Selected Intervention Strategies to Improve Health and Welfare of Working Donkeys in Kenya: A Narrative Review

Aim: To comprehensively review the interventions made to address health and welfare challenges faced by working donkeys; to systematically analyze the reasons for failure; and triangulate them with donkey health and welfare.

Study Design: A comprehensive desktop narrative review.

Methodology: A systematic review of selected intervention strategies which included: (i) Knowledge change; through training donkey owners on donkey welfare, handling, feeding, working conditions, routine health checks and basic first aid skills for their donkeys. (ii) Refresher trainings to animal health service providers to enhance their capacity in handling equine diseases and conditions; (iii) Donkey health services provision (iv) Improvement of husbandry practices (v) advocacy and (vi) legislation.

Results and Discussion: Some positive changes were recorded in health and welfare of donkeys. However, low adoption of knowledge and skills to change practice, unsustainable approaches which led to delayed treatment due late disease reporting and unwillingness to pay for health services, emerging challenges which complicated ongoing intervention efforts; were identified as the reasons for the persistent health and welfare challenges.

Study Significance: The findings would provide policy makers and implementers at county and national level with information they can use to ensure interventions are done in a manner that promotes sustainability of donkey welfare projects; ultimately improving the livelihoods of the donkey owners and users. Lessons of this study will also help project implementers to prioritize areas of intervention in light of the ever changing challenges affecting working donkeys.