Dairy Animal Welfare during Transportation in Punjab: A KAP Study

A KAP (Knowledge, Attitude and Perception) study on dairy farmers of Punjab was conducted to have the idea of their knowledge on animal welfare practice during transportation. A total of 200 dairy farmers across the state were randomly selected for the said study. Dairy farmers were asked to answer the 27 questions comprising of open ended question and multiple choice questions, fill in the blanks. The animal welfare indicators like physical injury, bruising, fracture, bleeding, broken tail, behavior of animal, feeding, drinking, vocalization, urination and defecation during loading and unloading of dairy animal was observed. Beside these, method of loading/unloading the animal, vehicle design, attitude of handler, stocking density, type of bedding, side railing and accompanying person was observed. The study revealed majority of dairy farmers (72%) have low knowledge level of animal welfare issue during transport. The same percentage (71%) of farmers has poor to average adherence to animal welfare practice during transport. It was concluded that the animal welfare issues are compromised during transportation of animals in Punjab by dairy farmers. Extensive and consistent campaign is recommended for apprising the dairy farmers about animal welfare issues.