Camel welfare: survey on camel caretakers' perspectives

Animal welfare depends on caretakers' handling and management skills. The study aimed at gaining information on camel caretakers' backgrounds, their perceptions of welfare and management practices and at investigating associations with camel health and behavioural problems. The study was conducted at a camel market in Qatar and 49 caretakers were interviewed (29 questions). Caretakers were male, mainly from Sudan (91.7%; P<0.001), and had mainly learned camel management from family members (81.6%; P<0.001). Camels were mainly from Qatar, reared for milk, breeding or meat. The majority of the caretakers under 30 years took care of camels reared as breeding animals or for milk production (n=12, 75.0%), while the caretakers over 40 years took care of camels for dual-purposes (n=7, 46.7%; P<0.05) or meat (n=4, 26.7%). Camels received rationed feed and water (87.6%, 53.1%, P<0.001), and were dewormed regularly (96.8%, P<0.001) but not vaccinated (72.9%; P<0.001). Respondents experienced at least one camel with a behavioural (45.8%) and a health (87.8%) problem and associations between management practices and those problems were found. Behavioural problems were associated with the number of health problems, suggesting that sick camels tended to show behavioural modifications. Caretakers ranked their ability to recognise a camel in distress/pain as high, reporting that the first sign was a change in behaviour. The caretakers' understanding of animal welfare was, however, low, missing the overall meaning of the concept; most caretakers defined animal welfare according to only one (52.2%) welfare principle. Overall, early and appropriate treatment of camels with health and behavioural problems, an increased presence of veterinarians at camel farms, and education on camel behaviour and welfare are recommended

Camel welfare: survey on camel caretakers' perspectives

Animal welfare depends on caretakers’ handling and management skills. The study aimed at gaining information on camel caretakers’ backgrounds, their perceptions of welfare and management practices and at investigating associations with camel health and behavioural problems. The study was conducted at a camel market in Qatar and 49 caretakers were interviewed (29 questions). Caretakers were male, mainly from Sudan (91.7%; P<0.001), and had mainly learned camel management from family members (81.6%; P<0.001). Camels were mainly from Qatar, reared for milk, breeding or meat. The majority of the caretakers under 30 years took care of camels reared as breeding animals or for milk production (n=12, 75.0%), while the caretakers over 40 years took care of camels for dual-purposes (n=7, 46.7%; P<0.05) or meat (n=4, 26.7%). Camels received rationed feed and water (87.6%, 53.1%, P<0.001), and were dewormed regularly (96.8%, P<0.001) but not vaccinated (72.9%; P<0.001). Respondents experienced at least one camel with a behavioural (45.8%) and a health (87.8%) problem and associations between management practices and those problems were found. Behavioural problems were associated with the number of health problems, suggesting that sick camels tended to show behavioural modifications. Caretakers ranked their ability to recognise a camel in distress/pain as high, reporting that the first sign was a change in behaviour. The caretakers’ understanding of animal welfare was, however, low, missing the overall meaning of the concept; most caretakers defined animal welfare according to only one (52.2%) welfare principle. Overall, early and appropriate treatment of camels with health and behavioural problems, an increased presence of veterinarians at camel farms, and education on camel behaviour and welfare are recommended.Animal welfare depends on caretakers' handling and management skills. The study aimed at gaining information on camel caretakers' backgrounds, their perceptions of welfare and management practices and at investigating associations with camel health and behavioural problems. The study was conducted at a camel market in Qatar and 49 caretakers were interviewed (29 questions). Caretakers were male, mainly from Sudan (91.7%; P<0.001), and had mainly learned camel management from family members (81.6%; P<0.001). Camels were mainly from Qatar, reared for milk, breeding or meat. The majority of the caretakers under 30 years took care of camels reared as breeding animals or for milk production (n=12, 75.0%), while the caretakers over 40 years took care of camels for dual-purposes (n=7, 46.7%; P<0.05) or meat (n=4, 26.7%). Camels received rationed feed and water (87.6%, 53.1%, P<0.001), and were dewormed regularly (96.8%, P<0.001) but not vaccinated (72.9%; P<0.001). Respondents experienced at least one camel with a behavioural (45.8%) and a health (87.8%) problem and associations between management practices and those problems were found. Behavioural problems were associated with the number of health problems, suggesting that sick camels tended to show behavioural modifications. Caretakers ranked their ability to recognise a camel in distress/pain as high, reporting that the first sign was a change in behaviour. The caretakers' understanding of animal welfare was, however, low, missing the overall meaning of the concept; most caretakers defined animal welfare according to only one (52.2%) welfare principle. Overall, early and appropriate treatment of camels with health and behavioural problems, an increased presence of veterinarians at camel farms, and education on camel behaviour and welfare are recommended

