Abstract
Adopting proper animal management strategies, including training, might reduce to a substantial extent the adverse effects of transport-related stress in animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of habituation to transport on stress-related behaviors and physiological indicators during loading and unloading in donkeys. Fourteen donkeys were recruited and divided in two treatment groups: Habituation (H; M = 5, F = 2) and Control (C; M = 5, F = 2). H donkeys were gradually habituated to be transported, traveling together with their mothers and other adult donkeys well-accustomed to transport, while C donkeys had never been transported before. Loading and unloading phases were video recorded and behavior was analyzed. Saliva samples for cortisol concentration determination were collected at rest and after unloading. Latency time to load was significantly shorter for H donkeys than C donkeys (Mann-Whitney; p = 0.004). C donkeys also showed significantly more stress-related behaviors (Mann-Whitney; p = 0.026) and required a higher but not statistically significant number of human interventions to load. Cortisol concentration increased in both groups, but no differences were found between them (Mann-Whitney; p > 0.05). These results suggest that habituation to transport could mitigate stress during loading procedures in donkeys reducing loading time, frequency of stress-related behaviors and diminishing the need of human intervention.
Highlights
Throughout Europe, a population of about 395,910 donkeys is estimated [1], of which 93,468 are registered in the Equine Italian Database [2]
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of habituation to transport procedures on stress related to loading and unloading, using behavioral indicators and salivary cortisol level, in donkeys
For C donkeys, this was the first transport of their life
Summary
Throughout Europe, a population of about 395,910 donkeys is estimated [1], of which 93,468 are registered in the Equine Italian Database [2]. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of habituation to transport procedures on stress related to loading and unloading, using behavioral indicators and salivary cortisol level, in donkeys. Foals in the H group were gradually habituated to be transported over short distances (from one pasture to another, about 30 min journeys), traveling together with adult donkeys with travel experience, including their own mothers. This habituation training started when the donkeys aged 6 months and lasted until they were taken to the slaughterhouse (1.2 ± 0.4 years). All the animals were used to the handlers: while donkeys in the C group were not used to be loaded nor to travel, animals were used to be handled and cared for by the same handlers
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