Volume 10, Issue 2, March–April 2015, Pages 158–165
Abstract
The
working conditions of donkeys and mules in the Egyptian brick kilns are
often very challenging. Common problems for these equids include the
following: overloading, overworking, heat stress, harness lesions, poor
body condition scores (BCSs), and poor treatment by handlers. However,
mechanization of the Egyptian brick kilns is not yet realistic without
entirely renovating all kilns for additional space requirements, which
would be cost-prohibitive at this time. In the brick kilns in the Helwan
area (approximately 185 kilns, supplying all bricks for the cities of
Cairo and Giza), more than 2,000 donkeys and 400 mules move ∼200 million
bricks per month, year round. From July 2012 to December 2013, the
first author assessed 1,140 donkeys and 250 mules to answer the question
of whether donkeys or mules are better suited for brick kiln work.
Health parameters were assessed (e.g., pulse and respiratory rate,
rectal temperature, mucous membranes, skin tent test, and capillary
refill time); body lesions and BCSs were assessed on a 5-point scale
from 1 (poor) to 5 (obese). Several behavior parameters (e.g., animal
demeanor and human-animal interaction) were also assessed. The data were
analyzed using SPSS 17.1. There were (mean ± standard error) 32.6% ±
0.99% of kiln mules and 53.5% ± 0.98% of kiln donkeys scoring a BCS ≤2 (P
< 0.001). Heat stress and fever indicators were separated from each
other for each measure and then respective scores were aggregated.
Again, mules showed more favorable scores with the average aggregate
heat stress score of mules being 26.8 ± 0.15 and of donkeys being 48.3 ±
0.25 (P < 0.001). Mules also showed fewer overwork-type body lesions (19.1 ± 0.45) than donkeys (32.9 ± 0.74; P
< 0.001). When all health parameters were considered, it was
apparent that mules are faring better than donkeys in the brick kiln
environment. Should the kiln owners decide to replace donkeys with
mules, one problem will need to be addressed: Mules more frequently
showed aggressive behaviors and avoidance behaviors to unfamiliar
handlers (19.2% ± 0.17% aggressive mules versus 3.0% ± 0.02% aggressive
donkeys; P < 0.001). Educational programs to assist with
proper training and handling of mules should be implemented and then
assessed for outcomes.
Keywords
- brick kilns;
- working equid welfare;
- mules welfare;
- donkeys welfare;
- BCS;
- body lesions;
- behavior;
- heat stress;
- Egyptian
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