Review on Health and Welfare of Working Donkeys

Abstract

Donkey is one of the most important drought animals that is playing a key role in the agriculture economy. Ethiopia is a country with the highest donkey population in the world (6.5 million). Despite their high population and prominent role in Ethiopia agriculture, much has not been done to study the physiology, nutritional requirement, health problems and management requirement. As the welfare of animals, they need to be protected to live peacefully in their environment without affecting their health and welfare. Due to the minimum attention given to the donkeys, particularly in countries like Ethiopia they are prone to a number of diseases including multi-parasitism, back sore and other wounds due to different causes, hoof problems, lameness, colic and various infectious diseases. The welfare problem of the donkeys is mainly due to bad management practices and health problems. The possible solution to improve the welfare of donkeys is by creating awareness to the community with proper veterinary health care and designing diseases prevention strategies.