Pasture Heterogeneity Improves Donkey Welfare: Effects of Structural Variation, Species Diversity, and Sward Height on Herd Emotional States
Jessie Fitts, Laura M. Kubasiewicz, Stuart L. Norris, Sarah Worth, Tamlin Watson, Ruth L. Angell, Mark D. Steer, Paul Lintott · 2025
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Description
Jessie Fitts and co-authors show that varied pasture cheers donkeys up, in a 2025 paper. Donkeys in Britain usually graze plain, improved grass fields that offer little variety in food or activity, and obesity from rich feed and low exercise is their top welfare problem. The team asked whether messier fields, with shrubs, uneven growth, and mixed plants, change how herds feel and behave.
Three herds rotated through ten fields of differing variety over a six-month grazing season. Trained scorers rated the herds' mood from 194 videos, each judged independently three times. Fields with more structural variety brought out livelier, more energetic behavior. Taller grass went with calmer, more relaxed herds, perhaps because food was plentiful enough to end squabbles. The authors urge grazing plans that weave natural features into donkey fields as a cheap welfare gain.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Jessie Fitts, Laura M. Kubasiewicz, Stuart L. Norris, Sarah Worth, Tamlin Watson, Ruth L. Angell, Mark D. Steer, Paul Lintott |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2025 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 36 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |