93 species level names for 51 recognized species of small strongyles (Nematoda: Strongyloidea: Cyathostominea) of horses, asses and zebras of the world', Veterinary Parasitology, Vol 79, No. 1, pp. 6579, 1998 [20] Bucknell DG, Hoste H, Gasser RB, and Beveridge I, 'The structure of the community of strongyloid nematodes of domestic equids', Journal of Helminthology, Vol 70, No. 3, pp. 185192, 1996. [21] Lyons ET, Drudge JH, and Tolliver SC, 'Larval Cyathostomiasis', Vet. Clin. North Amer., Equine Practice, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vol 16, No. 3, pp. 387628, 2000. [22] Lyons ET, Tolliver SC, and Collins SS, 'Study (1991 to 2001) of drug-resistant Population B small strongyles in critical tests in horses in Kentucky at the termination of a 40-year investigation', Parasitol Res., Vol 101, No. 3, pp. 689701, 2007. [23] Madeira De Carvalho LM , 'Os equdeos em Portugal: de animais de produo a animais de companhia. I Impacte nas Doenas Parasitrias', Medicina Veterinria (Revista da AEFMV), No. 62, pp. 1324, 2006. [24] Madeira De Carvalho LM, Epidemiologia e controlo da estrongilidose em diferentes sistemas de produo equina em Portugal. Tese de Dissertao de Doutoramento, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinria, Universidade Tcnica de Lisboa. Edio do autor, 2001.
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SURGICAL EXTRACTION OF SETARIA EYE WORM IN WORKING HORSES

P. Bhatt, A. K. Das, and S. Kumar
G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar 263145, Uttarkhand, India drbhatt_p@rediffmail.com
negative for microfilarae on follow-up. Various drugs have been tried in clinical setariosis with mixed therapeutic response [3, 5, 6]. Therefore, surgical intervention followed by chemotherapy may be advocated as a successful treatment for cases of equine setariosis. Acknowledgement The authors are thankful to the Dean of the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences for providing the necessary facilities to carry out the investigation. References [1] Patra, R.C., Bhatt, P., and Senathiraja, S. Eyeworm problem in equines: An overview. Indian Farming, 50:26, 2000. [2] Radostits, O.M., Gay, C.C., Blood, D.C., and Hinchcliff, K.W. Miscellaneous roundworm infestation. In: Veterinary Medicine 9th edn., W.B.Saunders, pp. 136277, 2000. [3] Bhatt, P., Patra, R.C., and Senathiraja, S. Therapeutic efficacy of ivermectin on filarial occuli in equines: A case report. Centaur, 16:27, 1999. [4] Bhasker, C.G., Satchidanandam, V., and Bhuvanakumar, C.K. Case report of removal of a worm in the eye of a mare. Centaur, 3:63, 1986. [5] Sharma, S.P. Filariasis in buffalo and horses. Pashudhan, 8:3, 1993. [6] Klei, T.R., Torbest, B.J., and Ochoa, R. Efficacy of ivermectin against adult Setaria equina and microfilaria of Onchocerca cervicalis in ponies. J. Parasitology, 66:859, 1980. Table I. Classification and assessment of clinical cases of working horses with presence of setaria worm in the anterior chamber of eye Case no. Time elapsed before reaching veterinary clinic 18 days 21 days 12 days 14 days 12 days 7 days 12 days 21 days 14 days 24 days Degree of corneal opacity +++ +++ ++ ++ ++ + ++ ++ ++ +++ Microifilarae on blood examination + + + + + + + + + Ivermectin pretreatment +* -* -* -* -* -* -* -* -* -*
Abstract A modified surgical approach for removal of the setaria eye worm from the anterior chamber of the eye was used in 10 working horses. The method appeared easy and effective with all animals showing complete recovery over a period of 24 months. The details of the study are presented. Introduction Localization of worms in the anterior chamber of eye of equines leads to constant irritation and the problem is very painful to both animal and owners [1]. The disease is characterized by persistent itching, lacrimation, blepharospasm, and reduced performance [2]. The disease has been reported throughout the world including India [3, 4]. Various drugs like diethyl carbamazine, mercury perchloride, and ivermectin have been tried with mixed response [2, 3, 5, 6]. Most animal owners generally prefer medical management of the case, and surgery is undertaken as a last resort. The present case study was undertaken to assess the efficacy of a modified surgical intervention for extraction of the setaria eye worm in horses. Materials and methods Case history Ten working horses of 38 years of age were presented to the veterinary clinics with the complaint of gradual development of corneal opacity and presence of a moving worm in the anterior chamber of the eye. No prior treatment was undertaken except for 1 horse which was pretreated with ivermectin and anti-inflammatory drugs with no improvement. Clinical and laboratory findings Ophthalmological examination of all the cases revealed varying degrees of corneal opacity with a moving worm in the anterior chamber. Blood examination was positive for micro filarae except for 1 horse which was pretreated with ivermectin. The clinical cases were classified accordingly (Table I). Surgical approach The affected animals were secured in lateral recumbency with the affected eye on the top after tranquillization with triflupromazine @ 0.2mg/kg b.wt., applied intravenously. Auriculopalpebral and retrobulbar nerve blocks were achieved with 2% lignocain hydrochloride. Topical anaesthesia was also achieved using 4% lignocaine hydrochloride. An 18 gauge 5cm long needle mounted on a 10ml glass syringe containing normal saline was introduced into the anterior chamber at the dorso medial position on the limbus at 11 or 1 o'clock position after nick incision with lancet. The level of the needle was manoeuvred and as the migrating parasite trespasses the level of needle, it was immediately aspirated. After the removal of the parasite, the affected eye was thoroughly washed with normal saline. Parenteral antibiotics were prescribed for 5 days. Ophthalmic ointment containing an antibacterial agent and cortisone was also prescribed along with irrigation with 2% boric acid powder in distilled water for 15 days. The animals were given ivermectin to check microfilariasis. Regular follow-up and haematological examination were advised after 10 days. The surgical approach is depicted in Figures 1, 2, and 3. Results and discussion All the animals showed an uneventful recovery with disappearance of corneal opacity over a period of 24 months. No post-surgical complications were reported by any of the owners. The haematological examination was found
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X
+++ = Severe; ++ = Moderate; + = Mild; +* = Yes; -* = No
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CLINICAL, RADIOGRAPHIC AND ULTRASOUND ASPECTS OF LAMENESS IN URBAN DRAUGHT HORSES IN CHILE
B. Menarim1, G. Fortini2, P. Alvarez2, T. Tadich1, and S. Galecio1
2
Instituto de Ciencias Clnicas Veterinarias Instituto de Ciencia Animal, Universidad Austral de Chile, Campus Isla Teja, Valdivia, Chile brunomenarim@uach.cl
Figure 1. Moving worm in the anterior chamber of eye
Introduction Horses used for draught work represent the main source of financial income for many families in developing countries. In Chile, there is a large number of urban draught horses used in wood and garbage transportation, besides the population of farm draught horses used for on-farm work and subsistence agriculture. Horses used for these functions are usually overworked, lack ideal care and welfare conditions and manifest illness, mainly lameness. Their poor limbs and body conformation reduce their useful life, affecting the livelihoods of their owners [1, 2, 13]. Although it has been demonstrated that the majority of working horses in Chile are kept under good conditions of animal welfare [13] there is no information available concerning lameness in draught horses. Objectives To describe the prevalence of lameness in a group of urban draught horses in Chile and characterize the clinical, radiographic, and ultrasound aspects, associating them with animal welfare. Materials and methods During attendance at a weekly clinic for urban draught horses held by the Veterinary College of Valdivia-Chile, 46 horses were examined. Twenty presented lame: their lameness was graded, affected limbs determined and they were referred to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital for complete evaluation. The average age of the examined horses was recorded. Fourteen horses (70%) were taken to the hospital and were submitted to clinical, radiographic, and ultrasound examination. Clinical examination consisted of determining affected limb(s) and site(s) generating pain by observation and palpation, hoof testing and diagnostic local anesthesia. Radiographic and ultrasound evaluations were performed on areas judged lame to record bony and soft tissue disorders, respectively. Data were recorded and described the percentage distribution of horses showing clinical (spontaneous) lameness and subclinical (post forced flexion) lameness. The prevalence of radiographic and ultrasonographic findings and their distribution was obtained. Results Clinical findings It was observed that 43.4% (n=20) of the total studied population were lame and the average age was 7.3 years old. Considering that some horses exhibited lameness in more than one limb and at different grades amongst them, data were organized to determine the frequency of horses presenting single and multiple limb lameness as well as prevalence of lameness grades considering affected limbs (Tables 1 and 2).
Figure 2. Eye lancet at 11 o'clock position
Figure 3. Removed worm in the Petri dish
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Table 1. Distribution of number of affected limbs per horse Limbs 1 2 3 4 Total Horses 12 6 1 1 20
Table 4. Frequency and percentual distribution of horses with clinical and subclinical lameness presentation in forelimbs (n=17) Lameness Limbs Right forelimb Left forelimb Right and left forelimb Total Clinical 7 (41.2%) 5 (29.4%) 2 (11.8%) 14 (82.4%) Subclinical 1 (5.9%) 2 (11.8%) 0 (0%) 3 (17.6%)
Table 2. Prevalence of lameness grade considering affected limbs Lameness grade I II III IV V Total Limbs 3 8 13 5 2 31 % 9.7 25.8 41.9 16.1 6.5 100.0
Diagnostic imaging Imaging was divided according to modalities. Horses which presented with just soft tissue injury were submitted only to ultrasound evaluation; horses presenting with just hoof-associated lameness were submitted only to radiographic examination. Radiographic findings Amongst horses submitted to clinical and imaging evaluation, 85.7% (n=12) exhibited abnormal radiographic findings. Radiographic diagnosis was performed and the prevalence of abnormalities was established. The most frequent findings were associated with osteoarthritis, villonodular synovitis, and pedal osteitis (33.3%, n=4) which had the same presentation followed by osteoperiostitis, navicular syndrome, and palmar process osteitis (16.7%, n=2). Other findings presented in just 8.3% (n=1) of the sample (Figure 1). Figure 1. Radiographic abnormal findings: osteoarthritis (OA), villonodular synovitis (ViSyn), pedal osteitis (PO), osteoperiostitis (OP), navicular syndrome (NS), palmar process osteitis (PPO), sesamoiditis (S), pyramidal disease (PD), carpal chip fracture (CCF), carpal osteochondral fragmentation (COcF), metacarpian accessory desmitis (MADesm), foreign body fistula (FBF), lateral collateral elbow desmitis (LClEDesm), and sole abscess (SoleAb). (n=12).
Considering the total of 20 lame horses examined at primary attendance, it was observed that clinical lameness was detected at a higher prevalence (85%, n=17) compared with the subclinical form (15%, n=3) (Table 3). It was also observed that 85% (n=17) presented forelimb lameness. Amongst them, there was a 41.2% (n=7) prevalence of lameness in the right forelimb (RFL) and 29.4% (n=5) for the left forelimb (LFL) (Table 4). It was observed that 50% (n=10) presented hind limb (HL) lameness with predominance for the left hind limb (LHL) (20%, n=4) compared to 15% (n=3) for the right hind limb (RHL). Table 3. Frequency of horses with clinical and subclinical lameness presentation among forelimbs and hind limbs (n=20) Lameness Limbs Forelimb Hindlimb Forelimb and hindlimb Total 245 Clinical 9 3 5 17 Subclinical 1 0 2 3
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Radiographic findings associated with osteoarthritis, villonodular synovitis, and pedal osteitis were observed in 33.3% (n=4) of horses. Data related to OA corresponded to carpal, tarsal, and fetlock joints in the same proportions (33%, n=2). Villonodular synovitis was related to the metacarpophalangeal joint. The distribution of pedal osteitis was 50% (n=2) in both forelimbs, 25% (n=1) just in the RFL, and 25% (n=1) in the RHL. Ultrasound findings This method of diagnosis was applied to 12 horses and abnormal findings were: a group of different kinds of desmitis (75%, n=9), villonodular synovitis (50%, n=6), a group of different kinds of tendonitis (41.7%, n=5), phalangeal osteoperiostitis, capsulitis (16.7%, n=2), bursitis, and fibroma (8.3%, n=1) (Figure 2). Figure 2. Ultrasound abnormal findings (OP = osteoperiostitis, n=12)
has been documented in the thoroughbred, standardbred, and quarter horse industries [4, 6, 7, 9]. Thus, given that urban traffic in Chile turns to the right side the most often, this explains why the majority of evaluated horses are RFL lame. In addition, this also explains why LHL are the most affected amongst HL, probably due to compensatory lameness [10], especially considering these horses are trotting the majority of time; exacerbating this is diagonal weight distribution [10, 12]. Even though single limb lameness was predominant and the RFL was the most affected, it is possible that because the horses' average age was 7.3 years old, ageing could transform single limb lameness into multiple limb lameness in these individuals due to chronic compensatory lameness. The number of horses presenting abnormal radiographic and ultrasound findings was the same, supporting the idea that the presentation of bony and soft tissue disorders were presented in the same proportions. Osteoarthritis, villonodular synovitis and pedal osteitis represent the major radiographic abnormalities. These are inflammatory, degenerative and painful conditions associated with consecutive trauma [5, 6, 7, 10, 12], except for pedal osteitis which is not necessarily degenerative. Radiographic findings associated with osteoarthritis were presented at the same sites in Brazilian urban draught horses [8], but the prevalence amongst them was different, with the tarsus being the most affected. In addition, palmar process osteitis and navicular syndrome represented the second most prevalent abnormalities; they are pedal diseases too and also degenerative [10, 12]. It has been reported in Chile [13] that hoof abnormalities make up the majority of abnormalities of urban draught horses, so the presence of these findings can be explained. Similar conditions have been reported in Mexico [1]. This results in altered limb biomechanics leading to limb hyperextension and pedal trauma [9, 10, 12]. Overworking, frequently the case for such horses [1, 2, 8], also generates muscle fatigue leading to limb hyperextension which is very often associated with consecutive trauma and chronic inflammation to carpal and fetlock joints, the most affected joints in this study [9, 10, 12]. Desmitis of the suspensory ligament, tendonitis, and villonodular synovitis represent the most common ultrasonound findings, which is very similar to data reported from Brazil and Pakistan [2,8], where tendonitis and suspensory desmitis are prevalent afflictions. These findings also represent degenerative diseases associated with biomechanical changes and muscular fatigue, overload to the suspensory and flexor apparatus, as well as chronic trauma [9, 10, 12]. Collateral ligament desmitis is not only related to first nominated etiopathogenic aspects, but is also associated with direct trauma, forced lateral flexion, and exacerbated rotation of the limb [10,12]. References [1] Aluja A, Lpez C, Chavira S, and Oseguera D. Condiciones patolgicas ms frecuentes en los quidos de trabajo en el campo mexicano. Veterinaria Mexico. Vol 31, No 2, pp 1658, 2000. [2] Broster CE, Burn CC, Barr ARS, and Whay HR. The range and prevalence of pathological abnormalities associated with lameness in working horses from developing countries. Equine Veterinary Journal. Vol 41, pp 47481, May 2009. [3] Butcher MT and Ross MAA. Fetlock joint kinematics differ with age in thoroughbred racehorses. Journal of Biomechanics. Vol 35, No 5, pp 56371, 2002. [4] Courouc-Malblanc A, Leleu C, Bouchilloux M, and Geffroy O. Abnormal radiographic findings in 865 French standardbred trotters and their relationship to racing performance. Equine Veterinary Journal Supplement. Vol 36, pp. 41722, 2006. [5] Cruz AM and Hurtig MB. Multiple pathways to osteoarthritis and articular fractures: is subchondral bone the culprit? Veterinary Clinics of North America. Equine Practice. Vol 24, No 1, pp 10116, April 2008. [6] Dabareiner RM, White NA, and Sullins KE.. Metacarpophalangeal joint synovial pad fibrotic proliferation in 63 horses. Veterinary Surgery. Vol 25, pp 199206, 1996. [7] Davidson EJ and Ross MW. Clinical recognition of stress-related bone injury in racehorses. Clinical Techniques in Equine Practice. Vol 2, No 4, pp 296311, December 2003.
Ultrasonound abnormalities characterizing desmitis in 9 horses were related to suspensory ligament, inferior check ligament (44%, n=4), tarsal collateral ligament, metacarpophalangeal collateral ligaments (22.2%, n=2), carpal joint ligaments, and elbow collateral ligament (11.1%, n=1). Ultrasound findings characterizing villonodular synovitis in 6 horses were related to the metacarpophalangeal joint (66.7%, n=4) and the carpal joint (33.3%, n=2). Tendonitis, recognized in 5 horses, corresponded to insertion of the extensor tendon (40%, n=2), superficial digital flexor tendon, cunean tendon, and bicipital tendon (20%, n=1). Conclusions The prevalence of 43.3% (n=20) of studied horses suffering from lameness, mostly represented by severe lameness (Grade III.,V) of a chronic nature (osteoarthritis and degenerative desmitis) provides evidence for inadequate conditions of animal welfare, and its distribution suggests an association with type of work performed. Following imaging findings it was considered that persistent inefficient hoof trimming and shoeing, associated with overwork, represented the cornerstone of these horses' lameness. An initiative to control the lameness must be taken, particularly by training owners in hoof care and horse selection. Discussion The most common grade of lameness observed was grade 3, a severe grade of lameness, associated with persistent pain [10, 12]. This reflects the lack of adequate conditions for these horses and morphological characteristics in reference to the amount of weight carried [1, 2, 8, 13]. Repeated actions encourage the development of stress-related injuries [11], and it is expected that specific activities induce particular injuries, as
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[8] Maranho R, Palhares M, Melo U, Rezende H, Braga C, Silva J, and Vasconcelos M. Afeces mais freqentes do aparelho locomotor dos eqdeos de trao no municipio de Belo Horizonte. Arquivo. Brasileiro de Medicina Veerinria e Zootecnia.Vol 58, pp 217, 2006. [9] Menarim BC. Caracterizao de alteraes radiogrficas na articulao metacarpofalangeana de cavalos de Trs Tambores. Dissertao de Mestrado. Faculdade de Medicina Veterinaria e Zootecnia. FMVZ. UnespBotucatu, 2009. [10] Ross MW and Dyson SJ. Diagnosis and Management of Lameness in the Horse. WB Saunders. USA, 2003 [11] Rhoads W. Lameness in the Reining Horse. 2005, www.slidem.com.,articles.,lameness. [12] Stashak T. Claudicao em Equinos Segundo Adams Diagnstico. Editora Roca. Brasil, 2002 [13] Tadich T, Escobar A, and Pearson R. Husbandry and welfare aspects of urban draught horses in the south of Chile. Archivos de Medicina Veterinaria. Vol 40, No 2, pp 26773, 2008.
REVIEW OF DONKEY HOOF LAMENESS CASES IN TWO COMMUNITIES IN EGYPT

S. F. Farahat
The Society for the Protection and Welfare of Donkeys and Mules in Egypt (SPWDME) ---68 El Shahid Ahmed Hamdy St, Faisal ,1 Giza Tel and fax: 0020 2 3 583 6879 Mobile: 0127921600 spwdme@tedata.net.eg
Lameness is a common clinical condition affecting the welfare of donkeys in this rural part of Egypt, and hoof abscess is a major cause. This paper reviews the data collected on hoof problems, particularly hoof abscess, on two communities, Abo Ghaleb and El Saf, between January 2006 and December 2009. Through a series of workshops and a questionnaire, possible contributing factors and options for treatment and prevention were investigated. Introduction* The Society for the Protection and Welfare of Donkeys and Mules in Egypt (SPWDME) is an NGO which has been working in Egypt since 2003. Based in Faisal, Giza, 20km south-west of Cairo, a team of vets, animal health assistants, harness makers and farriers operate mobile units throughout the towns and villages of Giza and Kalubia.This study looks at two communities, El Saf , (Helwan governorate) and Abo Ghaleb(six of October Governorate) In these areas of operation, as in other parts of Egypt, donkeys often suffer from lameness particularly due to solar hoof abscess. The cause of this problem, and the response of the owner, is often influenced by many different factors. Social and economic insight is needed, as well as medical expertise, to address the root causes effectively. Method All data recorded by the mobile team related to hoof problems in the two target areas between January 2006 and December 2009 was reviewed. A more detailed recording format for cases of hoof abscess was developed and used to record 100 cases in Abo Ghaleb between 26/8/2009 and 14/4/2010 and 100 cases in El Saf between 1/2/2009 and 2/3/2010. The details recorded for these cases included previous occurrence and treatment for abscesses, the type of work carried out, and conformation. Two participatory workshops in Abo Ghaleb were conducted. The first used the Bridge Model technique (1), followed a few weeks later by a second workshop using the 10 seed techniques (2). During routine clinical work, owners were engaged in semi-structured interviews looking at their use of, and attitude to, the local vet services The bridge model technique: The Bridge is a tool for visioning and planning, helping stockholders to identify where they are, where they want to be, and how to bridge the gap between the two The seed technique: This is more a technique for carrying out other PA (participatory Approaches) Rather than a tool in itself .it involves the use of counters to represent relative amounts or preferences, and to foster a participatory attitude
* The author is very grateful for Mr. Hamed Abdel Razek and Moharam Sayed Abdalla, for the efforts they afforded to finish this paper through collecting the requested raw data .
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Results Cases treated total and hoof abscesses Table 1: Total cases treated, hoof cases and hoof abscess in Abo Ghaleb Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 Total no. cases/year 2,604 2,732 2,442 1,221 No. hoof cases 434 582 640 355 % hoof cases 17 21.3 26.2 29 Total no. hoof abscess/year 152 180 225 130 % of hoof abscess 5.9 6.5 9.5 10.6
Hoof abscesses treated per month Figure 2. Monthly variation in cases of hoof abscesses seen in Abo Ghaleb
Figure 1: Hoof cases and total clinical cases seen in Abo Ghaleb
Figure 3. Monthly variation in cases of hoof abscesses seen in El Saf
Table 2. Total cases treated, hoof cases, and hoof abscess in El Saf Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 Total no. cases/year 2604 2732 2442 1221 No. hoof cases 434 582 640 355 % hoof cases 17 21.3 26.2 29 Total no. hoof abscess/year 152 180 225 130 % of hoof abscess 5.9 6.5 9.5 10.6
Treatment options in Abo Ghaleb and El Saf Table 3. Service providers used by owners whose donkeys go lame Abo Ghaleb Vets Traditional treatment Without treatment SPWDME Local farrier First time lameness (without pervious lameness) Total number of cases 6 5 12 40 16 20 99 hoof abscess case El Saf 7 48 15 15 0 12 97 hoof abscess case
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Table 4. Duration of lameness before treatment, from detailed case records Duration of lameness 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. less than one week one to two weeks two to three weeks less than one month one to two months not clear Abo Ghaleb 69 27 2 2 0 0 El Saf 52 20 8 8 8 4
Discussion 1. Hoof problems and hoof abscesses are a major problem affecting the welfare of donkeys in El Safe and Abo Ghaleb (see tables 1 and 2). 2. The incidence of hoof abscess is high in Abo Ghaleb and in El Saf. It is also increasing from year to year in both communities (see tables 1 and 2), indicating that the owners started to depend on SPWDME instead of the local farrier in Abo Ghaleb, and on traditional treatment in El Saf, where there is no local farrier.so that the Numbers of lame donkeys we received are increasing year by year ,decreasing the numbers of lame donkeys treated by local farrier or by traditional treatment year by year There is quite a dramatic fall in the number of cases in 2009, that is due to reducing in number of our visits to both communities on 2009 comparing with previous years (2006, 2007, and 2008) Our visits for two both communities were regular on 2006, 2007 and 2008 But our visits were not regular on 2009. The creation of dependency on free services from SPWDME may lead to limitation of the project. But the traditional treatment for hoof abscess in Elsaf are very worst 3. Figures 2 and 3 shows that there is a consistent seasonal variation in hoof abscess cases, with the highest number seen in December, then a decrease in the months to May, when the rate increases again in Abo Ghaleb. Also Figure 4 shows that there is a consistent seasonal variation in the number of hoof abscesses seen between September and December. 4. There are more hoof abscess cases in female donkeys than males in both villages. There are various likely reasons for this, including: - Female donkeys are preferred in the communities where they are used for riding - The owners keep their female donkeys in same stable as other animals, and the stables tend to be wet. They keep male donkeys away from the other animals to avoid the donkeys injuring other animals. 5. The type of work done by the donkeys affects the incidence of hoof abscesses. They are common in rural areas like Abo Ghaleb and El Saf where donkeys are ridden, and much less so in other sites visited by the team where donkeys pull carts in brick kilns. 6. Hoof abscesses tend to occur on the lateral side of the feet of donkeys with a narrow base, and on the medial side of the feet of those with a wide base. This is because a donkey with a narrow base bears more load on the lateral side of its food, and that acts as a risk factor. The donkey with a wide base bears more weight on the medial side and has a higher risk of abscesses on that side. 7. Table 3 shows that in Abo Ghaleb, the owners depend on SPWDME more to treat lame donkeys, and they go to the local farrier even though he is so expensive and so far away. Traditional treatments for hoof abscess are not common in Abo Ghaleb. Twelve owners left their donkeys without treatment, because they had seen cases of lameness which healed on their own because the donkey just needed to rest. In El Saf traditional remedies for lameness are the owners first choice and 15 owners left their lame donkeys without treatment. In both communities, few owners went to the vet to treat their donkeys. 8. Table 5 shows the five main donkey welfare problems in Abo Ghaleb, and indicates that the local farrier plays an important role. The owners go to him for the treatment of tetanus and lameness, even though he is so far away and expensive, but treat wounds, respiratory problems and malnutrition themselves. When asked when they do not go to vets to get treatment for their donkeys, they say: The vets do not have the skills or equipment to treat donkeys. The vets are expensive. Why should they go to local vets when SPWDME (free and high quality) is available? Conclusion Hoof problems, particularly abscesses, are a major part of the work of SPWDME in rural areas. Through understanding and working jointly with communities, more can be achieved in terms of the long term prevention
Table 5. Participatory workshop results from Abo Ghaleb and first choice for assistance Main welfare issues in Abo Ghaleb 1 2 3 4 5 Tetanus Wound Lameness and hoof problems Malnutrition Respiratory Local farrier 50% 25% 50% 10% 10% Owners 10% 50% 10% 25% 50% Neighbours 25% 15% 25% 50% 30% Vets 15% 10% 15% 15% 10%
Sex and hoof abscess In Abo Ghaleb 687 hoof abscess cases were recorded between January 2006 and December 2009. 501 of these were in female donkeys and 186 in males. In El Saf 964 hoof abscess cases were recorded between January 2007 and the end of December 2009. 509 were in female donkeys and 455 in males. Location of hoof abscess and conformation From the 200hoof abscess cases recorded by the diagnostic hoof abscess sheet, there were 147 hoof abscesses on forefeet and 53 on hind feet. There were 96 cases with normal foot conformation, 93 with 'base narrow' and 11 with 'base wide' conformations. Of the 93 'base narrow' conformation cases, 79 had the abscess on the lateral side of the foot, and of the 11 'base wide' cases, 10 had the hoof abscess on the medial side.
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and resolution of lameness problems. The training of owners and local service providers is considered the best intervention option in these cases, and it is a strategy being pursued by SPWDME. References 1. Eldis manuals-Toolkits Readers-vso Facilitator Guide to 2. Jayakarara R (2002) Ten seed Technique, world vision international, china available as PDF. File from ravi.jayakaran@wvi.org 3. Floyd A and Mansmann R. Equine Podiatry: Medical and Surgical Management of the Hoof. Saunders UK 2007 4. Stashak T S and Hill C. A Practical Guide to Lameness in Horses. Wiley Blackwell UK 1996 5. Chambers R. Participatory Workshops: A Sourcebook of 21 Sets of Ideas and Activities. Earthscan Ltd, UK 2002
EPIZOOTIC LYMPHANGITIS IN CART MULES: COMMUNITY-BASED CLINICAL TRIAL IN BAHIR DAR, NORTH-WEST ETHIOPIA
T. Worku, N. Wagaw, and B. Hailu
Donkey Sanctuary Ethiopia (DSE) Bahir Dar Project, Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia teshome_worku@yahoo.com
Abstract Data on a community-based clinical trial on epizootic lymphangitis (EZL) of cart mules in Bahir Dar were collected from September 2008 to August 2009 and analysed to assess the importance of community participation in controlling the disease. Community members were made aware of the nature of the disease: focus group discussions (FGDs) were held on predisposing factors, the importance of early detection and presentation of cases, administering follow-up treatments, and notifying abandoned cases. During the period 75 (25%) of the 300 cart mules in the town were found to have the disease. Proportions of cases presented were 53.3% (40) early, 38.7% (29) moderate, and 8% (6) severe, respectively. Potassium iodide (KI) at a dose rate of 0.1g/kg was administered orally with feed or water every day in the first week and every other day in the following weeks, supplemented with excision of skin nodules and application of 25% tincture of iodine on lesions for all clinically infected cases. Severe cases were euthanized with the consent of owners or joined another treatment regimen. It was found that 58 (80.6%) cases recovered after 210 weeks of treatment; out of which 38 (65.5%) were early and 20 (34.5%) were moderate cases. No severe cases recovered. Statistically significant difference (p<0.05) was observed between chances of recovery of early (95%) and advanced (moderate and severe combined) (62.5%) cases which implied criticality of early identification of cases and commencement of treatment. Only 11 (3.7%) cases were left in the town by the end of the indicated period. Introduction Ethiopia has 376,682 mules out of which 135,908 live in the Amhara region. More than 14% of the working mules in this region are pull carts [14]. Over 300 mules (all cart pulling) live in Bahir Dar, upon which the livelihood of the same number of households depends [15]. Mule carts serve the community in the town, transporting commodities to and from market places, cement, stone and timber to construction sites, grain and flour to/from mill houses, etc. It has been recorded that animal traction significantly contributes in supporting both rural and peri-uban livelihoods in Ethiopia [22]. Despite the invaluable services mules (and all equines) provide to the national economy, they are subject to routine and frequent neglect and maltreatment [21]. Moreover, many infectious diseases affect equines in Ethiopia, and EZL is the most prevalent [17, 4]. Research conducted in horses indicates that EZL is endemic to Ethiopia [8] and its distribution covers humid and hot areas with altitude ranging 1,5002,800 metres above sea level (masl) [4]. Although mules are said to be better resistant to EZL than horses [3], the disease was found at a prevalence of 28% in mules in Bahir Dar, where no horses survive [11]. There has been no completely satisfactory treatment against the disease [26, 16]. Inorganic iodides can be used on early cases and amphoteracine B is also recommended as a drug of choice [2]. Both of these treatment options, however, are not available in the local veterinary service partly because of cost. Even if the drugs are available, early identification of cases and intensive follow-up are critical for successful therapy [2, 12]. Especially
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where owners cannot afford expensive treatment, like the cart mule owners of Bahir Dar, they have to be able to recognize the symptoms at the earliest possible time, present for treatment, and strictly follow up until the final outcome is reached. This paper, therefore, reports on the importance of community participation in setting up a successful communitybased treatment and control scheme for epizootic lymphangitis in cart mules in Bahir Dar town. Materials and methods Area Bahir Dar is located in the north-western part of Ethiopia 570km from the capital Addis Ababa at 11' 29''N latitude, 37' 29''E longitude at an altitude of 1,840 masl [19]. It has a typical tropical climate with average annual rainfall of 1,434mm, humidity 57.88%, and average annual temperature of 26.4C. The rainy season extends from early June to late September [9]. Animals Seventy five cart mules naturally infected by EZL, out of a total population of 300 in Bahir Dar, were involved in the study from September 2008 to August 2009. Design All 300 mules were recorded and given ID cards. FGDs were held on the importance of the disease, preventive measures, predisposing factors, identification of cases, and follow-up treatment (Figure 1). All owners agreed that their actions were an indispensable part of the whole process and acted accordingly. Inspection and palpation were clinical examination methods used. Further confirmation was made by microscopic examination. Cases presented were classified as early (<5 nodules, only one part of body affected), moderate (620 nodules, 13 part/s of body involved), and severe (>20 nodules) [18]. Pearson's chi square was used to analyse the data collected.
Figure3. Owner cleaning skin lesions
Figure 4. Owner applying iodine tincture on skin lesions
Clinic-based treatment was carried out only once a week and follow-up therapies were performed by owners the rest of the week (Figures 3 and 4). FGDs were held every week before clinic sessions to share information on progress of treatment, lessons learnt, and consider new or abandoned cases. Results Over the period of one year, 75 (25%) of the 300 cart mules were found to have EZL. All cases were identified by owners and confirmed by the DSE team. Forty (53.3%) were presented at an early stage, 29 (38.7%) at a moderate stage, and only 6 (8%) at a severe stage (see Figure. 5). All cases of EZL were cutaneous. Figure 5. Stages of EZL cases when presented to DSE clinic
Figure 1. FGD before clinic session
Figure 2. Owner watching DSE vets treating his mule
All early and moderate cases started treatment as they appeared which involved excising contents of nodules, application of topical iodine tincture (25%) (Figure 2), and oral administration of potassium iodide (0.1gm/kg) with feed or water every day in the first week and every other day thereafter. Severe cases were euthanized [26] with the consent of the owner or joined another treatment regimen.
Of the 75 owners involved, 58 (77.3%) strictly applied follow-up treatment and put professional advice into practice. They stopped visiting the clinic only when an agreement was reached that the patient did not need any further treatment. Three (4%) owners were willing to have their severely infected mules euthanized. Three other owners did not want their mules to be euthanized and hence started treatment, but none of them recovered. The remaining 11 (14.7%) owners started treatment of their animals but were not committed to follow-up and terminated in the 258
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middle of the process. None of mules belonging to such owners were reported to have recovered. Of the 72 cases that started treatment, 58 (80.6%) recovered after 210 weeks of treatment. Thirty-eight (65.5%) of those recovered were early, 20 (34.5%) were moderate, and 0% were severe cases. Table 1. Response to treatment at different clinical stages of EZL Recovered Early Moderate Severe Total 38 20 3 58 Failed to recover 2 9 0 14 Euthanized 0 0 3 3 Total (treated) 40 29 0 72 Treatment success rate (%) 95 69 3 80.5
advanced (moderate plus severe) which is consistent with previous work [12]. Owners skills in administering KI orally, either with feed or water, and topical application of iodine tincture were developed by demonstration. Subsequently, the majority (80.6%) of owners attended each clinic session once every week, and collected and administered follow-up treatments for the rest of the week. This significantly contributed to the success of the interventions. It would have been practically impossible for the DSE team to administer directly daily treatment for each and every case. Owners were also empowered by the knowledge of how to prevent the disease which involves prevention of wounds and avoiding direct contact with infected mules and indirect contact with contaminated fomites [25]. Attention was also given to notifying abandoned severe cases. This helped preventing re-infection and is believed to have contributed to the decreasing number of new infections. It is, therefore, recommended that community participation should be given due consideration, owners made aware of predisposing factors and preventive measures, and their skills developed on case identification and management to help control the disease in endemic areas. Making KI and iodine tincture available locally should be considered as an important input. Further studies should be undertaken to research cheaper options for treatment and enhanced participation of the community. Acknowledgments Thanks to the Donkey Sanctuary for making KI available and Dr E. Bojia for the ideas in the treatment protocol. References [1] Abou Gabal, M., Hassan, F.K., and Al-Said, Study on equine histoplasmosis: epizootic lymphangitis, Mykosen, Vol 26, pp. 145-151, 1982. [2] Al-Ani F.K. Epizootic lymphangitis in horses, a review of the literature. Rev. sci. tech.Off. int. Epiz., Vol 18, pp. 691699, 1999. [3] Al-Ani F. K. and Ali Delimi, A.K. Epizootic lymphangitis, Pakistan Vet J. Vol 6:pp 96-100, 1986. [4] Ameni, G., Epidemiology of equine histoplasmosis (epizootic lymphangitis) in carthorses in Ethiopia, Veterinary J., vol, 172, No 1,pp. 160 -165, 2006. [5] Ameni G. Preliminary trial on the reproducibility of epizootic lymphangitis through experimental infection of two horses, Short Communication. Veterinary J., Vol 172 No 3, pp. 553556, 2006. [6] Ameni G. & Tefera W. A cross-sectional study of epizootic lymphangitis in cart-mules in western Ethiopia, Preventive Vet. Med., Vol 66, pp. 93 99, 2004. [7] Ameni G. Pathology and clinical manifestation of epizootic lymphangitis in cart mules in Ethiopia, J. Equine Science, Vol.18 No.1, pp 1-4, 2007. [8] Ameni G. and Fasika S. Study on histoplasmosis(epizootic lymphangitis) in cart horses in Ethiopia, J. Vet. Sci. Vol 3, pp. 135-139, 2002. [9] Amhara National Regional State Agricultural Bureau, Planning and Statistical Bulletin, Bahir Dar,Ethiopia, 1999. [10] Andy C., Stephen B., Tim L. Community- based animal healthcare, a practical guide to improving primary veterinary services. ITDG publishing, 2002. [11] Baye Ashenafi. Study on harnessing related problems on cart pulling mules in Bahir Dar and Adet towns, Amhara Regional State DVM thesis, Mekelle University, 2009. [12] Birhanu H., Ameni G. Equine Histoplasmosis, Treatment trial in horses in central Ethiopia. Tropical Animal Helath and Production, Vol 40 pp.407-411, 2007. [13] Catley A., and Leyland, T. Community participation and the delivery of veterinary services in Africa. Office international des epizootics scientific and technical review, Vol 19, No 3, pp. 702-714, 2001
A statistically significant difference (p<0.05) was found between the response to treatment of early and advanced (moderate plus severe) cases.
Figure 6. EZL lesions along the fore limbs during treatment
Figure 7. Lesion sites after treatment
Successful treatments which lasted 4 weeks or lesser were 25 (43%), out of which 19 (76%) were early cases and only 6 (24%) were moderate. The estimated cost of treatment of a mule for 4 weeks was 579 ETB ($42.25) excluding personnel costs. No mule was reported to have been re-infected once treated and recovered. Discussion The fact that owners played an indispensable part in identifying the problems of their mules and were involved in solving them made the intervention successful. This is in line with other reports of successful community-based animal health delivery systems in developing countries [13]. Every owner was sensitized on the grave nature of EZL and criticality of early intervention. This resulted in early presentation of the majority of the cases. This study shows that the earlier the cases are treated the better the chance of recovery and hence the lower the cost of treatment. A statistically significant difference (p<0.05) was found between the chances of recovery of early and 259
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[14] Central Statistical Agency, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Agricultural Sample Survey 2007/8, Statistical Bulletin, Vol 2, pp. 417, 2008. [15] Central Statistical Agency, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Agricultural Sample Survey 2002/3, Statistical Bulletin , Vol 2, pp 417, 2003. [16] Drug Administration and Control Agency, Epizootic lymphangitis. In: Standard Treatment Guidelines for Veterinary Clinics, 1st ed., pp. 210-212, 2006. [17] Endebu B. and Roger F. Comparative Studies on the Occurrence and Distribution of Epizootic Lymphangitis and Ulcerative Lymphangitis in Ethiopia , Journal of Applied Research in Veterinary Medicine, pp. 219-222, 2003. [18] Getachew A. Treatment trial of epizootic lymphangitis in horses using iodides, DVM thesis. Addis AbabaUniversity, 2004. [19] Institute of Land Administration Amhara National Regional State. Bahir Dar-the City, 2009. [20] Krause P. An assessment of suitable harnessing techniques for donkeys used to draw carts, Center for Tropical Veterinary Medicine University of Edinburgh, 1993. [21] Krause P. (1994): Harnessing techniques used for carts, Proceedings of the second international colloquium on working equines. Acets edition, institute agronomique et veterinary hassen II, Rabat Morocco, 1994. [22] Ocheing F., Alemayehu M., and Smith D. Improving the productivity of donkeys in Ethiopia, Center for Tropical Veterinary Medicine University of Edinburgh, 2000. [23] OIE. Epizootic lymphangitis. In: OIE Terrestrial Manual, Office International Des Epizootics (OIE), Paris, pp 852- 857, 2008. [24] OIE. Epizootic lymphangitis. In: Manual of standards for Diagnostic Test and Vaccines, Office International Des Epizootics (OIE), Paris, pp. 459-467, 2000. [25] Pearson, R.A., Mengistu, A., Agagie, T., Elianor F.A., David, G.S. and Mesfin, A. Use and management of donkeys in peri-urban areas of Ethiopia, Center for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh. Draught Animal Power Technical Report Vol 5, 2000. [26] Radostits, O.M., Gay, C.C., Hinchcliff K.W., Constable P.D. Epizootic Lymphangitis. pp In: Veterinary Medicine: A text Book of the Diseases of Cattle, Horses, Pigs, Sheep and Goats. 10th ed., Saunders, Elsevier, Philadelphia, pp 1478-1480, 2008. [27] Singh T. Studies on epizootic lymphangitis: Modes of infection and transmission of equine histoplasmosis (epizootic lymphangitis) Indian J. Vet. Sci.,Vol 35, pp. 102110, 1965. [28] Weeks R.J., Padhye A.A. & Ajello L. Histoplasma capsulatum variety farciminosum: a new combination for Histoplasma farciminosum, Mycologia, Vol 77, pp. 964-970, 1985.
COMPARATIVE ASPECTS OF PREVALENCE AND CHEMOTHERAPY OF ECTO-, ENDOAND BLOOD PARASITES OF DRAUGHT EQUINES IN FAISALABAD METROPOLIS, PAKISTAN
S. Ahmed1, G. Muhammad2, M. Saleem3 and I. Rashid2
2
Department of Livestock and Dairy Development, Mianwali, Pakistan Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad-38040, Pakistan 3 Brooke Hospital for Animals (Pakistan), Faisalabad, Pakistan
Abstract A total of 150 draught equines (horses, mules and donkeys, 50 each) were studied to determine the comparative prevalence of ecto-, endo- and blood parasites in randomly selected areas of Faisalabad metropolis. The response to 4 different treatment protocols for various classes of parasites affecting equines was also investigated. Ecto-parasites (ticks, flies, lice and mange mites) were diagnosed by clinical examination complemented by microscopic examination of skin scrapings after processing by concentration method. Faecal samples were examined by direct and concentration methods for worms, eggs and larvae of parasites. Blood samples were subjected to microscopic examination of wet blood films and Giemsa-stained blood smears for blood parasites such as trypanosomes, babesia and microfilariae. Thirty equids (horses, mules and TM donkeys, 10 each) suffering from gastrointestinal parasitism were treated with oxfendazole suspension (Systamex ) as per the manufacturer's directions. The response to treatment was evaluated by microscopic examination of faeces after one week of treatment. All positive cases suffering from ecto-parasitic (n = 14) infestations were treated with ivermectin (Inj. TM Ivomec ) and response to treatment was evaluated by clinical and microscopic examination of skin scrapings after one week of therapy. Similarly, all equines positive for trypanosomiasis (n = 7) were treated with quinopyramine sulphate + TM TM quinopyramine chloride (Inj. Tryban ). Cases of Babesiosis (n = 2) were treated with imidocarb dipropionate (Inj. Imizol ). TM Similarly, filariasis (setariasis) cases (n = 2) were treated with Ivermectin (Inj. Ivomec ) and response to treatment was evaluated by microscopic examination of blood smears at day-7 and day-14 of treatment. Out of a total 150 equines examined, 82 (54%) tested positive for endoparasites: 24 horses (48%), 27 mules (54%) and 31 donkeys (62%). The most prevalent species were identified as Strongylus spp. (large & small), Oxyuris equi and Parascaris equorum. Efficacy of oral administration of oxfendazole in reducing faecal egg counts at day-7 post treatment was 80, 70, and 80% in horses, mules and donkeys, respectively. The efficacy of ivermectin against ecto-parasites was 75, 65 and 75% at day-7 treatment in TM horses, mules and donkeys, respectively. The efficacy of imidocarb dipropionate (Inj. Imizol ) against Babesia spp. was 100% in both horses and mules at day-7 of treatment. Quinopyramine sulphate + quinopyramine chloride mixture (Inj. TM Tryban ) afforded 100% cure at day-7 treatment in 7 equines suffering from trypanosomiasis. The efficacy of ivermectin against filariasis (microfilaremia due to Setariasis) was found 0% at day-7 and 100% at day-14 of treatment. Introduction Horses and donkeys are very versatile animals used for a variety of purposes such as transportation of goods and people, racing, polo, tent pegging and other recreational games. It has been suggested that more than half of the world population depends on animal powers as its main energy source [1]. Many of these animals are owned by poor people who work in harsh environments [2]. There are an estimated 90 million equines in the developing world with the highest population concentration in central Asia, North and East Africa [2]. According to the National Livestock Census 2006, the total equine population of Pakistan is about 4.77 million and the equine population of Faisalabad district is 10664 horses, 3046 mules and 132444 donkeys. Several factors affect the health and productivity of the equines. Parasitic infestations are major veterinary problems in most under-developed countries of the world [3]. The clinical signs of endoparasitism include anemia, weakness, emaciation, poor work performance and sometimes colic and diarrhoea. The most common gastrointestinal parasites in equines are Strongylus vulgaris, S. equinus, S. edentatus, Parascaris equorum, Strongyloides westeri, Trichostrongylus axei, Gastrophilus intestinalis, G. nasalis and Oxyuris equi [4]. Ectoparasites (mites, flies, ticks and lice) cause major problems in equines. These parasites damage the host by inflammation, neoplastic reactions, restlessness, itching and loss of hair, loss of body condition, dull body coat, anemia and dermatitis [5]. Materials and Methods The present study was designed to check the prevalence of ecto-, endo- and blood parasites in horses, mules and donkeys
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and to determine the chemotherapeutic efficacies of 4 different drugs against these parasites affecting equines. A total of 150 equines (50 horses, mules and donkeys each) of different ages, breeds and either sex were recruited to this study from different areas of Faisalabad metropolis for coprological, blood and skin scraping examination in the Diagnostic Laboratory, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan. History was taken using a questionnaire recording the animal description, general health, feeding, housing, watering, deworming and previous medication, according to the nature of infestation by ecto-, endo- and blood parasites. Clinical examination of each animal included recording rectal temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, palpation of lymph nodes, colour of conjunctiva, texture of faeces, urine color, presence of any swelling on the extremities and presence of ectoparasites. Five to ten grams of faeces were collected from the floor or directly from the rectum in polythene bags and labelled. All faecal samples were subject to the direct method and centrifuge flotation method for evaluation of parasites; this was carried out on the same day as collection [4], [6]. Five ml of blood from the jugular vein was taken in a disposable syringe, transferred to a glass tube containing an anticoagulant (EDTA) and labelled. All samples for confirmation of blood parasites were processed on the same day by examination of wet blood film and Giemsa-stained smears as described by [6], [7]. Skin scrapings were collected from infected, reddened, irritated and large lesion areas and placed in a test tube containing 10% KOH (potassium hydroxide) solution. Test tubes were sealed, packed tightly and labelled. The samples were processed for the presence of mange mites through concentration method as described by [8]. Drugs used in the current study were: 1) Oxfendazole suspension (SystamexTM, ICI Pvt. Ltd. Pakistan) TM 2) Ivermectin (Inj. Ivomec , MSD, Pakistan) TM 3) Quinopyramine Sulphate & Quinopyramine Chloride (Inj. Tryban Powder, Arab Veterinary Industrial Co., Jordan) TM 4) Imidocarb dipropionate (Inj. Imizol , Scharing-Plough Animal Health) Treatment and response measurements were as follows: (a) Endo-parasites Thirty equines (horse, mules and donkeys, 10 each) suffering from gastrointestinal parasitism were randomly selected from total number of diseased animals for drug trial and treated with oxfendazole suspension (SystamexTM, ICI Pvt. Ltd. Pakistan) as per the manufacturer's recommendations for equines. The efficacy of drug was determined by microscopic examination of faeces after one week of treatment. (b) Ecto-parasites All cases suffering from ectoparasite infestations (mange mites, ticks and lices) were treated with ivermectin (Inj. IvomecTM) as per the manufacturer's recommendations. Efficacy of the drug was determined by clinical examination and microscopic examination of skin scrapings after one week of treatment. (c) Blood parasites 1) All equines suffering from trypanosomiasis were treated with Quinopyramine sulphate + Quinopyramine chloride (Inj. TM Tryban Powder, Arab Veterinary Industrial Co., Jordan) 2) All equines suffering from babesiosis were treated with imidocarb dipropionate (Inj. ImizolTM, Schering-Plough Animal Health) TM 3) All equines suffering from filariasis (setariasis) were treated with ivermectin (Inj. Ivomec , MSD) as per the manufacturer's recommendations. Efficacies of these three drugs were determined by microscopic examination of blood smears after one week of treatment. Results Prevalence of endoparasites Of the total 150 animals examined, 82 (55%) were found to be positive for different endoparasites: 24 horses (48%), 27 mules (54%) and 31 donkeys (62%). The most prevalent parasitic species identified included large and small Strongylus spp., Oxyuris equi, Parascaris equorum, Trichonema spp. and mixed infections.
Prevalence of ectoparasites Of the total 150 horses, mules and donkeys examined, 14 (9%) were found positive for three different types of mange (Psoroptic, Chorioptic and Sarcoptic). Among the infested equines, 4 horses, 3 mules and 7 donkeys detected positive for mange mites. Three, 1 and 0 horses were found positive for Psoroptic, Sarcoptic and Chorioptic mange mites respectively. The corresponding figures for 3 different types of mange mites in mules were 2, 0 and 1. In donkeys, Sarcoptic mange was the most prevalent (n = 5) type of mange followed by Psoroptic (n = 2). None of 50 donkeys examined tested positive for Chorioptic mange. None of the 150 animals were found to be infested with ticks or lice. Prevalence of blood-parasites Eleven (7%) of 150 equines examined tested positive for blood parasites (Trypanosoma spp., Babesia spp. and Microfilarial spp.); these were 4 horses, 3 mules and 4 donkeys. Two, 1 and 1 horses tested positive for Trypanosoma spp., Babesia spp. and Microfilarial spp. respectively. The corresponding figures for these blood-parasites in mules were 2, 1 and 0. Of the 4 donkeys infested with blood-parasites, 2, 0 and 1 harboured Trypanosoma spp., Babesia spp. and Microfilarial spp., respectively. Treatment trials R The efficacy of oxfendazole (Systamex ) against endoparasites at 7 days post-treatment was found to be 80, 70 and 80% in horses, mules and donkeys, respectively. The efficacy of ivermectin (Inj. IvomecTM) against mange mites was 75, 66 and 75% on day 7 post-treatment in horses, mules and donkeys, respectively. The efficacy of Quinopyramine sulphate + TM TM TM Quinopyramine chloride (Inj. Tryban ), Ivermectin (Inj. Ivomec ) and Imidocarb dipropionate (Inj. Imizole ) against Trypanosoma, microfilarial spp. and babesia spp. respectively in the three equine species investigated was 100%. Discussion Working equines (horses, mules and donkeys) are host to a variety of endo-, ecto-, and heemo-parasitic diseases. Fairly accurate estimates of prevalence of these parasites as well as determination of efficacies of different chemotherapeutics against these parasites are sine qua non for financial resource allocations and control interventions. Eighty-two (55%) of 150 equids investigated in the present study were found positive for endoparasites. Fourteen (9%) equines detected positive for ectoparasites (mange mites only) while 11 (7%) were found positive for blood parasites (Trypanosoma, Babesia spp. and Microfilarial spp.). These results are in agreement with those reported by [9], while [10] reported endo and blood-parasites prevalence of 75 and 10% respectively. A third study [11] determined the prevalence of ectoparasites in 200 Indian army horses in which 31 (15.5%) were found positive. In Rangers' horses in Lahore, [4] found an overall prevalence of 53% affected by endoparasites, 79% with ectoparasites and 32% with both endoparasites and ectoparasites. The prevalence of different parasites is a function of the geoclimatic and managemental conditions of the host animal. An investigation of the parasitic infestations in equines under disorganized husbandry conditions in Kashmir, using examination of faecal samples, found an overall infestation as high as 93%.In the present study, the efficacy of oxfendazole against endoparasites, ivermectin against mange mites and blood parasites, imidocarb dipropionate against babesiosis and quinopyramine sulphate + quinopyramine chloride is line with the findings of previous workers. References [1] Wilson, R.T., 2003. The environmental ecology of oxen used for draught power. Agriculture, Ecosystem and Environment, 97: 21-37 [2] Pritchard, J.C., A.C. Lindberg, D.C.J. Main and H.R. Whay, 2005. Assessment of the welfare of working horses, mules and donkeys using health and behavior parameters. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 69: 265-283 [3] Hayat, B., M.K. Qasim, C.S. Hayat and Z. Iqbal, 1987. Studies on the incidence of gastrointestinal nematodes of horses in Faisalabad city. Pakistan Veterinary Journal, 1: 145-147 [4] Soulsby, E.J.L., 2006. Helminths, Arthropods and Protozoa of Domesticated Animals, 7th Ed. Bailliere Tindall, London, UK [5] Aftab, J., M.S. Khan, K. Pervez, M. Avais and J.A. Khan, 2005. Prevalence and chemotherapy of ecto and endoparasites in Rangers horses at Lahore-Pakistan. International Journal of Agriculture & Biology, 5: 853-854 nd [6] Urquhart, G. M., J. Armour, J.L. Ducan, A.M. Dunn and F.W. Jennings, 2007. Veterinary Parasitology, 2 Ed, Blackwell Science Ltd., Oxford, UK [7] Benjamin, M.M., 1985. Outline of Veterinary Clinical Pathology, 3rd Ed. Kalani Publishers, New Delhi, India. pp: 25-37 rd [8] Anonymous, 1986. Manual of Veterinary Parasitology Techniques, Ministry of Agriculture, Fishries and Food, London. 3 Ed., pp: 104-106 [9] Kamal, N.D., 1995. Comparative efficacy of oxfendazole, albendazole and ivermectin against gastrointestinal nematodes
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of horses. M.Sc (Hons.) thesis, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad [10] Akhtar, N., 2003. Studies on prevalence and chemotherapy of gastrointestinal and blood parasite in horses in and around Faisalabad. M.Sc (Hons.) thesis, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad [11] Rasul, M.T., 2001. A study on the prevalence and control of ectoparasites in army equines and their effects on blood parameters. M.Sc (Hons.) thesis, Department of Veterinary Parasitology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad [12] Pandit, B.A., R.A. Shahardar and L. Jeyabal, 2008. Prevalence of gastrointestinal parasitic infestation in equines of Kashmir Valley. Vol. 3, Article 22 .
LEUKOENCEPHALOMALACIA: FUMONISIN TOXICITY IN A GROUP OF DONKEYS

