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Article History

Received: 11 October 2025

Accepted: 7 April 2026

First Online: 21 April 2026

Declarations

:

: The study was not a clinical trial and did not involve the experimental manipulation of animals. All procedures were approved by the Debre Tabor University Research Ethics Committee (Reference No.: DTU/AnSc/11/2022) and conducted in accordance with its guidelines. The study was also designed and reported following the ARRIVE guidelines. Morphometric data (heart girth, withers height, and body length) were collected non-invasively from 242 traded sheep using a flexible measuring tape in an open market to ensure animal welfare was maintained and no stress was caused. Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to the interview. Participation was entirely voluntary, and all participants were 18 years of age or older.

: I, the sole author, confirm that this work is original, contains no third-party material, and that I have read and approved the final version for publication.

: The authors declare no competing interests.