INTRODUCTION Working donkeys in Maun, Botswana contribute to people's livelihoods substantially through the provision of transport, ploughing and income generating activities. However, working donkeys suffer from various welfare issues that were investigated in this study to provide preliminary insights on their health and well-being. MATERIALS AND METHODS An assessment protocol involving dir...

Background: Colic (abdominal pain) is a clinical condition of serious concern affecting the welfare and survival of donkeys at the Donkey Sanctuary in the UK. One of the most commonly reported causes is due to impacted ingesta in the large intestine ("impaction colic"). However little is known about the incidence of, or risk factors for, this condition. Here we describe the epidemiology of coli...

Twenty-three southern African working donkeys (Equus asinus) were allocated to eight experimental groups. The aim of the study was to determine what e:lfuct alternative helminth control methods have on the internal parasite burdens and the condition of working donkeys. Three

arteritis due to strongylus vulgaris is a well-known cause of colic in horses and donkeys. the current report describes a fatal incidence of arterial obstruction in cranial mesenteric artery caused by s. vulgaris infection in an adult donkey in which anthelmintic treatment was not regularly administered. necropsy findings of the abdominal cavity revealed a complete cranial mesenteric arterial o...

INTRODUCTIONS Working donkeys are at risk of developing multiple, acute and chronic health problems. The ability to recognise and assess pain in donkeys associated with these health problems is important for people responsible for their care and treatment, including owners and veterinary or animal health workers. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The aims of this study were firstly to quantify the prevalen...

AIM The primary objective of the present study is to determine the commonness of filarial parasites in donkeys in Egypt, identification of the filarial species tainting them and the delivered pathogenic impact connected with the infestation. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 188 donkeys were examined for filarial infection. The blood samples and scraping of the cutaneous bleeding lesions were ...

BACKGROUND No data is available on morphology and genetic characteristics of Echinococcus granulosus derived from donkeys of Iran, despite of its existence in donkeys. In the present study morphometric variations of the rostellar hooks of protoscoleces and genotype characteristics of hydatid cyst of donkey from Iran were determined. METHODS Protoscoleces prepared from hydatid cyst of donkey o...

Setaria equina (S. equina) is a filarial worm that exists in peritoneal cavity of equines. This study aimed to evaluate cytokine mediators tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-4 (IL-4) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) responses in spontaneously S. equina infected and non-infected donkeys with emphasis on choosing the best antigen that could be used in diagnosis of such filarial infection...

BACKGROUND In equids, health and welfare depend on body composition. A growing number of equids are now used as leisure and companion animals, and often found overfeed. The need for a close monitoring of body fatness led to the search for tools allowing a rapid and non-invasive estimation of fatness. This study intends to assess real-time ultrasonography (RTU) usefulness in establishing a relat...

BACKGROUND The donkey has a reputation for stoicism and its behavioural repertoire in clinical contexts is under-reported. Lack of understanding of the norms of donkey behaviour and how it may vary over time can compromise use of behavioural measures as indicators of pain or emotional state. The objective of this study was to find out whether the behaviour of working donkeys was influenced by g...