M. Pourjafar, K. Badiei, and M. Ghane
School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran dmp4m@yahoo.com
Abstract Leukoencephalomalacia is a generally fatal, rapidly progressing neurologic disease of horses (and other equids) caused by ingestion of fumonisin. Fumonisins are a group of toxic metabolites produced by Fusarium spp. and Alternaria spp. fungi, especially Fusarium moniliforme, a species well adapted to tropical climates. The objective of this report is to introduce cases of leukoencephalomalacia in a group of crossbred Iranian donkeys which received mouldy bread for a period of 1 month. The donkeys became increasingly nervous and weak over a period of 5 days. Episodes of head pressing were also observed. On the sixth to seventh day, they were found recumbent. All donkeys died within 1830 hours from the start of recumbency and were necropsied immediately after death. Brain tissue was macroscopically examined and selected areas were sampled for routine histopathology. After obtaining a thorough history and completing a physical examination, it was discovered that the donkeys were being fed mouldy bread. Analysis of a sample of the mouldy bread revealed fumonisin B1 at 65.2ppm. Pathological examination revealed normal cut surface of the brain. There was multifocal liquefactive necrosis of the white matter with infiltration of large numbers of macrophages in the areas of necrosis. It was characterized by liquefactive necrosis of the cerebral white matter. There were no other lesions in other parts of the body. Fumonisins are environmental toxins produced by the moulds Fusarium moniliforme (F. verticilloides), F. proliferatum, and other Fusarium species that grow on agricultural commodities in the field or during storage. Fumonisin B1, fumonisin B2, and fumonisin B3 are the major fumonisins produced in nature. It has been reported that rations of equines should contain less than 5ppm (FB1 + FB2 + FB3). The concentration of fumonisin B1 in this report was 65.2ppm, which was too high. Onset of clinical signs can occur 121 weeks after beginning to eat feeds containing fumonisin, but generally occur within 29 weeks. Time of onset depends on the concentration of fumonisins in the feed. Clinical signs of fumonisin poisoning in equids are usually related to liquefactive necrosis of the white matter of the brain and include progressive ataxia, depression, anorexia, delirium, aimless wandering, recumbency, coma, and death. Death can occur from 12 hours to 1 week after onset of clinical signs. It was concluded that the clinical signs and pathological findings of this poisoning in donkeys closely resemble those in horses. Introduction Leukoencephalomalacia is a generally fatal, rapidly progressing neurologic disease of horses (and other equids) caused by ingestion of fumonisin. Equine leukoencephalomalacia has been recognized since the mid-1800s and has long been associated with the ingestion of corn contaminated with Fusarium moniliforme. Fumonisins are a group of toxic metabolites produced by Fusarium spp. and Alternaria spp. fungi, especially Fusarium moniliforme [1, 3], a species well adapted to tropical climates [5]. Among the several types of fumonisin known, fumonisin B1 (FB1), B2 (FB2), and B3 (FB3) have been isolated from naturally contaminated foods and feeds. FB1, the most toxic of these compounds [6], is produced in large amounts and is responsible for various toxicoses in domestic animals, including equine leukoencephalomalacia [4], pulmonary oedema, and hydrothorax in pigs [5] and carcinogenity in rats [1]. FB1, FB2, and FB3 are generally found in feed at a ratio of 8:2:1 [6]. The dramatic clinical signs and extensive brain lesions, in both natural and experimental cases of this disease, have resulted in numerous reports on the neurological syndrome [2]. The objective of this report is to introduce cases of leukoencephalomalacia in a group of crossbred Iranian donkeys which received mouldy bread for a period of 1 month. Description of the case The episode occurred in a farm located in the Shiraz suburbs, Fars Province, Iran, during autumn 2008, when a 5-
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year-old crossbred donkey (body weight 115kg) was affected. Two donkeys (2 and 4 years old) presented clinical signs of leukoencephalomalacia 9 days later and the fourth donkey (4 years old) showed similar signs 4 days later. The donkeys became increasingly nervous and weak over a period of 5 days. Episodes of head pressing were also observed. On the sixth to seventh day in the course of illness, they were found recumbent. All donkeys died within 1830 hours from the start of recumbency and were necropsied immediately after death. Brain tissue was macroscopically examined and selected areas were sampled for routine histopathology. After obtaining a thorough history and completing a physical examination, it was discovered that the donkeys were being fed mouldy bread. Analysis of a sample of the mouldy bread was done. Results Analysis of a sample of the mouldy bread revealed FB1 at 65.2ppm. Pathological examination revealed normal cut surface of the brain. There was multifocal liquefactive necrosis of the white matter with infiltration of large numbers of macrophages in the areas of necrosis. It was characterized by liquefactive necrosis of the cerebral white matter. There were no other lesions in other parts of the body. Discussion Contamination of feedstuffs by fumonisin and the consequent onset of leukoencephalomalacia are known to occur worldwide [1, 6]. A seasonal occurrence of leukoencephalomalacia has also been described, associated with the ingestion of mouldy feedstuffs and the isolation of Fusarium moniliforme from feeds [5]. Seasonality of leukoencephalomalacia outbreaks may be linked with the humidity levels required for growth of Fusarium moniliforme and production of FB1 in significant amounts. The concentration of FB1 detected in our study at 65.2ppm means it was 6 times higher than the known toxic concentration for equids [4, 5]. The clinical course of leukoencephalomalacia is directly related to the amount of toxin ingested and may be influenced by individual tolerance. Clinical disease may be observed from a few hours to several days after consumption of contaminated rations, but a correct diagnosis is normally possible after an average period of 72 hours. Feed containing more than 10g/g of FB1 is considered toxic and of high risk if administered to animals. Previous studies of leukoencephalomalacia outbreaks have shown that feed contaminated with 1126g/g of FB1 produces clinical signs of the disease in horses [6]. Although the signs consisting of lack of coordination, aggressiveness, recumbency, and eventual death were indicative of leukoencephalomalacia, the definitive diagnosis was based on determination of FB1 levels in the corn feed as well as gross and histological findings. Histopathology revealed areas of necrosis in the white matter of the CNS yet these lesions were not extensive. It is stated that a reduced spread of necrosis could be related to the short time of exposure to the toxin [4]. A conclusive clinical diagnosis of leukoencephalomalacia is often very difficult due to the fact that the neurological signs are similar to those consequent to the neurological alterations that occur due to encephalitis and rabies [2]. Therefore, a conclusive diagnosis must be based on gross and histopathologic alterations of the CNS together with the detection of fumonisin in contaminated rations. The disease is best prevented by not feeding fumonisin-contaminated feedstuffs to equids [2, 3, 6]. References [1] Osweiler GD: Mycotoxins. In: The Veterinary Clinics of North America Equine Practice, eds. Galey FD and Turner AS, vol 17, no 3, pp 54766. WB Saunders, Philadelphia, PA, 2001. [2] Summers BA, Cummings JF, and de Lahunta A: Degenerative diseases of the central nervous system. In: Veterinary Neuropathology, pp 27071. Mosby, St Louis, MO, 1995. [3] Uhlinger C: Clinical and epidemiologic features of an epizootic of equine leukoencephalomalacia. J Am Vet Med Assoc 198: 1268, 1991. [4] Uhlinger C: Leukoencephalomalacia. In: The Veterinary Clinics of North America Equine Practice, eds. Lfstedt J, Collatos C, and Turner AS, vol 12, no 1, pp 1320. WB Saunders, Philadelphia, PA, 1997. [5] Wilkins PH, Vaala WE, Zivotofsky D, and Twitchell ED: A herd outbreak of equine leukoencephalomalacia. 267
Cornell Vet 84: 539, 1994. [6] Wilson TM, Ross PF, and Nelson PE: Fumonisin mycotoxins and equine leukoencephalomalacia. J Am Vet Med Assoc 198: 11045, 1991.
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THE INCIDENCE AND TYPE OF EQUINE SKIN TUMOURS IN SOUTH IRAN, 19952005
M. Pourjafar1, K. Badiei1, and A. Derakhshanfar2
2
School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran School of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran dmp4m@yahoo.com
Abstract The skin is one of the largest organs of the body; however it rarely receives the attention given to other organ systems. The skin seems prone to many problems and the only sure way for diagnosis is removal and laboratory examination. Skin biopsy can be used to determine the histological distribution and structural alterations, and may provide a definitive diagnosis. Skin tumours are relatively uncommon and this report is the results of a survey of skin tumours in horses referred to Kazeroun Veterinary Teaching Hospital in south Iran (Fars province) between 1995 and 2005. Age, sex, colour, and use of the animals were recorded. In this period 88 horses with skin tumours were diagnosed. The tumours were surgically removed and samples were submitted for histopathological examinations. The frequencies of different types of tumours were as follows: 36 (40.1%) cases of melanoma, 27 (30.7%) cases of sarcoids, 19 (21.6%) cases of Squamous cell carcinoma, and 6 (6.8%) cases of papilloma. Male and female horses were approximately equally affected. Melanomas were seen mainly underneath the tail and external genitalia (91%). Other affected regions included the ear, eyelid, neck, lips, and limbs (9%). The sarcoids were observed on the head (61%), abdomen (24%), and around the chest, ears, and lower limbs (15%). Cases of Squamous cell carcinoma were most commonly diagnosed on the eye, conjunctiva, and ocular adnexal structures. Papillomas were seen near the rectum and close to the eyes. Melanomas were mainly observed in aged horses (917 years old). The sumpter horses were mostly affected by melanomas. The grey horses were mostly affected in the Kazeroun region. Other reports indicate that melanomas affect 80100% of ageing grey horses, but occur less frequently in horses of other colours. Although it is generally understood that sarcoids are the most common tumours in horses, in this study the most commonly seen tumours were melanomas. The age range of the affected horses was 417 years. Introduction The horse's skin is its largest organ, ranging 1224% of the animal's weight, depending on age. There are 3 major layers that make up the horse's skin. These various cellular and tissue components consist of the epidermis, dermis, and subcutis. The skin is the first line of defence between the horse's delicate innards and the hostile environment surrounding them. It protects the rest of the body from physical injury and invasions from insects, microorganisms, and poisons. It helps regulate the horse's body temperature. Horses might be confronted with a number of skin problems. They may encounter bacterial, viral, parasitic, and fungal skin diseases. Some horses suffer from saddle sores, dandruff, photosensitization, itchy skin, and allergic skin reactions. Horses also suffer from skin tumours such as sarcoids, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanomas. Sarcoids, squamous cell carcinomas, and melanomas are 3 of the most common neoplasms in horses; with early recognition, accurate diagnosis, and appropriate treatment, the prognosis for continued use and long-term survival for most horses with these tumours is good. Skin biopsy can be used to determine the histological distribution and structural alterations, and may provide a definitive diagnosis. Skin tumours are relatively uncommon and this report is the result of a survey of skin tumours in horses referred to the Kazeroun Veterinary Teaching Hospital in south Iran (Fars province) between 1995 and 2005. Materials and methods This study evaluated the incidence and type of equine skin tumours during the 10-year period between 1995 and 2005. The study involved the population of the affected horses that were referred to Kazeroun Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Age, sex, colour, and use of the animals (sumpter or riding horse) were recoded. The tumours were surgically removed and samples were submitted for histopathological examinations. 269
Results The frequencies of different types of tumours were as follows: 36 (40.1%) cases of melanoma, 27 (30.7%) cases of sarcoids, 19 (21.6%) cases of Squamous cell carcinoma, and 6 (6.8%) cases of papilloma. Male and female horses were approximately equally affected. Melanomas were seen mainly underneath the tail and external genitalia (91%). Other affected regions included the ear, eyelid, neck, lips, and limbs (9%). The sarcoids were observed on the head (61%), abdomen (24%), and around the chest, ears, and lower limbs (15%). Cases of Squamous cell carcinoma were most commonly diagnosed on the eye, conjunctiva, and ocular adnexal structures. Papillomas were seen near the rectum and close to the eyes. Melanomas were mainly observed in aged horses (917 years old). The sumpter horses were mostly affected by melanomas. The grey horses were mostly affected in the Kazeroun region. The age range of the affected horses was 417 years. Discussion Horses can be afflicted with several types of skin tumour. The equine sarcoid is a locally aggressive, fibroblastic skin tumour, which can appear as a flat or cauliflower-like growth either singularly or as multiple growths, usually in a young horse. It is the most common dermatological neoplasia reported in horses. It is widely accepted that the bovine papillomavirus (BPV) types 1 and 2 are associated with the pathogenesis of sarcoids [1]. Papillomaviruses are also associated with warts in humans. Sarcoids usual appear in younger horses and may spontaneously disappear. The distribution of lesions and the epidemiology of sarcoids strongly suggest that flies are significant as vectors [2, 3]. There is no consistently effective therapy and therefore veterinarians use a variety of treatments, including: ligation, surgical excision, cryosurgery, laser surgery, topical application of cytotoxic compounds (e.g. zinc chloride, 5FU cream (called Efudex in Canada)) or intra-lesional injections of cisplatin, immunomodulation (e.g. EqStim, BCG), and autogenous polymerized tumour particles (vaccine made from a sarcoid). Commonly, when one or a few of the sarcoids are removed, an immunization response occurs and the remaining sarcoids disappear. Squamous cell carcinomas can be aggressive tumours that occur around the eye and the penis in adult horses. They are the most common penile and preputial neoplasm in the horse [4]. Smegma, the waxy exudates found around the penis and sheath is suggested as being the most likely carcinogen [5]. These tumours may metastasize to regional lymph nodes if not treated aggressively. Therefore, any change in skin pigmentation around the eye, penis, or sheath should be immediately examined by a veterinarian. Treatment options include surgical excision, cryosurgery, or laser surgery. Reoccurrence after treatment can be expected in 1725% of cases [4]. For the Percheron breed and horses that are white or dappled in colour, the most common neoplasia is the melanoma or melanocytic tumour. It is not the case of whether a grey horse will develop a melanoma(s) but, rather, when and where it will develop. Melanomas are not a single entity but a complexity of equine proliferative cutaneous melanocytic lesions with at least 3 different forms, including: melanocytic nevi (melanocytoma), dermal melanomata (if there are multiple, confluent dermal melanomas, this is referred to as dermal melanomatosis), and anaplastic malignant melanomata [1, 6]. These tumours commonly appear under the tail, perineum, and external genitalia, as well as the parotid area (behind the jaw). They are usually slow-growing, locally-invasive tumours with the potential to metastasize internally. Surgical excision, cryosurgery, or laser surgery can be used to remove those melanomas that are bothersome to the horse and owner. Cimetidine, a histamine H2-receptor antagonist that is used in humans to inhibit the production of acid in the stomach, has been used to slow the growth of melanomas with mixed results. References [1] Schniger S and Summers BA. Equine skin tumours in 20 horses resembling three variants of human melanocytic naevi. Vet Dermatol 2009, 20(3):16573. [2] Knottenbelt D. Skin neoplasia: sarcoid. In: 9th Congresso Nazionale Multisala SIVE, Pisa, 2003. [3] Yu AA. Sarcoids. Proc American Association of Equine Practitioners 2006; 52:47883. [4] van den Top JG, de Heer N, Klein WR, and Ensink JM. Penile and preputial squamous cell carcinoma in the horse: a retrospective study of treatment of 77 affected horses. Equine Vet J 2008, 40(6):5337. [5] Lopate C, LeBlanc M, and Knottenbelt D. The stallion. Neoplasms of the reproductive organs. In: Equine stud farm medicine and surgery. London, Saunders, Elsevier Science, 2003: ch 4, 1004. 270
[6] Valentine BA. Equine melanocytic tumours: a retrospective study of 53 horses (19881991). J Vet Internal Medicine 1995, 9(5):2917.
RISK FACTORS FOR WITHER LESIONS IN TOURIST-RIDING MULES OF GAURIKUND, UTTARAKHAND, INDIA
S. F. Zaman1, M. Aravindan1, S. R. Thanammal1, C. Roy1, A. C. Childs2, and R. A. Eager2 The Brooke-India, F-86 Preet Vihar, Delhi 11009, India The Brooke UK, The Brooke, 30 Farringdon Street, London, EC4A 4HH, UK zaman@thebrookeindia.org Abstract The pilgrimage site of Kedernath and nearby village of Gaurikund are collecting points for large numbers of working ponies and mules who carry pilgrims 14km into the mountains. These animals and their owners work long hours and suffer harsh climatic conditions. A welfare assessment in 2004 found wither lesions to be prevalent among working mules with 49% of animals suffering from the issue. This study sought to identify risk factors for wither lesions in working mules with the aim of better informing preventative animal welfare project planning and implementation. A field-based survey was used to investigate the association between potential risk factors (identified by the local stakeholders and researchers) and the prevalence and severity of wither lesions. 140 mules and their equipment were assessed during work; whilst resting and with their saddles off and on. Linear and logistic regression was used to identify associations between variables. Three potential risk factors were identified. Low body condition score, dirty coat hair and wet padding were all found to be associated with an increased incidence of wither lesions (P<0.05). These issues were shared with project staff enabling incorporation into preventative and awareness-raising messages, which were then used to inform animal welfare projects in the area. Introduction 'The Shrines of Lord Shiva' is a pilgrimage site in the village of Kedernath in Northern India. Access to the site is limited with vehicular access available only to the village of Gaurikund, 14 km below. Thousands of pilgrims visit the site every year between May and October with many using ponies or mules to climb the steep, rocky path to the site from Gaurikund. During the pilgrimage season, large numbers of working equines and their owners congregate in Gaurikund to transport pilgrims. In 2004, a welfare assessment of the working equines of Gaurikund was carried out, identifying that 41% of animals had lesions in the wither area. Further studies in 2007 found a similar prevalence of 33%. The equine population was found to be composed of approximately 16% ponies and 84% mules. Wither lesions were found to be a more prevalent in mules compared to ponies (49% and 14% of each species respectively). Wither lesions were identified as a significant source of pain and discomfort for these animals and therefore further investigation was recommended. This study was designed to identify potential risk factors for wither lesions in the mules carrying pilgrims from Gaurikund to Kedernath with the aim of informing preventative measures and recommendations. In uncontrolled environments such as this, many factors may contribute towards the development of lesions in a complex and interactive manner. Methodology A comprehensive list of potential risk factors was generated through researcher observation and focus group discussion with animal owners, farriers and saddlers. This included factors related to the animal, resource, owner and environment. Methods for measurement/assessment of each variable were determined, tested and recorded in a guidance document. A data capture sheet was developed. Table 1 shows a selection of the measures taken in each section.
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5 Decision-Making in Health and Disease were applied to the forehead of the animals.
Animal Attitude of animal Wither touch response Body Condition score Shoe condition & fit Animal size Coat condition Cow hock Lesion size & severity Swelling Discharge/wetness Gender Age Shoe Spine confirmation
Saddle On No. of girth straps Girth attachment, tightness & position Girth shape Padding material Handling ring position Saddle height & position Stirrup length, position & fastening
Saddle Off Padding cover Protrusions on saddle, girth etc Padding size, material & thickness Padding wetness Pommel size Saddle curve Saddle condition Breach band material, size and attachment Crouper presence and attachment Breast strap presence & attachment Girth strap dimensions & wetness
During work Pilgrim size & gender Animal pace Track wetness Pilgrim riding position Driver behaviour Lameness Animal slipping
Data were entered on a spreadsheet using MS Excel and analysed using linear and logistic regression (SAS, SAS Institute Inc.). A P value of <0.05 was taken to indicate the significance level. Results Analysis revealed a number of significant associations between potential risk factors and the presence or absence of wither lesions. As the body condition score decreases (i.e. the animal gets thinner) the incidence of broken skin lesions (severity 2) at wither area increases (P= 0.0047) As the coat condition of the animal gets dirtier the incidence of broken skin lesions at wither area (P=0.0057) increases. See Figure 1. Wetness of the padding is associated with increased prevalence of broken skin lesions at wither area (P=0.0003). (Padding is the bundle of layers on the back of animal below the saddle.)
Figure 1. The association between coat condition and presence or absence of wither wounds Discussion Three factors were identified as potential risk factors for wither lesions in working mules. Due to the complex, multifaceted nature of this system it is impossible to be truly certain of causal factors for wither lesions. This study aims to identify the predominant risk factors, which would, if altered, be likely to lead to a significant improvement in the prevalence of wither lesions. As the body condition score decreases the incidence of broken skin lesions at wither area increases There may be a number of reasons why decreased body condition was found to be associated with an increased incidence of broken skin lesions. A higher body condition score implies increased muscle and fat all over the body, which may provide a natural cushion to the animal. In addition to this, increased body condition score suggests greater strength and vigour and better general health. Animals with lower body condition are often weak, with visible bony prominences and minimal amount of fat deposition, which could lead to an increased tendency for lesions to form. As the coat condition of the animal gets dirtier the incidence of broken skin lesions at wither area increases Dirt can produce resistance of movement of the saddle and makes the wither area and saddle soiled. Friction by the saddle (over wither) causes broken skin lesions. Dirt also may cause contamination of the lesion through micro-organisms and may
Table 1. Selection of measures recorded The template was then tested in the field and measurements and observations were standardized between observers before data collection. The equine population was estimated by averaging numbers gained from government records, The total population of mules was therefore found to be approximately 2000. A stratified sampling plan was used and 140 mules were selected randomly from the population. Sampling aimed to ensure adequate representation of animals with and without lesions in the sample population. All the animals were assessed during the animal's rest period, saddle on time, saddle off time, and during work (for this each animal was followed about 1km along the track from Gaurikund). To avoid repetition, identification marks (burgundy dye)
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6 Animal Health and Husbandry Systems
indicate lack of awareness of grooming and wound care. Burn et al (2002) have also identified an association between dirty equipment and tail lesions in working donkeys. In both situations it is unclear whether dirty coat condition may be a cause or an effect or both Wetness of the padding is associated with increased prevalence of broken skin lesions at wither area Padding material consists of 34 layers of blankets put over the back of animal before putting on the saddle. The association between padding wetness and increased lesion prevalence could be explained by increased chaffing of the skin in wet conditions. Wetness may be due to rain or sweat or may be a discharge from an existing lesion. Therefore, as with coat condition, there is a possibility that this association is an effect of the lesions rather than a cause or association. Conclusion Findings were shared with project staff and will be used in the development of awareness-raising materials (posters and preventative messages) for animal owners, farriers and saddlers during treatment camps and awareness-raising sessions. These findings act as guidance for the development of these materials thus improving resource allocation. References Burn, C.C., Pritchard, J.C., Farajat, M., Twaissi, A.A. & Whay, H.R. (2008) Risk factors for strap-related lesions in working donkeys at the World Heritage Site of Petra in Jordan. The Veterinary Journal 178(2): 263-71.
THE REAL AND RECURRENT COSTS OF DEVELOPING AND SUSTAINING EFFECTIVE HEALTH-CARE DELIVERY SYSTEMS: 'THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM'
P. Poore
Evidence for Development, UK
Introduction This is a brief review of my experience of health-care development over the last 37 years in many of the poorest countries of the world. There are many striking similarities between the problems and the solutions of delivering human and equid healthcare [1] services. The common factor is that poor people with many competing priorities for limited resources have few choices when deciding how to use their assets for the benefit of their families. They may have long-held cultural beliefs and attitudes, including harmful practices, and when care is available it is often of poor quality and may even be damaging to health. This paper focuses on the problems of developing and sustaining effective health-care delivery systems, and particularly the real and recurrent costs of ensuring quality that are often forgotten but remain 'the elephant in the room'. In 1978, the world, through the WHO, UNICEF, and member states, made a first commitment to provide Health for All by the year 2000. The strategy to be used was defined in the Alma Ata Declaration of Primary Health Care. This remains especially relevant today as it considers 'health' (PHC) from the broadest aspect. For example, primary health care (PCH) involves, in addition to the health sector, all related sectors and aspects of national and community development, in particular agriculture, animal husbandry, food, industry, education, housing, public works, communications and other sectors; and demands the coordinated efforts of all those sectors. The declaration was and is much more than a call to treat and prevent disease. It required a major shift in wealth distribution and in the politics of decision-making. As such, it was a document that challenged many existing political structures and economic interests. Not surprisingly, perhaps, it did not always find the practical and financial support that was crucial for its success in the long term. Throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and the first decade of 2000, the focus of much of the effort to improve human health has been on the control and even eradication of specific diseases through the delivery of vaccines, bed nets, medicines, including antibiotics, and simple techniques like rehydration therapy. There have been many successes with these strategies, with a reduction worldwide in most of the diseases that commonly kill or disable. On the other hand, significant gains in health were made long before the advent of vaccines and antibiotics, largely attributable to improvements in public health measures including food security, water, sanitation, shelter, and education the other social determinants of health. In 2010, although a great deal has been achieved for many, including the eradication and control of some diseases, and a reduction of mortality in children worldwide, especially amongst the better off, 'Health for All' remains a dream. Many are denied access to these benefits. The gap between rich and poor grows. Inequity within and between countries remains and widens. And at the same time new threats are emerging, including a global economic crisis, water and food insecurity, resource conflicts, population movements, climate changes, and potential epidemics. Health care systems: the devil is in the detail To be able to deliver anything to anyone, anywhere, there has to be a system and this system can be likened to a chain with many links. Like any chain, its strength lies in its weakest link. The concept of health systems has been
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around for decades, but governments and donors have only recently taken the problem of sustaining such systems seriously. Even now the reality of the costs, especially the recurrent costs of an effective system, have been either ignored or underestimated. (Estimates in 1993 put the figure at $12 per capita per year. Today, $60 has been suggested.) In reality, the figure clearly varies widely depending on context and the quality of the care offered. Of course, it is quite possible to deliver anything to anyone anywhere, if the resources are available. But unless every link in the chain of delivery is secured with skilled staff providing high-quality care to people who recognise the value of that care, it will fail. Although international health assistance has quadrupled over two decades rising to US$21.8 billion in 2007 [3] attempts to solve the long-term problem of funding and support, especially of recurrent costs of health delivery systems, have been less successful. In all discussions on 'development' this inability to ensure continuous and adequate support to these systems indefinitely in the poorest countries remains 'the elephant in the room'. Health-care system development: the detail The people Any system consists mainly of people, those who are the recipients of care and those who provide it. So a first requirement is to understand what the recipients of care need, what they think they need, what they want, what is already available to them, and how they currently respond to health concerns. Knowing what people do and why they do it is no easy task given the great diversity of human activity and circumstance. And yet, unless this is known by those seeking to help, any intervention will be based on at best incomplete, and at worst inaccurate, knowledge of local reality. The next requirement is for providers, people at every link in the chain, including health workers, drivers, mechanics, etc. They all need to be supplied with the means to do their job, including salaries, and they all need continuous support, including continuous education to ensure that the quality of the care they offer remains effective. Quality of care Measuring the accuracy of diagnosis and treatment of common conditions by health workers is difficult. The value of any treatment will obviously depend upon the right medicine being prescribed for the right disease. Inaccuracy of either will be ineffective, costly, and possibly dangerous. The cost of ensuring that health workers' training is maintained and reinforced, and that they have continuous support, is not fully known. It is likely to be high. If these costs are not fully met, then this 'link' in the chain will be broken and the quality of the service will suffer. At the same time, the quality of drugs at many commercial drug stores in less developed countries is inadequate, with up to 40% of drugs in some outlets found to be counterfeit and ineffective. The impact of this can be catastrophic. The problem of access and transport The decision to go to a health facility will be influenced by many things, including the cost in time and money spent travelling, local social and cultural beliefs, gender, age, the specific disease, the availability of transport, and the perceived value of the service offered at the health centre. The mobile health clinic has a long history but, in my experience, the requirements for fuel, maintenance, spare parts, driver skills, and salaries are often the cause of its failure. The problem of cost, especially recurrent costs External donors often provide capital costs and start-up costs. The recurrent costs of salaries, supplies, consumables, continuing education, and fuel are usually provided by national governments; and, for many governments, competing priorities mean that these recurrent costs are not met. The full costs of high-quality care in specific contexts are not known. Poverty and health 277
Though it is clear that the wealthy are more likely to enjoy higher standards of health than the poor, the relationship between health, poverty, wealth, and inequity still requires much greater definition. Thirty years ago in Sri Lanka, Meegama showed that at village level, under-5 mortality was concentrated in a few households. It is well known that a relative minority suffers the burden of poor health in any community, though the categorisation of that minority remains elusive. The need to understand more fully what happens at a very local level and what choices people have in times of economic stress is the key to developing a much more radical approach to ensuring health for all. Data collection and accuracy Policy decisions should depend upon reliable and accurate data. However, information is power. Data are often collected, analysed, and manipulated to satisfy governments and donors, as well as non-government organisations, all needing to show that what they are doing really works. Reality, especially at the household level, is complex. Techniques to measure poverty are flawed. Evidence for Development [4] offers a new approach to understanding poverty at and within the household. Notes and references [1] The Brooke's international strategy: a review and next steps, 2010. [2] Declaration of Alma-Ata, International Conference on Primary Health Care, Alma-Ata, USSR, 612 September 1978. [3] Ravishankar N, Gubbins P, Cooley RJ, et al. Financing of global health: tracking development assistance for health from 1990 to 2007. Lancet 2009, 373: 211324. This compares to the $1.5 trillion spent globally every year on military expenditures. [4] See evidencefordevelopment.com.
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WORKING EQUINE FEEDING PRACTICES IN UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA: WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO HORSE AND MULE
R. K. Rao, T. Agrawal T, R. K. Ravikumar, and S. R. Gupta
The Brooke Hospital for Animals (India), F-86 Preet Vihar, Delhi 110092, India ratnesh@thebrookeindia.org
Saharanpur
1 15 + UT
10 146
Introduction In India there are around 1.58 million equines contributing to 0.33% of the total livestock population [1]. They are primarily kept in the region of the Himalayan belt and scarcely distributed in other parts of the country. They are fed with crop residues, agro-industrial by-products, and locally available green fodder. Optimizing rations is a huge challenge for equine owners in this low-input system. This study was undertaken to understand the prevailing feeding practices for working equines (horse and mule) and to facilitate 1 group of equine owners developing an improved feed mix. Methodology The study was conducted to ascertain the feeding systems and local feed and fodder used in equine-rearing practices, and their seasonal variation. The study was conducted in some pockets of Delhi and 7 districts of Uttar Pradesh, i.e. Bulandshahr, Bijnore, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Noida, and Saharanpur (Table 1). A total of 146 respondents with at least 1 equine animal at the time of investigation were selected randomly and interviewed through a structured schedule. These respondents came from 15 villages of the selected districts of Uttar Pradesh and Union Territory Delhi. They engaged their animals mainly in brick-kiln activities which take place in the winter and summer seasons. In the rainy season, equines are used for transportation of people or agricultural produce. The interview schedule was pre-tested before use in a non-sample area and interviews were conducted by Veterinary Assistant cum Community Motivators (VACM) trained in collecting information. The information on items such as feed/fodder offered in different seasons was noted on the basis of recall by equine owners. Following this, a case study was undertaken to facilitate the design of a successful location-specific feed mix by equine owners in the Brooke Hospital operational area. Table 1. Equine owners selected S. no. District Delhi 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bulandshahr Bijnore Ghaziabad Meerut Muzaffarnagar Noida No. of villages UT 3 2 4 2 2 1 No. of respondents selected 10 21 18 36 20 20 11
Results: age and body weight The average age of horses and mules among the sample population was found to be 7.91 (5.11? 0.45SE) and 7.08 years (3.83? 0.52SE) respectively. The average body weight of horses among the study population was 231.07kg (57.04? 5.76SE); and for mules, 226.25kg (62.90? 8.41SE). Results: feeding pattern Method of feeding On average, equine owners provided drinking water 5.01 times (1.53? 0.13SE) and fed their animals 3.77 times (1.89? 0.15SE) per day. About 50% of equine owners indicated that during each feeding session about 3.72kg (1.72? 0.19SE) of feed was offered. Straws/stovers were chaffed to enhance voluntary intake; in a few circumstances the owners soaked them in water. Grains such as chana (gram) were mixed with bran to ensure proper mastication. The owners offered grains either in the feed trough or used separate utensils according to location. The feeding pattern for dry fodder, green fodder, and concentrate is given in Table 2. Grazing pattern Brick-kiln season. 7.40% of equine owners allowed their animals for at least a 2-hour grazing period and 50% allowed less than 1 hour; the remaining 42% of equine owners did not allow their animals time for grazing. Brick-kiln off-season. 64.19% of equine owners took their animals for grazing and 35.81% fed their animals in their stalls. About 80 equine owners (54.05%) could specifically indicate grazing periods for their animals with an average grazing duration of 2.84 hours per day (1.32? 0.14SE). Table 2. Feeding pattern among equines S. no. Season Dry fodder (kg/day) Green fodder mean (? SE) (kg/day) mean (? SE) Concentrate (kg/day) Mean (? SE)
Horse (n=98) 1 2 3 Mule (n=50) 1 2 3

