Animal - Environment Interaction: Buffalo Behavior and Welfare

This chapter will focus on the effects of interaction of river buffaloes with the environment both in confinement and in extensive conditions, on their behavior and welfare. Firstly, the time and place of domestication are described. Sections on time budget, foraging and feeding habit, maternal and social behavior, and some aspects of style of interaction with the environment and temperament are then elucidated. Subsequently, focus is shifted on the quality of relationship between stock-people and animals, which is an important aspect affecting animal welfare in modern farms. Finally, the welfare consequences of intensive farming on buffalo welfare are evaluated using a number of animal-based indicators.