A lack of scientific evidence relating to donkey behaviour can make it difficult to reliably assess the animals' welfare needs

New research has shown donkeys have a large behavioural repertoire, including yawning, sighing and stretching - and it's hoped the work may be a step towards identifying working animals' welfare needs.

Behaviours including head shaking, foot-stamping, tail swishing and ear orientation were evaluated in the research paper, funded by global equine welfare charity the Brooke and published by academics from the University of Bristol's School of Veterinary Sciences on the PLoS One website.

The paper reports behaviour patterns of working donkeys in Lahore, Pakistan, and the consistency of those behaviours, confirming that the donkey, which has a reputation as one of the most stoic of animals, does in fact have a comprehensive repertoire of responses.

A lack of scientific evidence relating to donkey behaviour can make it difficult to reliably assess the animals' welfare needs and it's hoped the findings can be used to investigate how to analyse the different behaviour traits and start to identify emotional state and whether the animal is in pain.

Melissa Upjohn, Research Coordinator for the Brooke, that regularly conducts objective assessments on equines to establish what welfare issues are present, said; “Our team in Pakistan were so pleased to work with the University of Bristol on this project, and it provides vital information that we will incorporate into our assessments.

"A lot of the process involves observing a donkey before approaching it in order to see it act naturally, and so these identified behaviour patterns are exactly what we need to inform the work of our field staff in improving donkeys’ welfare and advising their owners on how best to help their animals.”