Development of a welfare assessment protocol for migratory goats in the North-Western Himalayan region.
Thakur A, Kamboj M, Dogra PK, Vanita B
Animal Welfare
Health of migratory livestock directly affects the livelihoods of pastoral communities and the ecological balance of mountain landscapes that supply watersheds and grazing lands many communities depend on.
Scientists created a checklist-style tool to evaluate how well goats are being cared for when they travel across the Himalayas with herders. Unlike farm animals, these goats face unpredictable weather, rough terrain, and inconsistent food, so existing welfare tools didn't fit. This new protocol is tailored to those real-world conditions.
Key Findings
Existing animal welfare frameworks are designed for intensive farming systems and are inadequate for assessing migratory or pastoral livestock conditions.
The protocol was developed by combining a systematic review of scientific literature with expert consultation, adapting the established AWIN welfare framework.
Migratory pastoralism, while allowing natural behavior expression, can compromise goat welfare through environmental stressors and malnutrition specific to long-distance herding routes.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Researchers developed a welfare assessment protocol for migratory goats in the Himalayan region, adapting an existing animal welfare framework to account for the unique stressors of nomadic herding, including harsh environments and nutritional challenges.
Abstract Preview
This study aimed to develop a welfare assessment protocol specifically for migratory goats, acknowledging that migratory pastoralism, while allowing natural behavior expression, can compormise welf...
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