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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Behavior and Welfare
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1442628
This article is part of the Research Topic Camelid Farming, Production, Reproduction, Health, and Welfare View all 8 articles

Welfare Assessment of Dromedary Camels Kept Under Pastoralism in Pakistan

Provisionally accepted
Barbara Padalino Barbara Padalino 1Asim Faraz Asim Faraz 2Naod T. Masebo Naod T. Masebo 1,3*Abdul Waheed Abdul Waheed 2Hafiz M. Ishaq Hafiz M. Ishaq 2Nasir A. Tauqir Nasir A. Tauqir 4Ali R. Abbasi Ali R. Abbasi 5Laura Menchetti Laura Menchetti 6
  • 1 University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
  • 2 Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Punjab, Pakistan
  • 3 School of Veterinary Medicine, Wolaita Sodo University, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia
  • 4 Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan
  • 5 Muhammad Nawaz Shareef University of Agriculture, Multan, Punjab, Pakistan
  • 6 University of Camerino, Camerino, Marche, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Standardized welfare assessment protocols are crucial to enhance animal welfare, up to date, there is no data on the level of welfare of camels kept under pastoralism. A tailored protocol for measuring welfare in dromedary camels kept under nomadic pastoralist conditions was recently developed, drawing from the currently available welfare protocol for dromedary camels kept in intensive systems. This study therefore, aimed to apply the newly developed tailored protocol and assess the welfare of dromedary camels kept under pastoralism in the Southern Punjab Province of Pakistan. A total of 44 welfare indicators (animal-, resource, and management-based measures) aligning with animal welfare principles ('Good Feeding,', 'Good Housing,', 'Good Health,', and 'Appropriate Behavior') were gathered into two assessment levels: 'Caretaker-Herd level' and 'Animal level'. Data were collected in 2023 in the Cholistan desert in the southern Punjab province. Fifty-four herds were evaluated for a total population of 1186 camels, of which 510 (495 females and 15 males; average age: 5-6 years old) were assessed at the animal level. The indicators were scored and aggregated to obtain Principle Aggregated Indexes (PAIs) and a total Welfare Index (TWI). Using the PAIs classification, 4 herds were categorized as excellent, 42 satisfactory, and 8 unsatisfactory. Total Welfare Index (TWI) varied from 55.7 to 82.2, and the thresholds for classification into tertiles were 65.4 and 70.6. Good feeding and Good housing were the most problematic PAIs, with Good Feeding as the most influential variable for classification into welfare categories. As expected, camels kept under pastoralism had a higher level of welfare than those reported in the literature for intensive systems, especially concerning the Appropriate Behavior principle. Our findings are a first step in proposing welfare standards for dromedary in Pakistan and worldwide.

    Keywords: Animal-level, Camels, Good feeding, Good housing, good health, Good Behaviour, Herd-level

    Received: 02 Jun 2024; Accepted: 14 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Padalino, Faraz, Masebo, Waheed, Ishaq, Tauqir, Abbasi and Menchetti. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Naod T. Masebo, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.