Commercial activities within Great Britain are a significant addition to the workload of welfare teams due to concerns regularly raised by members of the public about the welfare of donkeys involved in this work. There are wide discrepancies in the recording of donkey population numbers in GB, or appreciation for the numbers working in commercial settings. This project will evaluate the scale, distribution and types of donkey-related licensed/ unlicensed commercial activities in GB from FOI data obtained from licensing authorities. Using Animal Management System data it will also glean information about the welfare of donkeys in these contexts, why they are brought to TDS, and what our welfare teams find when they visit the premises of commercial operations. Further collaborative research will be undertaken with Manchester Metropolitan University (Helen Wadham) to ascertain the perspectives and understanding of those interacting with donkeys in commercial operations (local authority officials, vets, the business owners and the public).
Mixed methods of FOI requests to licensing authorities, data extraction from AMS, interviews and netnography.
- To aid the understanding of donkey welfare in working contexts in GB to support those licensing and being licensed ensure adequate care and retirement provision for working donkeys throughout their lives.
- To aid the development of tools to support the public in welfare friendly decision-making when utilising commercial donkey related activities.
- Provide operational information to support the welfare teams in the delivery of an efficient and effective welfare service for donkeys in working contexts.
- Understand the scale and distribution of commercial operations (licensed and unlicensed) involving donkeys in GB.
- Investigate the roles donkeys are currently performing within businesses.
- Evaluate the welfare of donkeys in these contexts and what happens at the end of their working lives.
- Investigate the licensing process from the perspectives of licensing officials, operators of premises requiring licence, and the public.
- Evaluate the online discourse about donkeys working in GB using netnography.
- Investigate the licensing authorities, owners and the public's understanding and knowledge of donkeys, donkey perspectives and their needs.