a, b
Summer (brick kiln) 3.83 (1.950.19)a Rainy (off -season) Winter (brick kiln) 2.95 (2.040.20)
a,b
6.80 (5.930.59)
2.50 (1.790.18)
a,b
11.48 (9.94 1.00) 8.51 (7.330.74)b
2.08 (1.870.19)
3.86 (2.190.22)b
3.31 (2.240.22)a,b
Summer (brick kiln) 5.11 (2.610.37)a,b Rainy (off-season) Winter (brick kiln) 3.21 (2.400.33) 3.48 (2.440.35)
a
4.51 (3.630.51) 6.05 (5.160.73) 4.30 (3.770.53)
2.32 (1.940.27) 1.77 (1.660.23) 2.63 (2.000.28)
a,b
a,b
Difference between means is more than 2.58SE (2-tailed test) (1% level of significance)
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Dry fodder About 95% of equine owners fed mostly straws and stovers like wheat bhoosa for to provide bulk to the feed. There was a significant difference in feeding dry fodder between the brick-kiln season (both summer and winter) and brick-kiln off-season for horses. In the case of mules, the feeding of dry fodder during the summer (brick-kiln season) was significantly higher than in the brick-kiln off-season (rainy) and the winter season (brick-kiln season) (Table 2). Green fodder Equine owners fed mostly doob/hariyali grass (Cynodon dactylon) which is a perennial fodder along with locally available green grass forages, such as oats (Avena sativa) and berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum L). Doob grass contains 1012% protein and is an important part of the maintenance ration [2]. It was found that feeding of green fodder during the brick-kiln season (both summer and winter) was found to be significantly lower than in the brickkiln off-season for both species (Table 2). Concentrate In the case of horses, it was found that the level of concentrate feeding during the winter brick-kiln season was significantly higher than in the summer brick-kiln season and rainy brick-kiln off-season. However, in the case of mules, feeding of concentrate during brick-kiln season was found to be significantly higher than the brick-kiln offseason (Table 2). Table 3 indicates that nutritive value of rice bran was considered lower than wheat bran due to extraction of vital nutrients and mixing of rice husks [3]. Feed supplements Equine owners described how feeding fresh grass provides adequate energy (28.38%) and protein (27.03%) for their animals. About 67% of equine owners provided salt (3050g/day) to their animals to enhance digestion and water intake. It was found that 25% of equine owners provided jaggery (gud) to protect animals from tiredness and cold and to aid proper digestion. They fed a maximum 500g/day jaggery during winter and 100250g during the summer season; and administered 150200g ghee twice a month during summer as a protein (39.19%) and energy (58.11%) supplement (Table 3). During winter they provided 150200g mustard oil instead of ghee. Table 3. Functions/benefits of feed materials as perceived by equine owners S. Feed material no. Nutritional characteristics Protein source: frequency (%) Dry fodder 1 Wheat bhoosa 2 (1.35) 8 (5.41) 141 (95.27) 2 (1.35) 1 (0.68) Energy source: frequency (%) Roughage: frequency (%) Rich in minerals: frequency (%) Any other: frequency (%)
Concentrate 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Kanna or kammu (rice bran) Gehu/choker (wheat bran) Chunni (gram husk) Grain - chana (gram) Grain - jau (barley) Grain - jai (oat) 71 (47.97) Grain - owar (sorghum) Grain - bajra (pearl millet) 20 (13.51) 36 (24.32) 33 (22.30) 114 (77.03) 64 (43.24) 71 (47.97) 24 (16.22) 58 (39.19) 47 (31.76) 37 (25.00) 35 (23.65) 125 (84.46) 73 (49.32) 59 (39.86) 25 (16.89) 73 (49.32) 80 (54.05) 97 (65.54) 26 (17.57) 35 (23.65) 20 (13.51) 27 (18.24) 16 (10.81) 18 (12.16) 16 (10.81) 20 (13.51) 28 (18.92) 83 (56.08) 53 (35.81) 34 (22.97) 14 (9.46) 48 (32.43) 4 (2.70) 18 (12.16) 0 (0.00) 4 (2.70) 4 (2.70) 0 (0.00) 4 (2.70) 3 (2.03)
Feed supplements 11 12 13 Gud (jaggery) Salt Ghee 44 (29.73) 22 (14.86) 58 (39.19) 89 (60.14) 8 (5.41) 86 (58.11) 5 (3.38) 1 (0.68) 0 (0.00) 30 (20.27) 13 (8.78) 35 (23.65) 37 (25.00) 99 (66.89) 13 (8.78)
Results: use of local knowledge to improve better feeding practices adaptive research Farmer involvement in identifying and developing rations Equine owners in Bijnore district of Uttar Pradesh, India mostly depended on chana (gram) for animal feed and felt the need to have cost-effective, balanced rations. A village meeting was called on 20 March 2009 where group leaders and Mr Desh Raj Singh, adviser and promoter of community welfare, deliberated along with the Brooke team. A decision was made to prepare a mixed feed of 300kg material at the rate of 4,875 Indian rupees (IR) (Table 4). The cost of such a mixed feed was found to be IR16.25 per kg which was much cheaper than a single ration containing gram at IR28/kg. Mr Desh Raj Singh volunteered to prepare such a feed mix and an advance of IR5,000 was given to him. About 11 owners readily agreed to feed the mix and 25 animals were fed. Based on their experience they also suggested adding 2% salt to the mix. Table 4. Feed composition agreed by equine owners S. no. 1 2 3 Feed stuff (regional name) Jau Bajra Makka Chana Feed stuff (English name) Barley Pearl millet Maize Gram Feed stuff (scientific name) Hordeum vulgare Pennisetum americanum (L.) Leek Zea mays Cicer arietinum Cost per quintal (IR) 1,300 1,100 1,300 2,800 Cost per 75kg feed material (IR) 975 825 975 2,100 282
Green fodder 2 Fresh grass (green fodder) 42 (28.38) 40 (27.03) 87 (58.78) 71 (47.97) 4 (2.70) 4 281
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The equine owners evaluated the mixed feed based on: Enhanced vigour, indicated by speed with which animal returned to work Enhanced alertness, indicated by quick response to stimuli Enhanced body condition, indicated by glowing skin condition [4]. After 23 days of feeding the modified formulation, a meeting was fixed on 16 April 2009 with the support of the district unit.
COMMUNITY-BASED HARNESS DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE FOR PACK DONKEYS: A PROGRESS REPORT, ETHIOPIA
M. Tesfaye, E. Bojia, G. Feseha, G. Ayele, F. Alemayehu, G. Lemessa, E. Manhalishal, F. Seyium, B. Amare, N. Dereje, C. Chala, A. Abebe, W. Chala, A. Gete, G. Chris, J. Anzuino, N. Robert, and M. Getachew
1
Lessons learned through participatory trial Equine owners reported that feed intake was reduced and suggested that the salt level might have affected the palatability of ration. They modified the formulation by reducing salt level to 1%. They also felt that bajra, which generates heat, needed to be replaced with wheat bran during the summer season. The mix was adapted accordingly, and in the next 4 days all 11 equine owners found their animals exhibiting a proper appetite because of the enhanced palatability of the feed. Demand for their technology The demand for the feed mix grew owing to the positive impact on the animals and its low cost. A total of 29 equine owners from 6 villages, i.e. Gilada, Chitavar, Gopalpur, Goyali, Kakrala, and Rawati, started to adopt the mix for their 33 equines (horse). During the adoption period of 87 days (16 April 200915 July 2009) the district unit veterinarian closely monitored the animals' wellbeing. The duration of the trial followed previous research [5] which lasted 84 days. Parameters such as colic, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, and fever were evaluated, and the animals found healthy. Conclusions The study found that there was significant variation in feeding practices between the brick-kiln season (summer/winter) and brick-kiln off-season (rainy). It was also found that feeding practices did not depend on season, but were based on the type of work the animals were involved in. Equine owners in the study area did not feed oil cakes to their animals. The work conducted with the equine owners themselves showed that a feed mix derived from locally available material had a profound positive impact over animal physiology. The equine owners had promptly capitalized on their knowledge regarding the effect of such feedstuffs which they could quantify through key indicators. This enabled them to minimize the undue effect on palatability and to develop a mix for suitable for the season. Promoting collective purchase, identifying good-quality feed, cultivation of fodder near brick-kiln fields, improved storage site, and exploring unconventional feed stuffs may mitigate feeding problems. The study recommends that adequate attention be paid to species difference while strengthening local feeding systems. References [1] GoI, Annual report 20089. Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, New Delhi, 2009. [2] Ranjhan SK, Animal nutrition in the tropics. Vikas Publishing, New Delhi, 1997. [3] Tahir MI, Khalique A, Pasha TN, and Bhatti J A, Comparative evaluation of maize bran, wheat bran and rice bran on milk production of Holstein Friesian cattle. International Journal of Agriculture & Biology, Vol 4, No. 4, pp. 15608530, 2002. [4] Conroy C, Participatory technology development with livestock keepers: a guide. Department for International Development (DFID), UK, 2002. [5] Tedonkeng E, Tendonkeng F, Kadjio JTT, Kwami HN, Taboum RK, Kana JR, and Tegodjeu A, Evaluation of the comparative growth and reproductive performance of west African dwarf goats in the western highlands of Cameroon. In: Development and field evaluation of animal feed supplementation packages. Cairo, Egypt, pp. 8796, November 2000. 283
Donkey Health and Welfare Project (DHWP), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Addis Ababa University, PO Box 34, Ethiopia 2 The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth EX10 0NU, UK tmegra@yahoo.co.uk
Introduction Donkeys have long been intimately associated with humans as beast of burden [1]. Harness technology has been developed both traditionally by owners as well as by researchers. However, there have been few initiatives to combine traditional and modern technologies on the ground with communities using donkeys [2]. The Donkey Sanctuary's (DS) Ethiopia project launched a harness development initiative as an integrated part of its donkey health and welfare programme in 2003 with the main objective of preventing harness sores, i.e. back, girth, chest, and tail sores, in pack donkeys. These sores are associated with the use of unpadded packsaddles, illfitting harness, synthetic fertilizer sacks with inadequate padding, or girth straps made of worn-out tyres. The prevalence of the sores in the project areas was 33.7% in 1991 [3]; it has decreased in subsequent years to 22.6% (2001), 16.4% (2002), 16.9% (2003), 17.9% (2004), 18.2% (2005), 18.0% (2006), 16.3% (2007), 15% (2008), and 14.6% (2009). Besides the prevailing poor harnessing practices, the undulating rough terrain of the Ethiopian landscape contributes to the high prevalence of harness sores. Donkeys are the backbone of transport for the rural community which makes up 85% of the nation. They are used for transporting farm produce from farms to home, market, and grinding mills houses; and transporting firewood, charcoal, animal dung, and constructions materials including wood, stone, gravel, cement blocks, bricks, and sand. Treating harness sores, where resting is unlikely, is a futile cycle of activities and a waste of resources. Therefore, the Donkey Sanctuary took the initiative to put more effort in preventing harness wounds by working with the communities at ground level. This paper describes the progress made to date. Locations and materials Hot spot areas of Ada, Akaki, Lume, Boset, and Sebeta districts of central Ethiopia, within the DS operating area, were identified. Materials used include jutes sacks, fertilizer sacks, sisals threads for making straps and suturing, needles, straw (preferably wheat), as well as worn-out clothes, blankets, and wooden stick. All materials in contact with the donkey are natural. Protocol Three approaches were adopted. Developing a practical packsaddle prototype with the community At this stage, harness-development practitioners from the DS-UK, local experts from the DHWP, and community representatives from respective districts were involved in developing and testing a practical, affordable, and accessible prototype.
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Production and distribution stage Hundreds of packsaddles were produced by the project harness makers in the DHWP ground and were distributed strategically to identified project sites to create demand in the community. Transfer of the packsaddle-making technology to the community Onsite packsaddle production with owners. This segment of skill transfer to the community is integrated with the routine primary health-care activities of the project. Project harness makers accompany the mobile team and work with (supervise) owners in the village to make packsaddles; the owners bring raw materials like straw, worn-out jute sacks or fertilizer sacks while the harness makers supply needles and sisal thread. In a few instances the owners may not have all the required materials. The project is then expected to supplement more items. Onsite training of local harness makers. The other arm of transferring the technology is through organized groups of individuals who are willing to train to earn an income by making and selling packsaddles to local users. In the Ada district 5 open-market sites of Bekejo, Dirre, Hiddy, Yerer,and Godino were selected because of high back sore prevalence. A sixth site, Daka Bora, was in the Lume district. Open-markets were selected because these are places where donkey owners from different parts of the district meet to buy and sell various commodities including agricultural produce. Five individuals from each site were selected through local state agricultural development agents (DAs), depending on their interest in running the business and allowing access for supervision by the project. A practical 2-day training workshop, using donkeys, was held at each site before each group started production. The trainees in Godino were individuals pre-organized by a micro-credit association for self- help, while in Dirre they were a women's group organized by local DAs to participate in any job opportunities. In Bekejo they were individuals from the community who showed in training as local harness makers. Most of the trainees had experience in making mattresses of fertilizer sacks and wheat straw, which made the training quite easy. Each site was monitored and evaluated by the mobile team while they were dealing with their daily clinical activities. In the beginning, material supply was fully subsidized, later halfsubsidized, and now a revolving fund scheme is under development to ensure sustainability.
Figure 2. Side of packsaddle contacting the donkey, which should be made of a natural material such as a jute sack
Pilot testing of the prototype (Figures 1 and 2) with more donkey users revealed a huge acceptance among rural communities utilizing donkeys for fetching water, transportation of firewood, charcoal, and construction materials, etc. However, the urban communities whose livelihood depends on donkey power, including donkeys in the metropolis, modified the prototype to a smaller and uniform width with no bands. Production and distribution of packsaddles Since the start in 2008, 520 packsaddles were made by the project and distributed in 32 project operation sites within 5 districts (Table 1), creating a real demand. Table 1. Intervention sites, major tasks of donkeys, and number of packsaddles distributed District Major uses Transporting water, charcoal, firewood, farm produce Transporting water, construction materials, farm produce Transporting water, charcoal, firewood, farm produce Transporting water, charcoal, firewood Transporting water, construction materials, farm produce Total No. of sites 15 6 2 8 1 32 Packsaddles distributed 260 80 20 140 20 520
The objective of the project is to empower the donkey owners with skills to produce appropriate packsaddle by themselves from natural materials available locally, thus improving donkey welfare. Ada Results Developing a practical packsaddle prototype Figure 1. Measurements of the upper side of the packsaddle prototype developed; the upper side is a fertilizer sack, which is waterproof and hence durable 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Length 90cm Width 70cm Width of band 12cm Space between bands 5cm Width of saddle over ribs 25cm Width of strap 5cm Length between stitches 8cm Dimension of band 18cm Length of straps in contact with the donkey 76cm Length of strap for knotting the strap 78cm Akaki Lume Boset Sebeta
The packsaddle provided successfully limited the incidence of harness sores in the population of donkeys provided with the packsaddle. Figures 36 depict the packsaddle development endeavour.
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Figure 3. Traditional harnessing practice before intervention
Transferring skills to the community: onsite packsaddle production with owners Donkey owners/users, women, children (in school and out of school), and, at times, local agricultural development experts came to the mobile units with their donkeys. The numbers of packsaddles produced and communities benefiting are shown in Tables 2 and 3. Owners demonstrated a keen interest while making packsaddles. There was positive competition and also sharing of experience and raw materials (Figures 7 and 8). Figure 7. Holding discussions with owners about the use of packsaddles
Figure 4. Harness production at the Donkey Health and Welfare Project ground
Figure 8. Owners make packsaddles
Figure 5. Distribution to randomly selected villages
Table 2. Number of packsaddles made by owners in the respective intervention sites in a day Districts Ada Name of trial sites Dire Areriti Dukem Koticha Dhibayu Figure 6. Packsaddle being used with saddle frame Akaki Wedeso Werebo Dewara Tin Insilale Finchewa Lume Sebeta Tede Mariam Awash Melka Total Number of packsaddles made 12 8 5 9 a 5 7 7 59
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Table 3. Number of districts and communities benefiting Nature and extent of community participation District Ada Akaki Lume Boset Adulala Alelitu Debre Zeit clinic Total Focused group discussion 1,490 749 129 503 626 422 1,019 4,938 No. initiated saddle making 201 87 54 36 15 12 105 510 No. completed saddle making 32 18 5 8 3 2 27 95 Total 1,723 854 188 547 644
Table 4. Materials provided for organized groups to start the packsaddle-making business Sites of organized groups Godino Bekejo Daka Bora Hiddy Yerer 436 Dire 1,151 Total 5,543 Discussion and the way forward Experiences of the DS over the last decade while working with donkey-utilizing communities has demonstrated that one of the major health and welfare constraints is harness-related injuries attributed to prevailing knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices of the local communities [4]. These practices, in turn, have been associated with poor image of the donkey, poverty, and lack of awareness, professional advice, and training. The community harness-development initiative has shown encouraging results. One of the challenges in making packsaddles directly with the beneficiaries was the need for the owners to supply the raw materials. As the skill remains with the owner, he/she can make packsaddles for the rest of his/her donkeys as needed. One problem with the other scheme, i.e. working through a local harness-making group, in the early stages of production, was their need for publicity to sell the saddles. Later they got publicity with the help of the charity and benefited from this. However, recently, because the charity was at the same time empowering donkey owners to make their own packsaddles, the number of clients buying the saddles decreased. The reduction in incidences of harness sores in donkeys following the introduction of this packsaddle confirms the idea that prevention is better than cure. The DHWP is encouraged to introduce such a programme in other harness sore hot spot areas. Managing wounds, particularly those caused by ill-fitting, inadequate padding or use of synthetic straps, is difficult. The poor owner, whose livelihood entirely depends on donkey power, cannot afford to rest the donkey, and tends to continue using the same material. At this stage, although the skill transfer scheme is successful, the programme is subsidized partly by the charity. The progress report indicates that both direct and indirect skill transfer schemes are working reasonably. Therefore, it is advisable to continue to reach more owners to change the existing traditional pack donkey harnessing practices. The charity is also focusing on strengthening the system in all operation areas. Community mobilization to change existing practices is not easy; it takes time and resources but once achieved it is the sustainable way of solving problems. 400 800 17 36 125 80 160 2 7 20 Quantity and items provided at each site Jute 100 120 20 60 20 Fertilizer sack 200 240 40 120 40 Thread 3 8 1 2 1 Needle 8 7 3 5 6 Readymade packsaddles 20 20 20 25 20
Among other things the group discussion enabled us to address the problems of overloading, lack of rest, and load imbalance and also gave us the opportunity to raise awareness about better management of donkeys including how much to load, appropriate loading practice, and harnessing. The benefits of sound management were also mentioned, including a better working life and increased productivity. Transferring skills to the community: organized groups of individuals making packsaddles for income generation Such groups were organized and trained (Figure 9) at 6 separate sites. They were able to make 400 pack saddles from the materials provided (Table 4) and sold them at subsidized prices. Figure 9. Training for packsaddle making for organized groups
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References [1] Starkey, P. and Kaumbutho P. (Eds). Meeting the Challenges of Animal Traction: A resource book of the Animal Traction Network for Eastern and Southern Africa (ATNESA), Harer, Zimbabwe, Intermediate Technology Publications, London, 1999, p. 326. [2] Starkey, P. and Starkey. M. Regional and world trends in donkey population. Paper presented for Animal Traction Network in Eastern and Southern Africa (ATNESA) workshop on improving donkey utilization and management, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia, 59 May 1997. [3] Feseha, G., Mohammed, A., and Yilma, J.M. Vermicular endoparasitism in donkeys of Debre Zeit and Menagesha, Ethiopia: Strategic treatment with Ivermectin & Fenbendazole. In: Fielding, D. and Pearson, R.A. (Eds) Donkeys, Mules and Horses in Tropical Agricultural Development. Proceedings of a colloquium organized by the centre of Tropical Veterinary Medicine of the University of Edinburgh and held in Edinburgh, UK, 36 September 1990. [4] Getachew, M., Feseha, G., Trawford, A.F., Bojia, E., Alemayehu, F., and Amare, B. Some common clinical cases and intervention at the Donkey Health and Welfare Project, Donkey Sanctuary, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia. In: Pearson, R.A., Fielding, D., and Tabbaa, D. (Eds). Fourth international colloquium on working equines, Hama, Syria, 2026 April 2002, pp. 96109.
EXPERIENCES WITH COMMUNITY ANIMAL HEALTH WORKERS AND GOVERNMENT VETERINARY SERVICES IN ETHIOPIA: SYSTEMS, SUCCESSES, AND CHALLENGES
A. Hailemariam and S. Bishop
The Brooke Hospital for Animals, PO Box 1554 code 1250, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia AHM@thebrookeethiopia.org
Abstract This paper documents the lessons, successes, and challenges gained during an 18-month pilot intervention by the Brooke Hospital for Animals in Ethiopia, through its work supporting government veterinary services and community animal health workers (CAHWs) in the provision of equine health services. Targeted CAHWs have increased their monthly case load from around 5 to 64 equines per month since they received equine training. Changes in government case figures are inconsistent though individual clinics are recording high numbers, but gains are being made in other areas, such as influencing equine specific drug and equipment purchases. The Brooke sees both government and CAHWs as key partners in the development of health services for equines. During 2010, the Brooke is focusing on measuring the impact of equine service provision with owners and through case records. Introduction The Brooke Ethiopia Programme started a pilot programme in the Southern Nations and Nationalities Peoples Region of Ethiopia in 2008 aiming to improving the welfare conditions of equines through management practices, and supporting the development of sustainable equine health services through the government veterinary department and community animal health workers. This paper focuses only on the health service delivery element of the programme. The design of the intervention took into account gaps observed in animal health services, where equines are not being catered for, either by veterinary teaching institutions, by government livestock and animal health departments, or by private veterinary practitioners. Government veterinary services focus on livestock, and provide only limited equine services through vaccination against anthrax and African horse sickness, usually in response to pressure from communities during outbreaks, rather than through appropriate seasonal vaccination. Community animal health workers (CAHWs) have been part of the government certified national animal health service delivery system since 2004, and in 2009 a national CAHW training manual [1], training of CAHW trainers' manual [2], and minimum standards and guidelines for CAHW services [3] were produced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. CAHWs have been trained by government and non-governmental organisations in many parts of the country, principally to provide primary animal health services in rural areas where there are no private practitioners, and government coverage is limited [4]. However, no CAHWs have been trained to deal with equines. In one woreda (government geographic zone) of the Brooke pilot area, an international NGO had trained 12 CAHWS in 2008 and although the organisation had since withdrawn, these CAHWs continued to provide private services to their communities. However, they had not been trained to treat equines. Due to the lack of equine services, many owners had come to believe that there was little that could be done for sick equines, other than using traditional healers, and consequently the CAHWs were treating on average 35 equines per month, frequently with inappropriate drugs. Since the start of the programme in November 2008, 46 government veterinary staff from 27 urban and rural clinics, and 12 community animal health workers have been given equine-specific training by the Brooke to enable them to provide basic equine health services. Training focused on local diseases and those considered as priorities by owners, in order to make the services appropriate for their needs, and as a means to encourage
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service use. Following training the veterinary clinics and the CAHWs were provided with basic equipment, and the CAHWs received a one-off supply of drugs. The CAHWs were introduced to local private pharmacies from whom they could purchase drugs and equipment. Government veterinary staff and CAHWs were supported by weekly visits from the Brooke staff. All trainees were encouraged to maintain case records as a means by which cases could be followed up, and for recording drugs use, outcomes of treatments, and fees paid or owing. Results of the support to CAHWs and government veterinary staff Since receiving training, a CAHW average monthly case load has increased from 5 to 64 equines, alongside other animals they are treating. The increasing numbers of owners bringing their equines for treatments indicates that there is growing confidence in the CAHWs' ability to provide quality services that are also affordable, available, and accessible. The majority of cases treated are wounds, eye problems, respiratory conditions, and internal parasites. CAHWs are provided with a certificate endorsed by the government, which gives owners confidence in their ability and authorisation to deliver services. CAHWS are replenishing their kit with drugs and equipment, all of which are available from local private suppliers. As CAHWs are mobile service providers, the services are easily accessible to owners in their area. This is a distinct advantage over the government clinics and health posts which provide fixed-point services. Payment for services is good for most of the year, with owners paying within 1 week to 1 month following treatment. However, during the rainy season cash can be in limited supply, and up to 75% of owners get services on credit, repaying their dues after the harvest. This can be a challenging time for CAHWs so they are considering options to address this problem, such as bulk purchase of drugs to reduce costs, and negotiating better rates and credit with the pharmacies. The average CAHW profit per month is currently 300500 Ethiopian Birr with seasonal variation (about US$2338). Monitoring has shown that the quality and availability of service from government clinics is variable and partly dependent on the motivation of individual staff. Budgets allocated for drugs and equipment are small but the woreda is able to request specific drugs, and some clinics are now including equine-appropriate drugs on their lists. These clinics are seen to have better equine supplies than others, which is reflected in their case numbers. Lack of appropriate drugs is a factor in the communities' preference for CAHW services, whose kits are usually well stocked with good-quality drugs. For example, in one 3-month period, government veterinary clinics in 1 woreda treated around 7 equines per month per staff, compared with 64 cases per CAHW. In another area, government staff treated 3,296 cases in 3 months, which was mainly due to their high level of commitment. However, the number of animals treated does not demonstrate improvements in health, nor show impact of the services. In order to look at these factors, during 2009, the Brooke worked closely with local communities to establish the priority diseases affecting equines. This information was triangulated with information from the Brooke and government veterinary staff to ensure that key diseases and conditions were covered. A participatory impact assessment of the status of equine health in May 2010, which compared the target area with a neighbouring area without CAHW services, has shown significant reductions in the 5 key conditions in the intervention area, with no significant change in the control area. The analysis was done through statistical comparison of scoring results by owners on disease prevalence and mortality rates. CAHW case records showing outcomes of treatments were used as animal-based indicators to cross-check owners' views. The conditions are anthrax, wounds, respiratory disease, colic, and epizootic lymphangitis. African horse sickness, previously considered a major threat, is no longer seen by owners as a top priority due to the success of the seasonal vaccination delivered by government together with CAHWs since the Brooke support started. Analysis of owners' preferences for service providers showed a significant preference for CAHWs over government, private, and traditional providers for quality, affordability, availability, and accessibility.
Conclusion The CAHWs are proving to be the preferred service providers for the rural communities with which the Brooke is working in Ethiopia. Participatory impact assessment conducted by an external consultant provided significant evidence in support of this, as well as demonstrating improvement in equine health status in the area. From June 2010 the Brooke will reduce its weekly monitoring to monthly visits as the CAHWs are now able to work independently with minimal support. Government veterinary services will always be more limited in their ability to deliver services because of their fixedpoint delivery system. Adopting new practices is challenging for government staff due to financial and human resources constraints. However, the government veterinary department has a crucial role to play in the provision of animal health services and the Brooke's long-term goal in Ethiopia is for equine health services to become a standard part of animal health service provision. Whilst CAHWs are able to deal with the majority of cases, they do require veterinary supervision and access to a referral system. The veterinary department should fill these roles, as well as having responsibility for seasonal vaccination campaigns, disease outbreaks, and emergency response. Through the interest of individuals within government, small changes are being noted such as the provision of 72 equine hoof kits to clinics with Brooke-trained government veterinary staff. The Brooke will continue to develop closer links with the veterinary department to discuss equine health service delivery within the broader framework of animal health service strategies, aiming to identify ways of influencing budgetary allocations to ensure that equine-specific drugs and equipment become standard kit for the clinics and health posts. References [1] Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, CAHWs training manual in Ethiopia: facilitator's guide, August 2009, Addis Ababa. [2] Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Training of trainer's manual for the training of CAHWs in Ethiopia, August 2009, Addis Ababa. [3] Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, National minimum standards and guidelines for design and establishment of sustainable CAHW services in Ethiopia, 2nd edition, August 2009, Addis Ababa. [4] Catley, A., Leyland, T., and Blakeway, S. (eds), Community-Based Animal Healthcare: A Practical Guide to Improving Primary Veterinary Services, ITDG Publishing, London, 2002.
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RESOLVING CONFLICTS BETWEEN ANIMAL OWNERS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS: A MEANINGFUL INTERVENTION TOWARDS IMPROVEMENT IN WELFARE
V. Singh , S. K. Pradhan
1 2
farriers did not perceive that improvement in the quality of their services would increase their business. We arranged training sessions for both farriers and equine owners but often they did not bring the desired improvements for the following reasons: Conflicts of interests between the two parties had to be sorted out first. Farriers were not open to such training inputs because they thought they knew better and did not think they were stakeholders in the welfare of equines.
Arthik Vikas Evam Jan Kalyan Sansthan, U.P., 301 Prime Plaza, Munshi Puliya, Indira Nagar, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India The Brooke India, F-86 Preet Vihar, New Delhi, India vineet_bbk@yahoo.com Introduction There are about 9,500 working horses, mules, and donkeys at Lucknow district in Uttar Pradesh, India during the brick-kiln season (October to June) and 7,500 during the non-brick-kiln season (July to September) because of seasonal immigration. These animals mostly pull carts to transport passengers and goods, work in brick kilns and carry loads. The welfare conditions of these animals are very poor and their working and climatic conditions are extreme as well. Service providers such as farriers, hair clippers, saddlers and cart makers play an important role in the welfare of these animals. There is a shortage of such service providers especially in rural areas and brick kilns. Arthik Vikas Evam Jan Kalyan Sansthan, Lucknow is a non-government organization working in social and agriculture development in the district for the last decade. Since 2007 it has worked in partnership with the Brooke India an affiliate of the Brooke UK, an animal welfare charity dedicated to improving the welfare of working equines in the poorest parts of the world on a project involving Lucknow brick kilns: out of 141 brick kilns in Lucknow, 87 are currently covered by the project activities. Brick kilns create high welfare risks for equines for many reasons, including adverse working conditions, high work load, an extreme climate situation during summer, limited facilities in respect of shade/shelter, and poor feed and fodder. The animals' high work load is mostly a result of the heavy burden of perpetual loans availed by animal owners from the brick-kiln owners. Among all other service providers, farriers are found to be important. High-quality, affordable services are needed at the right time, in or near where the animals work so that they do not have to travel long distances in challenging conditions. Farriery is required at frequent intervals and most often is needed urgently: working animals must be properly shod, since incidences of foot-related problems including lameness are found to be higher in working animals in brick kilns. The major foot problems observed at the brick kilns were thrush, canker, corn, bruised sole, club foot, quittor, hoof shape deformity, laminitis, and foot abscess. The prevalence of foot disease and poor foot management was found to be associated with almost 80% of the animals. The team used participatory tools and techniques such as resource mapping, service provider mapping, and costbenefit analysis with the animal owners, service providers, animal contractors, and brick-kiln owners to assess the situation with regard to farriery services. There were 3 main perspectives: Equine owners found that farriery services were an increasingly costly affair, and not available in time at their brick kilns. They believed that most farriers were insensitive to the needs of animals and they hurried their work in order to earn more money. But they did not have alternative options because of the limited number of farriers in the locality. On the other hand, the farriers believed that the animal owners did not want to spend much time on farriery and asked them to complete the work quickly. Similarly, they thought improvements such as better quality shoe, proper hoof trimming, and appropriate size of shoe increased the cost of farriery further, which equine owners were not ready to pay. Our team members understood that the animal owners operated within constraints and needs, and that the 295
Method: a case study of brick kilns Out of 87 brick kilns covered by the project, cart horses and mules are used in 30. In almost all of these brick kilns, lameness appeared as the major issue during situation analysis. Root cause analysis conducted with the animal owners using participatory exercises (problem tree, causeeffect diagram) revealed that improper farriery was one of the main causes of lameness. The causes of improper farriery resulted from the monopoly of farriers in the area because of a very high demand during the brick kiln season. These farriers did not pay adequate attention to the individual requirements of the equines regarding different shoe size, hoof condition and trimming, nails and other factors, because of limitations on time and costs. Although the equine owners were highly dissatisfied with the farriers, there were no alternatives.
Box 1. Brick-kiln owner's contribution Awaz brick kiln is situated at Barauna village, 25 km from the city. This season 13 equine owners have come here from Aligarh, about 400km away. These equine owners had to go to see a farrier called Chander at Gosaiganj, 15 km from the brick kiln, for farriery services three times a month. Every time the entire day was spent by an equine owner just to get his animal shod. During a joint meeting with equine owners, and in the presence of brick-kiln owner Arvind Kumar Gupta, farrier Shahid expressed his willingness to extend his services to Awaz brick kiln. Mr Gupta was quick to realize that if good farriery services are delivered at the brick kiln itself, then he would avoid loss of those 39 working days per month which are spent by the animal owners in accessing farriery. He promptly offered to pay the additional farriery charges of IR 20 (Farrier Chander at Gosaiganj was charging IR 60, while Shahid was asking for IR 80) for this arrangement. Now all the 3 parties equine owners, farrier, and brick-kiln owner are happy with the arrangement and equines have their travel cut by 90 km per month, in addition to getting timely and good-quality farriery, thereby achieving better welfare.
Our team approached 2 farriers in the area, Shahid and Ali Hasan, who claimed to have good farriery skills. We arranged joint meetings with equine owners at the brick kilns. Both parties discussed the issue facilitated by the team members. The equine owners listed their requirements and the farriers explained what good-quality farriery involves. The equine owners' concerns were mainly about hoof trimming, appropriate shoe size, thickness of shoe, and the number of nails being used to support shoes. Apart from agreeing to meet these concerns, the farriers added technical inputs related to hoof trimming and shaping, health and safety measures for equines, owners, and the farriers, and comfort of equines during conduct of farriery work. This discussion was followed by a 'transect walk' (a participatory method to examine each animal together in a
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group) to assess the individual requirements of each animal, such as hoof shape and trimming, sole shape, thickness, size, and type of shoe required, etc. This exercise led to a mutual agreement between equine owners and farriers, which included cost, quality, day and time of farriery, and individual needs of the equines. The cost in all cases was 1020 Indian rupees (IR) higher than the sum the equine owners had previously paid. Such meetings resulted in a mutual understanding on good-quality farriery and doorstep service delivery for equine owners. Farriers realized that this was a good business opportunity for them and through quality service they could increase demand for their services. Equine owners also realized that by spending 1020 rupees more they could get better services right at their door. Results and discussion Analysis of the impact of such resolutions was carried out by recording the perceptions of all the stakeholders. The process was beneficial for every one, as summarized below. Better hoof management and care of animals was achieved because of better quality services provided by the farriers. They paid adequate attention to the individual requirements of the equines, relating to shoe size, hoof condition and trimming and numbers of nails, because they had time to do so. Their services were provided in a place convenient to the animals, in a shed right where they stayed, which removed the need to travel long distances (about 3090km per month), resulting in savings of about IR1,200 per month. Such an arrangement brought a significant reduction in hoof and lameness cases as monitored by the animal owners and the team members using 'participatory welfare needs assessments' [1]. Upon analysis, it was found that foot disease and foot management problems associated with lameness in animals had reduced drastically, from 80% to 30%. There was a reasonable decrease in expenses against costs of farriery by way of reducing farriery visits to twice instead of three times a month and meeting all requirements of quality farriery thereby addressing the welfare of the animals. Joint meetings provided a platform for negotiations and sharing of experiences about quality aspects, besides giving the farriers an opportunity to increase their business without compromising the welfare of animals. The income of the farriers has increased to a significant level, about IR1,600 per month, because of the increase in number of clients: on average, a farrier visits the brick kilns at least 5 days in a month (his off days from his regular work), shoeing 8 equines on average per visit. This has ensured availability, affordability, accessibility, and acceptability as well as quality of services to the animal owners. It has also led to a reduction in the loss of work amounting to 15,000 bricks per month per animal for the brick kiln owner, which has resulted in him providing more amenities to the animals and their owners as well. There was an overall increase in sensitivity of animal owners, farriers, and brick-kiln owners in respect of the welfare of the animals which contributed towards incremental improvements [2] in welfare too. See Box 1. This arrangement has been in place for the past 2 years and is spreading to new brick kilns every new season. A few other farriers, who were not part of the original arrangement, are also now willing to provide services at brick kilns and some have started visiting 1 or 2 brick kilns (where equine owners are known to them) on their own. Conclusion This experience has overcome 2 misconceptions of the team members: (1) that training is the only possible intervention to address service-related issues; and (2) that equine owners could not afford the increased costs of improved farriery services. We learned that equine owners are willing to pay more for good-quality farriery which benefits their equines. So 'conflict resolution' is one of the most important interventions to improve the welfare condition of equines and we should not rely only on skill training [3]. 297
Acknowledgment Contributions of the equine-owning communities, farriers, and all team members of AVJKS are gratefully acknowledged. References [1] Van Dijk, L., Pradhan, S.K., Banerjee, A., Whay, H.R., Dennison, T.L., Wells, K.L., and Pritchard, J.C. (2008) Sharing the load: sustainable community action to improve the welfare of working animals in developing countries, AAWS International Animal Welfare Conference, Australia. [2] Bhatt, Y.K., Tandon, R., and Sharma, P.N. (1998) Building farmers' organization for integrated watershed management in India: a trainer's manual, Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), New Delhi, and Participatory Watershed Management Training in Asia Programme, Netherlands/UNDP/FAO (UN), Kathmandu, Nepal, p 12. [3]FAO (2009) Capacity building to implement good animal welfare practices, Report of the FAO Expert Meeting, FAO Headquarters, 30 September3 October 2008, FAO, Rome, pp 1922.
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IN VIVO EXAMINATION OF INTESTINAL PARASITES OF WORKING EQUIDS IN UKRAINE AND MODERN PROGRAMMES OF HORSE PARASITE CONTROL
K. Tetiana and K. Vitalii
Institute of Zoology NAS of Ukraine, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Street, 15, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine taniak@izan.kiev.ua
subfamily Cyathostominae (Table 1). There were 518 strongylid species of parasite per horse (average=11.83.8). Seven cyathostome species (Cylycocyclus nassatus, C. ashworthi, C. leptostomus, Cyathostomum catinatum, Cylicostephanus longibursatus, C. calicatus, and C. minutus) dominated in the strongylid community; they were found in more than 80% of horses examined and together composed more than 87.2% of total strongylid number. Table 1. Nematodes from the family Strongylidae Baird, 1856, found in working equines in Ukraine Strongylid species Horses Prevalence, % Rate*, % Donkeys Prevalence, % Rate*, %
Gastrointestinal parasites, especially strongylids, infect equids worldwide and can cause severe problems to their health [1, 2, 3]. In Ukraine, the population of domestic horses (Equus caballus) consists of more than 700,000. Only 15% of them are brood horses; all other horses are working horses kept at small individual private farms. Additionally, donkeys (Equus asinus) are used as beasts of burden at small farms in the southern part of Ukraine. At the end of 80th years of 20th century the Agricultural Ministry of Ukraine elaborated its recommendations for horse parasite control at various types of horse farms in Ukraine [4]. However, according to our observations, parasitological examinations and planned deworming of working equids are not performed on individual farms in Ukraine. The aims of our study were the in vivo examination of gastro-intestinal parasite infection of working horses and donkeys on private farms, and the elaboration of a modern programme of parasite control in working equids for small individual farms in Ukraine. Material and methods Our study of intestinal parasites was carried out on 25 working horses from individual farms in the Kyiv region (17 horses), Chernigiv region (2 horses), and Poltava region (6 horses), and on 6 working donkeys from the Crimea. All animals examined were used as beasts of burden on private farms and had never been dewormed with anthelmintics. Faecal egg counts were carried out using the McMaster technique with a sensitivity of 25 eggs per gram (EPG) [5]. Gastrointestinal parasites were collected from all equids examined by the in vivo method of diagnostic deworming [6]. All animals were treated with the macrocyclic lactone drug 'Univerm' (0.2% aversectin, Russia). Faecal samples (200g each) were collected 24, 36, 48, and 60 hours after treatment; all nematodes expelled (9,886 specimens) were collected, fixed in 70% ethanol, and identified under light microscope by morphological criteria [1, 7]. Comparison of the results obtained by the in vivo method with our previous data of post-mortem examination of 4 working horses from the Kyiv (1 horse), Chernigiv (2), and Poltava (1) regions was performed. Results All working horses examined were infected eith intestinal nematodes from the family Strongylidae (prevalence=100%) and Parascaris equorum (prevalence=44%). Levels of horse infection by strongylids were low (less than 100 EPG) and medium (100400 EPG); level of horse infection by P. equorum was low (25100 EPG). Single eggs of Strongyloides westeri were found in 2 horse yearlings (prevalence=8%). Eggs of Anoplocephala perfoliata were found in 3 working horses (prevalence=12%). As all horses had 'pre-clinical' levels of infection by intestinal helminths, no evident clinical signs of helmintoses were observed during our study. Strongylid nematodes dominated in the community of intestinal parasites of working horses from 3 regions of Ukraine. In total, 24 strongylid species were found: 6 species of the subfamily Strongylinae and 20 species of the Strongylus vulgaris S. equinus S. edentatus Triodontophorus serratus T. brevicauda T. nipponicus
Subfamily Strongylinae 48.0 28.0 24.0 24.0 16.0 4.0 0.31 0.14 0.15 0.20 0.24 0.01 16.7 33.3 0.30 1.06
Subfamily Cyathostominae Cyathostomum catinatum C. tetracanthum C. pateratum Coronocyclus coronatus C. labiatus C. labratus Cylicostephanus calicatus C. minutus C. hybridus 96.0 28.0 64.0 60.0 56.0 80.0 84.0 8.0 13.95 2.07 1.87 2.51 1.52 5.81 5.70 0.16 66.9 100 61.2 9.6 5.7 2.1 5.7 3.8 10.59 55.22 2.27 0.76 0.30 0.15 0.30 0.15
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C. longibursatus C. goldi Cylicocyclus nassatus C. insigne C. elongatus C. leptostomus C. ashworthi C. auriculatus Poteriostomum imparidentatum Petrovinema poculatum Gyalocephalus capitatus
92.0 76.0 100.0 52.0 20.0 88.0 92.0 8.0 36.0 4.0
17.27 1.42 27.59 0.70 0.33 12.04 4.86 0.02 1.09 0.01
21.2 55.4 88.5 5.7 2.1 33.8 11.6
7.41 6.51 13.46 0.30 0.15 1.30 0.76
Based on the results obtained in the current study and our previous observations we elaborated a programme of parasite control in working equids for various types of farms in Ukraine. The programme combines anthelmintic treatment, rotation of pasture areas, and zoohygenic methods and has to be adjusted for the particular type of horse farm. Conclusions All working equids examined were found to be infected with intestinal parasites. The level of infection was rather low. Species composition in the strongylid communities in working equids from the individual farms are depauperated compared with strongylid communities of brood horses from large horse farms. It was found that the in vivo method of diagnostic deworming delivered reliable data on species composition and structure of intestinal parasite communities in working equids. Programmes of parasite control elaborated for working equids in Ukraine have to combine anthelmintic treatment, rotation of pasture areas and zoohygenic methods and are to be adjusted for particular types of horse farms. References [1] Dvojnos, G.M. and Kharchenko, V.A. 1994. Strongylida of wild and domestic horses. Kyiv: Naukova dumka, 234 pp. (in Russian). [2] Lyons, E.T., Tolliver, J.H., and Drudge, D.E. 1999. Historical perspective of cyathostomes: prevalence, treatment and control programs. Vet. Parasitol. 85, 97112. [3] Love, S., Murphy, D., and Mellor, D. 1999. Pathogenicity of cyathostome infection. Vet. Parasitol. 85, 11322. [4] Aginsky, Y.A., Dvojnos, G.M., and Prikhodko, T.V. 1990. The scheme of brood horse sanitation against helminthoses recommended for the horse farms of Ukraine. Kyiv: Gosagroprom USSR, 6 pp. (in Russian). [5] Herd, R.P. 1992.Performing equine fecal egg counts. Vet. Med. 87, 2404. [6] Kuzmina, T.A., Kharchenko, V.A., Starovir, A.I., and Dvojnos, G.M. 2004. Application of the diagnostical deworming method for the horse intestinal helmints investigation. Vestnik Zoologii. 38 (5), 6770 (in Russian). [7] Lichtenfels, J.R., Kharchenko, V.A., and Dvojnos, G.M. 2008. Illustrated identification keys to strongylid parasites (Strongylidae: Nematoda) of horses, zebras and asses (Equidae). Vet Parasitol. 156 (12), 4161.
Rate*, %=proportion of the separate species in the strongylid community
All working donkeys were infected by intestinal strongylids (prevalence=100%); the level of infection was rather low: from 25 to 175 EPG (average=83.3 EPG). No eggs of other parasites were found in donkeys examined. In total, 17 strongylid species were found in working donkeys: 2 species of Strongylinae and 15 of Cyathostominae (Table 1). From 6 to 11 strongylid species parasitized each donkey (average=8.93.1). Cyathostome species (prevalence=100%) dominated in the strongylid community; prevalence of the large strongylid species (Strongylinae) ranged 16.7 33.3%. Comparison of our current data on the species composition of the strongylid community in working horses obtained by the in vivo method with our previous data obtained by the necropsy method revealed absence of significant differences (p<0.05) in species composition of strongylid communities. The results obtained confirm the possibility of the intravital study of the intestinal parasites of equids. Comparison of the strongylid community of working horses from individual farms (24 strongylid species found) with the strongylid community of brood horses from large horse farms (30 species found) showed a decrease of biodiversity of the parasite community in working equids. In our opinion, working horses have a higher immunity against intestinal parasites than brood horses. The rather low level of horse infection by gastro-intestinal parasites in our study and the lack of evident clinical signs of helminthoses in working horses examined also confirm this point of view. Moreover, working horses from individual farms also have fewer opportunities for parasite transmission than horses at large farms. Anthelmintic treatment is the main method of parasite control on various types of horse farms in Ukraine. According to our observations, working horses (and donkeys) from individual farms are usually not dewormed at all. 301
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CHARACTERISTICS OF URBAN DRAUGHT HORSES WORKING IN THE CITY OF VALDIVIA, CHILE

