Equine charities promote welfare for working equids

The time is now for coordinated action to make improved welfare a reality for working equids across the world – that is the message of four equine charities who have come together to promote global welfare standards adopted this year by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

The standards, which entitle donkeys, horses and mules to basic needs such as food, water and shelter, have been welcomed as a milestone in improving equine welfare. However, they are not the law. To help governments implement the standards, technical experts from SPANA, The Donkey Sanctuary, World Horse Welfare and Brooke Action for Working Horses and Donkeys will have a joint poster displayed at the 4th OIE Global Conference on Animal Welfare in Mexico. The event, which takes place 6-8 December 2016, is attended by policy makers from 180 member states around the globe.

World Horse Welfare Head of International Programme Development, Karen O’Malley, said: ‘This is a great opportunity to work together as a sector to improve the welfare of millions of working equids. The OIE standard is a positive and important step in helping working equids to become visible to policy makers and we will continue to support national government initiatives to make this standard a reality in many countries around the world.’

Karen Reed, Head of Animal Welfare Capacity at Brooke agreed. She said: ‘Brooke supported the OIE in developing the working equine welfare standards, and we were delighted to see them adopted. Of course, the challenge now is to implement them. We’re pleased to be working with likeminded organisations to support the OIE and their member states to make this happen. As well as working with policy makers, it’s very important to work directly with the communities that rely on horses, donkeys and mules, and empower local vets and farriers. We specialise in building capacity so that these people can become self-sufficient animal welfare advocates.’