Short Communication Published March 15, 2026 Vol. 1 No. 1 (2026)

Welfare assessment of working equids using a modified hands-on protocol

Authors

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Affiliation

  1. 1 Centre for Animal Welfare, Eastbrook College
  2. 2 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Northfield University

Abstract

We adapted a hands-on welfare protocol for working donkeys and mules and tested its inter-observer reliability in 120 animals. Agreement was substantial for body condition score (κ = 0.71) and lesion scoring (κ = 0.66). The protocol can be completed in under ten minutes per animal and is suitable for routine field surveillance.

Keywords

References

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  3. Kilkenny C, Browne WJ, Cuthill IC, Emerson M, Altman DG. Improving bioscience research reporting: the ARRIVE guidelines for reporting animal research. PLoS Biol. 2010;8(6):e1000412. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000412 Google ScholarCrossref

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