T. Tadich1, 2, M. Saez1, and A. Escobar1, 2
2
Baron's equation (AI) was used to determine the type of horse, where: AI = HG2/HW Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the data. Results Horses used for urban draught work in the city of Valdivia are of mixed breed, and geldings are preferred over mares and stallions for work. The average conformation of these working horses is of a light type, not a draught type according to Baron's equation. The average height to the withers is 143cm, which is also the average length. The estimated live weight of the horses assessed is 353kg; and they have an average age of 9 years while working. See Tables 14. Even though they do not have the characteristics of the typical draught horse breeds, it would be interesting to investigate their efficiency at work, since the maintenance of a light horse is economically advantageous for an owner. Table 1. Distribution of draught horses in Valdivia according to sex Number Geldings Mares Stallions Total 101 86 20 207 Percentage 48.8 41.5 9.7 100
Instituto de Ciencia Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Austral de Chile Programa de Bienestar Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Austral de Chile tamaratadich@gmail.com
Abstract A survey of the morphological and individual characteristics of 207 urban draught horses of the city of Valdivia, Chile was performed. In order to obtain the information the clinical records of a free veterinary clinic (AMIVECC) between 1997 and 2009 were reviewed and other parameters were calculated using this information. The population of equines working in the city was classified according to draught or riding/speed type. Most horses working in Valdivia are geldings with an average age of 9 years, and with a conformation of a riding type of horse. Conformation of horses performing draught work is important since it can affect their performance and also their welfare. Further studies are needed in order to determine the efficiency at work of the horses used in Valdivia and their welfare status. Introduction In Chile there are an estimated 304,000 horses [11], mainly used for sports and agricultural work, since animal power continues to be an important resource in agriculture. Horses providing draught work in the cities are not considered when agricultural censuses are performed, so there is no information about the quantity and type of horses used in urban areas. Although animal power can be provided by many species, the most commonly found in Chile are oxen and equines. The choice of the most suitable work animal will depend on climate, surface, diseases present in the area, the type of work performed, and, in some cases, social factors such as religion [1]. In Chile oxen are preferred for agricultural work, mainly in the central and southern part of the country, while horses are most commonly used for urban draught work. The south of Chile, where the city of Valdivia is located, presents a temperate climate. In this city it is commonplace to see urban draught horses. These are mainly used for the transport of goods, especially wood and agricultural products for markets [2]. Their owners are usually lower-class groups located in the peri-urban areas of the city, and most of them have a tradition of working with cart horses, which in many cases are their main source of income. The horses used are mainly of the light type and do not seem to present the characteristics of classical draught breeds. Objective The main objective of this study was to characterize morphologically and by sex and age the group of horses that performs urban draught work in the city of Valdivia. Material and methods Information about 207 urban draught horses was obtained through a review of the clinical records collected by a free horse clinic (AMIVECC-UACh) in 19972009. The information used related to: Sex: whether mare, gelding, or stallion Age: calculated in years according to dentition and owner's information Conformation: information of height to the withers (HW), heart girth (HG), cannon bone perimeter, and elbow to tuber ischii length (EIL) Estimated live weight was calculated using the following equation [4]: 2 Live weight = HG x EIL / 11,462.1 303
Table 2. Average age in years, and age ranges of draught horses in Valdivia according to sex Average age Geldings Mares Stallions Total 105 84 54 95 Range 105 120 115 126
Table 3. Classification of draught horses in Valdivia according to Baron's equation and sex A.I. average Geldings Mares Stallions 1,98 1,98 1,91 % > 2.116 24 30 35 A.I. range 2,7--0,4 2,88--0,26 2,42 --1,24
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Table 4. Morphological characteristics of draught horses in Valdivia according to sex Geldings Height to the withers (cm) Length elbowtuber ischii (cm) Heart girth (cm) Cannon bone perimeter (cm) Average weight (cm) 1439 14412 16817 202 35777 Mares 1439 1439 16718 202 35178 Stallions 1444 14013 1667 192 34281 Average 1439 14312 16718 202 35378
The morphological characteristics of height, girth, and elbowtuber ischii length (Table 4) are the ones that can be used to identify a horse with the characteristics of a draught type. For this kind of work horses are preferred not to be too long, because this implies a minor speed response and transmission of force along the vertebral spine towards the area where the breast band is located, but not too short to avoid the hind limbs overreaching the fore limbs [7]. The optimum height to the withers for a horse performing light draught work is 15060cm [5]. The mean height for the 207 horses was 143cm (9cm), similar to the one described in other research about the city of Valdivia [7, 3], which is below that recommended for draught work. The large range in height (13253cm) reflects the diversity of the types of horses used [4]. Weight was estimated by an equation modified for Chilean horses [4]. The average estimated weight was 35378kg, geldings being the group with the highest average (Table 4). Size and weight are important when considering the actual energy input required by draught animals. On this basis when comparing working donkeys, ponies, horses, and oxen, the donkey represents the most effective animal for converting energy resources into work, being an advantage for frequent tasks requiring small amounts of power [9]. Baron's equation (A.I.) was used to determine if the horses can be considered as a draught type: if the A.I. is higher than 2.116 the equine is considered to be of a draught type and if it is lower it is considered as a speed/riding type [10]. The average A.I. calculated for the horses in this study was 1.96; none of the sex categories had an average A.I. above 2.116; with less than 50% of horses within each group categorized as a draught type (Table 3). This is probably due to the fact that it is economically more favourable for the owner to feed a lighter horse; on average draught horse owners spend US$33 monthly on feedstuff and shoeing for their horses, while the average income of the families is US$360 [1]. On the other hand, this type of light horse is also used by them in other activities such as riding and racing. References [1] Tadich, T. Husbandry and welfare aspects of urban draught horses in the south of Chile. A dissertation submitted for MSC in Equine Science at University of Edinburgh. September 2006. [2] Tadich, T, Pearson, RA, and Escobar, A. Draught horses in the south of Chile: Husbandry and welfare. Draught Animal News. No. 45, Part 1, 18. 2007. [3] Tadich, T, Pearson, RA, and Escobar, A. Husbandry and welfare aspects of urban draught horses in the south of Chile. Arch. Med. Vet. Vol. 40, No. 3, 26773. December 2008. [4] Meyer, K. A study of the condition of working horses in Chile. Thesis for MSc in World Animal Production at School of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University College of North Wales. 1992. [5] Beltran, J.M. Ganado Caballar. Salvat editores SA primera edicin. Espaa. 1954. [6] Pearson, RA, Alemayehu, M, Tesfaye, A, Allan, E, Smith, D, and Asfaw, M. Use and management of donkeys in peri-urban areas of Ethiopia, Phase 1. University of Edinburgh and Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization Collaborative Project. Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Draught Animal Power Technical Report 5. 2001. [7] MacLeod, C. Estudio de los equinos carretoneros atendidos en un policlnico en Valdivia, caracterizando aspectos de hipometra, patologas, alimentacin, cascos y herrajes. Tesis M.V. Universidad Austral de Chile, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Valdivia, Chile. 1999. [8] De Aluja, A. The welfare of working equids in Mexico. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. Vol. 59, 1929. 1998. [9] Tisserand, SL and Pearson, RA. Nutritional requirements, feed intake and digestion in working donkeys: A comparison with other work animals. In: Working animals in agriculture and transport: A collection of some current research and development observations. EAAP technical series 6. 2003. [10] Cassai, G. El caballo de labranza. Revista El Campesino. 96, 710. 1944. [11] Instituto Nacional de Estadsticas (INE). Resultados censo agropecuario 2007, www.ine.cl.
Figure 1. Typical draught horse found in the city of Valdivia, Chile
Discussion Each horse breed has different morphological and individual characteristics that make them more efficient for different tasks such as draught or speed/riding. This is why an appropriate selection of animals is important [5]. Breed, age, sex, and conformation were evaluated in the present study. The 207 horses assessed belong to mixed breeds (Figure 1), probably because of the easiness of economic access to this type. In general owners prefer to work with geldings (48.8%, see Table 1). These are easier to handle than stallions and they also avoid the lost of working hours that mares incur during late gestation, and the costs involved with pregnancy, such as feed supplementation [1]; this is similar to the tendency found for donkeys in Ethiopia [6]. The smaller group is represented by the stallions (9.7%). This class is, according to the owners, a sign of status and such horses are also used for Chilean races, where 2 horses compete against each other on a 200300m race course, an activity that usually happens at weekends and with which betting is involved. Draught horses are used during a wide age range (Table 2), with an average of 95, similar to the 8.5 years described in 2006 [1] and higher than the 7 years described in 1999 for horses of the same city [7]. The presence of very young working horses is worrying, 14 years, and similarly, old ones, over 20 years. The use of young horses has also been described in Mexico, where horses are already pulling heavy carts at the age of 3 years [8]. Working them before they are 4 years, when they reach their maturity, can be detrimental to their health, as skeletal development is not complete [4]. In the case of the elder horses, it has to be taken into account that after 12 years of age their work performance diminishes, with a lost of efficiency for their owners [7].
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IMPROVING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ANIMAL WELFARE SERVICE PROVIDERS. IT IS NOT JUST TRAINING!
M. Ali, R. Rao, and S. K. Pradhan
The Brooke Hospital for Animals (India), F-86 Preet Vihar, Delhi 110092, India alimurad@thebrookeindia.org
Introduction Service-providers such as community-based animal health workers, feed sellers, harness makers, farriers, and hair clippers play an important role in the welfare of working animals. In most communities these service providers are present and used by the community, and the types of services they provide are based on the need of that particular community. The Brooke India, an affiliate of the Brooke UK an animal welfare charity dedicated to improving the lives of horses, donkeys, and mules working in the poorest parts of the world has over many years worked towards training service providers to improve the welfare of working equids. It was believed that the local service providers lacked knowledge and skills and imparting these would directly improve the welfare of the equines. However, the field staff came to understand that such training often did not lead to a significant improvement in welfare. The teams held discussions with equine owners and service providers and found out that: The services were too expensive for the animal owners in respect of their daily earnings, and often the waiting time at the service provider was long. The materials suggested in training were not locally available, too expensive, and not the choice of the community. The trained service providers were not providing the service the owners required or were not being availed by the animal owners. They were not always available when the animal owners needed them. The trained service providers were not always preferred by the community. The individual equine owner has no other option than to accept the quality of service he received. To overcome these problems between the demand of the community for particular services and the supply by the service providers, the team initiated a new approach by linking the service provider to the communities after mobilizing them into groups. These groups could address complex issues collectively instead of as individual animal owners in isolation. This paper provides a case study on how this approach improved the effectiveness of the service provider. Case study: Rawati village Rawati is a village of the District Bijnor of Uttar Pradesh in India. There are 21 equine-owning households with a total of 40 equines. The equines are engaged in brick-kiln and pottery work during the summer and winter seasons, and the rest of the year they are used to transport goods and people. Initial interventions with the community resulted in the formation of an Equine Welfare Group in July 2008. The group acted together to improve the welfare conditions of their own animals through planning and monitoring collectively using various participatory exercises including participatory welfare needs assessments [1]. The group started a monthly collective savings scheme and loans taken from this have been used for purchase of feed, paying for treatment, buying horses and donkeys, repairing carts, and domestic household purposes. They identified important welfare issues related to service providers and management practices, and initiated collective actions through the group. Besides, they have negotiated with the local traders and procured feed ingredients in bulk for their equines, and have achieved much reduced costs which were not previously available in the locality. Collectively they have purchased ingredients and distributed them to individual members of the group. Collective monitoring is being carried out regularly to improve the welfare status of their animals; they share responsibility for individual and collective actions, and have regular follow-up reviews during group meetings.
The group recognized that animal-related stakeholders, such as farriers (blacksmiths), hair clippers, feed-sellers, veterinary service-providers, and medicine shopkeepers, play an important role in the welfare of their animals. During situational analysis the group used participatory tools such as cost-benefit analysis of service providers to analyse the constraints and opportunities relating to their use of the stakeholders' services. The local farrier was invited to join the group when it was formed. This provided the chance for an in-depth analysis to improve the quality of horseshoes and reduce the costs of shoeing. The group decided to purchase good-quality shoes made of better iron from the local market using their collective savings, and negotiated with the local farrier to reduce his charges for members of the group. He charges 60 Indian rupees (IR) per horse for a group member and IR80 for the same service outside the village. He also gives adequate attention to the requirements of their equines in respect of hoof condition, shoe size, trimming, and better quality nails. Such better quality service at reduced cost has led the animal owners to have more regular shoeing of the animals and a reduction in hoof problems. The arrangement also benefits the farrier: although the price he charges per horse is lower than before, group members bring their animals for shoeing on a more regular basis and have all 4 feet done instead of only 1 or 2 at a time. Three other group members who were hair clippers in the past purchased hair-clipping machines using a loan of IR2,000 each from the group savings; 2 of them have subsequently repaid the loan and interest. They render their services to the group members for IR50 per equine while they charge IR70 for the same services outside the village. Such reductions in cost have enabled group members to save about IR480 annually. The Equine Welfare Group has also established links with local veterinary service providers, medical suppliers, and a cart maker. They negotiated reasonable charges for good-quality services and mutual trust was built between the service providers and owners. Results and discussions The effectiveness of service providers can be assessed looking at the affordability and availability of the services, and the accessibility and quality of the services provided. The approach in the case study has resulted in increased affordability of the services for the community. The group negotiated lower service charges, and the collective savings made the services affordable without the owners becoming dependent on money-lenders who charge exorbitant interest, up to 60% per annum. The negotiations between the group and the service providers resulted in better relationships between the demand for the services and supply at the door step of the animal owners. The service providers provide the services at a more convenient time and at an appropriate place, thus improving accessibility of the services. On the other hand, the animal owners have a better understanding of the actual costs and time required by a service provider to deliver a goodquality service. The service providers are either part of the group or are invited to group meetings. This has improved the relationship between the 2 and created new opportunities for the animal owners to call for their services as and when needed. The need for improving the quality of the service is driven by the demand for a goodquality service by the community and not based on a need decided by an external organization. Demand and creation of a high-volume business opportunity has attracted these services providers to come to the village at a time convenient for the village, bring down their fees, and improve quality. Quality is addressed through sharing experiences and discussion between group members and service providers about handling and care of animals at the time of carrying out services, including putting animals in a shed and providing drinking water, etc. If training is required to strengthen the technical capacity of a service provider the training content is based on discussions with the community. The case study shows that effective service delivery depends on participation of the local user community in deciding mechanisms of service delivery [2]. The services are provided on mutually agreed terms benefiting both animal owners and the service providers. In addition, the action taken by the group has increased the owners'
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bargaining ability, self-confidence, and their motivation. Strong animal owners' groups able to solve their problems and resolve conflicts as and when they arise are central for the sustainable improvement of the livelihoods of the animal-owning communities [3]. Conclusions The group's efforts to link with local service providers have been essential in ensuring affordable, timely, and goodquality services for the horses and donkeys in their village, not only to improve welfare in the short term but also to ensure sustained improvement in the longer term [4]. Although training or skill enhancement is part of increasing the effectiveness of the service providers, mobilizing the community into groups and linking them with service providers is essential to make a sustainable difference to the animals. Acknowledgement The contributions of involved equine-owning communities and all field staff of the Brooke India are gratefully acknowledged. References [1] Van Dijk, L., Pradhan, S.K., Banerjee, A., Whay, H.R., Dennison, T.L., Wells, K.L., and Pritchard, J.C. (2008) 'Sharing the load: sustainable community action to improve the welfare of working animals in developing countries', AAWS International Animal Welfare conference, Australia. [2] Catley, A. and Leyland, T. (2002) 'Overview: community-based animal health workers, policies, and institutions', PLA Notes Issue 45, IIED, London. [3] Bhatt, Y.K., Tandon, R., and Sharma, P.N. (2008) 'Building farmers organization for integrated watershed management in India: a trainer's manual', Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), and Participatory Watershed Management Training in Asia Programme, Delhi, India and Kathmandu, Nepal. [4] IFAD (2004) 'Livestock services and the poor, a global initiative: collecting, coordinating and sharing experiences', International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Italy, pp. 65112.
EXPERIENCES WITH COMMUNITY-BASED ANIMAL HEALTH WORKERS

D. Obiero, S. C. Onyango, and W. O. Okello
KSPCA Donkey Health and Welfare Improvement Project, POBox 24203, 00502 Nairobi, Kenya iamivadd@yahoo.com
Abstract In Kenya the government halted the employment of veterinary surgeons and Animal Health Assistants (AHAs) in the year 1988 .This lead to the privatization of veterinary services. As economics would have it, the private practitioner opted to practise in high-potential areas and primarily on food animals. The Department of Veterinary Services in Kenya resumed the recruitment of veterinarians in the year 2009 with the employment of 100 veterinarians and 200 AHAs, a drop in the ocean as more than 20% of the veterinarians were awarded administrative positions and the AHAs number still relatively few when compared with the vast needy areas. A clear disconnect was created between veterinary service provision and livestock, with the situation being worse for the 'non-food' animals. This paper describes the Donkey Health and Welfare Improvement Project (DHWIP), funded by the Donkey Sanctuary UK (DS-UK) and carried out through the Kenya Society for Protection and Care of Animals (KSPCA): it aims to deliver animal health service to working equines through Community-based Animal Health Workers (CBAHWs). Introduction The 1999 livestock census gave the donkey population at approximately 600,000 animals. The greater percentage of these animals exists in the arid and semi-arid areas (ASAL) of Kenya, where they are primarily used for transporting water and goods. Data collected by the DHWIP suggest disease prevalence is one of the major factors affecting donkey welfare in the ASAL.The DHWIP is working towards establishing linkages between veterinary surgeons, animal health providers, and CBAHWs. Community-based approaches to animal health services in Kenya have been evolving since the late 1980s. Previous studies in Kenya have shown a positive impact of CBAHWs, not only as a source of self-employment for community members, but also translating to reduced morbidity and mortality, and as an early warning system on disease occurrence, especially in the ASAL [1]. We believe that this is one of the ways of achieving sustainable health service provision. Such an exercise has been carried out in Mwingi and Kitui districts. The following describes the implementation of a CBAHW system in Mwingi East district. The number of CBAHWs trained was 10. Strategy Our objective was to collaborate with other organizations with experience in community development and established and assessed CBAHW training programmes and networks [2].This would help us add to our expertise and save on resources: we had only to add the donkey component. For this project we partnered with Food and Agricultural Research Management-Africa (FARM-Africa) [3], whose CBAHWs had already had training in agricultural animal medicine. FARM-Africa has an active AHA and CBAHW network; we proceeded by training the CBAHWs and later AHAs. Setting up the CBAHW programme A needs assessment precedes a baseline survey, and means collecting essential data such as household income, livestock census, disease prevalence, etc. in the target area(s) which are to be used at different stages of the programme, including the critical evaluation stage. By utilizing opinion leaders/stakeholders within the target communities, farmers are helped to form groups with a maximum of 5 groups per area. The groups then nominate a member to be trained as a CBAHW.
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Structure After training, the CBAHW is linked to a government veterinarian in the area. The veterinarian is consulted on a needs basis, taking responsibility for intervention beyond the CBAHW's ability/training and participating in the evaluation of the trained CBAHW. In this particular case the district selected was Mwingi East district and the selected farmers came from 2 areas, i.e. Nuu and Nzeluni, which together cover the larger part of the district. Five participants were selected from each area, representing a total of 10 communities. Training of CBAHWs A minimum of 3 training sessions are normally carried out within the first year of training. Initial training is followed by a second after 6 weeks, and a final one after 6 months. Refresher courses can then be held one once a year. The bulk of the training sessions consist of practical instruction. The remaining time is given over to structured pictorial power point presentations and participatory focus group discussions (FGD). It is within this FGD that most of the theory is tackled. Participatory tools such as resource mapping, ranking, problem tree, seasonal calendar, hum, buzz, and answers on cards are utilized and modified to suit the situation and dictate the direction of discussion. A reference manual is issued to trainees after the training. The manual is subject to regular review supported by feedback and comments obtained from them. Worthy of mention is the fact that the standardization for literature for CBAHW is not possible as, legally, they should not exist and thus have no training curriculum (discussed further below). Evaluation of the CBAHW programme Evaluation of the programme is via the use of questionnaires directed towards donkey owners/farmers and CBAHWs; face-to-face interviews with the CBAHWs; triangulation amongst the CBAHWs, donkey owners/farmer, and government veterinarians; and case record review. These mentioned tools are designed to extract information with a bias on number of donkeys treated, and increase in income attributed directly to donkey cases attended. The case records additionally provide direct feedback on previous training. The success of the programme is thus based on number of donkey cases attended; increase in income attributed to attending donkey cases; and a favorable change in animal-based measures vis--vis the baseline survey data (BLS). An illustration of the data obtained in the evaluation process is that of Winifred Ndege Mbula, one of the CBAHWs in Nzeluni/Mwingi who treats an average 21 donkeys in a month and earns an average US$97 by this work. (The BLS showed that no donkeys were being treated in the areas of operation of the CBAHWs.) Challenges Farmers' financial state/ignorance/poor attitude towards the donkey In Kenya, the ASAL areas have the highest rates of poverty, the lowest human development indices, and the least access to basic services compared with other areas. These areas have poor communications, weak market and supply chain linkages, a lack of water, poor access to social services such as education and health, and virtually no formal employment opportunities. The climatic and environmental factors in these areas are a constant threat to the communities' livestock and thus income. During monitoring and evaluation exercises, the most frequently obtained feedback from trained CBAHWs is that of a series of bad debts. Some farmers are either reluctant or unable to pay for medical services provided to their donkeys. The situation for donkeys is worsened by the existence of cultural misconceptions about them, which demean their value. Some communities believe that a sick donkey cannot be treated, and thus exile the patient leaving it to its
fate, or they believe the 'cow vet' cannot treat donkeys. The resultant poor attitude about donkey welfare is one of the objectives our integrated approach hopes to address. However, the above factors mean practitioners may refrain from attending to donkey cases or they are called to attend only when a case has advanced so the prognosis is grave. DS provision of free veterinary health services Provision of free veterinary services to donkeys on DS field visits poses a challenge as far as creating sustainable systems is concerned. Most farmers will hold on to their sick animals awaiting the DS revisit, instead of consulting the CBAHWs. Some farmers are sceptical about the ability of the CBAHWs to treat their donkeys satisfactorily, and the farmers' financial constraints impact on their decisions to use the CMAHWs. The veterinary legislation with regards to the CBAHW system in Kenya The CBAHW provides an alternative animal health service in areas where no forms of veterinary service exist. Generally they are farmers who are not eligible for licensing by the national veterinary board. Consequently CBAHWs are providing the services illegally. In addition, the Veterinary Surgeons Act in Kenya regulates several aspects of the veterinary profession, including who should practise and the code of ethics. The Act specifies the minimum qualifications required for registration by the board. As it stands today, Diploma and Certificate holders in animal health do not qualify for registration or licensing and can practise only under the supervision of registered/licensed veterinary surgeons [4]. Loss of trained government officers and CBAHWs The government reshuffles its staff every 3 years, translocating them to new areas; this hampers the welfare programme as the government officers trained in aspects of donkey medicine/husbandry and responsible for a given number of CBAHWs in an area move on to other work. Furthermore, James Githuka of FARM-Africa reports that in previous similar exercises, some of the trained CBAHWs have stopped practising due to loss of interest or community politics, etc. Conclusions In spite of the challenges and successes experienced there is a long way to go to achieve our goal of the availability of minimum but appropriate veterinary services to all the needy donkeys in Kenya. References [1] J. C. Rubyogo, P. M. Murithii, G. J. O. Agumbah, and G. Obhai, Sustainability of a privatized community animal health worker system in Mwingi District, Kenya, Tropical Animal Health and Production, Vol 37, No 4, pp 25366, May 2005. [2] J. C. Rubyogo, P. M. Murithii, G. J. O. Agumbah, and G. Obhai, Assessment of the technical competence and ethical behavior of community animal health workers in Mwingi District, Kenya, Tropical Animal Health and Production, Vol 37, No 4, pp 26776, May 2005. [3] FARM-Africa website, www.farmafrica.org.uk/smartweb/about-us. [4] Steve McCrosky, Lonny Grafman, and Curt Beckmann, Community based animal health care, www.appropedia.org, 2008.
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THE EQUINE FRIENDS: COMMUNITY-BASED ANIMAL HEALTH WORKERS (CBAHWS)

M. Z. Qureshi, S. Khan, S. Z. A. Shah, and M. S. Khattak
The Brooke, Opposite Telephone Exchange, Charsadda Road, Peshawar, Pakistan zaffar_q22@yahoo.com, peshawar@thebrooke.org.pk
Abstract It has been recognized that Community-based Animal Health Workers (CBAHWs) play an important role in the delivery of equine health services. As they are part of the community, they have a complete knowledge about the animals of their area. They are usually very helpful in the remote areas in providing first aid to needy animals. In such areas where veterinary services are neither available nor affordable, the need for them increases. The Brooke Peshawar has 32,104 equines in its catchment areas; it operates in 41 communities, organizing educational sessions and also providing veterinary treatment for sick animals. It was noticed that as Brooke Peshawar mobile teams visited each community once a week, so the provision for follow-up treatment for sick animals was a challenge, especially in areas where needy animals had no access to veterinary services in the absence of Brooke. The Brooke Peshawar took the initiative to select and train CBAHWs: they not only increase the Brooke's reach but they also provide veterinary services at affordable charges in the absence of the Brooke. The Brooke Peshawar has trained 14 CBAHWs in the last 4 years who are working in 14 different communities. They have treated more than 1,670 animals to whom no other service was available. Introduction A Community-based Animal Health Worker is 'Such a person who performs a limited range of veterinary tasks as defined by the statutory body in a given country'. It has been recognized that CBAHWs working with equine-owning communities play an important part in the delivery of equine health services, especially in the developing countries [1]. Being part of the community for which they provide veterinary services, CBAHWs can extend the outreach and efficiency of their national state veterinary services, e.g. by providing reports of disease outbreaks from remote areas which would not be otherwise regularly generated. At the same time CBAHWs can provide a basic clinical service to equine owners in places that are poorly served by veterinarians, public or private. The work of a Community-based Animal Health Worker A CBAHW performs the work required by their equine-owning community. As these communities are disparate, their requirements for local veterinary care can also be diverse. In general, however, a CBAHW has most of the following characteristics. The CBAHW is a member of the community is knowledgeable about animals is selected by the community is trained for a short period charges minimum fees for services provided reports disease outbreaks A CBAHW is expected by local equine owners to be an accessible person who can treat common diseases of their animals for an affordable fee. However, a CBAHW can also be involved in disease surveys and control programmes, and can also play a key role in organizing community awareness sessions. Why Brooke Peshawar needed CBAHWs The Brooke Peshawar has been providing free veterinary services to working equines since 1991. According to the
Government Livestock Census 2006 [2], the equine population in Peshawar and Charsadda District was 63,105 heads out of which 8,573 were horses, 53,638 were donkeys, and 894 were mules. Peshawar Centre has 6 mobile teams and 2 static clinics. The Brooke Peshawar has organized 41 communities in Peshawar region. The equine population in these 41 communities is about 3,000 heads. Most of these communities are located in remote areas. These areas either lack veterinary services or contain unaffordable veterinary services with untrained service providers. As Brooke teams visit these communities only once a week, on the remaining days the sick equines are deprived of follow-up treatment. CBAHWs could make available follow-up veterinary services and also emergency treatment, at affordable fees, and could also give advice to owners in the absence of the Brooke. Materials and methods The Brooke Peshawar decided on a 1-month training for CBAHWs. The course curriculum and contents were prepared. The course was designed to cover the following aspects: Equine management Basic management practices Equine health Different materials, such as posters, charts, and leaflets were then prepared to create interest in the idea of CBAHWs. Later a book, Equine Health and Husbandry, was written in Urdu and distributed amongst the CBAHWs. The basic CBAHW training was of 30 days duration, consisting of: Theoretical and practical training, 15 days (Figure 1) Fieldwork, 15 days Figure 1. Practical training session
It was also decided to hold a 1-day refresher course after every 3 months, not only to get feedback from the CBAHWs, but also for the CBAHWs to share their experiences with each other. After designing the course curriculum, course contents, and publicity materials etc., selection criteria were chosen, according to which a CBAHW will be a community member is knowledgeable about the animals will be selected with community consensus will be educated (some primary education or high) The CBAHW basic training was organized at the static clinic at the Peshawar Centre. During the 15 days of theoretical and practical sessions, different training techniques were used, i.e. presentations, demonstrations,
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group discussions, use of different extension materials, while all the practical sessions were performed at the static clinic, utilizing the admitted animals. Different Veterinary Officers of the Brooke Peshawar presented different topics. During the 15 days of fieldwork, the trainee CBAHWs were attached to different mobile teams. They visited different communities, where they were engaged in community-awareness sessions as well as in the provision of veterinary services After training was completed, the record keeping method was discussed with the CBAHWs. They were advised to maintain complete records of animals they had treated. Results The Brooke Peshawar had conducted 4 CBAHW training programmes and trained 14 CBAHWs up to March 2010. Details of training conducted and CBAHWs trained are given in Table 1. Figure 2 shows the total number of animals treated by CBAHWs between March 2006 and March 2010: Table 1. Number of CBAHWs trained per year Ser 1 2 3 4 Year of CBAHW training 2006 2007 2008 2009 Total Number of participants 2 4 4 4 14
Figure 3. Categories of disease treated by CBAHWs
Figure 4. CBAHWs at work in the community.
Figure 2. Animals treated by CBAHWs per year
Discussion The Brooke Peshawar has trained 14 CBAHWs to date, and they are providing veterinary services in different communities by charging affordable fees. These CBAHWs not only provide follow-up treatment but also emergency treatment to sick equines. They are a means of increasing the reach of the Brooke Peshawar. They are helpful in organizing different community-awareness meetings as well as identifying new communities in Brooke operational areas. They not only refer seriously sick animals for admission to the static clinics of Brooke Peshawar but also identify worn out animals for euthanasia. The CBAHWs act as real animal friends by providing veterinary services to seriously sick animals, even during the night. They also advise their owners on how to avoid malpractices. The trained CBAHWs perform an important role in animal welfare, but there is a great need to train more to cover 315 316
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the many animals needing services. The training programme has increased the credibility of both Brooke and CBAHWs in their respective areas as both being very useful to working equine communities. The CBAHWS have filled the gap between the Brooke and equine communities. They have fulfilled the need for emergency treatment provision at night when there is no veterinary service available, even from the Brooke. Lessons learned in the programme Being part of the communities, CBAHWs are very helpful in dealing with emergency cases, even at night: they provide first aid treatment in colic and accidental wound cases. They are also helpful in reporting an outbreak of disease in good time, and play a vital role in preparing the disease control programme. As Brooke visits a community once a week, so the CBAHWs provide follow-up treatment for the sick animals; they also help the community by referring the needy animals to the Brooke Hospital for admission. CBAHWs are also useful in organizing different community meetings. Although the CBAHW programme is effective there are still some challenges. Due to the high illiteracy rate, it is sometimes difficult to find a suitable person to train as a CBAHW. In some communities, people hesitate to pay the fees charged by CBAHWs as they expect free medicines from them. Because of the income some CBAHWs do not take much interest in their work and do not attend the number of cases expected by the Brooke. Certification to practise by government authorities is also a challenge. References [1] Hadrill D., Svendsen E. D., and Duncan J. Community Animal Health Workers. In: The Professional Handbook of the Donkey. 4th edition 2008. pp 3523. [2] Government Livestock Census. Agriculture Livestock Census Department, Government of NWFP, 2006. p 1.
PARAVET TRAINING: A SPANA INITIATIVE IN NORTHERN MALI

