Abstract
Reliable and measurable animal-based measures (ABMs) are essential for assessing animal welfare. This study aimed at proposing ABMs for dromedary camels identifying their possible associations with management. Data were collected at a permanent camel market; a total of 76 pens and 528 camels were evaluated. ABMs were collected for each welfare principle (i.e., good feeding, good housing, good health, appropriate behavior), while resources or management-based measures were collected at three levels of investigations (animal, herd, or caretakers). Associations were calculated by generalized linear models. Body condition score and thirst index (ABMs of good feeding) resulted negatively associated with short caretaker’s experience, dirty bedding, limited shaded space, feeding and water space, and space allowance (P < 0.05). Resting behaviors and restricted movements (ABMs of good housing) were associated with short caretaker’s experience, dirty bedding and water, rationed water distribution, water points in the sun, and presence of hobbles (P < 0.05). Disease, injury, and pain induced by management procedures (ABMs of good health) were negatively associated with short caretaker’s experience, presence of hobbles, limited space allowance and shaded space, dirty bedding, and feeding and watering practices (e.g., frequency of distribution, resource quality, location of the troughs; P < 0.05). Response to approaching test and aggressivity (ABMs of Appropriate behavior) were negatively associated with limited space allowance, shaded, feeding and water space, and rationed water distribution (P < 0.05). Overall, the proposed ABMs seems to be appropriate indicators of welfare consequences in camels being able to identify factors related to housing and management practices that may impair or improve camel welfare.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11250-021-02978-8.
Highlights
Animal welfare measures how an animal is coping with the environment where it lives (Broom, 1996; OIE, 2008)
According to the descriptive statistics of the measures collected at herd level (Tables 4 and 5), the median number of camels per pen was 5, but 25% of the pens included more than 8 camels
This study proposed new animal-based measures (ABMs) for camels and evaluated their associations with resource and management-related factors in dromedary camels kept in a permanent market
Summary
Animal welfare measures how an animal is coping with the environment where it lives (Broom, 1996; OIE, 2008). Animal welfare assessment has to be based on reliable, measurable, and valid indicators. Those measures may be animal-based (ABMs) or resource and management-based indicators. A short-list of ABMs could be selected avoiding overlapping of information but covering the main factors capable of inducing concerns for the welfare of that particular animal (EFSA, 2012c). In this context, an important feature of ABMs is their “fitness for the purpose of the assessment.”. An important feature of ABMs is their “fitness for the purpose of the assessment.” The selected ABMs should be fit for that particular animal species and category at that time, for the skills of assessors, the conditions under which they are to be collected, ethics, and financial constraints (Main et al, 2007; EFSA, 2012c)
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