Ground-breaking Report on Health and Welfare of EU Horses, Donkeys and Mules
11 June 2015by eub2 -- last modified 11 June 2015
World Horse Welfare and lobbying consortium Eurogroup for Animals are proud to publish 'Removing the Blinkers: The health and welfare of European equidae in 2015', the first ever report to investigate the scale of the horse sector in Europe, legislation affecting it and the key health and welfare challenges of the EU's equids.
Advertisement
During the European Parliament Intergroup for Animal Welfare and Conservation in Strasbourg the two organisations presented the findings of the report, which among other recommendations calls for species-specific legislation to protect horses, donkeys and mules who so often fall between the cracks of legislation designed for farm or companion animals.
Equids are uniquely
versatile and fulfil roles as leisure and companion animals; working
animals in tourism, forestry, agriculture and food production; as well
as animals used for therapy and training and elite athletes in sports.
Industries reliant on and built around them generate more than 100
billion euros to the economy. More than any other species they can
change roles and may have many different owners in the course of their
relatively long lives. But there are still many unanswered questions
related to equids such as: How many equids are there in the EU? What are
they used for? Are existing laws sufficient to protect them? What
contribution do equids make to society and what are the main health and
welfare problems in the EU equine population? The
European Commission and the established European Commission Equine
Steering Committee recognises this and identified five areas of specific
concern to look into: (i) Identification and registration, (ii) Welfare
at transport, (iii) Welfare at slaughter, (iv) Responsible ownership
and (v) Rural development.
This report is the first
attempt to look at these concerns and to map out the sector, laws and
health and welfare problems of Europe’s equine sector. The report poses a
lot of questions due to the lack of data on equids but it also provides
clear recommendations as to how these very adaptable animals can be
better protected for the good of animal health and welfare and also the
European economy.
Roly Owers, CEO of World Horse Welfare commented;
“This report provides a long overdue insight into the EU’s equine
sector, and the welfare challenges our horses face. We are talking about
a relatively small population of seven million animals – but one that
generates at least €100 billion to the EU, often in rural areas where we
are in dire need of more growth and development. We cannot allow this
sector to continue being ignored at European level, either in terms of
the health and welfare issues, or in terms of securing a sound future
for a sector that has traditionally been one of the prides of Europe,
that is proving to be such a valuable export industry and that is still
so relevant to European society today.”
Reineke Hameleers, Director of Eurogroup for Animals continued; “We
see through this report that there is a real need for better and
harmonised protection of equids through species-specific legislation as
well as non-legislative guidance on responsible ownership. We will use
this research as an important conversation opener with all EU
stakeholders, and it will form the basis of our policy agenda for at
least the next five years. Now is the time for the European Commission
to take action and launch the first proper impact assessment of any
future legislation affecting equines [AWR?] and start addressing the
concerns raised.”
World Horse Welfare and
Eurogroup for Animals were delighted with the strong support they
received for this work and its recommendations during today´s Intergroup
session, and urge all MEPs not only to call for species specific
legislation but also to support the forthcoming Own Initiative Report on
responsible equine ownership by MEP Julie Girling.
World Horse Welfare is an international horse charity that improves the lives of horses in the UK and worldwide through education, campaigning and hands-on care. Since it was founded in 1927, its whole approach has been practical, based on scientific evidence and its extensive experience, and focused on delivering lasting change across the full spectrum of the horse world. World Horse Welfare is a member of Eurogroup for Animals and chair the equine working group of Eurogroup for Animals.
World Horse Welfare