A. Doumbia
SPANA Mali, BP E-3940, Rue 77, Porte 54, Badalabougou, Bamako, Mali spana@cefib.com
Introduction In the context of the socio-economic reintegration of former rebel combatants and consolidating peace and economic development in the northern regions of Mali, SPANA has initiated the Animal Health & Production Support Project (French acronym: PASPA). The species involved are sheep, goats, camels, horses, and cows [3]. Context In northern Mali, draught animals and those bred for meat have an important role to play in economic activities. Unfortunately, this situation has been affected by the following constraints: Considerable reduction in flock size since the 19905 rebellion and also because of the 1992 drought Shortage of material and human resources from the regional services of the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Shortage of private vets [2] Objectives of PASPA The main goal is to help communities of livestock farmers in the affected regions to improve the health and productivity of their animals. This project relates to the training of auxiliary vets ('paravets') in camps and villages in the regions of Tombouctou, Gao, and Kidal, and includes: Training and equipping paravets in the field of veterinary care and animal production Strengthening the capacities for organisation amongst nomadic and static communities with regard to animal husbandry and management Strengthening the capacities for intervention of regional veterinary services from the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries and from private vets. Methodology The strategy is based on setting up a network of paravets (leaders) who are selected by the communities themselves according to precise criteria, and who are considered capable of providing community leadership functions in the field of basic animal health. The first phase of the project took place in 20013. Selected farmers were trained in basic animal health, as organised by SPANA. Farmers, once trained, were equipped with supplies and veterinary medicines so that they could provide animal health services for their respective communities. Following training, trainees were upgraded to paravets to provide support for the local veterinary services responsible for serving their respective communities. Each paravet received a medicine allowance of $220 to cover operating funds, plus a small medical care float of $150, with monthly support from SPANA of $45 in the first year, $32 in the second year, and $21 in the third year. The average monthly wage was $90. In return, the paravets had to produce a monthly report. Activities were monitored and evaluated by a joint mission between SPANA, veterinary services, and CAR/North. Monitoring was performed every 3 months, and supervision was provided by the SPANA team twice per year. At the end of each year, the paravets' impact on their communities was analysed, including their contribution to improving the state of health of animals, and the improvement of community revenue to cover costs.
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Results Following the first phase of the project, an assessment of project impact yielded the following results: Of the 20 paravets trained, only 13 were still operating (with operating funds still in existence and an improvement in the animals' state of health). Despite SPANA's support with monthly payments, it had not been possible for the 7 sites to manage their operating funds, and they remained without medicines with which to continue their activities. Communities had not managed to fulfil their commitment to the project because they had not provided any progressive funding of paravets. The success of activities was compromised by the inefficiency of the management committees at several sites. Following this assessment of the first phase of the project the methodology was changed, taking account of the observed shortcomings. Accordingly, for the second phase, the following criteria were adopted: With regard to selecting leaders, the fact of having been a rebel combatant was no longer taken into account given that the priority was to initiate the project in a global development framework. With regard to the duration of project phases, this was reduced to 2 year rather than 3 years, as this would make it possible to improve the coverage effect (instead of 20 every 3 years, there will be 10 per year) With regard to local management, the project was placed under the organisational control of municipal authorities rather than a management committee. With regard to training, this was provided every year for 1015 leaders with a refresher course after 6 months. In this second phase, which has been ongoing since 2004, a total of 72 paravets have been trained and 43 are in operation. The CPD training and medicine provision have improved in this stage, and have helped improve results. Results of external assessment [4] The results of assessments reflect a positive impact on socio-economic development in participating communities. In 2008, the numbers treated per paravet in their communities corresponded to 9,000 animals (sheep, goats, camels, horses, and cows) [1]. The figure was 1, in 2002 and 7,243 in 2008. See Table 1. Table 1: Number of animals treated by species Sheep 54,644 Goats 40,679 Camels 5,358 Horses 101,574 Cows 162,735 Total 364,990
Table 2. Site coverage by paravets Region Tombouctou Gao Total Sites visited 13 13 26 Sites with working paravet Percentage of working sites 11 9 20 84% 70% 77%
Project repercussions The repercussions of the Animal Health & Production Support Project are as follows: There is a marked improvement in public health, which can be measured by the quality of meat and by the quantity of milk. Members of the Intarkat management committee confirm that farmers are beginning to appreciate the real value of paravet services, in reducing the direct administration of drugs to their herd or flock, and arranging vaccination campaigns. Information about new cases of epidemics is broadcast in record time, from fixed-base vets in Tombouctou, Goundam, and Gao who receive information promptly from the paravets living onsite with farmers. Many paravets' lives have changed. We have found that the service provided by them is enabling them to counteract poverty: the work is helping to provide them with a living. All of the new paravets we met are working with various degrees of success. The approach taken by farmers has changed, with regard to the effectiveness of treatment of their animals by the paravets. Mindsets are beginning to change when it comes to considering the quality of veterinary products. At one time or another, all animal owners have administered medicine themselves with counterfeit imported products accessible to all. However, they acknowledge the difference in effectiveness of products employed by paravets trained by SPANA. Long-term effects The long-term effect of this operation hinges on the presence of an operating fund ($220) for the purchase of medicines, the scope for remunerating CAHWs from the profit margins from the sale of medicines, well-organised services, and a partnership established between communities on the one hand and private and public vets on the other. See Table 3. The management system is appropriate for the situation prevailing within the community. The quality of communications between the regional partner, the paravets, and the technical services are benefits which may help to sustain the long-term effectiveness of the project. Table 2. Costs of some aspects of the project, 2009 Designation Training Equipment Medicines Running costs Total Cost ($US) 6,020 3,010 2,150 21,300 32,480
An assessment performed in February 2008 by independent research office 'GAP' (Groupe d'Appui aux Programmes = Programmes Support Group) yielded the following results: All of the original paravets we encountered are doing extraordinary work. It's true that some of the first paravets trained had abandoned the role for reasons relating to promoting socio-economic integration: recruitment within a different organisation, opportunities to work in other areas to name but a few reasons. Out of 26 sites visited by the assessment team, the level of coverage is recorded Table 2.
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Conclusions Despite problems encountered, principally the lack of efficiency amongst management committees, the presence of counterfeit drugs on the market, and lack of organisation amongst farmers, the project has been a qualified success. In its 9 years of existence, PASPA has contributed not only to the socio-economic integration of a large number of paravets but also to an improvement in animals' productivity, and consequently an improvement in farmers' income. This represents a good example of the part played by animal charities in the struggle against poverty. References [1] SPANA. Annual report. 1997 [2] Diakit N. Evaluation de l' levage et de la couverture Sanitaire du Cheptel et Proposition d'un Programme de Sant au Nord Mali" (= Assessment of breeding and healthcare in the cheptel; proposal for a health programme in northern Mali). FUSCHINI Enzo-CICR. 1997. [3] Diallo O. Rapport Mission d'Identification Tombouctou Decembre 1998 (= Report on fact-finding mission in Tombouctou, December 1998). [4] Evaluation of the Project for Support to Animal Health and Production (PASPA) to train and monitor paraveterinary agents in northern Mali. Programme Support Group (GAP). January February 2008.
DEMONSTRATIVE FEEDING AND WOUND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON WORKING EQUINES: STONE-CARRYING DONKEYS AND GHARRY HORSES IN SNNP REGION, ETHIOPIA
G. Degefa, B. Asefa, M. Negash, and N. Gebrie
The Brooke Hospital for Animals, PO Box 1554 code 1250, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia gorfu@thebrookeethiopia.org
Abstract Two groups of working equines (stone-carrying donkeys and gharry horses) were identified by the Brooke Hospital for Animals in Ethiopia as being exposed to a high level of risk of poor welfare due to work and the husbandry practices used by their owners. The organisation worked closely with owners to undertake welfare assessments of these animals to determine the key issues, and also facilitated a knowledge, attitude and practice study with the owners to identify priority problems from their perspective. Poor body condition and wounds were seen as being major issues, and a pilot intervention was developed to test the use of improved feeding using cheap locally available materials, and basic wound management. Fifteen animals (5 donkeys and 10 horses) along with their owners were selected for the trial, and monitored by regular visits over 3 months. Over the trial period, all the animals showed improvement in body condition and either complete healing and reduction in wounds. It is necessary to develop a simple monitoring system that the group can use to ensure long-term change, and identify any animals needing additional help. This experience will be shared by the owners with other equine owners as a means to increase uptake. Method: pre-intervention assessments Welfare assessment using the Bristol Welfare Assessment tool [1] was carried out by Brooke staff on 26 donkeys and 35 gharry horses. See Table 1. Table 1. Welfare assessment results Stone-carrying donkeys (5) Body condition: all were scored as thin Lesions: most had severe and deep lesions on girth, belly, wither, spine, hind quarter, tail, or tail base Parasites: half had external parasites (ticks and bot eggs), etc. Gharry horses (10) Body condition: most were scored thin, and few medium Body lesions: on wither and spine, girth and belly, hind quarter, fore leg, lip lesion, etc.
Method: owners' Knowledge, Attitude, Practice (KAP) analysis Key areas leading to poor welfare were identified by owners, as shown in Table 2. Table 2: KAP results from owners Donkeys Lack of feed Lack of water Overloading, etc. Horses Overloading Whipping/beating Shortage of feed Hoof problems, etc.
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Method: feeding and wound management intervention This was designed with the owners to address the key findings of the KAP analysis and the welfare assessments: Number of demonstration dates = 10 (6 for donkeys and 4 for horses) Number of animals selected for the demonstration = 5 donkeys and 10 horses Project duration = 3 months As a result of this intervention the following changes were achieved: o 100% improvement in body condition of the targeted equines o 75 % of treated animals had decreased number of body wounds Steps followed Body condition indicators set through community dialogue: good, medium, and poor Improved feeding practices exercised Each animal was seen every 2 weeks and the data recorded and analysed. How to make an improved feed mix? Cheap, locally available materials were selected as follows: 2kg (for donkey) and 4kg (for horse) of wheat bran mixed with 150ml edible oil and Water Practical demonstration on wound management Owners were shown how to treat wounds themselves: Use 1 teaspoon table salt diluted in 1.5 litres of clean water to wash the wound Use a simple blade to shave hair around the wound Use a clean piece of cloth, if possible a towel, to wash debris from the wound Use vaseline to rub on the edges of the wound to soften the skin Results after 3 months Table 3. Results of the intervention Animals Animal 1 (D) Before 3 months Poor body condition Dirty feeding trough Watered once daily Fed once daily No improved feed mix No wounds Sign of internal parasite Poor body condition Dirty feeding trough Watered once daily Fed once daily No improved feed mix Severe wound with worm on it Sign of internal parasite After 3 months Medium body condition Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed twice daily Improved feed mix twice a week Treated with antibiotics and dewormed
Animal 3 (D)
Poor body condition, Dirty feeding trough Watered once daily Fed once daily No improved feed mix Severe wound at the back Sign of internal parasite, not active Poor body condition Poor feeding trough Watered once daily Fed once daily No improved feed mix Severe wounds at the back, hind quarter, etc. Sign of internal parasite Good body condition Good feeding trough Watered twice daily Fed twice daily No wounds Active and young Used as a control
Above medium but not fully in good body condition Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed twice daily Improved feed mix twice a week Wound healed Dewormed Medium body condition Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Improved feed mix every 2 days in a week 75% of wounds healed Dewormed
Animal 4 (D)
Animal 5 (D)
Nearly in good body condition Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed twice daily Improved feed mix every 3 days Not engaged in heavy carrying Sufficient time for grazing No wounds Good body condition Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed 3 times daily Improved feed mix (4kg wheat bran mixed with 150ml oil and water), and additional feed such as barely 1.25 kg per week, others Signs of epizootic lymphangitis Good body condition Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed 3 times daily Improved feed mix (4kg wheat bran mixed with 150ml oil and water) and additional feed such as sugar cane, others
Animal 6 (H)
Poor body condition, Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed twice daily No improved feed mix Eye problem
Animal 7 (H) Poor body condition, Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed 3 times daily No improved feed mix Sign of internal parasite
Animal 2 (D)
Good body condition Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed once daily Improved feed mix 4 days a week Wound healed Sufficient rest with additional feed
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Animal 8 (H)
Medium body condition Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed twice daily No improved feed mix Sign of internal parasite
Good body condition Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed 3 times daily Improved fed mix (4kg wheat bran mixed with 150 ml oil and water) and additional feed such as barley 1kg every day, others
Animal 13 (H)
Good body condition Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed 3 times daily No improved feed mix
Good body condition Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed 3 times daily Improved feed mix (4kg wheat bran mixed with 150ml oil and water) and additional feed such as sugar cane, others Good body condition Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed 3 times daily Feed such as sugar cane, barley provided Animal not interested in improved feed mix (wheat bran mixed with oil and water) Good body condition Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed 3 times daily Improved feed mix (4kg wheat bran mixed with 150ml oil and water) and additional feed such as sugar cane, others
Animal 14 (H) Animal 9 (H) Poor body condition Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed 3 times daily No improved fed mix Sign of internal parasite Wounded Medium body condition Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed 3 times daily No improved feed mix Sign of internal parasite Good body condition Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed 3 times daily Improved feed mix provided only 3 times, then the owner stopped There is knee lesion Good body condition Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed 3 times daily Improved feed mix (4kg wheat bran mixed with 150ml oil and water) and additional feed such as sugar cane, barley, and others
Good body condition Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed 3 times daily No improved feed mix, sometimes given raw egg
Animal 10 (H)
Animal 15 (H)
Good body condition Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed 3 times daily No improved feed mix, sometimes given raw egg, sugar cane
Animal 11 (H)
Medium body condition Poor feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed 3 times daily No improved feed mix Sign of internal parasite
Good body condition Dirty feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed 3 times daily Improved fed mix (4kg wheat bran mixed with 150 ml oil and water) and additional feed such as sugar, others Good body condition Good feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed 3 times daily Improved feed mix (4kg wheat bran mixed with 150 ml oil and water) and additional feed such as sugar cane, others
D=donkey, H=horse
Animal 12 (H)
Medium body condition Poor feeding trough Watered 3 times daily Fed 3 times daily No improved feed mix Sign of internal parasite
Observations The vet recommended that almost all the animals be dewormed. Both demonstrative feeding and wound management interventions needed a maximum of three months Most of the gharry horse owners' family members (wife and children) were also involved in preparing the improved feed mix. Rest, for wounded and thin animals, is vital to bring about improvement in their wounds and body condition. Water is one of the problems identified by the KAP study and owners are forced to provide stagnant water for their donkeys. The issue of water remains difficult during the dry season. During the visits, inconsistency in body condition improvement was observed. For example, the body condition of animal 5 was above good at the 5th, but dropped slightly at the 6th assessment. After such intervention there has to be a mechanism were owners can regularly monitor the body condition and wounds of their animals. The frequency of improved feed mix provision by owners is generally 23 times for donkeys and 4 times in a week for gharry horses. In addition, owners were engaged in daily routine management practices (rest, additional feed, watering, use of cleaned feed trough, etc.)
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7 Education to Engage the Next Generation
Recommendations Organise community discussions between the group and other groups and members of the community where the Brooke is thinking of practising this intervention in the near future, as a means of sharing and scaling-up these practices. Pilot 'Traffic Light Intervention' to engage owners in regular follow-up of body condition improvement. This would allow them to assess body condition and wounds as a group, and identify any animals requiring increased attention. The organisation, in partnership with animal owners, should establish an award ceremony to motivate groups. Reference [1] Pritchard, J.C., Lindberg, A.C., Main, D.C.J., and Whay, H.R. (2005). Assessment of the welfare of working horses, mules and donkeys using health and behaviour parameters. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 69. 26583.
THE PEDAGOGY OF JUSTICE: EXPERIENCES FROM CAIRO

L. Iskandar
CID Consulting, Cairo, Egypt
Educational systems in the south have not achieved what they were set out to achieve for their populations: people have not been engaged in sustainable economic growth, poverty eradication, human security, etc. It is clear that we require a fundamental rethinking of learning systems to confront the current challenges of poverty, exclusion, and illiteracy. Solutions are related to deep political failures which result in large numbers of impoverished adults having to send their children to work. But while these failures require interventions on a macro scale, solutions at the micro level can help children leap out of the poverty and exclusion cycle, allowing them to map a different future from the one their parents had to suffer. Solutions draw on a multidisciplinary, bottom-up approach to develop learning systems which guide the delivery of educational opportunities to the dispossessed. Since one of the main reasons people are excluded from formal schooling is the necessity to go out to work, be it in fields, in workshops, or in the home, non-formal education inherently links the learning process to work-related and income-generating contexts. It anchors learning in local practice and indigenous knowledge of how to work, earn income, trade, access credit, and organize communities. Non-formal education is grounded in the popular economy. It creates from that work arena a vast 'school' or 'learning space', within the informal economy. In large measure it revolves around self-employment such as streetvending or crafts co-operatives, barter, exchange, local production, and family-owned businesses, etc. Such schemes allow youths to create their own paths towards sustainable development. Through practical skills training in the informal economy, one of the few means that are left to address the dire situation of excluded youths is invested in. In Egypt, CID Consulting has been piloting experiments to transform informal sector working places into nonformal islands of learning. These have largely centred on recycling communities and brick-making factories in Egypt. The pedagogy of justice is adopted in these 'islands'. Since education and development are inextricably intertwined, to produce change CID searches for points of intersection where these can be brought together. Starting from the premise that development is a long-term intergenerational process, we focus in a major way on adolescents and children. The basic research and design questions around which CID's work revolves are: 1. How can we provide people/working children with an opportunity to learn? 2. What kind of learning content do they need to acquire 3. How should we design the learning programme? Their labour is needed for basic family survival. Withdrawing them from that labour and having the family go hungry them included is not the answer. 4. How can we keep them learning within their trade and the market? 5. How can we uphold the positive aspects of their indigenous knowledge in their specific trade and alter the negative aspects? We need innovative methods of non-formal basic education so that those who are caught in the poverty trap and cannot access formal schooling can still learn, contribute, and break out of the endless cycle of poverty and oppression. We adapt these methods to each specific group, its culture, its aspirations, its daily realities, and learning needs. This learning is upheld by UNESCO, practitioners, and international agencies. We decided to anchor learning in the local practice, the joy of working, the fulfilment of earning income, the dynamism of trading, accessing credit, and the imperative of organizing communities.
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Clearly, we need to expand our notions of 'learning place' from the stifling strictures of a gated school and walled classroom, to that vast arena: the huge marketplace, the community, and the city. We need to start with the right questions: e.g. what do girls and boys need to learn in order to grow up to be educated managers of their lives and their communities? How are we going to design this? Who will deliver it? Where will it be 'housed'? How are we going to assess it? What materials are we going to use to deliver the content?... etc. CID works to protect the practical, experiential knowledge of local communities from being neutralized and eradicated by formal learning systems. Responses to the current inequities and environmental problems facing the world will require a reshaping of the learning agenda and a refocusing of the learning content for all the rich and the poor. Sustainable curriculum development has to be a dynamic process if we are to achieve sustainable economies, environment, and society The Egyptian girls recycling school, Mokattam, APE, 1988 The rag recycling centre [1] in the garbage collectors neighbourhood of Mokattam is a non- formal learning and earning school. It builds on the expertise of girls and women in manual sorting of municipal household waste. It creates conditions of learning and work that are clean, dignified, safe, and artistically beautiful just like the people who made them. It uses rags to design and implement a curriculum which incorporates elements of learning designed to empower learners. Revenues from sales of recycled handicrafts make the community enterprise financially viable. The project demonstrates how designed interventions can succeed in addressing income poverty, educational deprivation, health and recreation, and community mobilization, but not the injustice issues which were at the core of the extreme marginalization of the z community. The Egyptian boys recycling school of Mokattam, SoY, 2001 The boys recycling school was designed and launched by CID. and was first funded by UNESCO. A partnership followed with multinational companies which were suffering from their empty plastic containers being fraudulently refilled and resold on the Egyptian market. The school reaches an annual average of 100 children of waste collectors in the marginalized Mokattam neighbourhood, who lack access to formal school education. It is run by 8 teachers. The programme is designed to incorporate education, work experience, environmental protection, poverty alleviation, and earning to create a matrix where actions improve an impoverished community on many levels. It creates a prototype linking the interests of the multinationals to the poor. Direct cooperation with multinational companies protects their containers from brand-name fraud by recycling empty brand-name shampoo containers, recovered by the learners, who bring them to the school and fill out a form showing how many bottles they have retrieved. The multinationals pay for this as well as for the granulation of their containers, and the school resells granulated plastic to the recycling industry. The generated income from the sale of the granulate covers the salaries of the teaching staff. The Egyptian boys school in brick factories, 2006 Young migrant working children in brick factories come from the poorest of the poor of rural populations, from villages that possess an age-old knowledge and tradition of making bricks from Nile alluvium. Children engage in different tasks, such as brick loading, transporting on donkey-pulled carts, stacking, etc. They spend 5 days a week in the factory, and return to their villages over the weekend. They are recruited for this work by a local labour
contractor from the village who extends credit to their families when they need it, thus it is close to being bonded labour. The labour contractor is in charge of travel arrangements, wage payment, and logistics of the young children in the factory. Children live and work in subhuman conditions marked by dirty rooms with no windows, nothing to sleep on but the untiled floor, no ventilation, and in shared premises with adult workers. They drink from the contaminated water tanks and have limited access to showers and the 1 latrine in the mosque. They purchase overpriced food prepared in a canteen on the factory grounds. There is limited lighting, no roads, and no health clinics in the area. The project was initiated by CID Consulting in 2006 and funded by CIDA, the P-PICC Work Program, Sharkawy Law Firm, Rotary Sunrise, and individual contributions. The project reaches a total of 250300 boys, and is implemented by 10 teachers. To date it has established 3 classes which draw learners from 24 out of the 350 strong cluster of brick-making factories. Learning content is designed to reflect the brick-making industry and specific animal health and welfare aspects of the work children do in the factories. It includes: 1. Literacy programme (Arabic language and numeracy) 2. Montessori programme for principles and art of construction 3. Public health, hygiene, and industrial safety 4. Computer literacy programme 5. Field trips and sports programme 6. Animal health curriculum (with Brooke Animal Hospital) Summary Typically, pedagogies of justice cover the following aspects of learning: 1. How to design ways for the marginalized to keep their grip on their market niches and their trade 2. How to equip learners with market-based skills springing from indigenous knowledge and practice 3. How to train teachers and design new learning content about the specific sector and economic activity in which learners are engaged 4. How to prepare ourselves for the imminent events which will affect our sector, e.g. carbon trading in the brick factories and renegotiation of the citys waste contracts in 2017 Reference [1] Kamel, Laila R. Iskandar. Mokattam Garbage Village, Cairo, Egypt. Published by Laila R. Iskandar Kamel and printed by Stallion Graphics. Cairo, 1994.
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PROMOTING ANIMAL WELFARE THROUGH NURTURING EMPATHY IN SCHOOLCHILDREN: THE CASE OF RURAL COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, ETHIOPIA
E. Bojia, A. Nigus, H. Bekele, G. Lemessa, F. Alemayehu, K. Asmamaw, M. Tesfaye, H. Hagos, G. Ayele, W. Teshome, and P. Sally
Bojiae@yahoo.com
Rank
Source: survey report from regional projects
5th
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
The criteria set by the community to evaluate the welfare status of domestic animals have some reference to the 5 animal freedoms [4]. In Table 1 the animal which suffers most from a particular malpractice is ranked 1st while the animal that suffers least is ranked 5th at each cell. The cumulative rounded rank is given at the end of the table. Accordingly, the community ranked donkeys to be in bad welfare compared to other animals considered. The school education programme has short- and long-term objectives to address these problems. Short-term objectives are raising awareness, developing positive attitudes, kindness, and respect for working animals in schoolchildren, as well as developing the studentparent relationship in basic animal care and handling. Longterm objectives may include training primary school teachers in humane education, establishing clubs, and working with institutions of education towards the inclusion of humane education in the school education programme. Materials and intervention protocols The Donkey Sanctuary launched a schoolchildren education programme in selected schools in the operation areas. It started predominantly as storytelling about mistreated animals the donkey being a model animal. The target age group of children was 1014 years [2], i.e. grade 4 in the rural primary school. The schools agreed to provide 40 minutes per month for 8 months per year. The charity has trained its own education officers to deliver the lessons and establish clubs. Some local schoolteachers participate in the club establishment initiative and are currently leading the clubs. The club is open for all pupils in the school. The delivery system is made participatory and dynamic using various external inputs and student creativities. The materials for education are a handbook and a storybook. The handbook consists of 7 sequential lessons and an assessment section. The storybook is a collection of stories with questions and suggested answers at the end. In addition, laminated pictures, an atlas of the animal world, model toys, tooth brush, grooming utensils, packsaddles, horse shoes, digital records, films, etc. as appropriate to specific lessons are used. The layout of the handbook includes: interaction of humans and domestic animals, needs of domestic animals, importance of domestic animals, basic care of domestic animals, management constraints of working animals, health care for working animals, and community KAP (knowledge, attitudes, and practices) related to working animals followed by an assessment section. Empathy education is administered in such a way that children learn and build their knowledge from simpler ideas and activities to a more comprehensive and a practical activity. The flow of the presentation in the booklet is: aims, teacher's note, objectives, key learning points, materials needed, class activity, conclusion, and activities with parents. Outputs A total of 3,000 pupils have been exposed to empathy education annually over the last 4 years. Lessons motivate students to establish/join clubs. The number of clubs is increasing from year to year (see Table 2). Most of the schools are from grades 1-8. Table 2. Number of students accessed by empathy enhancement programme in the 3 projects
Introduction Empathy is the ability to recognize and understand another being's perceptions and feelings. It is the ability to imagine and feel a part of the emotions being experienced by another human or animal [2]. It may not be easy to develop one being's empathy for another being. It is believed that children's views about other beings are easier to mould while they are still forming their attitudes [6]. Nurturing empathy for working animals in schoolchildren has been one of the strategic objectives of the Donkey Sanctuary (DS) operating in Ethiopia. Four-fifths of Ethiopia is rural and livelihoods depend largely on small-scale agriculture using animal power [5]. Oxen are used in cultivation while transportation of commodities is on donkey back. This is evidenced by a farmer's saying: 'A farmer without a donkey is a donkey himself.' In a country where animal power is the backbone of the economy, nurturing empathy at primary schools in rural communities is a way forward for animal protection practices. Good animal welfare practices are fundamental for improved production and productivity [7]. Animal protection is hardly mentioned in schoolchildren's education. DS empathy development education targets prevailing husbandry practices shown in Table 1. Table 1. Comparison of welfare status of working and companion animals using criteria set by rural communities in the respective regions: Oromia, Tigray, Amhara, SNNPRs, Ethiopia Welfare indicator criteria Cattle (oxen) Cart Poor image, attitude Beating, torching, poking Overloading, no rest Bad harnessing, hobbling, tethering Start work early in life Starvation, water deprivation, abandoned Lack of shelter, resting area Traditional therapy malpractices (branding, docking, drenching, bleeding) Lack of intention to take sick to clinic Limit to express normal behaviour 5 5 5 4 5 5 5 2 5 5 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 Donkey Pack 1 2 3 2 2 3 3 3 3 2 Horse/mule Cart 4 3 2 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 NA 5 NA 2 2 5 1 3 Dog
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Project
Number of schools 14 4(5*) 4 27
Number of children in the schools 10,000 2,064 1,650 13,714
Number of pupils Number of clubs reached established 1,957 755 550 3,062 3 9 4 16
Number of teachers actively engaged 9 27 32 52
Figure I. Animal welfare clubs in action in the 3 regions
Oromiya Tigray Amhara Total
Oromia: presenting a song to the school community, 2010
Tigay: Club members after a Q&A session, 2009
Amhara: Club members in front of an educational bill board, 2010
*Through club's establishment only
Schoolchildren participated with full interest demonstrating diversified creativities. They developed stories, dramas, poems, songs, role play, and news in the mini-media, etc. (Table 3). They could identify good sense and nonsense about donkeys in the community. Dramas mainly compared bad owner behaviour and attitudes with those of a wise owner in the context of underlying community practices. The majority of poems praised the donkey's values in a rural family livelihood; debates compared the value of donkeys with that of oxen. Table 3. Resources developed by students following empathy education Projects Poems Dramas Stories Songs News Role play 2 5 1 8 3 21 14 38 2 17 3 22 Drawi ngs 100 4 2 106 Rituals Q&A* * Debate
Discussion The schoolchildren education initiative has been successful in the schools where the programme is attached nationwide i.e. Oromia, Amhara and Tigray. The school communities have readily demonstrated their cooperation, offering space and time to deliver lessons in humane education about working animals and promoting animal welfare through establishing clubs. The public have also praised the approach as promising and sustainable. Exploring the roots of kindness or cruelty to animals does not go beyond (school) children age [2]. The potential with children was demonstrated through creating diversified means of conveying animal welfare messages. The day-to-day interaction with donkeys and other working animals in the rural community might have enriched children's creativity. Strong messages were delivered through dramas, role plays, debates, and songs. Most of the children were herders outside school, and the education was a direct challenge for themselves and their parents. However, a child kind to an animal will not be harmful to other children and this will limit family and society violence [1]. Some of the community malpractices related to animal welfare can be changed through schoolchildren. Children are constantly learning from parents, school, and communities, and their views about life are shaped accordingly. Currently many development organizations are creating a link with community schools in villages to convey messages across the community, particularly when the parents are illiterate. Lessons learned and the way forward Developing a generation kind to animals is one of the sustainable ways for animal welfare charities to enhance animal welfare, particularly in countries where the economy largely relies on animal power. Children are buildingblocks for the next generation. The future norms and practices of a community largely depend on the way children are brought up today. Therefore, humane education in schoolchildren may be an important element of a structured community education programme. Otherwise, enacting local, national, or international animal welfare legislation without structured community awareness/education may be difficult to implement. Nurturing empathy in schoolchildren could be a gate opener. The lessons students learn early in life will have a profound effect on how they define their frame of thinking about animals. The class and club activities allow a free learning environment and facilitate learning. The participation and later control of the clubs by schoolteachers may allow the charity to promote the programme more widely. The more people reached the closer we will be to achieving inclusion of humane education in the school curriculum. Humane education in primary schoolchildren should be an integral component of a long-term community empowerment programme. Our long-term objective is to include such education in the curriculum of schoolchildren in any form possible, be it a paragraph, a few passages, or a chapter as the programme allows. References [1] Arluke, A., Levin, J., Luke, C., and Ascione, F. (1999). The relationship of animal abuse to violence and other 334
Oromiya Tigray Amhara Total
20 295 32 347
3 29 4 36
0 23 1 24
0 0 5 5
0 41 1 42
1 26 2 29
**Questions and answers prepared by students for students
Other activities include visiting donkeys at markets and vet clinics, provision of water for working animals including donkeys, and developing slogans and stamping them on walls. Being in the rural community, such intervention was observed to have a direct effect on the children. Establishing clubs was a tedious exercise in the beginning; eventually it became a powerful tool to bring about change. The clubs advocating working animal welfare became the most popular and good examples for other clubs in the schools. See Figure 1. Schoolteachers found that the clubs did not only help them to extract students' talent but they also found the education more practical. The clubs developed a studentschoolparent relationship. Nurturing empathy in schools in project areas has tremendously increased the turnout for clinical services. Children tend to bring sick donkeys to the vet clinic and are instrumental in the spread of information about clinical services. As the education is not limited to equids, it also encourages owners to take other sick animals to nearby clinics. In Amhara region, there are signs of a reduction in some practices including hobbling (one leg off the ground), beating, overloading, traditional malpractices, and maligning of donkeys.
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forms of antisocial behavior. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14, 96375. [2] Ascione, F.R. (2005). Children and animals: exploring the roots of kindness and cruelty, 1st edition, USA Central Statistics Authority of Ethiopia. [3] Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) (1979). Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (FAWAC) press release, 5 December. [4] Food and Agricultural Organization Statistical year book (2006). [5] Hulme, D., Tabbaa, D., and Hamdan, T. (2003). SPANA's education program: experiences in training and education. In Pearson, A., Fielding D., and Tabbaa, D. (eds). Fourth international colloquium on working equines: proceedings of a colloquium organized by the Society for the Protections of Animals Abroad (SPANA) and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Al Baath University, Hama, Syria, 206 April 2002. SPANA, London, 5663. [6] OIE (2010). www.oie.int/Eng/bien_etre/en_introduction.htm. [7] WSPA (2010). www.animal_education.org/awed/queryherd2.asp.
EVALUATING THE EFFICACY OF AN EDUCATION PROGRAMME FOR RURAL DONKEY USERS IN ETHIOPIA: A RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL
A. P. Stringer 1, R. M. Christley 1, C. E. Bell 2, F. Gebreab 3, G. Tefera 3, K. Reed 4, A. Trawford 5, and G. L. Pinchbeck1
1
School of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool, Leahurst Campus, Neston, Cheshire, UK 2 Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Roslin, Midlothian, UK 3 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Debre Zeyit, PO Box 34, Ethiopia 4 SPANA, 14 John Street, London, UK 5 The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, Devon, UK stringer@liverpool.ac.uk.
Aim A cluster-randomised controlled trial (c-RCT) was used to evaluate the effectiveness of 3 knowledge-transfer interventions on knowledge change about equid health, for rural Ethiopian working equid users. Background There are estimated to be 1.8 million horses, 377,000 mules, and 4.3 million donkeys working in Ethiopia: the largest population of donkeys in Africa and the second largest donkey population in the world after China [1]. Their role in the socio-economics of the country is substantial, with the majority of the Ethiopian population dependent on traditional subsistence agricultural production [2]. There have been few studies evaluating the efficacy of knowledge-transfer methods for livestock owners in developing countries, and to the authors' knowledge no published work is available that evaluates the effect of knowledge-transfer interventions on the education of working equid users. Wounds are one of commonest health concerns to afflict working donkeys in many countries [3, 4, 5, 6]. The majority of these wounds are a result of human causes, which is in contrast to the majority of wounds on equids in developed countries that are predominantly due to accidental injury. These wounds are often caused by a combination of poorly fitting and designed tack or harnesses, beating with sticks, and improper management practices [7]. Materials and methods We designed and developed 3 knowledge-transfer methods for educating working equid owners in Ethiopia: a diagrammatic handout, an audio programme, and a village meeting with an animal health worker. The laminated 4page A4 handout predominately used colour images, with limited text. The 12-minute audio programme was performed by local radio actors and comprised of a discussion between 2 livestock owners. The village meeting consisted of a standardised talk accompanied by poster displays and demonstrations. This meeting also included a short question-and-answer session. Content for these interventions was decided using work carried out prior to the c-RCT using Participatory Situation Analysis [8]. A c-RCT was designed to compare each method with the others and with a control group that received no knowledge transfer. We aimed to detect a change in knowledge between pre- and post-dissemination of 30% (e.g. increasing from 20% to 50% in the intervention groups). Sample size estimates indicated that 8 villages, each with 15 owners, per type of intervention tested would give sufficient power to detect the 30% change in knowledge with 95% confidence and 80% power. Villages and livestock owners were randomly selected from the Oromia region of Ethiopia and the knowledgetransfer interventions randomly assigned to each village. Cluster randomisation was necessary to prevent 'contamination' between owners belonging to 1 village via sharing of information. All interventions underwent multiple stages of pretesting and reverse translation. Questionnaires were devised to evaluate the effectiveness of the knowledge-transfer interventions. The questionnaires containing identical questions were administered both pre- and post-dissemination to assess changes in knowledge levels. The questionnaires contained 12 specific questions on wounds and wound management based on 10 specific learning objectives. Each individual question 335 336
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was scored based on the number of correct responses needed to be volunteered by the participant to get the question correct (between 1 and 4), and when summed, 12 questions provided a score out of a maximum of 28. Short-term follow-up questionnaires were administered 1118 days after interventions, and long-term follow-up questionnaires 13695 days after interventions. Data analysis to evaluate the change in knowledge of individual respondents between the different knowledge dissemination interventions utilised multilevel models allowing for clustering of individuals within a village. Results In total, 516 participants from 32 villages undertook the pre-intervention questionnaire; 504 participants undertook the short-term post-dissemination questionnaire; 476 participants undertook the long-term post-dissemination questionnaire. This resulted in a 98% response rate to the short-term post-dissemination questionnaire and a 92% response rate to the long-term post-dissemination questionnaire. All interventions significantly (P<0.001) improved the overall change in score between pre- and short-term follow-up questionnaires compared to the control. The handout and village meeting had a significantly greater impact than the audio programme: they increased the score by approximately 9.5 marks whereas the audio programme increased the score by approximately 5 marks. At long-term follow-up a similar pattern was observed with all interventions significantly improving the overall change in score between pre- and long-term follow-up questionnaires compared to the control (P<0.001). However, the handout performed the best at long term with an increase in score of 10 marks compared to 8.6 for the village meeting and 4.0 for the audio. Of covariates collected at baseline only age and preintervention score had a significant effect on the outcome. The higher the pre-intervention score and the older the age of participant, the less the change in score at follow-up. However, although both had a significant effect on the outcome (change in score) they had a minimal effect on the interventions. Conclusion and significance All interventions improved post-intervention knowledge of the target audience; however, the handout and village meeting improved these scores nearly twice as much as the audio programme. It is plausible that the handout performed better than the other interventions at the long-term follow-up because it was the only intervention that remained with the participants throughout the trial, enabling continued reference if required. The success of the village meeting at the short-term follow-up and again at the long-term follow-up may be due to the combination of both an oral presentation and demonstrations with visual images accommodating all levels of literacy and language issues within the groups of participants. Although the audio programme had the least impact on the change in score compared to the other interventions, its benefit lies in its potential to reach the largest number of owners with relative ease of administration. This study demonstrates the application of quantitative studies, such as RCTs, to evaluate education programmes in developing countries. Due to their design, and the inclusion of a control group, RCTs provide the highest level of evidence of an effect and further use of these methods should be encouraged. Ethiopia, with its large population of equids, is ideally placed to benefit from appropriate education or extension programmes for the owners and users of equids. The results from this study may be beneficial to other populations of livestock owners, particularly in subSaharan Africa. However, it is likely that different issues associated with learning across different communities may exist, and these must be carefully considered when designing education programmes, and further testing in other populations is required. Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to the Wellcome Trust Livestock for Life scheme for the funding of this project. We also thank the staff at both SPANA and the Donkey Sanctuary (UK and Ethiopia) for their assistance and also the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Addis Ababa University, for its cooperation. We also thank all the villagers and development agents who were involved in the trial for their participation.
References [1] FAO (Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations), Statistical database website. http://faostat.fao.org/. [2] DFID (Department for International Development), 2006, DFID Ethiopia country assistance plan, 200610, Consultation draft. www.dfid.gov.uk. [3] Pritchard, J.C., Lindberg, A.C., Main, D.C.J., and Whay, H.R., 'Assessment of the welfare of working horses, mules and donkeys, using health and behaviour parameters'. Prev. Vet. Med. 69, pp. 26583. 2005. [4] Biffa, D. and Woldemeskel, M., 'Causes and factors associated with occurence of external injuries in working equines in Ethiopia'. Int. J. Appl. Res. Vet. Med. 4, pp. 17. 2006. [5] Burn, C.C., Pritchard, J.C., Farajat, M., Twaissi, A.A.M., and Whay, H.R., 'Risk factors for strap-related lesions in working donkeys at the World Heritage Site of Petra in Jordan'. Vet. J. 178, pp. 26371. 2007. [6] Sells, P.D., Pinchbeck, G.L., Mezzane, H., Ibourki, J., and Crane, M., 'Pack wounds of donkeys and mules in the Northern High Atlas and lowlands of Morocco'. Equine Vet. J. 42, 3, pp. 21926. 2010. [7] Pearson, R.A., Simalenga, T.E., and Krecek, R.C., 'Harnessing and hitching donkeys, mules and horses for work'. CVTM, University of Edinburgh. 2003. [8] Stringer, A.P., Christley, R.M., Bell, C.E., Gebreab, F., Tefera, G., Reed, K., Trawford, A., and Pinchbeck, G.L., 'Owner perceptions of working equid health and disease in Ethiopia: a participatory situation analysis (PSA)'. Poster: Society of Veterinary Preventative Medicine (SVEPM), London. 2009.
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TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MODULAR E-LEARNING SYLLABUS FOR WORKING EQUINES

A. Thiemann
The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, Devon, EX5 1EE, UK alex.thiemann@thedonkeysanctuary.com
An essential component of syllabus development would be the involvement of practitioners with experienced of working equines from the wide diversity of countries where they operate. The syllabus should aim to encourage best practice using techniques and products readily available, and not emphasise a dependence on the technological aspects of equine healthcare or the use of imported medication. Courses could be developed to cover both undergraduate teaching and postgraduate lifelong learning. The ability to continue to progress a career in the field of working equines would be of considerable benefit in providing continuity, and raising the status and hence entry into this branch of the profession. Modules with a research training content may be useful for those individuals wishing to undertake further scientific study. This model of CPD delivery requires the individual or organisational participant to have access to a computer and good broad band access, although this can be intermittent rather than continuous (e.g. cyber caf environment versus home computer). It would be preferable to make the material available in a number of widely used languages, including English, French, Spanish, and possibly Chinese. While the student should have good written skills, IT skills can develop as the course progresses. The content can be delivered in a number of ways ranging from the didactic lecture-based formats to self-directed learning using guided tools. Discussion groups and chat rooms may provide a sense of community and shared learning experiences. Video content can be used to illustrate practical content or discuss puzzling cases. The practical nature of much veterinary work means that some form of 'summer school' could be advantageous to consolidate manual skills, but as the theoretical content would have been covered already, such practical courses could be intense and more cost effective. It is suggested that initially such a syllabus is delivered through a pre-existing network, such as the African Universities Veterinary E-learning Consortium (AUVEC) [7] which has as its remit: 'a network for developing and delivering appropriate learning opportunities to animal health professionals'. Future developments could utilise or create a variety of networks as determined by need. AUVEC currently covers Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Malawi; it has the potential to extend to West Africa and Asia as demand grows. This e-learning network recognises the need to support animal health professionals in their location of work to provide better services, and importantly not to have to attend full-time study taking them away from where the need for the service remains greatest. The AUVEC consortium is closely linked to Edinburgh University and has received expressions of interest from the Royal Veterinary College and Bristol Veterinary School for further involvement. Strong links with UK universities with educational expertise would provide an ideal environment to develop a working equine syllabus, and potentially link in with research ventures, benefiting all parties. Setting up such a venture would require several consultations with stakeholders and meetings via a variety of methods (phone, skype, video conference, face to face), and costs would be mostly consumed by the salaries and time required. A start-up figure of 150,000200,000 could be considered reasonable [8]. Much of the material required for such courses is already available but requires converting to a modular format. An alternative approach could be to add components relevant to working equine practitioners to an existing equine science course. The MSc/Diploma/Certificate in Equine Science by distance learning available from the University of Edinburgh [9] is the type of course that could be modified to include different components, and preliminary discussions with the course director [8] have indicated a willingness to provide further modules or deliver specialist equine CPD as required, via the e-learning format. Conclusions This proposal suggests that a unique collaborative venture between a number of partner organisations could be an opportunity to create a new and distinctive syllabus within the educational field of 'working equines'. As ideas, technologies, and methodologies evolve, e-learning content can be rapidly updated and changed to meet the needs of the practitioner. Such a model of learning can be affordable and flexible [10] and enable applicants who
Abstract E-learning is a powerful tool enabling lifelong learning in a variety of non- traditional settings [1, 2]. A number of online courses are available but currently none addresses the specific requirements of the vet practitioner or student dealing with working equines. The author suggests an approach to developing a relevant syllabus and the requirements and potential partners involved in establishing such a venture. Introduction Despite the importance of equines in the agricultural and transport infrastructure of many developing countries, there is often little attention devoted to learning about their general management and veterinary needs at many levels starting with animal health technicians, veterinary undergraduate training, and continuing through postgraduate phases. This may be due to a lack of recognition of the needs of equines and the inability to place them in a curriculum focused on production animals. There is a requirement for equine health and welfare issues to be considered relevant and important by the policy makers and government before this knowledge deficit is examined, and rectified sustainably, by those countries heavily dependent on the equine for transport and agriculture. In the meantime, the training required to address the needs of equines is largely delivered in a number of ways by different NGOs working in this area. Some provide specialists to deliver focused continuing professional development (CPD) at various intervals to certain universities or clinics, and others may extend training to individual vets by a period of time in an institution away from their own country. Other NGOs rely upon 'volunteer' vets from a variety of sources, both university and private practice. There is also a large parallel emphasis on training animal health assistants/paravets in recognition of the often basic level of care needed to achieve substantial benefits in equine care. There is no professional body overseeing the delivery or content of CPD administered in this way, in contrast to the well regulated guidelines and requirements laid down by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) in the UK [3]. E-learning is a suitable tool that is already in use by health professionals in the medical field (e.g. 'e-learning certification in global health' delivered by Oxford University in partnership with African universities) [4], and can link institutions in developing countries with partners in the West bringing mutual benefit. In the veterinary field a number of universities have already developed e-learning networks, notably Edinburgh University's Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine (CTVM) [5], the Royal Veterinary College [6], and Liverpool University. Similarly, private CPD provision is supplemented in many cases by online learning content. Methods and delivery It is proposed that the NGOs and other interested parties currently involved in the welfare of working equines (e.g. Donkey Sanctuary, Brooke, SPANA, BEVA Trust, WSPA, BVA, DFID, Oxfam, and GHDT) have the capability to collaborate in developing content suitable and specific for the needs of the vet or animal health technician employed in working equine care. Such a course could address many areas of interest to such organisations and need not be limited to the 'traditional' syllabus in developed countries. Hence knowledge relating to primary health care, participatory techniques, and welfare assessments might be embedded alongside the typical veterinary content of the course.
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cannot use traditional routes (e.g. those typically restrained by location, family commitments, or work) to access further study. It is hoped that this short presentation will stimulate interest in, and discussion of, how such a proposal could become a reality. References [1] Forman, D., Nyatanga, L., and Rich, T. (2002) E-learning and educational diversity. Nurse Education Today, 22, 1, 7682. [2] Sanderson, P.E. (2002) E-learning strategies for delivering knowledge in the digital age. The Internet and Higher Education, 5, 2, 1858. [3] RCVS CPD guidelines at www.rcvs.org.uk/CPD. [4] University of Oxford: e learning in global health for Africa, http://tall.conted.ox.ac.uk/globalhealthprogramme/. [5] Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, www.link.vet.ed.ac.uk/ctvm/NEW%20CTVM.htm [6] Royal Veterinary College: Continuing Education Unit, www.rvc.ac.uk/CPD/OnlineCourses/Index.cfm. [7] African Universities Veterinary Elearning consortium, www.researchintouse.com/nrk/RIUinfo/PF/AHP11.htm. [8] Personal communication with CTVM. [9] Postgraduate MSc/Diploma/Certificate in Equine Science, www.link.vet.ed.ac.uk/equinescience/programminfo/learning.htm. [10] Bosworth, J (2005). E-learning solutions on a shoestring. Pfieffer, California.
NEWS ON SPANA/ MOROCCOS EDUCATION PROGRAMME FOR THE PROTECTION OF ANIMALS AND NATURE
A. Belemlih
Director, SPANA, Morocco spana@spana.org.ma
The SPANA's education programme for the protection of animals and nature in Morocco comprises 2 components: The protection of animals The environment in general and biodiversity in particular Education programme about the protection of animals This programme concentrates on domestic animals those that are treated by SPANA's mobile clinics or, for longterm treatment, those which are housed in a series of refuges dotted around the country. The animals include working animals (horses, donkeys, and mules) and companion animals (cats, dogs, and guinea pigs). The decision to invite schools into SPANA's refuges was made several years ago so, where room permitted, classrooms were built in which lessons could be held. At first, the authorities were reluctant to support SPANA's proposed programme. This was because they doubted a visit to see domestic animals particularly sick animals would have any benefit for children. In order to overcome this, SPANA initially developed a lesson that included some elements of environmental education which was considered to be fashionable at the time, and this was used to entice schools to make a visit. The schools came, but it was soon realised that the lesson being delivered was 'overloaded' and that SPANA was teaching mixed messages. However, the authorities had accepted the concept of working with SPANA by this time, so gradually the environmental sections were dropped and SPANA then created a programme based mainly on attitude and behavioural development, which is as follows: Developing empathy. 1 hour of classroom-based activities, in groups of 15 pupils, comprising 3 steps: transmitting knowledge, changing attitudes, and improving behaviour towards animals. To achieve these objectives, instructors use teaching worksheets with which students can carry out research on animals, and help combat prejudices through case studies and role play. The 5 basic needs of animals. A 1-hour activity taking place outside the classroom. It is led by a vet and includes a games session in which the students recognise and categorise the 5 basic needs of animals. It is followed by a guided tour of the animal refuge, where the students can watch vets visiting animals, meet and talk to animal owners, and learn about the conditions in which the animals are hospitalised, respecting their 5 basic needs. Over time and with changes in educational policy in Morocco, the authorities now place greater importance on developing children's attitudes and behaviour, so a pattern of regular visits is once more underway. As each refuge has reopened to schools, training courses for teachers are held to explain SPANA's aims and objectives and the benefits of the programme for children. Now, 8,000 pupils and students, on average, come to SPANA's centres and the pleasure and enjoyment on the children's faces as they see, touch, and handle the animals is plain to see. Education programme on the protection of the environment in general and biodiversity in particular The second part of SPANA's programme is not dissimilar to the first in that it too is not just based on the acquisition of knowledge, but also helps to develop attitudes and behaviour. By teaching about the environment the need for a natural balance, the importance of biodiversity, the value of a healthy environment, etc. it is designed so that children will develop attitudes of care and concern. For example, they are encouraged not to degrade the
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environment (drop litter, waste water, pick flowers, etc.) but to take care of it; and to be concerned when they see wetlands being drained or trees being chopped down. We want children to feel indignant at the wrongs in society, whether they are directed at animals or at nature, and we wish to guide them and show them how to act correctly to put things right. So this part of the SPANA programme was established through agreements with the Ministry for Education and the department in charge of managing forests and protected areas, and is applied in the National Centre for Environmental Education (CNEE) which is located within a nature reserve of national and international importance (a Ramsar site). It was designed by a specially appointed committee, bringing together all parties interested in environmental education, and comprises 5 hours of practical teaching per group per day. It is split into 2 parts: The first part is the same for all school groups according to age: 4 hours long, it involves a guided visit to the forest and practical activities to do there, as well as tasks on exploring life in water, an introduction to birdwatching, and a guided tour of an interactive exhibition. The second part involves an option: 1 hour long, it comprises the development of a teaching module chosen by the teacher from the 16 modules prepared by the Centre. These modules are extracts from the school curriculum and correspond with the principal environmental themes addressed in school books. Inevitably, in the 20 years in which SPANA's programme has been running there have been many problems to overcome, but we have also had some successes. First the problems: Persuading the authorities of the benefits is important (as above). Children only ever make 1 visit to a SPANA Centre. This means, once the children have become inspired and motivated, any follow-up has to be left to their class teacher, and direct contact with the children is lost. In some other countries in which SPANA operates (eg. Mauritania) schools within walking distance of a SPANA centre make several visits, so lessons can be delivered in some depth. Transport to SPANA's centres is difficult. At the CNEE, SPANA has its own bus, but few schools have their own transport and/or insurance and hired transport is difficult to obtain Resources are in short supply. Many schools have little or no materials or equipment for lesson follow-up. This is partly because information about animals in Arabic is limited and partly because schools cannot afford expensive resources though this is a far greater problem in some of the other countries that SPANA works in. Monitoring and evaluation are complex processes. Whilst it is easy to record statistics, evaluating the impact of the lessons is much more difficult. An external running assessment was undertaken in our refuge at Marrakech and the result was positive (and is referred to in more detail by Diana Hulme in her paper 'Measuring the impact of SPANA's education programme in schools'). But measuring the impact long-term is more difficult as contact with the children taking part is lost once they leave the refuge. However, there are some general and specific indicators that point to SPANA's programme being a success: SPANA has been accepted by the education authorities and they are keen to support our training courses for teachers and other events such as World Animal Day, Earth Day, and Wetland Day. According to the local education authorities, there is a queue of schools wishing to take part. It provides job satisfaction/fulfilment for SPANA's refuge staff. Children enjoy the contact with animals. There is evidence for this in the follow-up work done in their classrooms and sent to our centres for us to see. Visiting children appear less frightened of animals particularly dogs and enjoy contact with them in controlled circumstances. SPANA's logo is no longer the focus of derision, but is now understood. According to SPANA's vets, there is a much larger pet-owning population in towns, so gradually the benefits of the humananimal relationship is becoming better accepted amongst the general public.
1
EMPATHY EDUCATION ABOUT WORKING ANIMALS IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS OF CENTRAL ETHIOPIA

