In Ethiopia the Donkey Sanctuary started its health and welfare activities in 1994. This was the time when the International Donkey Protection Trust and Addis Ababa University concluded an agreement and signed a memorandum of understanding. Since that time and up to 2003, activities were centred in the districts of Bereh, Boset, Ada and Akaki and Addis Ababa Grain Market located at a radius of 100-150 kms from Debre Zeit, the centre with a stationery clinic. The facilities of the latter include an open-air clinic, surgical theatre, laboratory, store for drugs, boxes for mules and donkeys, offices and a training room. As of 2004, three districts namely: Dugda Bora, Lume and Sebata have been added as sites of operation. Resistance at the very beginning by donkey owners to bring their animals for treatment was a problem but over the years the service has obtained wide acceptance, the trend exhibiting exponential growth: Ada (R2=0.87), Akaki (R2=0.88), Bereh (R2=0.70), Boset (R2=0.70), and for mules (R2=0.84). The clinic has so far provided treatments to 289,999 donkeys and 14,665 mules, and 217,609 owners have benefited. In 2003 two satellite projects have been set up in the northern part of Ethiopia: Amhara and Tigray and have so far treated more than 72,000 donkeys and mules and more than 29,000 owners have benefited. The centre at Debre Zeit was also designed to cater for local and international training, to date it has provided training to 217 veterinary professionals (28 foreign vets, 41 local vets, 17 foreign and 101 local animal health assistants, 30 local animal health technicians) in donkey medicine, surgery, farriery and general welfare. Since 2002, 297 clinical year students enrolled for the DVM degree in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Addis Ababa University have been trained in donkey medicine and surgery. Three to four clinical year students accompany mobile teams in field operations on a weekly rotation basis. Recently, the project has embarked on an education and extension programme in conjunction with its treatment activities and so far 51,513 owners have benefited. In the recently launched school education programme 1014 students in 7 primary schools are attending sessions in the basics of animal welfare. Baseline data development for the understanding of the health and welfare problems of donkeys in Ethiopia is being pursued by the project staff and through the supervision of DVM thesis involving final year students.
Pain due lesions and clinical conditions is one of the main welfare concerns of the more than 42 millions donkeys that presently exist in the world. Yet, the knowledge to gauge pain in donkeys is lacking, misunderstood and/or not validated (Ashley, 2005).
Pain (yes/no/uncertain) and its severity (VAS; no pain=0 to worst pain=100mm) was assessed in 403 donkeys’ ante-mortem (ATM) and post-mortem (PTM). Also behaviours/signs (BS) and pain related lesions (PRL) were assessed ATM and PTM, respectively. Using principal component analysis the more than 53 BS and 238 PRL observed were narrowed to 58 biologically meaningful component or groups (14 BS and 44 PRL components, respectively). Components were used as risk factors in multiple regression analysis to identify which BS and/or PRL are commonly used in clinician’s (veterinary/pathologist) decision making process to determine whether a donkey ‘is’ (i.e. ATM) or ‘was’ (i.e. PTM) in pain and its severity (mild to severe). Furthermore, multiple correlations were made to understand which BS relate significantly with specific PRL and how.
A cross tabulation between pain ATM and PTM, where pain related lesions are used as a quasi-gold standard of pain assessment; identify that 2 in 10 donkeys are wrongly assumed as in NO-PAIN. Moreover, only 43% of the donkey observations are used by clinicians to make their opinion on donkey pain and its severity (i.e. 7 BS and 18 PRL components were significantly associated with pain as stated by clinicians). Yet, multiple correlations showed 20 plausible biologically meaningful relationships between BS and PRL; some currently not used by clinicians.
This methodology, previously successfully used in humans (Gregory, 2010) is novel to donkey veterinary medicine and warrants further research to consolidate findings. Nonetheless, the achieved correlation list of behaviours vs. pathologies is a significant work with valid applications in donkey pain identification and prognosis.
References
F. H. Ashley, A. E. Waterman-Pearson, H. R. Whay (2005) Behavioural assessment of pain in horses and donkeys: application to clinical practice and future studies, Equine Vet Journal, 37(6), 565-575.
