Development of a Continuous Lameness Scale for Goats

A few of ours colleagues are coordinating the AWIN project in Portugal and working with intensively kept dairy goats.  They are in the process of validating a lameness scale.  They have created an online survey and want as many responses as possible from all round the world.  They are asking for responses from farmers, vets, researchers, students and others, even if they do not have much experience with goats.  Read their full message below and please take a few minutes to complete their survey.

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Dear Friends,

Applicable research is fundamental for improving health and welfare of our animals.  For this to be fulfilled there are times when the judgment and opinion of people outside the research team are essential.

To create a Visual Analogue Scale to grade lameness in goats, we have prepared this web survey with several videos of lame/and non lame goats, that we ask you to answer. The contribution of all, experienced and non-experienced with goats, is welcomed and will allow for a much stronger analysis of the data. It will take you no more than 15 minutes. 

More instructions are available on the webpage at this link:
http://lamenessgoats.awinportugal.chumbo.pt/ 

Be aware that the password that is sent to you after registering, may go to your spam files.

We also ask you to send this message and the link to your contacts all over the world.

Thank you very much.
Warm regards from the AWIN team in Portugal
George Stilwell, Ana Vieira, Inês Ajuda