Animal Welfare Investigation of Akkaraman Sheep Farms in Different Provinces of Türkiye

In this study, it was aimed to reveal the animal welfare levels in Akkaraman sheep breed in Türkiye. In this direction, welfare assessment was carried out at the farm level with the Animal Needs Index (ANI 35L/2000) method in a total of 71 Akkaraman sheep flock applications on animals were carried out on a total of 1525 sheep. According to the ANI score scale, the average score of all farms was determined as 39.52. In the study, welfare scores were found as 38.32, 41.47, and 38.78 in Çankırı, Çorum and Kırşehir provinces, respectively (p = 0.034); it was found as 39.70, 40.14, and 38.69 in small (≤100), medium (100-200) and large (>200) farms (p = 0.535), respectively. While the Famacha and Fecal scores of sheep were found to be low score in sheep raised in Çankırı than in sheep raised in other two cities, the differences were found to be statistically significant in both parameters (p = 0.007 and 0.021). As a result, it has been observed that having opportunity for animals to go out to yard and pasture has a positive effect on animal welfare.