Alleviating Poverty through Working Equine Welfare
There are an estimated 100 million working equine animals in the developing world.
The Brooke is an international animal welfare organisation dedicated to improving the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules in some of the world’s poorest communities. The Brooke recognises that while working equine animals play a key role in poor households, both for rural smallholders and for families running small urban transport businesses, they are largely invisible in international development policy and plans.
They are not included with other livestock in agricultural and food security discussions, nor do they feature in transport policy because they do not have a positive, powerful, modern image.
Their economic value is hard to articulate and they are not part of export or trade debates like cattle and small ruminants. Where working animals do appear in government statistics, the information provided is often unreliable, and research into working animals is not well funded.
The Brooke wants to ensure that working horses, donkeys and mules are recognised for the indispensable role they play in the lives of poor people, contributing to the alleviation of human poverty. The Brooke hosted conference with organisations from international development, animal welfare sectors, policy making bodies, and animal welfare researchers.
Download full report ‘Alleviating Poverty through Working Equine Welfare’: http://www.thebrooke.org/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/47787/INGO_Supporter_Conference_Report1.pdf