G. Lemessa1, F. Alemayehu1, E. Bojia1, B. Amare1, M.Tesfaye1, S. J. Price2 and S. Blakeway2
The Donkey Health and Welfare Project, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Addis Ababa University, PO Box 34, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia 2 The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, Devon EX10 ONU, UK lemzewae@yahoo.com
Abstract The Donkey Sanctuary in Ethiopia launched an empathy education programme at 7 primary schools in 2005, to nurture school children's empathy with working animals. The objective of the programme was to enhance the ability of schoolchildren to build smooth relationships and positive attitudes towards animals, resulting in the creation of responsible citizens who are compassionate, kind, and love and have empathy with all animals. To show empathy is to identify with another's feelings. It is to put yourself emotionally in the place of another [1]. Introduction Donkeys in Ethiopia are used for various activities such as pack transport, pulling carts in the Rift Valley, pulling water from deep wells in the Ogden area, ploughing in the lowland areas, threshing, and transporting sick animals and people to clinics [2]. The empathy education programme is a new initiative started in 2005/6. The programme runs side by side with veterinary services to improve the wellbeing of animals. Design and method The approach used to conduct this study was a descriptive method and the work is designed in such a way as to indicate the importance of empathy education interventions. To get their ideas, views and experiences, the primary information was obtained from teachers and students by both qualitative and quantitative methods. Questionnaires and interviews were used for quantitative data, while observation and in-depth interviews were employed to collect qualitative information. Out of 14 intervention primary schools, four were randomly selected as the study sample. A total of 90 children (20 from each of three schools and 30 from one school) were selected using random sampling techniques, giving 47 females and 43 males involved in the study. Four school principals and five teachers were also interviewed. The data was collected after three years of intervention. To realize the educational objectives, selective participatory learning approaches were used during the intervention program, such as songs, preparation and presentation of news, role play, dramas, body mapping, problem solving approaches and group discussion methods. Figure 1. Participatory learning in empathy education
Learning by songs
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Table 1. Assessment of knowledge about working donkeys Question 1. Do you have a donkey in your home? Yes Group discussion Drama Pictorial presentation 2. What are the major activities performed by the donkeys in your community? No Fetch water Collecting crops Carry crops, firewood, cow dung, charcoal, etc. to market Take crops to mill Poetry Carry fertilisers, construction materials, etc. from the market to home Rent for business purpose 3. What do you think are the major things required for the donkeys to work hard and live healthy lives? 4. What do you think are the causes of wounds? Food and water Rest, treatment, and harness Shelter and land to grassing Beating No harness and hyena bite Overloading Fighting each other 5. How do you know if your donkey is sick? Lame and doesnt want to work Biting person/objects Staying a long time in one place Depressed and drooping ears Stops eating and drinking Unusual signs are observed Average 345 87 3 90 78 88 89 89 12 90 90 90 70 90 62 79 89 65 86 80 90 49 Alternative responses Respondents Percent positive 96.6% 3.3% 100% 86.6% 97.7% 98.8% 98.8% 13.3% 100% 100% 100% 77.7% 100% 68.8% 87.7% 98.8% 72.2% 95.5% 88.8% 100% 54.4% 82.80% 17.2% 346 Percent negative
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Results Assessment focused on 4 major aspects: knowledge; attitude, beliefs and behaviour; empathy of children towards donkeys; and how they valued their donkeys in their communities. The majority (96.6%) of the children had donkeys at home. 1. Knowledge about donkeys. Regarding their knowledge about donkeys, 82.80% had a good understanding about the importance of donkeys, their basic needs, major problems for donkeys, causes of wounds, and they could recognise the different signs shown by healthy and sick donkeys by looking at their physical condition. See Table 1.
2. Beliefs, attitude and behaviour towards donkeys. The second dimension focused on how children interacted and communicated with their donkeys. Here 81.6% of the respondents considered the needs of their donkeys seriously rather than beating or taking aggressive action. But around 19.5 % of children responded negatively. They didn't have good information and made some mistakes in their daily practice. They beat their donkeys to communicate with them and make them work fast and even contributed to donkeys falling down as a result of overloading. These children were among those who did not have donkeys at home and had less contact with donkeys. In addition to this, they agreed with the traditional belief, 'Donkeys are not satisfied even if they are supplied with enough food.' See Table 2. Table 2. Assessment of attitude, beliefs, and behaviour of children towards working donkeys Question 1. Is it necessary to beat the donkey with a stick to make it work hard? Alternative responses Respondents Percent positive Yes No 2. Which method do you use to communicate with your donkey? Beating By voice Pushing/pulling Waving stick 3. Have you ever seen wounds on donkeys? 4. If yes, where are the wounds you have observed? 5. Have you ever worked with the donkeys? 6. Have you ever seen a donkey collapse on the road while carrying a big load? 7. If you are the owner, how can you help such donkeys? Yes No Chest and ribs Tail sore, legs, and on back Yes No Yes No Change donkey Decrease the load Give donkey rest Beat donkey to stand up 6 84 21 83 61 20 90 80 90 77 13 88 2 81 62 53 6 90% 68.8% 58.8% 6.6% 97.7% 2.2% 88.8% 100% 85.5% 14.4% 100% 92.2% 67.7% 22.2% 93.3% 23.3% Percent negative 6.6%
8. Do you think that donkeys can be trained to understand orders through training? 9. The donkeys are not satisfied even if they eat all the day.
Yes No I agree Not agree Not sure Average
75 15 58 32 -
83.3% 16.6% 64.4% 35.5%
81.6%
19.5%
3. Children's empathy with donkeys. The third dimension focused on the empathy of children towards rescued animals. All respondents (100%) replied that they felt shock (sadness) when animals suffered from accidents, are sensitive in responding to these and accept that donkeys feel pain like human beings. 4. Value of donkeys in the community. Finally, regarding the value of donkeys in their community, many of the respondents (74.4%) replied that they valued their donkeys not for prestige, but because of the income they get from their donkeys when compared with other working animals. See Table 3. Table 3. Assessment of children's empathy towards working donkeys and how they value donkeys Question Alternative responses Respondents Percent positive 1. Do you think that donkeys feel pain like human beings? 2. What do you feel when you see a donkey has died in an accident? Yes No Nothing Sadness/shock Happy 3. What do you feel when you see a donkey working with wounds? Average (empathy) 1. Compare the value of donkeys in your community with other domestic animals. High Medium Low I dont know 84 6 Sadness/shocking/ Happy 90 90 90 100% 93.3% 6.66% 100% 100% 100% Percent negative
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2. If your donkey has died what do you think will happen to your family income?
Nothing Loss of income
90
100% 97.7%
DS-WHW-UNAM JOINTLY TRAINING VETERINARY STUDENTS OF MXICO IN EQUINE PRACTICE: A WAY TO RAISE EQUINE WELFARE FOR LONG TERM
O. Uriega-Montufar, L.A. Montes-Huidobro LA and M. Hernndez-Gil
The Donkey Sanctuary World Horse Welfare Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico joint Programme, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, UNAM, Mexico o.uriega@internetsecurity.com.mx 2 DS WHWUNAM joint Programme, Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico 3 DS-WHW-UNAM joint Programme, Centro de Enseanza, Investigacin y Extensin en Ganadera Tropical, FMVZ-UNAM. Km 4.5 Carretera Federal Martnez de la Torre Tlapacoyan. 93600 Veracruz, Mxico. (232) 3 24 39 41 (Ext 112) ds.mexico.veracruz@gmail.com
1
Prone to additional expense 88 I dont know Average (value) -
74.4
25.5
Encouraging information was also collected from school principals and teachers: The interest of children in being a member of a Donkey Club was increasing over time. Other classes were requesting to participate in animal welfare education during classroom sessions. There were requests for educational materials to be read in the library. Families witnessed that their children were starting to give their donkeys basic needs Children were committed to stop using the word 'donkey' as an insult. In addition, students committed themselves to stop beating donkeys and had started to advise their parents on proper use of donkeys and how to contact the project for any urgent donkey problems. In this case, they were serving as a bridge between the project and their family to pass on relevant information. Summary and Conclusion Education is the most effective instrument to improve animal welfare and reduce animal suffering, cruelty, and improper use. Children can learn formally at school and informally from their life experiences. Even though it is not an easy task, it is possible to bring changes to people's attitudes, behaviour and beliefs by long-term education and commitment. Recommendations Children are the future generation, need attention and should be addressed at an early age for effective results. Children are the most important group within communities who need empathy education that focuses on knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behavioural changes to promote animal welfare, formally or informally. Clubs are good opportunities to promote the animal welfare programme outside and inside the school and need to be encouraged in all primary schools. Awareness creation on animal welfare for teachers and school principals, and searching for alternative ways of including empathy education in the primary school curriculum, are critical issues to be worked on, in consultation with all concerned bodies. Future strategies Capacity building for school communities by training Increasing the number of schools involved by focusing on knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, behavioural changes and empathy development Discussion with the Regional Education Bureau to expand empathy development for animals Increasing the number of clubs and encouraging them to use their potential Promoting animal welfare using mass media, posters, and leaflets References [1] Empathy: http://eqi.org/empathy.htm. [2] Feseha, G. Gebre Wold, A., Kelemu, F. Ibro, A. and Yilma, K. (2004) Donkey Utilisation and management in Ethiopia. In: Fielding, D. and Starkey, P. (Eds.), Donkeys, People and Development. A resource book of the Animal Traction Network for Eastern and Southern Africa (ATNESA), Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), Wageningen, The Netherlands, pp. 4652.
Introduction Mxico occupies the first place in America's population of donkeys and mules and also the second place in horses. According to figures from the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics (INEGI), almost half of our equine population contributes enormously to production in the country side. Although their contribution to the Mexican economy has not been measured, it is easy to notice how valuable they are to the rural family. So if we consider that about 50% of the human population in Mexico lives in poverty, agricultural work could not be possible without equines because most of the lands for cropping are hills or mountain slopes. Although contribution of equines is sizeable, the treatment they received is not as much as they deserve. Furthermore, being regarded as non-productive species, equines are not considered in Government's Programmes, a fact that meant for a long time public universities teaching veterinary medicine did not include equine subjects in their course programs, causing a lack of knowledge on working equine medicine and welfare; complicating the pursuing of welfare by itself and other institutions. Therefore, the intervention of qualified veterinarians promoting the health, protection and care of these animals is fundamental. Description of DS-WHW-UNAM Programme A good way to raise the reputation of working equines is showing future vets that these animals need help, protection and care; for that reason the Donkey Sanctuary, along with World Horse Welfare, has run a project to promote the welfare of working equines in collaboration with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science (FMVZ) of National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) for the last 25 years. However, just two years ago a branch of the DS-WHW-UNAM Programme has been working in the southeast of Mexico, settled in the Center for Teaching, Research and Extension in Tropical Animal Production (CEIEGT-UNAM) with a good approach to tropical equine problems. The Programme allows vet students to carry out practical lectures or just collaborate as volunteers; while others participate in research and extension projects with the aim of going deeper into different equine issues and management problems. On the other hand, as soon as owners and professionals know that a veterinary service for equines is available in the area, they contact our team looking for help. Helping working equines while gaining skills and awareness Equine vets in the countryside are scarce and the professionals available are not interested in working with equines because it is normally regarded that equine medicine is expensive and hard. Thus, there is an area requesting attention for those vet students interested in promoting equine welfare while they could learn and practice.
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Table 1. Total number of working equines treated by DS-WHW-UNAM Programme Mobile Clinic during 2009. Donkeys Female Presented animals 1751 Worming treatments Trimming Dentistry Harnessing Vaccination Nutrition advice Skin Respiratory Digestive Urinary Reproductive Metabolic Musculoskeletal Eye Hoof Surgery Euthanasia Postmortem examination Total treatments Owners 351 1714 22 28 2 44 90 67 0 3 1 0 9 9 1 18 1 0 0 3760 Male Total Horses Female Male 1475 1416 34 61 4 92 61 66 12 2 1 8 0 19 2 11 3 0 0 3267 1915 1844 19 67 10 75 37 90 15 2 0 5 3 24 4 17 100 0 1 4228 Total 3390 3260 53 128 14 167 98 156 27 4 1 13 3 43 6 28 103 0 1 7495 2118 Female 388 380 8 11 0 33 5 21 2 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 853 Mules Male 424 413 12 12 0 17 5 18 0 0 0 1 0 3 2 8 15 0 0 930 Total TOTAL 812 793 20 23 0 50 10 39 2 1 0 1 0 5 4 8 15 0 0 1783 619 9770 9526 142 284 31 398 312 389 35 9 2 17 27 71 17 106 210 1 1 21348 6220
The mobile clinic of DS-WHW-UNAM treats more than 10000 equines each year (Table 1). Most of the time students are working together with mobile clinic staff providing the correct treatment to them. So each animal treated means an opportunity to help and learn about basic equine medicine, surgery and management. The Programme conviction is that equine medicine begins with proper handling and restraining techniques, as well as physical examination. However, most of the students joining the team have never been in touch with or are afraid of equines, whilst others feel somewhat vulnerable since equines are normally regarded as swift animals that can hurt people, so how to handle horses, mules and donkeys is the first step. Another important aim of the interaction between the Programme and the students is to demonstrate to vet students that veterinary medicine is much easier than it sometimes seems to be in school and that we have to get used to working without sophisticated equipment, sometimes improvising tools in order to solve problems while always following equine medicine and animal welfare. This is because many students are trained at schools having all facilities including advanced handling and diagnostic equipment, so when they will face problems in the field where they are not going to be able to have all this equipment, they will be able to solve problems without any equipment. As being part of the students that have been working in the Programme, we have become more concerned about equines' lifestyle and the role they play; firstly, because we had never realized the impact equines have on rural economics, secondly because we did not imagine the real equine's situation within the society, and finally because as vets we must be promoters of animal welfare. Another important thing is that most vet students have never had lectures about shoeing, harnessing and bitting, so working together with saddlers and farriers allows us to understand the role that these aspects play on equine performance and doing those aspects well means the difference between keeping good welfare or not. Fortunately there are many vet schools now interested in increasing knowledge on equine problems. So, since the team has influence in areas where some vet schools with no facilities are starting to become interested in teaching equine science, the Programme also collaborates with them. In this way the Programme has found an excellent manner to share experiences between vet students without waiting until a qualified vet comes to teach us, so this is a good way to feed back and keep good equine welfare. The program accepts all kind of students such as undergraduates, postgraduates, community service students and recently qualified vets, most of them from UNAM and others from universities near the area; also, international exchanges are available. Table 2 shows the number of students that have visited the Programme in Veracruz and their origin during the first two years of being settled down. The number of students visiting the programme needs to be increase year on year, resulting in producing vet students concerned about equine welfare.
3817 5568 3759 5473 47 105 15 137 114 127 6 1 0 3 15 14 6 52 91 1 0 69 133 17 181 204 194 6 4 1 3 24 23 7 70 92 1 0
8310 12070 3483
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Table 2. Vet students visiting or collaborating with DS-WHW-UNAM Programme - Veracruz Project during the last two operational years (May 2008 to May 2010) Number of students Equine Science (curriculum) Rural development (curriculum) Reproduction (curriculum) Training experience Exchange Community Service Preceptorship Preceptorship in research 67 42 24 10 3 20 2 4 Coming from UNAM UNAM UNAM UNAM, Edinburgh UABC UNAM, UV UNAM UAZ, BUAP
IMPROVING ANIMAL WELFARE BY EDUCATING SCHOOLCHILDREN: THE KENYAN EXPERIENCE

J. Ojwang, J. Akumonyo, W. Okello, And S. Onyango
Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals, PO Box 24203-00502, Nairobi, Kenya jmojwang@yahoo.com
Abstract Working animals, primarily donkeys and oxen, play a crucial role in rural and suburban transport and farming systems in Kenya. Since mechanized agriculture and transport come with high purchase and maintenance costs, low- and middle-income households largely depend on animal power for transporting goods and farming. Various interventions have been employed to address perennial problems, such as overloading, beating, poor harnessing, overworking, and speeding. In view of this, the role of continuous education of both adults and children has been intensified because this is a way that is bound to provoke attitude change among donkey users of present and future generations, thereby moving towards sustainability in the welfare of working animals. Outlined in this paper is the experience of Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (KSPCA) in carrying out education of schoolchildren on animal welfare using the lifeskill approach because the school curriculum is rigid and does not cover the subject. Introduction There exists a close linkage between the livelihood of many children and working animals, notably the donkey. This is especially true in the rural and peri-urban areas of Kenya. Since donkeys are used for commercial purposes and provide essential transport in the rural and peri-urban economy, the children easily identify with them. Many children can afford school uniform, books, or food because their parents own or use a donkey. In essence, many children use donkeys in the evenings after school, during weekends, and school holidays. It is this immediate connection that KSPCA, with funding from the Donkey Sanctuary, has tapped into to carry out a successful education programme targeting schoolchildren from the age of 10. Education is a powerful tool in shaping the thinking and behaviour of both children and adults. Working on the premise that education is a lifelong process, the idea is to start early and give direction to the children's thought processes to enhance their empathy with, kindness towards, and general welfare practices with animals. School curriculum and animal welfare The Kenya school curriculum is subject heavy both at primary and secondary level. This means there is a rigidity in the schedule, so accommodating new concepts or subjects such as animal welfare is difficult. It is noteworthy that animals are studied in the school curriculum in Science at primary level [1] and Agriculture and Biology at secondary level, but this is not done from a welfare point of view. The donkey receives a passing mention in the curriculum and school texts [2, 3] which is near paradoxical when one considers its immense presence and contribution in the urban and peri- urban economies. Since the mainstream curriculum does not lend itself easily to absorb extra subjects, innovative methods of delivery have been adopted to ensure that animal welfare messages reach the children. It is central to point out that schools acknowledge the importance of animal welfare, but are drawn back by the rigidity of the school academic schedule.
DS, The Donkey Sanctuary; WHW, World Horse Welfare; UNAM, National Autonomous University of Mexico; Edinburg, University of Edinburgh; UV, University of Veracruz; UAZ, Autonomous University of Zacatecas; UABC, Autonomous University of Baja California; BUAP, Autonomous University of Puebla. Conclusion Working equines are essential for carrying on activities in rural areas of Mexico; it would be irresponsible to say that their use is declining; hence, efforts to improve their conditions are required not only to ensure equine welfare, also because they are the economic engine of many people living in marginal rural communities. Joining rural communities helping working equines, by showing either owners or people who don't have equines but coexist with them that they deserve to be well treated, and rewarded for the endeavor they put on each day activities, would improve the situation of both people and animals. Finally, we have realized that focusing our practices on working equines allow us to size up their real conditions, showing us that as future vets we must focus on dignifying their position within society. Also, being aware of their needs it is not just a matter of performing surgery in the field, injecting a vein, rasping teeth, diagnosing lameness through nerve blocking or treating hoof abscesses; it is the process of developing generations of qualified vets concerned about working equines welfare.
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The curriculum, however, does accept and encourage extra-curricular activities to help the children attain holistic education. It is this window that has allowed us to deliver our animal welfare education using alternative methods that have been received enthusiastically in the schools. Methods of delivery Our programme uses the methods listed below to address animal welfare issues in the schools that we work in. An advantage is that these methods are less intrusive on the academic curriculum, and easily fit in during breaks in the school timetable, such as tea break and games: Poems. This supports the children's language development and communication skills, and imparts information on animal welfare. Songs. These enliven the lessons and assist in stimulating the children's interest in animal welfare. Stories. Storytelling contributes to the curriculum by building the children's confidence levels and analysis and decision-making skills because the plots of the stories are built on issues requiring the children to think deeply about issues concerning animals. Wall murals. The drawings help the children to think creatively and critically about issues affecting animals and enhance their feelings of kindness to animals. School materials. We regularly issue exercise books and balls imprinted with animal welfare messages. The materials act as school support items and the children associate them and the messages they carry with good care of animals. Leaflets. Our programme uses leaflets depicting animals as cartoon characters. Children easily identify with such cartoon strips and carefully follow the message of animal welfare that they portray.
clubs in 50 primary schools. We have partnered with them and are reaching 21 schools with animal welfare messages through the clubs that meet at least once every month. In 2 of the schools, Madiany primary and Gagra, some children have demonstrated a change of attitude by applying the lifeskills they have learned at home by persuading their parents to build simple shelters for their donkeys. They have also decided give their donkeys water at designated times daily and to avoid working them for more than half a day. Through the lessons in the school health clubs, many of the children are involved in tree planting and environmental cleanliness as a means of ensuring pasture for animals, and keeping the surroundings free from plastic bags and other waste that is harmful to animals. At Kiangini primary school, a child made the decision to influence their parents to build a simple shelter using local materials. At Kiamaina primary school in Nakuru North district, children are actively involved in talking to the donkey users and their parents about curbing overloading and beating of donkeys. The children made the decision to approach donkey users whose donkeys are overloaded and in a poor state and talk to them about animal welfare. Objectives of primary education and national goals of education The second objective of primary school education in Kenya is to 'enjoy learning and develop desire to continue learning' [4]. By using innovative and exciting methods to pass on animal welfare messages, our education sessions contribute towards achieving this objective. Kenya's eighth national goal of education is to 'promote positive attitude towards good health and environmental protection' [5]. Our animal welfare lessons emphasize environmental protection and stress the link between animals and our environment, thereby contributing towards this goal and complementing the mainstream school curriculum. Challenges in promoting animal welfare in schools Some challenges have been posed in the course of promoting animal welfare in schools. One such challenge is that many headteachers and education officials are of the opinion that animal welfare is not important and has no place in the school context. In some cases, permission to gain entry into schools has been difficult to get, or entry even denied. Another key challenge is follow-up of animal welfare lessons in schools that are spread all over the country and amidst a crowded curriculum that allows the children very little time for extra- curricular activities. Conclusion Lifeskills can be effectively used to improve animal welfare in society if well integrated in the children's regular school programme. They are sustainable because they blend easily into the children's leisure time and do not interrupt school timetables. References [1] Kenya Institute of Education (2002) Primary Education Syllabus, Vol. 2. Kenya Literature Bureau. pp. 49, 52, 56, 61, and 65. [2] Karaka, J. et al. (2005) Understanding Science. Pupils Book 6. Oxford University Press. p. 38 [3] Kenya Institute of Education (2005) Primary Science 8. Pupils Book. Kenya Literature Bureau. p. 55. [4] Kenya Institute of Education (2002) Primary Education Syllabus, Vol. 2. Kenya Literature Bureau. p. vi. [5] Ibid. p. v.
The methods of delivery outlined above are participatory and focus on building lifeskills in learners. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines lifeskills as 'abilities that help us to adapt and behave positively so that we can deal effectively with the challenges of every day life'. Our methods of delivery seek to inculcate in the learners the following lifeskills: Critical and creative thinking. This has enabled learners to look at issues critically, for instance they get to appreciate that each action (or inaction) has an effect: for example, if they fail to feed their donkeys, the animals are likely to lose weight and die, resulting in loss of income. Empathy and self-awareness. The children gain enhanced feelings of kindness to animals and become more aware of their environment. Problem solving. This skill has enabled children to confront situations facing them and think of practical options: for instance, when wild animals attack their donkeys at night, they put up enclosures or fence the homestead to keep the donkeys safe. Decision making. The children are able to make decisions when faced with situations: for example, they decide not to work their donkeys for more than 6 hours each day Communication skills. Through reciting poems, reading, and narrating stories, the children gain confidence in public speaking and improve their communication ability. This consequently adds to their language grades in class, leading to higher academic scores. Observed impacts We observed that lifeskills are of benefit because the children easily relate animal welfare issues with academic concepts and daily life experiences. One fine example is at Kagoto primary school where children and parents are working together with a local donkey users association in environmental protection and collaborating in protection of donkeys in their area. We are also developing partnerships with local community-based organizations that link up with schools on animal welfare matters. One strong example is Madiany Community Development Programme, which runs school health 355
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COMMUNITY SERVICE EXPERIENCE, VETERINARY STUDENT TRAINING, AND OWNER EDUCATION VIA CASTRATION CLINICS FOR HORSES OF ECONOMICALLY CHALLENGED OWNERS IN THE USA
J. H. Wilson , K. L. Martinson , T. A. Turner , B. C. Colombo , C. McKenzie5, D. Fitzpatrick6, and K. D'Amato7
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Horses must be referred to the clinic by humane agents, equine rescue directors, or veterinarians, in situations where the horse owners are economically challenged and would otherwise be unable to have the castration performed. Additional requisites for program participation are that the horses need to be halter broken and to have 2 descended testicles. Initially, a target enrollment of 20 horses was set for this half-day program, but since then the Castration Clinic has expanded to accommodate 24 horses. A local county fairground site is selected based on accessibility, availability of stalls and open lawn, plus cost. Veterinarians practicing predominately on horses are recruited through the Minnesota Association of Equine Practitioners to voluntarily supervise veterinary students performing the castrations. Humane agents, equine rescue personnel, and veterinarians are informed of the opportunity via email and directed to enroll horses through the equine extension specialist on the organizing committee. Three forms are utilized to record information at the event: a survey for the horse owners to assess the impact of the clinic; a medical information form to capture horse demographics, medical history, physical examination findings including an estimated body weight (weight tape), anesthetic protocol utilized, and details of the surgical procedure; and informed consent for the procedure and waiver of liability. Aftercare instructions are given in written form to the owner at the clinic, as well as a number of educational brochures on horse health management. Publicity is generated through equine extension channels at the University of Minnesota and through local radio and newspapers. Medical supplies, including drugs for sedation, general anesthesia, local anesthetics, perioperative antibiotic, and tetanus prophylaxis are solicited from local distributors, and additional donations and grants are sought to defray costs. Members of the University's Student Chapter of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (SCAAEP) sign up for the clinic with a limit in numbers parallel to the number of castrations, with priority given to students in their final year. An evening lecture reviews field anesthesia and equine castration procedures 2 days before the castration clinic. The morning of the clinic, 56 teams comprised of a veterinarian and 4 veterinary students are created, and stratified by student's year in the curriculum. Two veterinary anesthesiologists circulate between groups, supporting field anesthesia for equids under general anesthesia with injectable drugs. Two additional veterinarians and a veterinary technician provide additional assistance. Within the castration teams, students rotate roles to each perform at least 1 hemicastration, a baseline physical examination, and field anesthesia as well as to devise and implement a sedation and anesthetic protocol, assist with restraint, and prepare the surgical site. The method of each castration is at the discretion of the veterinarian with options of standing or recumbent procedures. Following castration, students assist in clean-up of the site, discuss aftercare with the owner, and answer other horse health questions. Results At the first Castration Clinic, 18 stallions or jacks were castrated by 21 veterinary students under close supervision by 9 veterinarians from 4 different practices and the University of Minnesota. Sedation followed by local anesthetic or injectable general anesthesia was utilized. Each team experienced both standing and recumbent castrations, and each student emasculated at least 1 testicle. No clinical problems were observed; however, 1 horse reacted to its intravenous detomidine injection, presumably due to inadvertent intraarterial administration but recovered uneventfully. No subsequent problems were reported by any of the owners. The 9 participating veterinarians readily agreed to participate in planned future semi-annual castration clinics, and expressed enthusiasm for the opportunity to share their skills with the veterinary students. Additional veterinarians have volunteered to participate at future castration clinics, which will target 24 stallions on May 15, 2010. A third is scheduled for September, 2010. All students responded to a 9-question survey distributed electronically following the first clinic. The educational value of the experience and the boost in self-confidence were rated highly. All 21 students indicated that they would be keenly interested in another similarly organized castration clinic. The most beneficial aspect of their experience
Veterinary Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, 1365 Gortner Avenue, St Paul, MN 55108, USA 2 Department of Animal Science, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences, University of Minnesota, 1364 Eckles Avenue, St Paul, MN 55108 USA 3 Minnesota Horse Council, Minnesota Association of Equine Practitioners, Anoka Equine Veterinary Services, 16445 70th St NE, Elk River, MN 55330, USA 4 Health Law Institute, School of Law, Hamline University, 1536 Hewitt Avenue, St Paul, MN 55104, USA 5 Sundown Horse Farm & Shelter, 161777 Harrow Avenue N, Hugo, MN 55038, USA 6 Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue Foundation, PO Box 47, Zimmerman, MN 55398, USA 7 Animal Humane Society, 845 Meadow Lane N, Golden Valley, MN 55422, USA wilso011@umn.edu
Abstract The Castration Clinic program in Minnesota was developed through partnerships sharing the goal of improving the welfare of horses. The program serves a number of economically challenged horse owners by providing a free castration and educational opportunity. The horses are humanely castrated with appropriate pain management in a field setting. Education on horse health management is provided, and owners are provided further access to educational materials. Veterinary students participate in a unique community service event and develop both surgical skills on live animals and practical experience with equine anesthesia in the field. This program has received very strong positive feedback by all persons involved in the clinic, which is repeated on a semi-annual basis. This model could be readily replicated at other colleges of veterinary medicine. Introduction In contrast to many areas of the world, the United States is faced with a surplus of horses. Economic challenges for horse owners have led to unprecedented numbers of horses becoming unwanted and, in some cases, neglected and abused, overwhelming animal shelters and driving sales prices at public auction to extremely low values. Reduction in the number of unwanted horses can be achieved by more selective breeding and better owner education on horse health management. In a national survey, restriction of breeding to reduce the surplus of horses was cited as one of the 5 most appealing solutions to the problem, particularly for industry stakeholders and rescue/adoption facilities [1]. Castration also makes male horses more saleable. Concerns about the welfare of horses in the state of Minnesota in the north central region of the United States led to the formation of the Minnesota Horse Welfare Coalition in 2008. Members include veterinarians, extension agents, university faculty, humane agents, rescue owners and directors, attorneys, and volunteers. North American colleges rely heavily on their teaching hospitals' caseloads for opportunities to develop and hone their hands-on skills for basic procedures. However, erosion of state support for the colleges has pushed pricing for routine procedures out of reach of many animal owners, impacting caseload. Review of medical records at the University of Minnesota showed only 8 routine castrations were performed at either the teaching hospital or its ambulatory clinic in the 12 months spanning October 2008 to 2009, all of which were performed in recumbency. Additional opportunities for veterinary students to practice this important skill as well as gain experience with field anesthesia were therefore needed, and incorporated into the Castration Clinic described below. Methods Criteria for participation in the Castration Clinic were set to target horse owners who truly needed assistance: 357
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at the castration clinic varied: 17 cited hands-on experience, 6 listed working with practitioners, 2 sophomores most enjoyed seeing repetition of the procedure, 1 senior liked interacting directly with the client, and 1 junior mentioned helping solve the unwanted horse issue. All but 1 strongly agreed that he or she would like to volunteer to participate as a supervising veterinarian after graduation. Almost half of the owners of the equids participating in the first Castration Clinic stated they would not have castrated their stallions without the clinic, underscoring the community need for this form of assistance. Consequently, the Castration Clinic is a semi-annual event, to be held in a variety of locations around the state. Discussion Equine castration is a procedure that is performed at least monthly by veterinarians working on horses, and is therefore a core skill for veterinary education [2]. Students interested in equine veterinary careers recognize that they will be expected to be able to perform an equine castration with little to moderate supervision upon graduation. Given the infrequent opportunity to see, much less perform, an equine castration in final-year rotations, the Castration Clinic provides an excellent opportunity for the veterinary students to increase their hands-on learning skills, knowledge, and confidence. The participating veterinary students rated the experience very highly and yet were eager to gain more experience, supporting the plans to make the castration clinic a semi-annual event. Ethical solutions to animal welfare issues may be crowded out of the core curriculum in veterinary colleges despite strong student interest [3, 4]. Teaching hospital collaboration with animal shelters to enhance veterinary student learning is not a new concept and has been effectively utilized for teaching basic small-animal physical examination, behavioral assessment, surgical, and anesthetic skills [5, 6]. The combination of community service, meeting an equine welfare need, and promoting better training of veterinary students is an effective mix. The Castration Clinic provides live-animal surgical experience without the use of laboratory animals or a non-survival model, which trigger aversion to participation in students [7, 8] Physical practice with a routine procedure on a live animal, as well as observing both anesthesia and surgery on multiple animals enhanced student understanding of anatomy as well as their technical skills. References [1] American Horse Council. Unwanted horses survey. 2009. www.unwantedhorsecoalition.org/resources/UHC_Survey_07Jul09b.pdf. [2] Hubbell JAE, Saville WJA, and Moore RM. Frequency of activities and procedures performed in private equine practice and proficiency expected of new veterinary school graduates. J Am Vet Assoc 232:426, 2008. [3] Hewson CJ, Baranyiov E, Broom DM, Cockram MS, Galindo F, Hanlon AJ, Hanninen L, Hewson C, Lexer D, Mellor DJ, Molento CF, Odberg FO, Serpell JA, Maria Sisto A, Stafford KJ, Stookey JM, and Waldau P. Approaches to teaching animal welfare at 13 veterinary schools worldwide. J Vet Med Educ 32:42237, 2005. [4] Lord LK and Walker JB. An approach to teaching animal welfare issues at the Ohio State University. J Vet Med Educ 36:2769. [5] Smeak DD. Teaching veterinary students using shelter animals. J Vet Med Educ 35:2630, 2008. [6] Snowden K, Bice K, Craig T. Howe L, Jarrett M, Jeter E, Kochevar D, Simpson RB, Stickney M, Wesp A, Wolf AM, and Zoran D. Vertically integrated educational collaboration between a college of veterinary medicine and a non-profit shelter. J Vet Med Educ 35:63740, 2008. [7] Hubbell DS, Dwornik JJ, Always SE, Eliason R, and Norenberg RE. Teaching gross anatomy using living tissue. Clin Anat 15:1579, 2002. [8] Hedlund CS, Hosgood G, and Naugler S. Surgical education: attitudes toward animal use in teaching surgery at Louisiana State University. J Vet Med Educ 29:505, 2002.
WORKING WITH UNIVERSITIES: THE KENYA EXPERIENCE

