Document type: scientific synthesis published in Veterinary Sciences
Authors: Previti, A., Biondi, V., Or, M.E., Bilgiç, B., Pugliese, M., Passantino, A
Preview: Ostriches can be utilized as multipurpose animals suitable for producing meat, eggs, feathers, and leather. This growing interest in ostrich farming leads to an increased demand for comprehensive information on their management. But little attention is paid to the consequences for their welfare. The study aimed to perform a research literature analysis on ostriches' welfare using the text mining (TM) and topic analysis (TA) methods. It identifies prevailing topics, summarizes their temporal trend within the last forty years, and highlights potential research gaps. According to PRISMA guidelines, a literature exploration was achieved using the Scopus® database, retaining keywords about ostriches' welfare. Papers distributed in the English language from 1983 to 2023 were included. Descriptive statistics, TM, and TA were applied to a total of n. 122 documents included. The findings revealed an increasing trend in research records since 1994. TM recognized the terms with the highest weighted frequency and TA identified the main topics of the research area, in the following order: "health and management", "feeding and nutrition", "welfare reproduction", "egg production", and "welfare during transport". The study confirms the increased focus on ostriches' welfare but shows that further studies are required to ensure the welfare of this species.
