Kubasiewicz Laura M, Watson Tamlin, Thapa Sajana, Nye Caroline, Chamberlain Natasha
Equine Operations, The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, United Kingdom.
Animal Nepal, Lalitpur, Nepal.
Front Vet Sci. 2024 Jul 31;11:1390644. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1390644. eCollection 2024.
Working equids play a central role in mountainous communities, but their work often goes unnoticed by the wider world, with sparse documentation of their role, value, or welfare - a state which often extends to their human counterparts. Communities living in the remote Manaslu Valley, Nepal, face a number of uncertainties, including extreme weather events due to the seasonal monsoon and, more recently, the construction of a new road network. Using semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and Equine Assessment Research and Scoping (EARS) welfare assessments, we outline the specific role of pack mules in supporting the lives of local people, explain the nuanced links between human experience and mule welfare, and gain insight into how people living in this volatile environment manage uncertainty and risk. Mule work was felt to be the 'only option' for a sustainable livelihood for most mule owners although, in some cases, mules had enabled respondents to diversify their income. Mule owners with more husbandry experience did not own mules in more positive behavioural states, which may suggest a lack of generational knowledge and support networks. Short-term ongoing risks, such as the monsoon or unstable tracks, had a larger impact both financially and emotionally than the long-term but distant implications of the road construction. Mule owners must constantly balance the risk of working during the monsoon season, when conditions are treacherous but pay was higher, with losing valuable income but keeping themselves and their mules safe; they do, however, have a more mobile option for employment than non-owners. Mules enable a level of resilience and agility for communities living with constant uncertainty and change, which is only beginning to be recognised formally within the sustainable development sphere. Integration of animal welfare into the SDGs would allow humanitarian aid initiatives to strengthen support networks around working equids, which would greatly benefit the mules and humans alike.
役用马属动物在山区社区发挥着核心作用，但它们的工作往往不为更广泛的世界所关注，关于它们的作用、价值或福利的记录稀少——这种情况往往也适用于与它们相对应的人类。生活在尼泊尔偏远的马纳斯卢山谷的社区面临着诸多不确定性，包括季节性季风带来的极端天气事件，以及最近新建的道路网络。通过半结构化访谈、问卷调查以及马属动物评估研究与范围界定（EARS）福利评估，我们概述了驮骡在支持当地居民生活方面的具体作用，解释了人类经历与骡子福利之间的细微联系，并深入了解了生活在这种动荡环境中的人们如何应对不确定性和风险。对大多数骡子主人来说，骡子劳作被认为是维持生计的“唯一选择”，不过在某些情况下，骡子使受访者能够实现收入多样化。拥有更多饲养经验的骡子主人所拥有的骡子行为状态并不更积极，这可能表明缺乏代际知识和支持网络。短期的持续风险，如季风或不稳定的道路，在经济和情感上的影响比道路建设的长期但遥远的影响更大。骡子主人必须不断权衡在季风季节劳作的风险，此时条件危险但报酬更高，既要避免失去宝贵收入，又要保证自己和骡子的安全；然而，与非骡子主人相比，他们确实有更多样化的就业选择。骡子为生活在持续不确定性和变化中的社区提供了一定程度的适应力和灵活性，而这一点在可持续发展领域才刚刚开始得到正式认可。将动物福利纳入可持续发展目标将使人道主义援助倡议能够加强围绕役用马属动物的支持网络，这将使骡子和人类都受益匪浅。