N. G. Gregory (2010) Relationships between pathology and pain severities: a review. Animal Welfare 19, 437-448.
This paper proposes an approach to use pain-relevant pathologies to enhance our understanding of the clinical and behavioural signs of pain in donkeys and outlines initial results of this ongoing investigation.
The methodology is summarized as follows. Trained veterinary clinicians examined live donkeys under two situations: A) before being euthanized due to a terminal illness or reduced quality of life (n= 347 sedentary donkeys in UK; DU) or B) when about to be slaughtered in an abattoir (n=164 working donkeys in Mexico; DM). The animals that represent populations in terms of age (years) for DU and DM respectively, were: <5 = 0.5%, 31.7%; 5-15 = 4%; 67.7%; 16-20 = 6%, 0.6%; >20 = 89.5% and 0%. For sex were: stallions 0.5%, 44%; geldings 52.2%, 8%; females 47.3%, 48% for DU and DM respectively. The body condition was: <2 =18.5%, 44.7%; 2.5 – 3 = 56.5%, 54%; >3.5 = 25%, 1% for DU and DM respectively and the girth was: 115 cm ±SD 9.6, 112cm ±SD 7.3 for DU and DM respectively.
The clinical examination (CE) included the oral mucosa, heart & respiratory rate, rectal temperature, plus an evaluation of 6 demeanours and 47 behaviours/signs that could relate to pain. At this point an overall pain visual analogue score was derived (VAS 0cm = no pain to 10cm = the worst pain). At post-mortem (PM), lesions/pathologies were noted, grouped by system-organ/tissue, ranked (mild, moderate, severe) and classified according to the following potentially painful pathologies: 1) trauma, 2) inflammation, 3) over-distension 4) perforation/ rupture, 5) stripping/ ulceration, 6) adhesions, 7) swelling, 8) exposure of sub-chondral bone. From these observations a second VAS was produced.
Raw correlations from the two populations showed that donkeys given a higher VAS at CE and PM presented with a greater severity of lesions in more systems as well as a higher heart rate at CE than those donkeys with a lower PM VAS. Moderate to severe pain identified CE was often recognized as severe pain at the PM stage. These initial observations show promise, and so further analysis will be done to test the relationships between pain indicators and pain pathologies.
Outdoor learning has traditionally been associated with using the natural environment as a mechanism for not only developing and enhancing behavioural characteristics such as confidence and resilience, but also in more recent times perhaps, as a means of developing a greater understanding of the natural world and therefore, promoting a greater sense of its curation.
The increasing interest in outdoor learning, both nationally and internationally, has facilitated a significant body of research work. Since 2000, two of the leading peer-reviewed journals in outdoor learning, have published nearly 1,000 research papers (approximately one a week). Research to inform the development and effectiveness of outdoor learning appears to concentrate primarily on relationships within and between the student/s and the natural environment. Popular topic areas include initiatives such as Forest Schools and the taught programmes of outdoor, or field studies, centres. It is interesting to note that only one paper in nineteen years of research in these two journals, deals with animals.
At a time when the Care Farm movement and animal assisted therapies are playing an increasingly important role in education and social support, animals are curiously absent from the research literature. Papers review 'nature therapies' and the important benefits to be gained by people being in the natural environment, but animals seem quite invisible within those environments.
Starting from this position, the presentation will initially explore the elusive nature of animal-human relationships. It will then explore the reasons why both outdoor and environmental education emphasise on the importance of 'place' , yet when the living environment is considered, it is more likely to be the floristic rather than the faunal. It concludes by exploring the efficacy of a more animal centred approach for promoting compassionate education and thereby enhancing the proposed, deeper, aims of environmental and outdoor learning.
