Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK.
The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, Devon, UK.
Equine Vet J. 2021 Jul;53(4):763-770. doi: 10.1111/evj.13349. Epub 2020 Oct 6.
Factors affecting working equid welfare are wide-ranging and reflect cultural, economic and climatic conditions, the type of work equids are used for, and individual differences in the practices of their handlers. In Mexico working equids are widely used for facilitating agricultural activities, however, welfare issues are common.
To assess working equids across three communities in Mexico, identify predominant welfare problems and document how these problems vary across locations, associated working roles and species type.
Cross-sectional survey.
The study combined the administration of a wide-ranging questionnaire to equid handlers/owners and a welfare assessment of their animal. 120 equid owners were asked about their equid management practices, the working conditions and health status of their animal. The welfare of their equids (56 donkeys, 7 mules, 57 horses) was assessed by evaluating body condition, signs of illness or injury and behavioural indicators.
Welfare varied by species, working role, sex and location. The poorest welfare was seen in one of the two arid regions (the third location having a tropical climate). Donkeys had poorer welfare than horses, and equids used for packing had poorer welfare than those used for riding and agroforestry. Overall poor body condition and wounds were the most common problems seen.
Work type, species type and location strongly co-varied, thus the impact of each factor could not be assessed in isolation. The sample size was relatively small.
Results showed significant regional variations in welfare, suggesting that environmental and/or cultural variations are producing a major effect on welfare.
影响工作马福利的因素范围广泛，反映了文化、经济和气候条件、工作马的用途以及其饲养员实践的个体差异。在墨西哥，工作马被广泛用于促进农业活动，但福利问题很常见。
评估墨西哥三个社区的工作马，确定主要的福利问题，并记录这些问题在地点、相关工作角色和物种类型上的差异。
横断面调查。
该研究将广泛的问卷管理与动物福利评估相结合，对马的饲养员/所有者进行了调查。向 120 名马主询问了他们的马管理实践、动物的工作条件和健康状况。通过评估身体状况、疾病或损伤迹象以及行为指标，评估他们的马（56 匹驴、7 匹骡、57 匹马）的福利。
福利因物种、工作角色、性别和地点而异。在两个干旱地区之一（第三个地区为热带气候）看到的福利最差。驴的福利比马差，用于包装的马比用于骑行和农林的马的福利差。总体而言，身体状况不佳和伤口是最常见的问题。
工作类型、物种类型和地点强烈共变，因此无法单独评估每个因素的影响。样本量相对较小。
结果显示福利存在显著的区域差异，表明环境和/或文化差异对福利产生了重大影响。
