Horse Shelter &

What is meant by 'welfare'?

Animal welfare is the physical and psychological state of non-human animals.¹

Systematic concern for animal welfare can be based on awareness that non-human animals are sentient. Sentience - the ability to feel or perceive.

Animal Welfare v Animal Rights - There are two forms of criticism of the concept of animal welfare, coming from diametrically opposite positions. One view, dating back centuries, asserts that animals are not consciously aware and hence are unable to experience poor welfare. The other view is based on the animal rights position that animals should not be regarded as property and any use of animals by humans is unacceptable.

Some history

There is nothing new about the neglect and mistreatment of man's most significant partner in the history and development of humankind. However, from the time that humans began to record the histories of their societies with crude illustrations on rock walls, the horse has symbolised power and status. The streets and architecture of older societies across Europe are littered with statues of royalty and venerated war heroes poised on magestic horses. You were no one if you weren't on a horse.

Despite this tangible tribute to the equine, their beauty, and their invaluable place within society, recognition of their sentient status was not made. This can be understood to a degree when one recognises that the 'historic' horse has been a 'tool' of human survival, a means by which a farmer can feed his family, an instrument of war, a means of transport and the like. However, in the priviledged societies in which humans now exist in first world countries, it is way past time that we recognise the sentience of horses, and time that our laws and attitudes support the humane husbandry of equines. We can now afford to consider the physical and phychological well-being of our equines as regards the manner in which we 'use' them, and we should do no less in a society which we consider to now be 'civilised'. Unfortunately, as humankind has progressed over the centuries, generally speaking, our attitudes towards our treatment of horses, (and animals in general), has not. It's time we caught up!

From the outset in 1822, when British MP Richard Martin shepherded a bill through Parliament offering protection from cruelty to cattle, horses, and sheep, the welfare approach has had human morality, and humane behaviour, at its central concern.

Martin was among the founders of the world's first animal welfare organisation, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in 1824. In 1840, Queen Victoria gave the society her blessing, and it became the RSPCA. The society used members' donations to employ a growing network of inspectors, whose job was to identify abusers, gather evidence, and report them to the authorities.

Significant progress in animal welfare did not take place until the late 20th century^. In 1965, the UK government commissioned an investigation - led by Professor Roger Brambell - into the welfare of intensively farmed animals, partly in response to concerns raised in Ruth Harrison's 1964 book, 'Animal Machines'. On the basis of Professor Brambell's report, the UK government set up the Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Committee in 1967, which became the Farm Animal Welfare Council in 1979. The committee's first guidelines recommended that animals require the freedoms to "stand up, lie down, turn around, groom themselves and stretch their limbs".

The guidelines have since been elaborated to become known as the Five Freedoms:

• Freedom from thirst and hunger - by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour.

• Freedom from discomfort - by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area.

• Freedom from pain, injury, and disease - by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment.

• Freedom to express normal behavior - by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal's own kind.

• Freedom from fear and distress - by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.

A number of animal welfare organisations are campaigning to achieve a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW) at the United Nations. In principle, the Universal Declaration will call on the United Nations to recognise animals as sentient beings, capable of experiencing pain and suffering, and to recognise that animal welfare is an issue of importance as part of the social development of nations worldwide. The campaign to achieve the UDAW is being co-ordinated by the World Society for the Protection of Animals, with a core working group including Compassion in World Farming, the RSPCA, and the Humane Society International. They hope their declaration will make animal welfare an important global issue, pioneer the way for legally binding international agreements on animal welfare and hasten a better deal for animals worldwide. Their declaration would also underscore the importance of animal welfare as part of the moral development of humanity.

The lack of success in shaping internationally binding charters on animal rights has not been for want of trying. People in modern times have attempted to identify and advance the rights of animals at least since the 18th century. Credit usually goes to Henry Salt (1851 - 1939) for writing the first book on animal rights, published in 1892 and subsequently. Salt traces efforts back to John Lawrence, (1753 - 1839), one of the earliest modern writers on animal rights and welfare. Lawrence argued in his 1796 book, 'A Philosophical and Practical Treatise on Horses and the Moral Duties of Man Towards Brute Creation' (T N Longman: London), that we have to care for animals, and that common law should support this principle in practice.

In Conclusion

Quest defines its responsibilities in declaring itself an 'Equine Welfare' organisation as those of providing the support, resources, education, practical care and advocacy to promote and provide the responsible and compassionate care of our equine partners that is their due.

As a species, humans ....all humans, are responsible for making good and moral choices in the care and welfare of equines. This premise overrides 'ownership' of individual animals, and places an obligation on the shoulders of all of us to ensure that those who do not abide by, or practice common decency in their role as custodian of a horse/s are educated, supported, and as a last resort, prosecuted for any conscious and willful acts of neglect or cruelty. It is up to us as a society to impress upon our peers, standards and attitudes towards equine welfare which reflect the cruelty-free culture in which we all wish to live.

'Rescue' v 'Welfare' - While Quest does 'rescue' equines from unacceptable circumstances, in the main, these equines are willingly surrendered by their owners. 'Rescue' is one aspect of Quest's work, however, at any given moment there are literally hundreds of horses across Australia who could be deemed as needing 'rescue'. The unacceptable welfare status of many Australian horses will not be improved in any way unless the core issues are addressed. This is a long term goal for Quest, and there is no 'quick fix'. However, to put this fact aside would be irresponsible and negligent. In consideration of this, Quest presents itself as a 'welfare' organisation, as opposed to simply a 'horse rescue'.

¹ Hewson, Caroline J. (2003). "What is animal welfare? Common definitions and their practical consequences".