Retrospective analysis of the clinic database between 2003-2005 indicated that tetanus (27 cases), colic (134), rabies (7), strangles (17), hyena bite (429), dystocia (39), hernia (27) and car accidents are the major causes of direct mortality in donkeys of Central Ethiopia. The case fatality rates of donkeys affected by these diseases were: tetanus 22%, colic 27%, dystocia 15%, strangles 12%, hernia 11%, hyena bite 7% and rabies 100%, in clinical intervention sites of the Donkey Sanctuary. In the non-intervention areas the mortality rates are expected to be higher as there would be no treatment intervention. In this paper the two major causes of mortality: tetanus and colic are discussed. In the project in Ethiopia, treatments of advanced cases of tetanus following standard procedures have been successful. Of 27 cases treated 21 have been cured. The treatment has, however, been expensive, costing the project an average of 1400 Eth Birr per donkey (mature donkey costs 300-400 Eth Birr) and requiring a long period of hospitalisation. In an ideal situation, prophylactic immunisation is the best option. Economic realities however prohibit such an option from being feasible in countries like Ethiopia. An extension system and strategy that focus on the prevention of wounds using proper harnesses/saddles and institution of a sound hoof care programme is the option in mind. Colic characteristics are: gastric impaction 8%, obstruction of small intestines 7%, colonic impactions 19%, flatulent colic 23%, enterolithiasis/foreign bodies 24%, throboembolism due to strongylosis and undiagnosed cases 19%. Free access to mouldy or coarse feed, ingestion of polythene bags, fertiliser sacks and used fabrics of nylon clothes were the major causes. Common sites of lodgement for enteroliths were the proximal portion of the transverse colon, transverse and small colons. Enterolith/foreign body was often diagnosed in pregnant donkeys with colic. Few cases were relieved by surgery. A considerable number of the enteroliths were removed by manual traction. Veterinary intervention alone will do little to alleviate such problems. The use of school children to collect polyethylene bags and fertiliser sacks, improve farmers' awareness of the risk being posed by these materials and that of braided nylon ropes. Encouraging farmers to prevent donkeys from grazing at waste disposal sites is also another preventive measure that can be practised against colic. Extension and education programmes for owners should pay particular attention to these issues.
Donkeys have a limited repertoire of non-specific signs displayed when in pain or sick. This study looked closely at donkey behaviour during the progression of different diseases with the aim of improving pain and sickness recognition.
Video footage of a group of 79 donkeys at The Donkey Sanctuary was obtained for 6 months; where 45 diseased cases observed. Due data completes, four cases were selected [Cases A) with respiratory disease due to herpes virus (n=2) and Cases B) end-stage cases (hyperlipaemia, n=1; chronic laminitis, n=1)] plus four healthy controls (n=4). Cases A were observed for 8hrs on day -10 and -1 prior to disease onset (day 0 = first veterinary visit) and during treatment (day 1, 5 and 10). Cases B were observed for 8hrs on day -7, -3 and on the day of euthanasia (day 0). Total time (minutes) performing 47 different behaviours were compared between (painful/sick vs. healthy) and within donkeys using chi-square or fisher’s exacts tests.
Diseased donkeys in cases A and B spent on average 10% more time (range, 3 - 17%, p<0.01) with a lowered head carriage compared to controls. Conversely, they spent 15% less time (range 6 - 34%, P<0.04) with their ears in combinations (i.e. each ear in opposite direction), thus meaning ears were more static and unresponsive. Ear changes were subtle but were the earliest indicators of pain/sickness in the observed donkeys. Cases B compared to the controls spent 31% more time in recumbency (range 7 - 60%, p<0.01), and 40% less time eating (range 1 - 64%, p<0.01). The reduction in total eating time was not substituted by any other oral behaviour (e.g. drinking, grooming, licking, and investigative behaviours), where drinking and grooming were greatly affected in the donkey with hyperlipaemia. Finally, abdominal effort was only observed in cases A and tended to reduce with time on treatment (p=0.06).
Donkeys are working animals of great importance worldwide, and these results highlight useful behavioural changes that can be used as monitoring signs of pain/sickness in these animals. The potential use of these signs warrants further studies in greater and more diverse donkey populations.
Impaction colic is the single most common type of colic diagnosed in a large population of donkeys (more than 2000 animals) at The Donkey Sanctuary, UK and the fatality rate from the disease is high. This paper reports risk factors for impaction colic in this population during 2006, identified using an unmatched case-control study. There were 71 cases of impaction colic and multivariable analysis identified a number of variables associated with the disease. Management factors that increased the risk of impaction included paper bedding, feeding of concentrates, limited access to pasture and increasing number of carers. In addition, health variables that were associated with an increased risk of impaction colic were weight loss, recent vaccination and a number of dental abnormalities. The implications of these associations are described and possible practical measures that might be implemented to reduce the risk of the disease are discussed.