Frequently Asked Campaigns Questions

 

We often get letters, emails and phone calls from supporters who are interested to know more about our campaigning work; why we do what we do, what we’ve achieved so far, and how they can help us.

Here, the Campaigns team answers some of the most frequently-asked questions it receives.

Does World Horse Welfare intervene to help the horses it sees during investigations along Europe’s routes to slaughter? 
There are around 80,000 horses every year that suffer during these needless journeys, and the sad reality is that we can't intervene with every single horse we see.  However, we do intervene where possible.  For example, if we observe that horses aren’t being watered, we ask for water to be given. In cases where horses are kicking each other because they’ve been tied too closely together and fights are breaking out, we ask for the horses to be moved.

There are also instances where horses are clearly unfit to travel.  One very sad case that comes to mind as an example is that of a youngster we discovered at a control post during a field investigation.  He was in an absolutely horrific state, with deep wounds and lacerations to his legs.  He was completely depressed and switched off.  We negotiated for the vet to be called out and were successful in convincing him that the horse was in no fit state to continue his journey; the kindest thing to do would be to euthanize him.  Without our intervention, it’s likely he would have been reloaded onto the vehicle to continue his journey in excruciating pain.

Why doesn’t World Horse Welfare rescue the horses?

Rescuing individuals, whilst a short term solution for the horses rescued, will do nothing to improve the welfare of the thousands still being transported every year, and will only create a new marketplace for the trade - encouraging it to produce more horses that would be at risk from enduring this sort of needless suffering.

 

If we were to set about rescuing individual horses, we’d face the impossible task of deciding which deserved to be in a better position over another. To add to this, we’d effectively be “feeding” the trade by doing so, because we’d be expected to pay for the horses we rescued.

 

The reality is there are tens of thousands of horses every year that all deserve better, and we just can’t rescue them all.  Our focus has to be on finding long term solutions, and having the greatest impact on the largest number of horses.  Encouragingly, we are seeing a reduction in the amount of horses being transported long distances across Europe to slaughter; down from 165,000 per year in 2001 to around 80,000 per year.  This is a sign that our work is having a real impact and can help bring this terrible suffering to an end.

 

 

Got a campaign-related question? Email us and we may include it here or in a future issue of our printed newsletter, Campaigns News.

 

Help us end this suffering by taking action now

 

More questions coming soon:
Why is it taking so long to end the long-distance transportation of horses across Europe to slaughter?

Why aren’t you campaigning to ban slaughter, or the consumption of horse meat?

Please keep checking back for updates.