Buffalo welfare: a literature review from 1992 to 2023 with a text mining and topic analysis approach
Author(s)
Date Issued
2024
Type
article
Volume
23
Issue
1
Start Page
570
End Page
584
Abstract
Buffalo is a rustic animal; it can adapt and survive in various environments with different topography, climate and vegetation, and has a greater longevity than cattle. The high resistance to
parasites, as well as the ability to improve the efficiency of feed consumption in case of forage
shortage, means that even in marshy territories, where any other type of livestock or agricultural
activity is impossible, buffalo farming can develop an economy. This review aims to present the
key research topics, the evolution and geographic distribution of literature on buffalo welfare,
and to underscore potentiality and existing knowledge gaps. A comprehensive search on the
Scopus bibliometric database was carried out using various welfare-related keywords such as:
‘buffalo welfare’, ‘buffalo calf welfare’ and ‘buffalo heifers’ welfare’. The research identified 308
papers published in English from January 1992 to December 2023 that, after filtering, became
148 eligible records. Descriptive statistics revealed a significant exponential increase in studies
on buffalo welfare since 2020, particularly in Italy, followed by Brazil. Text mining and topic analysis revealed that the most frequently mentioned terms were ‘milk’, ‘water’, ‘behaviour’, ‘farm’
and ‘stun’, confirming the role and the importance of this species in dairy production. Nine
identified topics span diverse subject areas such as ‘slaughter process’, ‘dairy production’,
‘general welfare’, ‘housing system’, ‘heat stress’, ‘reproduction performance’, ‘health status’
‘breeding management’, and ‘stress evaluation’. Although academia shows an increasing interest
in buffalo behaviour and welfare, continued research is necessary to fully comprehend how to
ensure the welfare of this important species.