D. Obiero, S. C. Onyango, and W. O. Okello
KSPCA Donkey Health and Welfare Improvement Project, PO Box 24203, 00502 Nairobi, Kenya iamivadd@yahoo.com
Abstract Donkeys are a major source of transport and draught power in rural and peri-urban Kenya. Yet, despite their overt importance, their welfare needs and contribution to the economy are not appreciated [1]. The Kenya National Livestock Policy draft of May 2008 does not recognize the donkey as 'livestock' and thus its contribution to the economy. In Kenya, the University of Nairobi (UoN) is the only institution that trains veterinarians, while the governmentowned Animal Health and Industry Training Institutes (AHITI) train animal health technicians and Egerton University runs an animal sciences programme. The low economical status attached to the donkey has consequently made these institutions give minimal or no emphasis on the donkey. Below is a description of the efforts made by the Donkey Sanctuary (DS) funded Donkey Health and Welfare Improvement Project Kenya (DHWIP) at the Kenya Society for Protection and Care of Animals (KSPCA) through universities to best equip future clinicians and persons working with donkeys with information on animal welfare and donkey medicine and management practices; to promote donkey welfare; and to contribute towards the development of a knowledge base on working donkeys in Kenya. Introduction The UoN is the only university in Kenya currently offering a degree in veterinary medicine; for this reason most of the project's collaborative work has been with this institution. Egerton University, located in Nakuru District, has an Animal Sciences and Agricultural Engineering Department which occasionally carries out joint projects with the DHWIP. Targeting the 2 has been strategic as the UoN trains future clinicians and animal health policy makers, while Egerton University has provided the project with an opportunity to work on harness and cart-related technology. Methods Use of guest lectures Since 2003, project veterinarians have held 2 guest lectures at the University of Nairobi attended by fourth- and final- year veterinary students 2003 [2]. The first lecture is essentially on general animal welfare. The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) module is utilized for this. The second lecture, usually a few months later, is on overview of donkey diseases, a documentation of the project's field clinicians' experiences detailing the common diseases, conditions, and their management. The sessions are largely pictorial presentations with a question-and-answer session. Similarly, since 2006, guest lectures have been held at Egerton University on general animal welfare, donkey health, and general management [2]. These lectures target Animal Production students. The lectures are aimed at improving the knowledge base of the students and faculty members in donkey medicine, management, and welfare and on general animal welfare. In the long term the DHWIP hopes that the universities with take up these lectures or incorporate the content into the curriculum. Use of attachment programmes The project runs an attachment programme with the University of Nairobi. A minimum of 3 final-year students can
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be attached at a time; the duration of attachment is usually 8 weeks. The programme entails field clinical exposure, assignments, and general academic discussions. All activities are under a veterinarian's supervision and guidance. The students are equipped with kit comprising a stethoscope, thermometer, and manual. The manual acts as a general guide, and is reviewed regularly with the aid of the students' input. The project currently employs 2 veterinarians who were once attached to the project as students, their interest in donkey health and welfare having been generated by the attachment programme. Another former student, Dr Emali, a locum veterinarian at 'Pendo' Donkey Rescue and Education Centre, a local lobby group in Narok town, says: 'It was an eye opener to donkey needs and problems, it availed me the practical skill in handling and approaching sick donkeys.' The objective of the attachment programme is to give the students hands-on experience of donkey handling and disease diagnosis and management, and to employ animal welfare concepts in all these. Creation of a resource centre The DS/KSPCA has partnered with the University of Nairobi to establish a resource centre. It was opened recently but has not attained full operation. It acts as a mini-library with a bias on equines and is equipped with a computer for students to have online access to resources, e.g. Vet Stream used to provide information on donkey health and welfare. The aim of the resource centre is to create interest in donkey health and welfare issues, and success has been evidenced by the postgraduate non-intrusive research proposals on donkey health and welfare forwarded to the project. Titus Waiguru, a final-year student at the faculty says: 'It has helped in improving knowledge base on donkeys, making it easier to understand equine medicine and respond accordingly to cases during ambulatory classes.' Research grants The project staff field exposure and resultant data collected aids in identification of areas worthy of research. Proposals from the UoN on such are encouraged and sponsorship decided upon together with DS-UK staff. The most recent example of this is a collaborative research project on African Horse Sickness. Similar ventures are expected in the future as a contribution to the development of a knowledge base on working donkeys in Kenya and to benefit the health and welfare of donkeys worldwide. Use of prizes/awards The project has an initiative with the UoN to award the best students in general animal welfare and equine welfare. The awards are decided upon merit in related subjects and student initiative (out of class) in the same. The first award ceremony is to be held in 2010. The awards are aimed at promoting animal welfare within the faculty with the long-term aim of encouraging students to study both animal welfare and, in particular, equine welfare for the benefit of working equids in Africa. By encouraging students to study welfare issues it is hoped that, as new graduates, they will begin to educate other veterinarians and animal owners in the benefits of improved welfare. All final-year students are each provided with a stethoscope, thermometer, and a manual on donkey medicine and husbandry after the end of the second guest lecture. Harness and cart development projects The Nakuru-based Egerton University Agricultural Engineering Department has had minor projects involving harness development and cart modification. The ideal location of the institution, in an area with a large population of working donkeys, makes it possible for field trials as the development process continues with the participation of donkey owners in some of the exercises. Successful trials might be adopted for training engineering students at the University. The project has had 'rope harness' trials in villages around the university; feedback from the donkey owners has been favourable with some owners completely adopting the harness and others developing similar ones along the same principles using readily available local materials.
Other challenges in this endeavour include the improper fitting of the harness and the short lifespan of the rope harnesses. This has led to the need for development of a harness manual, which is currently in progress. Planned future endeavours with universities and other institutions Guest lectures at the 3 Animal Health and Industry Training Institutes (AHITI) in Kenya. This initiative is targeted at the animal health certificate holders. This group can be found in most areas of the country even in the arid and semi-arid areas where donkey populations are relatively high and fewer veterinarians exist. The long-term goal is for each institution to incorporate the concepts into its curriculum. Attachment programmes for AHITI students Demonstrations and training of university students on routine procedures performed on the donkey, e.g. dental floating, castration, and farriery. This is to be done primarily in conjunction with the University of Nairobi's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Training of trainers. The DS-UK is to sponsor an appropriate Faculty of Veterinary Medicine candidate for 1 of the DS Continuous Professional Development courses. Conclusion The project's noble efforts have prompted the incorporation of Animal Welfare into the veterinary medicine curriculum of 2 universities and improved students' and lecturers' knowledge in donkey medicine and husbandry. This has opened up an opportunity for the improvement of the health and welfare of donkeys in Kenya and the general animal population through sustainable local institutions. Acknowledgement We would like to acknowledge the DHWIP Kenya team for their input to this paper References [1] The Kenya Livestock Policy draft, May 2008. [2] KSPCA, Donkey Health and Welfare Improvement Project records.
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TRAINING OVERSEAS (DEVELOPING COUNTRIES) VETERINARY SURGEONS IN THE UK: APPROPRIATE, ACCEPTABLE, IMPROVABLE? A DECADE OF EXPERIENCE FROM THE DONKEY SANCTUARY
A. Thiemann
The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, Devon, EX5 1EE, UK alex.thiemann@thedonkeysanctuary.com
given specific books, access to the internet-based 'CD Equus', various relevant e-journal subscriptions, and a period of time in another developing country project. Traditionally the choice of candidate for the UK-based training has been based on chronological length of service, position held, and subjective decisions. Over time this is changing to a more meritocratic decision based on candidates applying for the opportunity and expressing how they would benefit from the experience. Pre-visit briefing Traditionally there was little pre-visit contact between the overseas vet and the UK vet department where they would be mainly based, which undoubtedly created concern for the visiting vet and a querying of their role by the UK vets. As 1 vet from the UK vet department has now become a defined 'link' between these parties, a clearer line of communication has developed pre-visit. This entails providing basic information about the UK work, and initiating a dialogue about what in particular the visitor might wish to learn about. The visitor is also asked to prepare material to present to the UK vets about their experience of being a vet in the organisation overseas, and the problems that they encounter. Personal and social needs Spending a period of up to 6 months away from familiar work, home, family, and friends is an enormous challenge for anyone, especially when compounded by 'culture shock' and being expected to learn new skills and communicate entirely in a second language. Some visitors have found this harder than others to cope with, and we have become better at recognising and preparing for this, although in an informal and unstructured manner. This is still an area that requires careful management. Stress potentially leading to suicide is recognised as being a significant risk for veterinary surgeons [1]. In future the length of time spent in the UK may be decreased to help reduce the stress caused by prolonged absence from home. During the training visit Originally the overseas visitor was expected to work in the UK vet department without special training, and to join in with all cases presented to them. They were very useful to make up for any staff shortages and become part of the team. Gradually, however, this has become less and less appropriate as the UK department has seen increasing technological progress and more specialist patient care. Over the last few years a more structured approach has been drawn up, so that each area of essential medicine and surgery is covered by a delegated UK vet whose role is to explain the approach used here. Increasingly the visit is seen as providing comparative medicine experience and an opportunity to develop transferable skills that will be useful when back home. Without this structure the overseas visitors were at risk of becoming dissatisfied, lacking their own caseloads and perhaps finding the work repetitive and inappropriate. It is recognised that the visitor's greatest caseload exposure should be to improve skills that are directly useful, e.g. local analgesia, farriery, pathology, and dentistry. Procedures that are interesting and slightly useful, e.g. hyperlipaemia treatment, endoscopy, and radiography, should have mid-level exposure, while those that are interesting but unlikely to be useful should have much less exposure, e.g. colic surgery, scintigraphy. However, it is important to provide a broad overview of UK veterinary work as it is not possible to predict exactly what will prove useful in future. Periods of time spent outside the Donkey Sanctuary have also been structured into the visit to enhance the experience. This includes attending an Animal Welfare course at Cambridge University, attending VSO training sessions, periods of time in private practice, and time spent at Glasgow University. Post visit follow-up The experience of the UK visit has clearly altered lives for some of the visitors who have gone on to study at MSc and PhD level, becoming project leaders in their countries, while retaining all- important hands-on skills. The area
Abstract One part of the author's job has been to help design appropriate structured training opportunities for vets from developing countries involved with working equines. This paper examines some of the issues around such training, both positive and negative, and the impact it has had on the participants. Improvements and amendments that have been brought in to the training are discussed in the light of previous experience. Introduction The Donkey Sanctuary UK has a large veterinary department consisting of 6 practising vets and 5 vet nurses in a tier-2 RCVS-approved practice. There are up-to-date facilities including digital radiography, ultrasonography, endoscopy, gastroscopy, an operating theatre, and fully equipped pathology and laboratory facilities with a veterinary pathologist. In addition there are paraprofessionals including 3 farriers and 2 qualified equine dental technicians. Donkey cases can be diagnosed and treated to a high level of intensity, and recorded by fully computerised records. There is a research team working alongside the veterinary department engaged in a number of projects worldwide. In contrast the overseas team of vets (currently numbering 30) often work in challenging environments lacking many of the facilities considered essential by UK- trained vets. Their work is demanding and radically different in caseload, disease profile, and aims. Increasingly they are being recognised more as educators and advocates for animal welfare. It is right, therefore, that we should ask the following question. In what way is exposure to UK vet practice useful, meaningful, and positive? Methods The author's experience of 10 years' involvement with overseas vet training (5 of which were formalised in a job description) has been combined with the experiences of overseas vets, transmitted by responses to a questionnaire, personal face-to-face interviews, and e-mail discussions. In addition, comments from and discussions with the UK vets working in either the overseas department or the UK clinic have been considered. Anecdotal comments received from staff at universities which have an arrangement for overseas vets to 'see practice' were valuable in contributing to the overall picture. It is recognised that a certain amount of bias was present in all the discussions, especially when overseas vets were questioned directly, so the questionnaire was conducted on an anonymous basis. It could be difficult for recipients of what has traditionally been seen as a privilege to offer criticism of the training. For this reason a more objective evaluation of the training is likely to be initiated in the future. Results Selection of vets To assist with CPD (continuing professional development) the vets in Donkey Sanctuary projects overseas are
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of follow-up and evaluation is one that needs to be better considered and developed in future, to assess how well the modifications made to the training programme are effective in improving veterinary provision for donkey health and welfare. In all cases, in addition to veterinary skills, there have been hard-to-quantify changes and developments in the personal characteristics of the vets involved, who have gained in confidence, maturity, and resilience. Conclusions The Donkey Sanctuary is unique among NGOs dealing with working equines because it has both a UK-based practising veterinary department and overseas operations. This provides an unrivalled opportunity for exchange of ideas, techniques, and attitudes among the many staff, a broadening of cultural ideas, and an increased understanding of the challenges each side faces. It is hoped that the training provided to overseas vets remains valid and can continue to be improved and made relevant to all concerned. While this paper has concentrated on the experiences of the overseas vet visitor, it should be remembered that the visitors have acted as ambassadors for working equines. They have raised the profile of this field of work at many levels, including the British Equine Veterinary Association, UK vet schools, and private practitioners. The author welcomes comments and criticism about the training programme. Reference [1] D. J. Bartram and D. S. Baldwin. Veterinary surgeons and suicide: a structured review of possible influences on increased risk. Vet. Rec. 2010 166: 38897.
ASSESSING WORKING DONKEY (EQUUS ASINUS) WELFARE STATUS ON A SUBPOPULATION OF MALIAN DONKEYS AND KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS AMONG PARAPROFESSIONALS AND PROFESSIONALS IN MALI, WEST AFRICA
A.K.McLean1, C.R.Heleski2, M.T.Yokoyama3, W.Wang4, A.Doumbia5, and B.Dembele6
Department 3684, Animal Science, University of Wyoming, 1000 E. University Ave., Laramie, WY Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, 1250G Anthony Hall, East Lansing, 3Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, 2265F Anthony Hall, East Lansing, MI, 4 CANR Statistical Consulting Center, Michigan State University, A366 PSSB, Crop and Soil Science Building, East Lansing, MI 5 SPANA Mali, Rue 77, Porte 54, Badalabougou, Bamako, Mali 6 Institut Polytechnique Rural de Formation et de Recherch Appliqu- Katibougou, Mali amclean1@uwyo.edu
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1. Introduction Diarra et al. [2] has reported that many owners in Mali, West Africa were unaware that donkeys could be treated for injuries or disease. A welfare assessment was conducted in the rainy season to measure current management practices and to assess the current welfare of working donkeys in Segou, Mali. Many groups advocate training owners on how to properly harness their donkeys as well as care for them. We believe reaching those who will continue to work as professionals and para-professionals has tremendous potential to reach even more owners versus concentrating efforts on only training owners/drivers may be important to improving long term working donkey welfare. The experiment focused on testing the donkey management knowledge of students enrolled in an agricultural preparatory high school and an agricultural college. 2. Materials and Method 2.1. Welfare Assessment Protocol. The assessment was held in Segou in conjunction with a monthly scheduled SPANA mobile veterinary clinic at the Ecole Secondaire Agro Pastorale (E.S.A.P.), a technical school for students studying agriculture. The assessment was conducted in the rainy season (July 2009) and only one assessment was carried out. Donkeys were body condition scored (BCS) (1 to 5, Donkey Sanctuary 2007), and color, sex, age, presence of lesions/lacerations, severity of lesions/lacerations, location of lesions/lacerations, location of scarring, lameness/soundness and hydration status (skin tent test,[3]) were recorded. A behavioral assessment test measured the responses to : 1) general attitude (alert or apathetic), 2) response to observer approaching the donkey (no response, friendly, spooks, aggressive), 3) response to observer approaching the donkey's neck (no response, friendly approach, avoidance, aggression), 4) walk around the donkey (no response, moves away, tucks tail, aggression), and 5) ear test (allows, tolerates, avoids touch) (See Figure 1) [1,4]. The Michigan State University Animal Care and Use Committee, number 04-09-067-00, East Lansing, MI approved all experiments and testing procedures. Figure 1. Donkey owners participating in the welfare assessment in Segou.
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2.2. Testing Para-professional's Knowledge and Skills on Donkey Husbandry Two train the trainer sessions were conducted in Mali (see Figures 2,3,4). One session was conducted in Segou at E.S.A.P. (n=54, males = 45, females = 9), and a second session was conducted in Bamako, Mali at the Higher Institute of Training and Applied Research (ISFRA), University of Mali (n=28, 27=males, 1=female) with students enrolled in the Animal Science program. At both locations each student was given a pre-assessment exam about donkey management and welfare followed by a 45 min seminar translated into French by Professor Boubacar Dembele, an animal scientist at the Rural Polytechnic Institute for Training and Applique Research (IPR/IFRA) of Katibougou, University of Mali. A 30 min hands-on donkey demonstration was conducted after the seminar. The students were shown how to tell age, correctly use methods of restraint, identify parts of the hooves, clean the hoof, importance of grooming area where harness is placed, and proper harness/hitching methods. They were then re-tested with the same exam. Each student was presented with a certificate of completion. Students were allowed a question and answer period and received a copy of the Basic Husbandry Manual for Donkeys translated into French, written by the authors. Figure 2. Students from E.S.A.P. in Segou after completing the donkey husbandry and management workshop.
Figure 4. Students from I.S.F.R.A. in Bamako participating in the practical demonstration.
2.3. Statistical Analysis. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient was used to test the relationship between body condition score and age. The logistic regression model was used to test the relationship between BCS and age, sex, lameness, scarring, hydration, color and lesions. BCS, behavior responses, and hydration correlation were tested using PROC GLIMMIX logistics regression model. The mean and standard deviation were obtained for each sex and variable: age, brand, BCS, number of lesions, and number of scars. A generalized linear model approach (Proc GLIMMIX, SAS, V9.2) was used to determine the significant effects of BCS, age, and hydration in relationship to general attitude, response to unfamiliar people, and ear test. Normal probability plot and ShapiroWilk test were used to test normality for the exams administered at both schools. Since the scores were not normally distributed, Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to test the difference in scores in the two schools. The pvalue for significance was 0.05. 3. RESULTS 3.1. Assessment results The behavior assessment showed that most donkeys appeared alert (44 of 46), 25 approached the unfamiliar person (9 did not, 20 spooked out of 54), and 34 allowed their ears to be touched (12 tolerated, 7 avoided their ears being touched of 53). When examining age in relationship to behavioral responses there was no correlation with general attitude (p = 0.49), response to an unfamiliar person (p = 0.56) or the ear test (p = 0.60). There was no correlation to BCS and behavioral responses except the ear test (p = 0.03). The mean and standard error were calculated for BCS, age, and hydration (see Table 1). When comparing the relationship of hydration to age and BCS, there was no significant effect when comparing hydration to age (p = 0.07) but a significant effect when comparing hydration and BCS (p = 0.01). The results indicated that donkeys that were in better BC tended to be less dehydrated than those who were thinner. When testing the relationship between the BCS and hydration, it was more likely for a donkey with BCS 1 to be dehydrated than hydrated (95% confidence interval for the odds ratio, 0.013, 0.623, p = 0.01). When comparing the relationship between BCS to age, sex, lameness, scarring, color, and lesions there were no significant effects. The results suggest that there may be a relationship between age and hydration but not a significant effect (p = 0.07). The data suggests that the older a donkey was, the less likely it would be dehydrated.
Figure 3. Students from I.S.F.R.A. participating in the in classroom lecture on donkey husbandry and management
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Table 1. The average BCS, general appearance score (apathetic or alert), response to ear test (allows touch, tolerates, avoids), response to unfamiliar person (approaches, no approach, avoidance), age (years), and hydration status (hydrated or dehydrated) (significant at p-Value < 0.05). n = number BCS (1 to 5, 1=very thin, 4=ideal, and 5=fat) Age (years) Hydration (1=hydrated, 2= dehydrated) General Attitude (1=alert, 2= apathetic) Response to Unfamiliar Person (1=approach, 2= no approach, 3= spooks) Ear Test (1=allows touch, 2= tolerates, 3= avoids) 41 53 44 46 54 Mean 2.39 6.91 1.29 1.06 2.25 Standard Error +/- 0.70 +/- 3.99 +/- 0.46 +/- 0.32 +/- 0.73
expend the energy required to react to the ear test. 4.2. Measuring knowledge among para-professionals Based on the pre-exam scores it is possible that these groups had fairly high baseline donkey knowledge and therefore significant increases in test score averages were not seen. Nonetheless, students were enthusiastic about attending sessions and followed up with many excellent questions. It is important to point out that very few women were enrolled in either school and yet women often work donkeys. There was only one-woman student (n=28) in the I.S.F.R.A. session and nine (n=54) at E.S.A.P. Females at both schools had less practical knowledge than the male students; for example, the females could not tie a common knot referred to as a slip or safety knot, yet all of the male students knew how to do this. Therefore, reaching more women and children who are often responsible for working donkeys would likely be tremendously beneficial. References [1] Burn, C.C., Pritchard, J.C., Whay, H.R., 2009. Observer reliability for working equine welfare assessment: problems with high prevalence of certain results. Anim. Welfare, 18, 177-187. [2] Diarra, M.M., A. Doumbia, and A.K. McLean. 2007. Survey of working conditions and management of donkeys in Niono and Segou, Mali. Proc. ASAS Annual Mtg. (85): 1. 139. [3] Pritchard, J.C., A.R. Barr, and H.R. Whay. 2006. Validity of behavioural measure of heat stress and a skin tent test for dehydration in working horses and donkeys. Equine Vet J. Sep; 38(5): 433-8. [4] Pritchard, J.C., A.C. Linberg, D.C.J. Main, and H.R. Whay. 2005. Assessment of the welfare of working horses, mules, and donkeys, using health and behavior parameters. Prevent. Vet. Med. 69:265-283. [5] Starkey, P., 1994. Donkey utilization in sub-Saharan Africa: recent changes and apparent needs. Proceedings, Second international colloquium on working equines. Rabatt, Morocco, p. 19.
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3.2. Measuring current knowledge among para-professionals The pre- and post-examination results from both schools did not show a significant increase in scores, even though there was a numerical increase in each case. In Segou, the scores were not normally distributed and when using the Wilcox Signed Rank Test, there was no significant improvement in scores (p = 0.15). The distribution of test scores was normally distributed at ISFRA. When using the t-test, the increase in average test scores at ISFRA did not significantly increase when using the significance level at 0.05 (p = 0.06). The average exam scores did numerically improve (E.S.A.P. pre-exam = 80.72, post- exam = 84.18; ISFRA pre- exam = 88.11, post-exam = 92.70). 4. DISCUSSION 4.1. Welfare assessment The assessment provided some insight into current management conditions of donkeys in the Segou area of Mali. When SPANA first began working in Mali, the average work life for a donkey was 2 years (personal communication, Dr. Amadou Doumbia, 2008). The mean age for donkeys in the Segou area during this study was 6.9 3.99 years. Therefore, it appears that through the efforts of SPANA's treatment and education programs that the longevity of the donkey has increased. Diarra et al. [2] found only 9.9% (n = 73 of 736) of the Malian donkeys to show signs of lesions, but this survey indicated 39.5% (n= 19 of 48) of the donkeys had lesions. In terms of lameness, this survey indicated that 15% (n= 8 of 52) of the donkeys exhibited an irregularity in gait and 1.9% (n=1 of 52) showed signs of not being able to bear any weight on a limb. [2] had found 43% (n = 320 of 736) of the donkeys to be lame. The survey suggests that lameness has possibly decreased and the number of lesions has increased. This study also provided some insight into current donkey welfare indicating that lower body condition scores were often associated with donkeys that were dehydrated. Body condition score also had a significant effect on the behavioral test, ear touch. The donkeys with a BCS of 2 and mostly 3 avoided having their ears touched where donkeys that scored a 1 allowed touch. It is possible that donkeys at a BCS of 1 simply become too apathetic to 369
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EDUCATING TO ENGAGE THE NEXT GENERATION: MEASURING THE IMPACT OF SPANA'S EDUCATION PROGRAMME IN SCHOOLS
D. Hulme
Education Director, SPANA, 14 John Street, London WC1N 2EB diana@spana.org
Introduction Engaging the next generation has been part of SPANA's core work since it was founded in 1923. Its founders Kate and Nina Hosali believed passionately in educating the animal owners of the future at a time when their minds are still malleable and before their opinions become entrenched. In order to reach the largest number of children, SPANA decided to work through Ministries of Education and to target children in schools. It was quickly understood that delivering lessons solely on working animals would not be appropriate for many schoolchildren because populations were increasingly becoming urbanized and children had little or no access to animals. As the education programme developed, it encompassed related subjects such as environmental education, human behaviour, and social justice, not just animal welfare, and by doing this it became more acceptable to the in-country Ministries of Education. It is therefore not science based but part of humane studies and, in today's educational agenda, would fit into SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) or into citizenship studies. Judging the impact of the programme has been difficult. Unlike scientific studies which are mainly quantitative and based on statistics, evaluating an education programme is qualitative and based on opinions which vary immensely. Also, each of SPANA's countries of operation has developed and adapted the programme to fit local circumstances, so instead of undertaking an overall evaluation, it has been found necessary to evaluate each country's programme separately and so to use a variety of methods, as discussed below. Jordan A study was undertaken to find out whether SPANA's programme was responsible for developing positive attitudes to donkeys and other species amongst school students who were members of SPANA's Animal Club scheme [1]. This took the form of a straightforward questionnaire consisting of 35 questions aimed at 80 Animal Club members before and after a visit to SPANA's Education Centre. The results of this study were presented at the previous colloquium in Ethiopia, but since then a similar study using the same questionnaires has been carried out in a school in Petra. SPANA launched its programme here at the request of a headteacher who, like the local authorities, is anxious to stop the exploitation and abuse of animals amongst the boys at the world-famous heritage site. The questionnaires were completed before and after SPANA's course of lessons, which included the construction of a wildlife garden, and the results have shown a marked change in attitude on behalf of most of the boys taking part. These children will continue to be monitored and will be asked to participate in a further questionnaire in 3 years' time, before they leave school. Ethiopia (1) A baseline study was undertaken in 3 peri-urban schools to find out the levels of empathy in 600 children in grades 2 and 5 before they participated in SPANA's course of lessons on animal welfare. Each child received a 6-page questionnaire, each page had 6x graded statements on it accompanied by an illustration. The children were asked to tick the box next to the statement that best reflected their feelings towards the animal (or child) in the picture. The intention was to repeat the study after the children had completed the series of lessons, but the findings were inconclusive as many of the children had found the wording of the questions too subtle to understand, so this study was abandoned.
Ethiopia (2, working on the same project but with a different consultant) In this case, the methods used were similar to those of the Charities Evaluation Services [2], and designed to deliver a much broader-based study, that included 3 well tried methods, i.e. goals-based, process-based, and outcomes-based evaluation [3]. Registers of names, record sheets of numbers of children attending the lessons, teachers' self-assessment questionnaires, teachers' lesson records, questionnaires for children (mainly pictorial) to measure knowledge and others to measure attitude, and interview guides for teachers, parents, and animal-owning families in the community were all created. Not all of these materials were used, owing to lack of time and staff. However, this programme is ongoing so SPANA will reuse some of the more useful elements (i.e. children's and teachers' questionnaires) on the new intake of children at the beginning of the school year in September, and it is hoped to have better results at the end of the school year in June next year. Morocco (1) An external evaluation was undertaken in one of SPANA's refuges in Marrakech. The programme in Morocco differs from that in SPANA's other countries of operation in that children make only a single visit to a centre and receive a one-off presentation as opposed to a series of lessons. SPANA realized that the evaluation could only ever judge the effect of the lesson in the short term, knowing it would be too difficult to trace the same children at a later period. Methods included face-to-face interviews in conjunction with a semi-structured questionnaire, semi-structured interviews in small groups with the children before and after SPANA's intervention, and observation and comments on the lesson given. Two groups of students were nominated for the study, 1112 year olds and 1718 year olds. In addition to the standard lesson, the evaluator held 2 further sessions with each group. The first, before the standard lesson, was short and consisted of general discussion, e.g. life in the UK/Morocco, differences in culture, etc. This was done in order to build a relationship and establish trust so the children would be prepared to give honest answers in the session during which the actual evaluation took place. Activities undertaken with the students included an empathy exercise, 'traffic lights' exercise, 'thumbs up/down' exercise using post-it stickers, a 'graffiti wall', and general discussion. Participatory activities such as these, which are often used by teachers in developed countries, were new to the Moroccan children and teachers, and were therefore stimulating and provoked a lot of new ideas and discussion. Morocco (2) A longer-term study of SPANA's programme in Morocco was made by a student in education working for his PhD. The whole of his study, which lasted about 5 years (though it was interrupted by illness), was conducted in Arabic, making it difficult for SPANA-London to participate fully. The cost of translating his thesis into English was also prohibitive so, based only on a summary, SPANA was pleased to see from his conclusion that the programme is successful, though the greater part of it was conducted at the National Centre for Environmental Education and concentrated on wildlife and environmental education. Summary and conclusion SPANA worked with external consultants on each study. All the studies had specific difficulties, but overall the problems included the language barrier (translators often gave their opinions, not necessarily those of the children) and potential misconceptions by the groups about the purpose of the study (even children can distrust people in authority asking questions). Few children had taken part in anything similar before and some, particularly the younger children, found it hard to understand what was required. In conclusion, SPANA has learnt a lot from each experience and will, in future, select the most useful parts of each study and adapt them to suit any new project that is being undertaken. References [1] M. Ghazi, D. Hulme, and J. Turner (2005) The Future for Working Equines, The Fifth International Colloquium on Working Equines. 372
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[2] Charities Evaluation Services (2002) The First Steps in Monitoring and Evaluation. [3] Carter McNamara Basic Guide to Program Evaluation.
THE CHALLENGES OF WORKING WITH SMALLHOLDER FARMING COMMUNITIES KEEPING LARGE RUMINANTS: EXPERIENCES FROM THE CENTRE FOR LIVESTOCK AND AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT (CELAGRID), CAMBODIA
S. Sokerya1, A. Pearson2, and K. Borin1
2
Centre for Livestock and Agriculture Development (CelAgrid), Phnom Penh, Cambodia Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Roslin, Midlothian, EH25 9RG, UK
Introduction In the last few years, the growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in Cambodia has been more than 10% per year but this still leaves about 30% of the population under the threat of poverty. The country is predominantly agrarian, with agriculture representing 35% of GDP in 2003 [1]. At least 70% of the rural population are directly dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. Besides crop production, animal raising plays a key role in the provision of dietary protein for Cambodians. Livestock contribute 14% of the agricultural GDP in the country of which smallholder farmers keep the majority of animals [2]. Livestock are a key component to most rural development projects in Cambodia because they can support the livelihood of poor people in many diverse ways, simultaneously fulfilling several different functions. Cattle and buffalo are a central component of the farming system, as they provide draught power and manure, a means of allowing the poor to capture private benefit from common property resources, a means of transport, a means for meeting social and cultural expectations and requirements, as well as a 'saving account'. In 20001, 87% of the rice fields were ploughed and harrowed by cattle and buffalo [3]. The situation is much the same today as few farmers can afford to invest in motorised power. So far, little has been done to improve cattle and buffalo production in Cambodia. Some NGOs have provided a calf/cow to communities but not much has been done to improve the production process. During the last 5 years, the Centre for Livestock and Agriculture Development (CelAgrid) has carried out a series of research studies and run development projects to improve management and feeding systems for ruminants in order to raise the contribution to livelihood that can be gained from ruminant production. Large ruminant production in Cambodia Cattle and buffalo raising in Cambodia have not been developed although these animals are extremely important to the 80% of the rural population that keep them. Production systems Most cattle and buffalo in the country are kept in subsistence production systems [3]. The animals are concentrated in the rice-growing areas, because cattle and buffalo are predominantly kept in Cambodia to provide power for soil preparation, weeding, harvesting, for transport, and for manure rather than for meat production. About 66.9% of farmers own 2.370.24 (15 heads) and 15% kept 0.500.06 (13 heads), of cattle and buffalo respectively [4]. Generally, cattle and buffalo are kept in pairs, and are used for ploughing and harrowing, and a cow or a female buffalo is kept for calves to replace old cattle or buffalo. Cattle or buffalo are sold for money only at times of necessity or when the numbers increase beyond the needs or ability to raise or care for the animals. Small private cattle farms consisting of not more than 100 heads exist in the country [3]. In 2007 there were only 8 semi-commercial cattle farms, which contained a total of 2,726 head [5]. Since then there have not been any significant investments put into commercial cattle raising and there are no large-scale buffalo production systems in Cambodia up to this date.
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Livestock development in the cattle and buffalo sectors According to MAFF data, cattle and buffalo production has increased gradually in the last 15 years. Household animal raising reported for 2006 suggested there were 3,344,712 cattle and 724,378 buffalo; 1,740,616 of these animals were used for draught power [5]. Numbers of the large ruminant population compared to other livestock in Cambodia are presented in Figure 1. Figure 1.
Although core issues to achieve significant livestock development have been recognised, livestock policy formulation and implementation have only just started. Priority issues of the Cambodian government are animal health services and disease prevention and control. A government decree to enforce vaccination and control of animal movement has been implemented but achievement is still small due to lack of fiscal financial allocation from the government. Furthermore, the government allows private veterinary service operation and supports the establishment and training of village animal health workers. Animal feed and breeding improvement have been identified as further areas of concern. However, it is still not clear what policies the government intends to adopt to foster these objectives [6]. Examples of development projects implemented by CelAgrid Improving the food security and income of small farmers through livestock-based activities and integrated rural development Under financial support from the Heifer Project International (HPI-KH), CelAgrid implemented a 3-year project of 'Integrated Livelihood Development for Small Farmer Families in Takeo' in 200710. There were 340 farm families (232 women) in 8 villages of 2 communes in Tramkak district who participated in the project. Among other resources such as piglets, fingerlings for fishponds, and bio-digesters, the project distributed 130 cows (1 in each family) to the villagers. Passing on the Gift (POG), which is an important part of the Heifer Project International philosophy, was applied during the project. The first recipients pass on offspring of the animals given by the project to help others get started. Among 130 cows distributed, 8 were passed on, 34 gave birth with 28 female calves, and 40 are pregnant. A similar principle was adopted in a project supported by FSIF/CIDA and HPI-KH and implemented in Kravanh district, one of the poorest districts in Pursat province. Here, 454 farm families from 16 villages of which 61% were women were identified to be involved in the project. Besides piglets, chickens, and fishponds, 92 heifers were distributed. This number increased up to 145 cattle after 2 years. At the same time, farmer communities were established and their leaders were elected in each community. Self-help groups were formed in each community to facilitate members' saving. Each member paid an amount based on their resources affordable per month. Community members can borrow money from the savings for emergencies with a low interest rate compared to the private credit system. Non-formal education using Farmer Field School (FFS) methodologies were used in training, combined with the gifts of livestock. The topics of the training sessions involved livestock keeping, including care, feeding, and management; integrated farming models were introduced through the bi-weekly/monthly training following the cycle of the animal production. In partnership with CARE under the Integrated Rural Development and Disaster Management programme, farmers and Village Animal Health Workers (VAHWs) from 216 villages in Prey Veng, Svay Rieng, and Pailin provinces were selected to implement training and demonstrations on chicken-, cattle- and pig-raising improvements. This project aimed to increased productivity and incomes of the rural poor through food security and disaster preparedness activities. The key activities in this project included VAHW and farmer training; establishment of demonstration sites (demos) and cross-visits; farmer association set-up; and development of booklets/leaflets to distribute to farmers. Cattle plus home forage option is one of the topics for VAHW and farmer training. There were 3 demos per village (2 set up by farmers and 1 by the VAHW) in 75 villages with 72 demos on cattle. Each demo farm used its own resources with some support from the project to set up. For cattle demos, king grass, cassava stem, urea to treat rice straw, and the costs of constructing cattle houses were subsidised by the project. Cross-visits were organised to allow all participating farmers, especially VAHWs, to gain practical knowledge and experiences from best performance demo farms. The POG model was also applied on each demo site. Capacity building in livestock and ruminant production Through a collaboration of institutions in Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the UK with the financial support from Development Partnerships in Higher Education (DelPHE) of the British Council, a project on 'Capacity Building in 376
Source: FAO statistic 2010 (update June 2009); F = FAO estimated number
Breeds There are 3 types of cattle breed in Cambodia: the Khmer cattle (Kor Khmer), the Haryana, and the Brahman. The Haryana was introduced to Cambodia in the 1960s from India; the Brahman was introduced in the 1980s with the support of the Lutheran World Service. The Haryana is quite well adapted to the land along the Mekong river due to the year-round availability of grass, forages, and agricultural by-products. Khmer cattle are found throughout the country except in Kandal province [3]. The 2 types of swamp buffalo raised by farmers are the mountain buffalo and the plain buffalo. The mountain buffalo are raised along the water's edge, jungle edge, and those areas that have a mild, cold climate such as the north-east provinces and the coastal area of the country. The plain buffalo is seen mainly in the lowland area in the middle, south-west, and south-east parts of the country [3]. Constraints and government policy in animal production Animal production in Cambodia is managed mostly under the mixed farming system in which the cattle, buffalo, chicken, ducks, and other poultry are integrated together with crop production. Although small and relatively undeveloped these livestock systems continue to play a major role in the supply of farm power and food for local needs. However, the productivity of cattle and buffalo production in Cambodia is low due to the following constraints: High mortality and morbidity rate due to disease Low productive breeds Poor government services and extension work Poor technical knowledge of both extension staff and farmers/producers Lack of credit support for animal production 375
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Ruminant Livestock Production in Smallholder Farming System' was implemented in order to improve the knowledge of extensionists, scientists, students, and farmers keeping ruminant livestock about feeding, management, and use. The main project activities were the development of manuals and booklets, extensionists training, farmer training, demos, and cross-visits. A manual for extensionists on care, feeding, and management of cattle and buffalo which emphasised the working animal was produced in both English and the local language (Khmer). The content of the manual included rural cattle/buffalo keeping and its important, common diseases, care and management, breed selection and breeding, and nutrition and local feed resources for ruminants. Booklets in Khmer for farmers were abstracted from the manual and simplified into simple messages for ease of use by the farmers. The booklets' topics were breed and breeding, health care and diseases, and feeding management. Field staff and students who were going to be the extensionists in this project and others were trained on care, feeding, and management of the cattle and buffalo together with the training of trainer (TOT) topic. The FFS and demo farms were set up in 6 communities in Prey Veng and Takeo provinces to illustrate and provide examples of best practice in cattle raising. Selected villagers gathered together monthly for a training event and other social meetings about activities of the project. The 6 demos about urea treatment of rice straw were established: each demo received 10kg of urea to treat 200kg of the community's own rice straw. By the end of project, 2 cross-visits had been conducted. The commune councils, village chief, and VAHWs were invited to contribute, give advice, and exchange experiences. Experiences gained in helping smallholder farmers keeping ruminants for work Most farmers are hesitant to use any given calf/cow from the projects for draught power while they have the obligation to take care of them until their offspring are passed to another farmer. To some extent, the projects usually purchase young animals, therefore there is little time to see how these animals have any life-changing impact in terms of farm power before project end. In many cases farmers prefer to keep the cows for reproduction rather than put them to work unless they do not have male cattle at a suitable age to work. Cattle are the preferred animal by most of the participating farmers but their output takes time to achieve, resulting in a delay in solving food insecurity problems particularly for the poorest farm families, although farmers can immediately used cow manure to fertilise their crops. More often, it has been quite difficult to convince farmers due to the limited resources, cattle are not the joy for food security project. However if request for cattle can not be avoided upon agreement with community members and the local authority from district, commune and village, the lucky draw is used to choose the beneficiaries among those who met the selection criteria. In some demo sites, farmers lack resources and capital to buy materials to improve their farm; they might also lack water to irrigate the forage feed crop during the dry seasons. This provided a bad impression on the community members as well as other farmers in the village, who were not involved in the project. Although, cattle and buffalo are valued everywhere in the country, price instability means the project participants pay less attention to the care of the animals when prices are low than they would when the animal prices are good. References [1] AusAID, 2006. Cambodia Agriculture Sector Diagnostic Report. Agrifood Consulting International and CamConsult, pp 35. [2] EC, 2003. Support to Veterinary Service in Cambodia, Main report. [3] Suon S., 2003. Domesticated Animal Genetic Resources in the Kingdom of Cambodia. FAO-DAHP, Phnom Penh. [4] Borin K., 2008. Training Students in Sustainable Agricultural Practices. 22nd World Poultry Congress, Brisbane, Australia. [5] MAFF, 2007. Annual Conference 2007 on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Taking stock of 20062007 performance and setting direction for 20072008). MAFF, Phnom Penh, p 2. [6] Sen S., 2002. The Strategy and Policy for Livestock Development in Cambodia. Kingdom of Cambodia Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Phnom Penh. 377
REASONS FOR AND METHODS OF IMPLEMENTING THE PROTECTED-CONTACT SYSTEM FOR CAPTIVE ELEPHANTS AND HUMANE CONTROL PRACTICES FOR WORKING BULLOCKS
P. Joshipura
PETA India PoorvaJ@peta.org.uk
Abstract Captive elephants and working bullocks endure a range of abusive practices that are used to control the animals' behaviour and force them to comply. Implementing humane alternatives to traditional methods can alleviate these animals' pain and suffering, advance animal husbandry, and improve public safety. Introduction Protected contact for elephants is a carefully conceived, well-researched formal system of elephant management that does not utilise physical punishment. First developed in 1991, protected contact has grown to become the preferred method of elephant management in North American zoos more than half of them have begun to use it. In protected contact, a barrier such as bars, a metal screen, or a restraint chute always separates the elephants and the handlers. Ropes, chains, and bullhooks are not used. Another important element of the management system is that handlers do not assume or maintain a position of social dominance over the elephant but instead operate from a position of relative equality. Aggressiveness and other non-compliant behaviours are never punished but instead are simply ignored. Protected contact is a far safer and more humane method with which to manage captive elephants. In methods other than protected contact, elephants are conditioned through physical punishment typically through the liberal use of bullhooks (or ankuses) to keep the animals fearful and obedient. An ankus is a rod with a sharp hook on the end; it is designed to puncture skin and inflict pain (see Figure 1). One of the scientists involved in the development of protected contact calls the ankus 'a control and command tool that functions through the use of negative reinforcement'. Mahouts beat elephants in the most sensitive areas on their bodies: behind their knees and ears and on their faces. Because of the immense size and strength of elephants, there is a perception that their skin is tough and thick. However, elephant skin is actually so sensitive that the elephants can feel the sting of an insect bite. Wild elephants dust themselves daily with loose dirt to protect themselves from sunburn and insect bites. Figure 1. A passive elephant is hit with an ankus
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Chaining elephants for extended periods of time is also a practice used in management methods other than protected contact (see Figure 2). Chaining does not allow for any freedom of movement for a species that is meant to roam dozens of kilometres every day. Foot problems and arthritis which are caused by a lack of exercise and by standing for long hours on hard, unsanitary surfaces are exceedingly common ailments in chained or restricted elephants. Elephants that are chained are unable to protect themselves from the elements or insect bites because the small area in which they are confined quickly becomes compromised by impacted urine and faeces. Figure 2. An elephant is chained by two legs
Figure 4. A bullock with a nail-spiked yoke
Photo courtesy of Animal Rahat
Figure 5. Thin, exhausted bullocks froth at the mouth
Bullocks that are used to pull carts that contain sugar cane, kerosene, bricks, oil tanks, and other oversized loads are often controlled by ropes that are inserted through the nasal septum (see Figure 3). A sharp, pointed object is driven through an animal's septum, and a 58mm rope is pulled through the resulting hole and secured behind the animal's horns. This procedure is performed without any veterinary assistance or pain relief. Ropes are pulled, yanked, and jerked, which causes the animal immeasurable pain and suffering. Over time and because of constant pulling, the holes grow larger, requiring ropes that are larger in diameter to be inserted. Other crude and cruel methods are also employed to control bullocks, such as using nail-spiked yokes that have their sharp tips pointing inward at the animal (see Figure 4 and 5). Many bullocks suffer from painful injuries including galls, abrasions, and chafing because yokes or tack are fitted improperly (see Figure 6). These injuries usually go untreated by a veterinarian. Figure 3. Working bullocks are controlled by ropes inserted through their nasal septum
Figure 6. A bullock suffers from a painful yoke gall
Photo courtesy of Animal Rahat
The use of a morkee (halter) rather than a nose rope as a means of controlling bullocks is a simple, inexpensive and humane alternative now being advocated. The ultimate goal is the abolition of bullock-drawn carts altogether. PETA gathered evidence of abuse and neglect of bullocks forced to pull heavy kerosene carts, including being denied food, water, and veterinary care. We presented the evidence to the Government of Maharashtra and were able to persuade officials to phase out bullock-drawn kerosene carts and replace them with vehicles powered by non-animal alternative methods. We are now pushing the Ministry of Food and Civil Supplies to enforce that ban. 379 380
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Methods Elephants managed by protected-contact systems are trained using operant conditioning to allow caretakers to safely and humanely perform routine husbandry and medical procedures. The initial sessions are short as elephants learn gradually, at their own pace, to become accustomed to various instructions. The training is carried out in incremental, tiny steps called 'successive approximations', which are small movements that build upon each other until a full-fledged behaviour is accomplished. Cooperative behaviours are rewarded with treats in conjunction with a sound, such as a clicker or a whistle. Eventually, the animals associate the sound with positive interactions this is called operant conditioning. The elephants are taught to voluntarily participate, even in procedures that may cause them some discomfort (such as routine foot care), and they suffer no consequences if they choose not to cooperate. Many progressive zoos have implemented protected-contact methods for elephant management. The new 'Elephant Odyssey' exhibit at the San Diego Zoo, for example, is designed strictly for protected contact. The elephants at the zoo and its ancillary operation, the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park, have learned nearly three dozen behaviours everything from opening their mouths for dental checks to lifting their feet for routine podiatry to lying down. Each behaviour makes it possible for zoo keepers to conduct the various examinations or procedures that are necessary for the elephants' health without actually going inside the animals' enclosures. The use of morkees (halters) on bullocks is a simple remedy that eliminates the cruel practice of nose ropes. Handlers must also be instructed on how to control bullocks through positive training, verbal commands, and properly fitted tack and yokes. PETA works to reach out to handlers, drivers, and herders to help them understand that bullocks may not immediately understand a command or can be distracted or frightened and may need a moment or two before responding. These people must be encouraged to take the time to adjust harnesses and yokes properly and to give animals enough food, water, and rest. We work to teach handlers that cattle can be skittish and fearful about things that may not bother people, such as loud noises or even a piece of trash blowing around, and that the animals often need just a minute to adjust before obeying a command. PETA India supports Animal Rahat ('Rahat' means relief), an organisation that alleviates the suffering of working bullocks, as well as donkeys, ponies, and horses, and occasionally other animals, by treating emergency injuries and illnesses. Part of the programme includes giving (if necessary, paid) rest to lame, exhausted, or injured animals. This helps the handlers as well because they are often too poor to allow time for their bullocks to rest or recuperate or to provide the animals with wholesome food or the medicine necessary to maintain the animals' health and strength. PETA also promotes public awareness about the importance of reporting abuse and of stepping in to stop it. We educate people about the hands-on direct action they can take, including providing water and shade to obviously hot, distressed, and struggling animals and alerting authorities to abuse. Many celebrity supporters including John Abraham and Hema Malini have joined PETA in calling on authorities to take action to stop the abuse and neglect of working animals. A PETA petition calling on the Controller of Rationing to ban the use of bullock-drawn carts in Mumbai was supported by many celebrities, including Akshaye Khanna, Rahul Khanna, Raveena Tandon, Eesha Koppikar, Arjun Rampal, Rahul Dev, Avanti Birla, and Sandiip Sikcand. Following PETA's complaints, even many oil companies issued letters to the Controller of Rationing (through the Maharashtra state-level coordinator) asking for bullock-drawn carts to be banned. Conclusions Zoos that have switched to protected contact tell PETA that the freedom the management system has allowed for elephants to make choices about their own lives has dramatically impacted the animals' emotional well-being. 381
Elephants at zoos that employ protected-contact methods are far more relaxed and content. Protected contact is far safer for zoo employees as well. The risk of human injury or death is nearly eliminated because there is little actual contact with the elephants. Replacing nose ropes with morkees is a simple, inexpensive, and humane way to prevent the pain and suffering of bullocks. Animal handlers must also be educated about the benefits of treating bullocks with kindness and patience rather than yelling at, hitting, kicking, and pushing them. Giving an animal a kind word or a gentle touch can make it less anxious, skittish, or confused. We urge all animal handlers to remember that patience pays.
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THE PARTICIPATORY APPROACH FOR CAPTIVE ELEPHANT HEALTH CARE AND MANAGEMENT
M. Valliyatte1, M. Shand2, S. Chawla3, K. U. Mar2, and J. V. Cheeran4
1
Figure 2.
Figure 3.
Project-India, Elephant Family, Kanikithodi, PO Feroke, Calicut 673631, Kerala, India 2 Elephant Family, 81 Gower Street, London WC1E 6HJ, UK 3 Help In Suffering, Durgapura, Maharani Farm, Jaipur 302018, India 4 Technical Services Cheerans Lab (P) Ltd, New Church Street, Trichur, Kerala, India drmadhu_vet9@yahoo.com
Introduction Elephant keeping in the state of Rajasthan, India dates back to 18th century when Maharajas maintained elephants for hunting, war, ceremonial processions, etc. After Indian independence, new exploits were found for the elephants. Rich business owners now use them commercially for tourist purposes (such as rides at Amber Fort and the Elephant Festival conducted by the Rajasthan Tourism Department), wedding processions, film-shooting, polo games, and other ceremonial procedures (see Figure 1). Figure 1.
Figure 4.
At present there are 113 elephants in the Jaipur tourist camp. Of these, 108 are cow elephants, 3 are tuskless males, or 'makhnas', and 2 are calves. There was no scientific veterinary care of elephants in Jaipur before 1998: the animals were treated by local practitioners with no veterinary qualification. The elephants have been purchased at a special fair held at Sonepur, Bihar or from the states of Delhi, Uttat Pradesh, and Kerala. In 20001 veterinary surgeons from the government and Help In Suffering (HIS) became involved in treating elephants. Elephant Family (EF) and Help In Suffering (HIS) together with Rajasthan State Government initiated a programme in 2003 to oversee the welfare of these captive elephants in addition to the welfare of mahouts and elephant owners. This programme ran for the 6 years, 20039. Background Jaipur elephants are prone to different types of veterinary disorders, such as infectious diseases, impaction, foot rot, corneal opacity, etc. and wounds, such as rope sores, saddle sores, sun burn, abscesses, and nail cracks. These result from faulty, improper, and inadequate healthcare and upkeep (see Figure 2, 3, and4).
During the initial stages of the EFHIS (20035) project all the elephant stables and resting facilities at Jaipur lacked shade or drainage. Availability of hygienic water supply for drinking as well as bathing was inadequate. During the tourist season elephants were worked without breaks. One of the serious issues was a lack of strong, bonded relationships between the mahouts and their elephants, and regular changes in mahouts were observed. This not only developed stress in the elephants but also caused mishandling and abuse by the new mahouts leading to fear, aggression, and also traumatic wounds. Evaluation of the treatment records of 20045 revealed that out of the total number of treatments, the major health issue was wounds from different origins (see Table 1).
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Table 1. Number and type of treatments, 20045 Type of ailment Wound misuse of ankush Wounds saddle contact area Wounds leg chain contact area Wound saddle rope contact area Bed sore Other wounds (lacerations, septic, etc.) Wounds due to harmful local treatment method Emergency (colic, impaction, etc.) Foot problems (foot rot, cracked nails, etc.) Ophthalmologic problems Otitis Total no. of treatments Number of treatments 586 165 47 466 495 152 33 17 79 37 18 2,095
Figure 5.
Figure 6.
Coordinating participating government authorities The Forest Department, Tourism Department, and Animal Husbandry Department were the 3 major government authorities concerned with elephant activities in Jaipur. EFHIS were instrumental in coordinating these departments in monitoring the issues associated with Jaipur elephants. In the first stage, all the elephants of Jaipur were micro-chipped and a proper record of each elephant was maintained. Annually, 2 elephant camps were organised involving these government organisations, thus monitoring the health status as well as records on a regular basis. The mahouts were encouraged to use bamboo sticks to guide and control their elephants. The best mahout of each year was identified and honoured with cash award. The majority of these activities were implemented in the year 20045 (see Figure 7). Figure 7.
Objective of the project Promote preventive measures against various problems, and provide free veterinary treatment and care Educate owners and mahouts about better animal care and management and introduce community participation for future sustainability Provide various resources shade, shelter, water for drinking and bathing, etc. with the participation of the community Conduct research on better design of saddle, stable (Than), restraining equipment, and light reflectors for travel during the Action plans and methods of approach The project targets for each year during the period of 20039 were different, each having a clear vision. Providing free veterinary treatment and care EFHIS launched a 24-hour mobile veterinary ambulance service with a trained elephant veterinary surgeon and two veterinary assistants. The team visited each elephant at its stable and the elephants which needed attention were provided with free medicines and veterinary services. In the initial stages of the project (20034) the team trained owners and mahouts in wound dressing and disease management by visiting each stable individually and demonstrating the scientific approaches. The mahouts were also taught about maintaining self-hygiene as well as hygiene inside the stable. All the elephants were regularly dewormed against endoparasites. The trained mahouts were encouraged to educate their counterparts and newly recruited mahouts in Jaipur. Proper records of each veterinary case were maintained by the team. Along with the free veterinary care the project installed water troughs to supply fresh water at all the elephant stables (se Figures 5 and 6).
Conducting awareness and educational programmes With the help of the Government of Rajasthan the project conducted an awareness-raising programme for the elephant owners and mahouts of Jaipur. The programme included inviting experienced elephant veterinary surgeons and mahouts from other parts of the country to Jaipur to share their knowledge with the Jaipur mahouts. Basic elephant veterinary conditions were taught using examples collected from the case studies of their own elephants. There was street play involving schoolchildren and in which the owners and mahouts were trained on
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issues such as hygiene, humane treatment of elephants, welfare concerns, and their impact on their livelihoods and alternative livelihood programmes, etc. This sort of programmes was conducted throughout the project's whole activity period (20039) (see Figures 8 and 9). Figure 8. Figure 9.
Figure 10.
Figure 11.
Participatory approach Issues such as insufficient shade at the workplace and stable, unlimited elephant rides meaning the animals being over-worked, and unnecessary overuse of the ankush were discussed with owners and they were encouraged to come up with solutions. The most suitable solutions were brought to the attention of the appropriate government body for implementation. A committee of representatives of the Forest Department, Tourism Department, and Animal Husbandry Department, the elephant owners' association, and EFHIS was formed in the 2005. This committee inspected each elephant stable and surveyed the animals' living and working conditions, and also experience and family status of their mahouts: recommendations/regulations were passed for immediate implementation. The project's main task during 20059 was to implement and monitor the recommendations listed below. 1. Build a shade facility with a minimum height of 18 ft from the ground 2. Improve the diet of elephants by incorporating more green and mineral supplements 3. Reduce the elephants' workload by restricting rides in the summer (AprilJuly) to only 2 rides within the time period 710am and in the winter (AugustMarch) to only 5 five rides. 4. Reduce the number of people sitting on each elephant from 4 to 2, and prohibit the return journey with tourists 5. Restrict the use of the iron ankush and promote the uses of bamboo sticks 6. Register all the mahouts with the Tourism Department and issue identification cards/licences 7. Increase the salary of the mahouts from 900/- to a minimum wage of 3000/8. Issue a sick elephant a daily allowance of 300/- so it is able to rest 9. Increase the ticket price for each elephant ride from 570/- to 1000/- per ride 10. Promote the use of a radium reflector light at the elephant rear to prevent accidents during times of poor visibility Salient findings By the beginning of 2006 all the elephant owners of Jaipur had built new shade facilities for all their elephants at their stables. The drainage facilities were improved with more hygienic measures. All the mahouts were paid an improved salary by the owners and they were provided with an identification card. The workload of the elephants was limited by controlling the number of rides in the summer and winter (see Figure 10). Now all the elephants of Jaipur are microchipped and an efficient record-keeping system is maintained by the Forest Department. The use of ankush or bamboo stick is still a matter of argument, but the use of the iron ankush has been reduced to a great extent (Figure11). EFHIS officially withdrew its free treatment programme from Jaipur in June 2009, and encouraged the owners to support themselves by forming an NGO with stakeholders and supporters, such as the tour operators, Forest Department, Tourism Department, and the Animal Husbandry Department of Jaipur. Permanent welfare measures have been implemented and enforced and are still followed by the elephant owners and mahouts. But there are some compromises and there are still negotiations between the owners and mahouts about the use of the ankush and elephant workload. The local NGO Help In Suffering is working in collaboration with the Government of Rajasthan to find a permanent solution for this. Conclusion With the joint efforts of Elephent Family, Help In Suffering, the Government of Rajasthan, and the elephant owners of Jaipur a proper protocol for the upkeep and management of captive elephants of Jaipur has been established. The key to the success of the programme lies in the participatory approach towards management. Further reading Jacob V. Cheeran, 2009. Jaipur Elephants Welfare Status, submitted to Government of Rajsthan.Noida, 2001. Occasional report 2, Captive Concerns, Wild Life Trust of India. Smt. Parbati Barua, 2005. Report submitted to Government of Rajasthan. Khyne U. Mar et al. 2005. Welfare Assessment of Jaipur Elephant, updated 2007. Department of Forest and Wildlife, Government of Rajasthan, 2007. Guidelines on Captive Elephants. 388
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WORK PERFORMANCE, PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIOURAL RESPONSES OF WORKING CAMELS