Blood Gas, Acid-Base and Electrolyte Analysis in Healthy Dromedary Camel Calves up to 21 Days of Life

: The importance of prompt evaluation and care of the newborn is essential for reducing neonatal mortality, which represents a major cause of loss in camelids. This study investigated the blood gases, acid-base and electrolyte profiles in healthy dromedary calves during the first 3 weeks of life, assessing possible associations with age. Twenty-one dromedary camel calves aged 1 to 21 days were sampled, and venous whole blood analyzed through a VETSTAT® analyzer. The following parameters were measured: sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), chloride (Cl-), hydrogen ion concentration (pH), partial pressure carbon dioxide (pCO2), partial pressure oxygen (pO2), total hemoglobin concentration (tHb), hemoglobin oxygen saturation (sO2), total carbon dioxide (tCO2), bicarbonate (HCO3-), base excess (BE) and anion gap (AG). Calves were divided in two groups; younger calves (1-10 d), and older calves (11-21 d). Statistical analysis showed an effect of age, with lower K+ (p < 0.001) and higher Na+ and Cl- (p < 0.05) mean concentrations in the younger calves compared to the older ones, and higher pCO2 and lower sO2 mean concentrations in the older group. These preliminary results firstly described the blood gas, acid-base and electrolyte profiles in the healthy dromedary calf during the first 3 weeks of age, suggesting an effect of age on some parameters

Male camel behavior and breeding management strategies: how to handle a camel bull during the breeding season?

The present article reviews male camel behavior and bre eding management strategies, providing an insight into the handling procedures and the most relevant welfare issues on these topics. Furthermore, it suggests some procedures for rearing, handling and collecting semen from camel bulls, based on results that have been achieved in the last twenty years and, recently, literature published with the aim of optimizing dromedary camel breeding. Camels are seasonal breeders and their breeding season (BS) is confined to the coolest winter months of the year; during the BS, also called "rutting period" or "rut", males exhibit morphological, behavioral and endocrinological peculiarities. Short breeding season, low libido and high aggressiveness are still some of the major cause of economic loss, poor reproductive perfor mance and injuries, for camel breeding and industry. The application of ethology to approach, to train and to study camel bulls may be useful in the future to improve camel welfare and productive performances. Strong knowledge of animal learning and correct management procedure could be useful for camel technicians, owners, breeders, but also for veterinarians and others scientists

Daily rhythms of behavioral and hormonal patterns in male dromedary camels housed in boxes