G. Gebresenbet1, E.Y.H. Bobobee1,2*, P. Kaumbutho3 and P.S Simpkin4
2*
Figure 1. Pulling a loaded sledge and cart during the field experiment
Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, (Uppsala, Sweden. Agricultural Engineering Department, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kumasi, Ghana. E-mail: emmanuel.bobobee@gmail.com 3 Kenya Network for Dissemination of Agricultural Technologies (KENDAT), Nairobi, Kenya, 4 Red Cross, Nairobi, Kenya
Abstract This study determined the maximum load in relation to heart rates, speed and behavioural responses of camels when pulling loaded carts and sledges in agricultural fields in Kenya. The study investigated three dromedary camels, two of them crossbreed of Pakistani and Somali (PXS1 & PXS2) and a pure Pakistani breed (PB). During the experiment, heart rate and speed were measured and animal behaviour was observed. The camels pulled loads for 15 minutes to 3 hours on 300m-13.6km farm tracks before they refused to move. When the camels started pulling, their average heart rates increased from 50 bpm to 73-111 bpm (an increase of 44-178%). When loads were removed, heart rates dropped to 50 bpm within 8-15 minutes. The maximum load of 562 kg pulled was 119, 124 and 143% of the live weights for PXS1, PXS2 and PB, respectively. The load to live weight ratios of the camels were 83-143% and 33-64% for cart and sledge, respectively. Average pulling speed ranged from 1-1.8 m/s. As loads increased over test distances and days, animal behaviour altered through reduced speed, refusal to walk, frequent sitting, palliating, sweating, urinating, vocalization and defecation. Introduction Camels are important draught animals that adapt excellently to harsh and desert conditions, where they efficiently travel long distances [1], [11]. Africa accounts for 73% of the world total of 20 million camels. Somalia and Sudan hold 65% of African and 48% of the world camel populations [4]. Use of draught camels for ploughing, harrowing, dredging ditches, dam-scooping, pulling artillery, lifting well water, ore crushing, grinding, cart pulling, dancing, fighting and riding varies from place to place [9]. Researchers agree that because camels are used for transport all year round they are more cost effective and efficient to keep than a pair of oxen or donkeys [8], [2], [11]. In Kenya where the study was carried out, camel herds are managed under nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoral systems. Carts pulled by a single camel are popular to carry water [16]. It was reported that a camel died in Kenya while pulling 865 kg load, but it was not clear whether death was due to load, age or dehydration suffered in the process [10]. An important investigation on physiological responses of camels to varying loads from 1200 to 1800 kg used camels of three breeds [12]. The load variations increased respiration, pulse rate and rectal temperature by 67-267%, 38-70% and 2.1-3.45 oC respectively, over the resting state. The increased pulse and respiration rate when using carts and wagons were 69% and 125%, and 38% and 71%, respectively. In a Kenyan study, [10] found 2 heart rate (HR) is closely related (R = 0.92) with energy expenditure in the one-humped camel, and concluded HR could indicate energy expenditure. The objective of the study was to determine work performances in relation to physiological and behavioural responses of camels when pulling loads with carts and sledges in agricultural fields without inducing harmful stress on the animals. Materials and methods The study was undertaken in semi-arid central Kenya, near Nanyuki town (0o 01'N and 37o04'E). Three healthy dromedary male camels 4-5 years old, two crossbreeds of Pakistani and Somali, coded PXS1 and PXS2, respectively and one of pure Pakistani breed, coded PB, were used during the experiment. Weight estimates for PXS1, PXS2 and PB were 472, 454, and 392 kg, respectively. A loaded sledge and cart were used for the experiments (Figure 1). Harnesses were made from rolled-up sisal sacks.
Average pull angles were 20o and 30o for the sledge and cart, respectively. Pulling forces were measured with a triaxial extended octagonal ring dynamometer mounted on the pulling line. Design principles and performance characteristics of the dynamometer were described in detail by [6]. Coefficients of friction and rolling resistances under the sledge and the cart wheels were determined using known loads pulled with the dynamometer. Distance and time were measured with a pulse-generator mounted on a wheel and stop watches. Animals' heart rates at rest, work and recovery were measured to estimate the physiological response to stress induced by external loads. The Polar 610i Accurex instrumentation (Polar Electro, Oy, Finland) was used. Behavioural alterations of the camels became complementary studies of the animals' welfare. Speed reduction was taken for tiredness or stress. Refusal to walk, lying down or sitting, sweating, palliating and vocalizations were behaviour and welfare indicators. The animals were given water and feed overnight and their rights as spelt out in the mandatory five freedoms were not violated and animals were kept free to express normal behaviour. Data was analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the General Linear Model (GLM) procedures in Statistical Analysis System (SAS) [14]. Statistical significance was set at P<0.05. Results and Discussion Heart rate profile: The typical heart rate profile with four distinct stages for PXS1 pulling a loaded sledge is shown in Figure 2. All three animals showed similar heart rate profiles. The stages are the initial resting condition (A), a dynamic state showing a rapid rise when the load was applied (B), a steady state when the increased load did not increase the average heart rate (C), and a recovery or no-load state when the load was removed (D). Figure 2. Typical heart rate profile of PXS1 pulling a loaded sledge.
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The initial average heart rate of 50 bpm rose rapidly within 4-5 minutes during the dynamic stage when the camel started pulling the load, before attaining a steady state. The steady state heart rate varied between 62-106 bpm, with an average of 88 bpm. The heart rates dropped rapidly from the peak of 93 bpm to 50 bpm within 8-15 minutes when pulling stopped, showing the animal was stressed. The average increase in heart rate from resting condition through the dynamic state to the steady state (E), was 44-178% and 73-112% for the cart and the sledge, respectively for all the three animals. This varied from 70-74%, 79-179%, and 67-125% for PXS1, PXS2 and PB, respectively. This camel heart rate variation follows a similar pattern found for Brahman heifers [13]. The average steady state heart rates for the camels in pulling loaded cart varied as illustrated in Figure 3. The heart rate for PXS1, during the second day increased by 20% over the first day's value in line with a 15% increase in the load. Similarly, the heart rate variability on the first day for PXS1 was lower (4%) than the second day (8%).
Behaviour and welfare The animals showed different behavioural symptoms for speeds, sweating, refusal to walk, palliating, vocalizing and sitting. For the same loads with the same implements but on different days, the three animals covered different distances from 6.5-30 km, and exhibited similar behaviours at the end of each pulling exercise. PXS1 covered the highest total distances of 30 km. The animal refused to walk after covering 10, 11.2 and 8.8 km for the first, second and third days respectively, and lay down. PXS2 pulled the heaviest sledge load (249 kg) over 2.5 km at a speed of 1 m/s, and developed the highest steady state heart rate of 118 bpm. The fastest speed of 1.8m/s was developed by PXS2 when pulling the heaviest loaded cart (562 kg) on the third day after previously pulling sledges. PB pulled the loaded cart of 390 kg on the first day after covering 13.6 km at a speed of 1.2 m/s but did not show signs of tiredness. However, when pulling sledge in the second day afternoon at a speed of 0.8 m/s, it refused to walk after covering 700 m compared to 2.5 and 8.8 km covered by PXS2 and PB. The animals exhibited loud vocalizations as signs of tiredness and refusal to walk or work at certain stages of the experiment. The maximum load (5620 N) pulled with a cart over a distance of 300 m was 143% of the live weight for the smallest animal PB, compared to 124% of live weight for the crossbreed PXS2 over a distance of 1.6 km. When pulling carts, because of wheel rolling resistance, this maximum load became 47% and 41% of the pull-live weight ratios of PB and PXS2, respectively. For continuous work, camels could pull 15-20% of their body weights [5], [15]. Our findings of 29-51% pull/live weight exceeded the above results by almost 100%. The maximum load pulled with the sledge was 2490 N, and this was 64% of the live weight of PB over a distance of 700 m compared to 55% for PXS2 over a distance of 2.5 km. All the animals reacted negatively to the maximum loads of 5620 N and 2490 N with carts and sledges, especially in the hot afternoon.
Figure 3. Mean steady state heart rate of camels pulling a cart. Load identifications c1, c2 and c3 show pulling of loaded cart on consecutive experimental days, and the corresponding pulling forces were 1282, 1605, 1849, 1282, 1849 N, respectively In Figure 4, the mean heart rates for pulling a loaded sledge varied from 86-118 bpm, for all load levels and distances covered. Sledge heart rate variabilities are 4-13% higher than the average for pulling carts. This indicated more comfort in pulling carts than sledges, even for lower sledge loads. This could be influenced by the lower rolling resistances under the cart wheels compared to the higher frictional coefficients under the sledges.
Figure 5. Steady state mean heart rate plot showing the estimated regression line. In figures 5 and 6, speed correlates (R2 = 0.71) with heart rates. The ANOVA result shows that for all the variables considered, it was only speed that significantly (p 0.01) influenced the heart rates of the animals in our study, in agreement with the findings that heart rate and energy expenditure increased with speed [10].
Figure 4. Mean steady state heart rate for pulling a sledge. Load identifications s1, s2, and s3, show pulling of sledges on consecutive experimental days, and the corresponding pulling forces were 833, 752, 1265 and 1265 N, respectively. 391 392
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Figure 6. Principal Component Factor plots of the relationship among the major factors and mean HR of the three camels pulling. Principal component analysis (PCA) of field data Distance has very minimal effect on HR, confirming the camel as a long distance traveller, and the distances covered during the experiments were within the animals' manageable travel zones. The above factors could also contribute to make camels more cost effective to keep in terms of maintenance and nutritional requirements than a pair of oxen or donkeys [2], [11]. Conclusions 1. The maximum loads pulled by camels with carts and sledges during the experiment were 5620 N and 2490 N, respectively. 2. The maximum load-live weight ratios for PXS1, PXS2 and PB were 119%, 124% and 143% with cart, and 53%, 55% and 64% with sledge, respectively. 3. In the limits of average rolling resistance of 0.31 for carts and coefficient of friction of 0.45 for a sledge on the field track, the average pull-weight ratios for the three camels ranged from 29-51% and 15-30% for cart and sledge, respectively. 4. At travel speeds from 1 to 1,8 m/s, the animals generated steady state heart rates from 78-111 bpm for cart and 88-113 bpm for sledges, an increase of 44-178% and 73-111%, respectively over the initial rest heart rates for all the three camels. 5. Speed is a very significant factor (p 0.01), which correlates strongly with heart rates of camels. 6. As loads increased over test distances and days, animal behaviour changes regarding speed, refusal to walk, sitting and display of palliating, sweating, urinating, vocalization, and defecation were observed. References [1] Abdurahman O Sh; Cooray R; Bornstein S (1992). The ultrastructure of cells and cell fragments in mammary secretions of camelus bactrians. [2] Bhakat C; Chaturvedi D; Sahani M S (2001). Camel versus bullock carting and it's [sic] economics in the hot arid regions of the Thar Desert. Draught Animal News, 37, 21-26. [3] FAO (2007). http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/resources/en/pubs_aprod.html (Accessed,06/03/2010) 393
[4] Gariachkin V P (1968).Cobranye Cochitanye tomIV (Collected Works, volume IV), Moscow, Koloc. [5] Gebresenbet G (1989). Multi-component dynamometer for measurement of forces on plough bodies. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research, 42:85-96. [6] Khanna N D; Rai A K (2000). Investigation of work potential of Indian camel. Camel Newsletter,17, 15-22. [7] Khler-Rollefson I U (1992). The Raika camel pastoralists of Western India. Research and Exploration, 8, 117119. [8] Maloiy G M O; Rugangazi B M; Rowe M F (2004). Heart rate and energy expenditure at rest and exercise in the domestic donkey and one-humped camel. Research report supported by Leverhulm Trust Funds London and NORAD KEN 046 Project. [9] Mohammed I; Hoffmann I (2006). Management of draught camels (Camelus dromedarius) in crop-livestock production systems in Northwest Nigeria. Livestock Research for Rural Development, Volume 18 (1). [10] Rai A K; Khanna N D (1990). Studies on draughtability in Indian camels at the National Research Centre on camels, Bikaner. Draught Animal News, 12: 1-4. [11] Richards J I; Lawrence P R (1984). The estimation of energy expenditure from heart rate measurements in working oxen and buffalo. Journal of Agricultural Science, 102: 711-717. [12] SAS Institute Inc. 1999. SAS/STAT Software. SAS User's Guide: Statistics, Release 9.1. SAS Institute, Cary, NC. [13] Wilson R T (1978). Studies on the livestock of Southern Darfur, Sudan. V. Notes on camels. Tropical Animal Health and Production, 10:19-25.
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CAPACITY BUILDING IN SMALLHOLDER LIVESTOCK SYSTEMS USING ANIMAL POWER IN VIETNAM

M. V. Sanh and A. Pearson
National Institute of Animal Sciences, Hanoi, Vietnam Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Edinburgh University, UK mvsanh2009@gmail.com
Demonstration through research To strengthen the research capability of NIAS on working animals, young researchers within the institution undertook 2 small research projects, concerning issues identified by farmers and extensionists. The results are given here. Investigation of the draught capacity of local swamp buffalo on different soil types The experiment was conducted over 3 weeks. Each buffalo ploughed on 3 sequential days (3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon with half hour rest in the middle). The results showed that male buffalo had a higher ploughing speed and area ploughed than female. There was a difference in speed and area ploughed between the 2 soil types. Male buffalo were stronger than females and a swamp rice field is more difficult to plough than a dry (irrigated) rice field. See Table 1. Table 1. Ploughing capacity of buffalo on different soil types Items Dry (irrigated) rice field Male Number of animals Age Body weight (kg) Ploughing speed (m/s) Average area ploughed per hour (m2) 5 67 369
a
Introduction In the Red and Mekong river deltas of Vietnam increased availability of motorised tractors and good prices for rice have meant that working buffalo and cattle have largely been replaced by 2-wheeled tractors. However, buffalo and cattle continue to provide the main source of power for cultivation in the hilly and mountainous areas. Much of the rice produced for home consumption and for export is produced on small farms powered by buffalo. The working buffalo is very often a female, and is also required to produce a calf every 2 years. In 2003 the National Institute of Animal Sciences (NIAS) and Edinburgh University received a grant from the British Council Higher Education Link programme to work with people to improve the health care and management of working buffalo and cattle in Vietnam. The objective of the project was to improve the knowledge and skill of extensionists, farmers, and also scientists. Activities Meeting with some international organisations to exchange ideas and experiences A meeting was organised at Chiangmai University for staff working in the project to exchange ideas and experiences with scientists and farmers in Thailand who work with draught animals. Later on in the project, discussions were also held with institutions in Indonesia specialising in buffalo and cattle production to form the basis of future collaboration within the region. Organising training courses for extensionists and farmers Extensionists within Vietnam help farmers practise better farming methods. Four training courses were organised in North Vietnam for 160 extensionists from 4 provinces (Thai Nguyen, Ha Tay, Vinh Phuc, and Nghe An provinces) to improve their general knowledge on the use of draught animals and factors affecting productivity. They learned to calculate animal requirements for maintenance and work, how to meet these requirements by improving their skills in feeding and management, and also disease and injury prevention measures to keep the animals healthy and fit for work. Sixteen training courses were organised for 840 farmers from the above 4 provinces. The aim of these courses was to provide farmers with the knowledge to practise better livestock feeding, daily management, and more effective use of draught animals on their farms. The courses included establishing priorities for each class of livestock during the year, ways of planning to ensure feed availability throughout the year, particularly at the times when animals are needed for work, disease and injury prevention, good management and working practices when using draught animals, and ideas to improve their skill in meeting feed requirements of their working animals. To reinforce the training sessions, 2 handbooks on feeding, management, and use of draught animals were printed (a pictorial book for farmers and a handbook for technicians and extensionists). With the help of funding from the British Government Department for International Development, 2,000 copies of each handbook were distributed in the 4 provinces, and people who were unable to attend the courses could also receive copies. After 1 year, staff on the project returned on a follow-up visit to some of the extensionists and farmers who had received books, and interviewed them to ask about the usefulness of the information provided.
Swamp rice field Male 5 67 Female 5 67

a
Female 5 67 324
b
362
335
0.61a 318
a
0.56b 299
b
0.46c 261
c
0.42d 243
d
a,b
Means in the same row with different superscripts differ at P<0.05
Supplementation to improve working capacity of local swamp buffalo An experiment was conducted with 12 adult male buffalo in 2 seasons (wet and dry) on an irrigated rice field to evaluate the effect of feed supplementation on the work output of buffalo. The animals were divided into 3 groups (4 per group). All were grazed freely and given urea-treated rice straw at night ad libitum. The first group was not supplemented (CT), the second group was supplemented 1kg of cassava root meal per day (CRM), and the third group was supplemented 0.5kg cassava root meal plus 0.5kg cassava leaf meal per day (CRLM). The supplementation was started 1 month before and the ploughing period was 2 continuous weeks. There were no significant differences in speed and area ploughed between the supplemented groups, but both worked better than the non-supplemented group. Supplementation of cassava root meal and cassava leaf meal increased speed and area ploughed. Cassava root meal and cassava leaf meal can be used to supplement working buffalo for improving working capacity. See Table 2.
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Table 2. Speed of ploughing and area ploughed in 120 minutes CT Wet season Speed of ploughing (m/s) Area ploughed (m2) Dry season Speed of ploughing (m/s) Area ploughed (m2)
a,b
REPORT FROM A MOBILE ELEPHANT CLINIC AND AN ELEPHANT HOSPITAL

CRLM SE T. Angkwanish and B. Clausen
National Elephant Institute, Forest Industrial Organization, Lampang, Thailand clausnar@hotmail.com
CRM
0.67
0.76
0.79 678b
0.02 8.43
610a
662b
Introduction For at least 4,000 years elephants have been tamed, so they can work for people. A hundred years ago, about 100,000 domesticated elephants lived in Thailand, in 2010 there are about 3,500, and the population at present seems to be stable. Formerly the elephants were used for war, transport, and ceremonies; now they are primarily used for transport of tourists, and work in the forest [1]. After a ban on logging of teak in 1989, a large number of logging elephants became jobless, and the situation opened up for overseas support for the elephants. In 1998 a mobile elephant clinic (MEC) and an elephant hospital were established at the National Elephant Institute (NEI). The MEC was sponsored first by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, UK, then by the World Society for Protection of Animals, London; in 2009 the Danish Society for Animal Welfare took over its sponsorship. The MEC covers 70,000km a year, providing free veterinary services for domesticated elephants in Thailand. Results Table 1 shows the diagnosis or reason for treatment at the MEC of 1,368 elephants during the 3-year period 20058; for comparison the same information is given for 464 elephants in 19992001. Table 1. Diagnosis or reason for treatment of elephants at MEC Condition 20058 % Wound and abscesses Poor condition, weak, and dehydrated Ecto-parasites Eye problems (conjunctivitis, corneal ulcer, opacity, cataract) Musculoskeletal problems (lameness, bone fracture) Gastrointestinal problems (constipation, diarrhoea, colic) Tusk infection Skin problems (fungus allergy) Reproduction problems (must, dystocia, abortion, infections) Food problems (cracked nails or pad, nail overgrowth) Other causes
1,368 elephants; 464 elephants
0.56a 524
a
0.67b 592
b
0.69b 606
b
0.01 10.61
Means in the same row with different superscripts differ at P<0.05
Observations and lessons learned Early planning meetings both in Vietnam and Thailand with scientists and with farmers enabled the content of the training courses and the information provided in handbooks to meet the needs of the farmers and the extensionists. The emphasis during the training sessions was participation by the attendees. The aim was not to dictate but to discuss, see, and do. Feedback from farmers and extensionists was positive, suggesting their needs had been met. Involving the junior staff from the beginning in training and hence contact with the farmers and their needs meant that their research projects were developed from questions posed by the farming communities. Vietnam has a good village structure which makes it relatively easy to contact farmers and collect people together for meetings. There was always a good turnout on the farmer training days. Farmers were happy to take time away from their farms for a half day, but were not prepared to be away longer, even with a financial incentive. Each received a small per diem (US$12) for attendance to compensate them for their time away and/or loss of earnings. The maximum number for each session was 40 because many of the exercises involved participation. Extensionists were able to take 3 days over a course. Many recognised the value of the draught animal to the communities they worked with, but had little specific knowledge to advise farmers on feeding and management for work. The handbooks are small (about 50 pages). It was felt that anything larger would deter people from using them. In the follow-up after distribution, all the recipients spoken to had found the books useful and many had suggestions to improve layout and content, and had ideas for other topics. There is a high level of literacy in Vietnam and people wanted the books to reinforce the courses. Most felt they could read them when they had spare time, and refer back to them when necessary. Few farmers were interested in the more detailed books provided for the extensionists, mainly because they said they would be harder to refer to. Extensionists found the books useful to help them in guiding farmers. Some people had photocopied their books for neighbours who had not been able to obtain them. The involvement of young scientists in research projects involving draught animals did help raise the profile of research in this area and gave them the skills to develop projects of their own. The meetings in Thailand and Indonesia led to the setting-up of a regional project in 2007 to extend the programme, with a wider remit to improve production, management, and health of large ruminants kept for meat, milk, and/or work within south-east Asia. This would not have been possible without the British Council-funded project.
19992001 % 19.2 23.1 32.5 7.6 0 5.6 2.4 0 2.6 3.7 0
19.1 17.6 14.9 14.1 9.8 7.8 4.1 3.6 3.5 3.1 2.1
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Table 2 shows the conditions of the 283 cases from 20058 which were so severe that the elephants were brought to the NEI hospital. Of all the elephants, 25 died during the 3 years; of these 11 (40%) had digestive problems, 6 (21%) died from wound infections; and 4 females and 1 baby (20%) died during labour. Table 2. Diagnosis of elephants treated at the NEI hospital, 20058
Condition Gestational-intestinal problems Wound and abscesses Poor condition Musculoskeletal problems Reproductive problems Eye problems Tusk infection Ecto- parasites Foot problems Skin problems Growth (cysts papilloma fibromas) Urinary problems (kidney failure, blood in urine)
283 cases
% 24.0 21.2 14.1 13.8 5.7 5.7 3.9 3.5 3.2 2.5 1.8 0.7%
the beginning of the rainy season. Infections in the tusks are often caused by trauma or if the tusks are cut too close to the nerve, by the owner or by thieves, who want the ivory. Skin problems are seen especially when elephants do not get proper skin care, including a daily bath. Reproduction problems include dead foetuses, labour trouble, and mortality among the newborn. Foot problems seen in western zoos are not common; the most severe cases are those seen in elephants that have stepped on landmines. Discussion The 1,368 elephants seen by the MEC represent about 40% of all the domesticated elephants in Thailand, and the findings, similar at the beginning of the project, are believed to be representative of the suffering among domesticated elephants in Thailand. At first, we thought the primary job of a veterinary consultant was to improve veterinary skills and treatment, but when looking at the tables it can be seen that most of the suffering is caused by the way the elephants are used: their problems are caused by humans. And the most efficient way to cause improvement is education of the people working with the animals. So we did. First, we wrote the Mahout Care Manual [2] which was published in the Thai language. Then we developed a first-aid kit for elephant keepers, the so called mahout box, which contains simple tools, like a broom, soap, iodine, etc. for treatment of simple cases in the field or before the veterinarian has arrived. We then started arranging training for the elephant keepers, the mahout workshops. With good documentation it was possible to get money from the Danish East Asia Company for the workshops, and by the end of 2010 more than 150 mahouts will have attended them. After 12 years as a vet consultant for NEI, I do not see fewer cases or less need for veterinary activity. However, it appears that the elephants are now in better condition than before, and the cases presented are less severe than when we started. Conclusions For advisers and chief veterinarians it is important to be open-minded and do systematic recording, which shows which direction the work should take and, most important, if the conditions and welfare of the elephants could be improved. This includes other working animals. The approach is not better veterinarians, nor sophisticated equipment, but close regular contact with the people involved with the animals, and education integrated as part of all activities within a mobile clinic. Acknowledgement This paper is based on Angkawanish, T. et al. (2009): Elephant Health Status in Thailand: The Role of a Mobile Elephant Clinic and an Elephant Hospital. Gajah 31, pp.1520. References [1] Lair, R.C. (1997): Gone Astray. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Bangkok, Thailand. [2] Phuangkum, P. et al. (2003): Elephant Care Manual for Mahouts and Camp Managers. Forest Industrial Organization and FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Bangkok, Thailand.
Explanations for problems Wounds and abscesses are mainly caused by the tools used for controlling the elephants, and by the harness. Severe wounds and tail biting is seen when elephants are attacking each other. Poor condition is seen when elephants, mainly the ones involved in illegal logging, are overworked. Ecto-parasites include warbles coming out through the skin; the condition is of more concern for the mahout than for the elephant. Eye problems often occur when the elephants are exposed to direct sun, dust, or mechanic trauma in the eyes. The animals never die, but often they become blind in one or both eyes. Muscle pain and lameness, including fractures, are seen among the overworked elephants in the forest, in elephants falling down in hilly areas, or when elephants fight Diarrhoea or constipation can be caused by wrong, contaminated, or too much food or plenty of fresh food in
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WELFARE ISSUES OF WORKING BULLOCKS AT CHINCHALI AND SOLUTIONS

S. B. Salgar and K. Desai
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Freedom from hunger and thirst Freedom from discomfort It is very common to see bullocks with poor body condition scores (see bullock pulling second cart in Figure 1) trudging along without much needed rest on the road to Chinchali. Though they are fed it is hard to say their nutritional needs are met. Severe exhaustion and lameness, both common here, affect the animals' health Animal Rahat arranges a camp on the journey, at Mahishal village, where the owners take their last stop before Chinchali. Here arrangements are made for the animals to rest. Fresh water is provided and also shelter (see Figure 2). At the same time owners are made aware of the need for their bullocks to rest. Refreshments are also given to the animals owners to reinforcing the idea that timely rest, feed, and water make the journey less stressful. Figure 2. Animal Rahat supplies water for the animals on the way to Chinchali
Animal Rahat, Near Krupa Hosp, Mantri Chandak, Hotgi Rd, Asara, Solapur, India Animal Rahat, Near Tolaidar Office, Market Yard, Sangli, Maharashtra. India suhas.salgar@gmail.com
Abstract Chinchali is a village in the southern state of Karnataka. Animal owners and farmers of Sangli, Kolhapur, and Solapur districts use bullock carts to attend Chinchali fair, which is about 80km from Sangli, a 23 day journey (Figure 1). On this journey the bullocks suffer muscle strain and wounds, and undergo stress and dehydration. To overcome these problems concerning animal welfare issues Animal Rahat makes arrangements for rest, water, shelter, and free treatment for animals on the way to the fair. Animal Rahat also arranges for buses to take animal owners to the fair so their bullocks can rest. Introduction The bullock cart forms the backbone of the transport system in our villages and small cities and will remain so for a long time to come. This is because the villages are mostly connected with mandis (local markets) and sugarcane factories through kutcha, roads which are often narrow, uneven, and unfit for use by mechanical means of transport. The unit of farming being small and the marketable surplus per household being small, the bullock carts are more suitable and economical than mechanised transport. Even the nature of farming sugarcane demands use of bullock carts when it needs to be ploughed at waist length crop height [1]. There is scanty information about the suitability of all the major Indian breeds of cattle, buffalo, and pack animals, including cross breeds, as draught animals. A major research programme has been undertaken on milch animals. Draught characteristics have been studied in limited breeds. Physiological norms for continuous working of animals without undue fatigue are not available. As a result animals are subjected to drudgery [2]. Figure 1. Animal owners use bullock carts to travel to the Chinchali fair
Freedom from pain, disease, and injury The gentle bullocks often suffer from untreated sores, especially yoke galls (see Figure 3). Many owners also beat them, causing wounds. Various types of lameness are also very common. Free treatment to sick animals is provided by the Animal Rahat team at this resting place in transit. If a bullock's health is severely affected and hospitalization is needed Animal Rahat admits it to its temporary retired bullock home for proper treatment and care. Information about the primary health issues of working bullocks and their care is also given to the owners. Figure 3. Bullock with yoke gall used for pulling cart to travel to fair
Welfare issues and steps of redressal We address the 5 freedoms for animals.
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Freedom from fear and distress Ignorant and insensitive owners use various crude methods to control the animals. The use of nails as shown in Figure 4 is an example. Use of the nose rope instead of morki also leads to wounds and a few times the ends of the nostril are cut and the rope digs in further causing immense pain to the animal. The Animal Rahat team removes and confiscates any means of cruelty such as these nails from the owners. The Rahat team also tries to sensitize such people on issues of animal welfare and mental well-being of the animals. Figure 4. Use of nails to control animal
Figure 6. Buses take animal owners to the fair so their animals can rest
Conclusion Animal Rahat (Rahat means relief from pain) is a non-profit organization which was created to make a difference in the lives of working bullocks, donkeys, ponies, and horses. Animal Rahat's aim is to alleviate the suffering of these animals by giving rest to the lame and offering relief to the sick and injured. Our work at Chinchali Fair is a step in this direction and we aim to take it more extensively next year so that more working bullocks receive our care and their welfare enhanced. Freedom to express natural behaviour It is not uncommon to find horses in similar conditions, sometimes we find 2 horses harnessed to a bullock cart or a horse and bullock together (see Figure 5); being of uneven size the cart has lopsided. Animal Rahat takes these issues very seriously and even threatens to go to police and file a case against the owners. However, we do try first to resolve such issues amicably with the owners and help them find alternatives, rather than abusing animals by putting them in unnatural working styles. The Animal Rahat bus is an example of such an alternative which aims at relieving animals from stress by giving people an alternative mode of transport to the fair (see Figure 6). Figure 5. A cart pulled by 1 bullock and 1 horse References [1] K.N. Ramanujam, Rural Transport in India, Mittal Publications, New Delhi, 1993. [2] G. Singh, Draught Animal Energy Research in India; www.atnesa.org.
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CHANGING PRACTICES WITH WORKING BULLOCKS: USING THE MORKEE INSTEAD OF THE NOSE ROPE
K. Desai and S. B. Salgar
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Figure 2. Bullocks with morkee
Animal Rahat, Near Tolaidar Office, Market Yard, Sangli, Maharastra, India Animal Rahat, Near Krupa Hosp, Mantra Chandak, Hotgi Rd, Asara, Solapur, India desai_kabir@rediffmail.com
Abstract Use of the nose rope in bullocks is prevalent in the Sangli and Solapur districts of Maharashtra. With the use of nose rope some welfare issues are compromised. We are giving animal owners an alternative: the morkee can be used in place of the nose rope. People are reluctant to start this new practice. With our consistent efforts we are trying to bring happiness to animals. Introduction One of the common sights in India is that of a bullock trudging along in the heat, straining under a heavy yoke, pulling an overloaded cart, being nudged with nose ropes. It is significant that the nose rope hardly ever remains simply a means for communication to be used to give directions: rather, in uneducated hands it becomes a means of pulling, jerking, confusing, inflicting pain, and controlling the animal and compromising its welfare (see Figure 1). To secure the animal a halter (morkee) is a better choice (see Figure 2). In many regions the control of bullock is accomplished by good training, well fitted yokes, traces, and verbal commands (1). However, in Maharashtra it is a common belief that bullocks are ferocious and a nose rope should be used to control them. The Animal Rahat's team focus is to bring change by setting examples themselves, and this paper shows how they do this. Figures 1. Bullocks with nose rope
Figure 3. Treatment and examination of bullocks
The 5 freedoms for animals Freedom from hunger and thirst Freedom from discomfort Freedom from pain, injury, and disease. Freedom to express normal behaviour Freedom from fear and distress Table 1 shows how these freedoms are compromised by the use of the nose rope. Freedom Discomfort Pain, injury, and disease Express normal behaviour Fear and distress Nose rope Compromised Compromised Compromised Compromised Morkee Not compromised Not compromised Not compromised Not compromised
The nose rope: prevalent practice in the area At a young age an animal suffers extreme pain when a nose rope is fitted. With the help of a sharp pointed object a small hole is made in the nasal septum. Through this hole a rope of 58mm diameter is passed and it is tied behind horns. This whole procedure is performed without any veterinary help. One can imagine the tremendous pain and 405 406
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suffering the animal is going through. As age advances the diameter of the nose rope increases until it becomes 11.5cm. Over a period of time this rope has to be changed because of its bad condition. While putting in a new rope the animal is handled very badly and no sedatives or veterinary help are given. This nose rope remains in place until the death of the animal. There are many disadvantages with the nose rope: Pain associated with wound in nose Injury to nasal septum May cause injury to eye while handling Unclean rope leads to maggots in wound Fungal infections around ear (because of rubbing near ear) The morkee When we consider the morkee, there is no painful procedure involved. It is very simple to apply and use, and it can be removed when the animal is not working, which is not possible with the nose rope. In this way we reduce the animal's pain and discomfort, and the animal can experience its normal, natural behaviour. Success with the morkee depends on the following factors: Atmosphere in which the animal grows up The animal owner's attitude (careful/rough) The attitude of the animal's handlers (including women and children) Training animals for traction involves an understanding between the trainer and the animals. The animals need to trust the trainer. For that the trainer should be patient and reward good behavior [2]. While changing from the nose rope to morkee if these factors are compromised then repeated efforts are needed. Conclusion Animal Rahat is a non-profit organization which was formed to make a difference in the lives of working animals. Educating owners to change their practices is one of our core objectives. And to change the mindset of people we have to show them and lead by example. In our day-to-day work of providing free veterinary aid (see Figure 3) we try always to handle the animals gently, with the morkee along with love and respect, instead of the nose rope, and encourage owners to do the same. In our temporary retired bullock home all the bullocks are tied with the morkee. In future we plan to take bullock owners to see this home and reinforce the idea of using an animal-friendly method of securing the animals to enhance their welfare (Figure 4). Figure 4. 'I am very happy with morkee'
References [1] J.K. Campbell, Dibble Sticks, Donkeys and Diesels: Machines in Crop Production. [2] Manual of Training for Animal Traction, developed by VSF-Spain, HOSU, BMCS, and the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO)
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Donkey Breeds of North Eastern Balochistan Pakhtoonkhua and Southern Afghanistan

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Donkey Breeds of North Eastern Balochistan Pakhtoonkhua and Southern Afghanistan

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The 6th International Colloquium on Working Equids

The Brooke. All rights reserved, 2010

The Brooke's foreword

378 383 389 395

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Service delivery approach

Table 1. Transition in organisational approaches, structures, and systems

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1st assessment 56 legs 45 legs

2nd assessment 30 horses 41 legs 38 legs 7 horses 3 horses 25 horses 23 horses

3rd assessment 29 horses 14 legs 33 legs 0 horses 6 horses 28 horses 16 horses

Feeding trough at home

Presence of brushing lesions 33 horses

15 horses 26 horses 26 horses

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Figure 3. Donkey motivator post-hoc treatment for SM group

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SDRR (ms)b 176.4142.50 198.486.03 0.64

rMSSD (ms)c 60.4332.82 63.527.74 0.49

2078.141476.88 1377.141568.50 1420.92958.18 1019.04515.91 0.45 0.84

n=unsatisfactory 1 6 n=weight 2 n=extra padding 4

significant at p-value< 0.05

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Behavioural observation during routine unharnessing

Tight or not tight 10-point scale: 1=very thin to 5=very fat

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QUALITATIVE EVALUATION: A STRATEGY TO MEASURE CHANGES

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