Background. Daily rhythmicity has been observed for a number of hormonal and behavioral variables in mammals. It can be entrained by several external factors, such as light-dark cycle and scheduled feeding. In dromedary camels, daily rhythmicity has been documented only for melatonin secretion and body temperature. In this study, the daily rhythmicity of behavioral repertoire, cortisol and testosterone levels was investigated in captive male camels. Methods. Six clinically healthy male dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) were used. The animals were housed in single boxes for 24 h daily and fed twice a day. Over a period of 48 h, behavioral observations were made and blood samples taken every two hours. The data were analyzed using diurnality index, conisor analysis and PROC mixed procedure. Results. The diurnality index for rumination and lying down was close to 0 (respectively, 0.09 and 0.19), while the indices for stereotypy, standing, feeding and walking were close to 1 (respectively, 0.74, 0.84, 0.92 and 0.85). Cosinor analysis revealed daily rhythmicity for all behaviors and for cortisol levels (acrophase at 12:57) but not for testosterone. Rumination and lying down (inactive behaviors) reached a peak during the scotophase, whereas feeding, walking and stereotypy (active behaviors) reached a peak during the photophase around midday. Cortisol level and expression of stereotypies peaked before and after food distribution and were negatively correlated (r =-0.287, P = 0.005). Testosterone levels and expression of sexual behaviors were stimulated by the visual and olfactory contacts with the females and were positively correlated (r =0.164, P =0.040). Testosterone was also negatively correlated with cortisol (r =-0.297; P =0.003). Discussion. These preliminary results provided new knowledge about the daily rhythm of behaviors in camels housed in boxes, suggesting that camels exhibit diurnal behavior pattern in the maintenance conditions outlined in the study. Daily rhythmicity seemed to be entrained not only by the light-dark cycle but also by scheduled feeding. The rise in stereotypy after food distribution could be due to the persistence of feeding motivation and frustration after the ingestion of food. Therefore, feeding practices should be improved to satisfy the foraging and feeding motivation of these camels. Behavioral and hormonal daily patterns in camels should be taken in consideration to adapt the management system, giving the animals more freedom during the light period and a diet richer in fiber, so as to improve reproductive performance, health and welfare

Camel herds' reproductive performance in Algeria: objectives and thresholds in extreme arid conditions

Abstract A survey was carried out for evaluating camel herd's fertility and fecundity under Algerian extreme arid conditions. Progeny History Testing data obtained from 14 camel herds (78 females and 20 males) were analyzed and compared with standard objectives and thresholds. The age at first rut, the first oestrus, first male and female mating (months ± SD) were 37.2 ± 16.29, 31.07 ± 8.97, 42.6 ± 14.28 and 35.52 ± 8.55, respectively. The birth conception interval, open days, age at first calving and calving interval were 40.35 ± 9.41 months, 340 ± 203 days, 51.05 ± 9.59 months and 22.32 ± 5.63 months. The mean male to female ratio was 1:40. Pregnancy diagnosis was performed 21.81 ± 16.4 (days) post-mating and the duration of pregnancy was on average 12.80 ± 0.30 months. The mean herd's annual fertility was 56.2 ± 6.6%; the mean culling age of males per herd was 15.30 ± 2.47 years whereas females were culled at 23.31 ± 5.64 years with a mean number of 5.23 ± 2.91 lactations. The observed reproductive traits were acceptable when compared to the fixed objectives for pastoral livestock. However, all the considered herds showed annual fertility out of threshold. The lack of significant strategy to improve age at first calving, calving interval and reasoned use of dromedary bulls, is likely to affect fertility and productivity of Algerian camel herds. Such negative trend could hamper the genetic improvement of autochthonous camel ecotypes and compromise the camel sector and the ecosystemic services provided by local cameleers

Prevalence and time course of post-stroke pain: A multicenter prospective hospital-based study

OBJECTIVE: Pain prevalence data for patients at various stages after stroke. DESIGN: Repeated cross-sectional, observational epidemiological study. SETTING: Hospital-based multicenter study. SUBJECTS: Four hundred forty-three prospectively enrolled stroke survivors. METHODS: All patients underwent bedside clinical examination. The different types of post-stroke pain (central post-stroke pain, musculoskeletal pains, shoulder pain, spasticity-related pain, and headache) were diagnosed with widely accepted criteria during the acute, subacute, and chronic stroke stages. Differences among the three stages were analyzed with χ(2)-tests. RESULTS: The mean overall prevalence of pain was 29.56% (14.06% in the acute, 42.73% in the subacute, and 31.90% in the chronic post-stroke stage). Time course differed significantly according to the various pain types (P < 0.001). The prevalence of musculoskeletal and shoulder pain was higher in the subacute and chronic than in the acute stages after stroke; the prevalence of spasticity-related pain peaked in the chronic stage. Conversely, headache manifested in the acute post-stroke stage. The prevalence of central post-stroke pain was higher in the subacute and chronic than in the acute post-stroke stage. Fewer than 25% of the patients with central post-stroke pain received drug treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Pain after stroke is more frequent in the subacute and chronic phase than in the acute phase, but it is still largely undertreated