Jan 06: FREE DVD highlights astonishing depth of Animal Sentience

These were among countless remarkable findings revealed in London in March 2005 at the world’s biggest-ever scientific conference about animal sentience. Now the highlights of this landmark international conference, From Darwin to Dawkins: the science and implications of animal sentience, are available on a free DVD from the event’s organisers, the Compassion In World Farming Trust. The 110-minute disc features extracts from speeches given at the conference by more than 40 of the world’s leading animal researchers and experts in agriculture, food policy and ethics.

Speakers include Prof. Marian Dawkins (University of Oxford), Prof. Donald Broom (University of Cambridge) Prof. Christine Nicol (University of Bristol), Dr Iain Douglas-Hamilton (founder, Save The Elephants), Prof. Irene Pepperberg (MIT), Prof. Marc Bekoff (University of Colorado), Prof. David Mellor (Massey University).

The DVD also features highlights of the moving address given by keynote speaker, the renowned primatologist Dr Jane Goodall DBE. Her message - “We have to understand we are not the only beings on this planet with personalities and minds” - provided a rallying call for the conference. Subjects covered on the DVD range from the behaviour of many farmed and wild animals, to moral and practical questions about the humane treatment of animals and the attitude of global institutions and industries to their welfare.

Copies of the DVD can be ordered online at the CIWF Trust website www.ciwf.org/darwintodawkins or by calling the Trust on +44 (0)1730 268 070. Free VHS video versions are also available on both PAL and NTSC.

Compassion in World Farming Trust. Tel: +44 (0) 1730 268 070 or +44(0)7710002986 Fax: +44 (0) 1730 260 791 e-mail: [email protected]

Compassion in World Farming Trust (CIWF Trust) is an educational charity dedicated to advancing farm animal welfare.The conference proceedings will be published in spring 2006 in a special issue of the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science and in an Earthscan book - Animals, Ethics and Trade: The Challenge of Animal Sentience

New research is set to change the health and welfare of millions of working horses and donkeys in some of the poorest parts of the world. Equine welfare charity, the Brooke, together with the University of Bristol ' s Veterinary School, have devised a research method to reduce the suffering of millions of working horses, donkeys and mules worldwide.

Up until now, there has been limited information available about the welfare of working equines anywhere in the world. Over the last year, the Brooke/Bristol team of expert assessors observed the health, behaviour and welfare of nearly 5,000 working horses, donkeys and mules in their working environment across five countries - looking at a range of problems, from fear of humans, to malnutrition, dehydration, injuries and lameness.

It is the biggest survey of working equines ever to be conducted, and was achieved by observing each donkey, horse or mule directly ' in the field in some of the world ' s harshest environments - from the dusty brick kilns of Delhi, to the chaotic streets of Lahore to the war-torn ravaged communities of Afghanistan.
The initial results from this ' welfare assessment ' is just about to be published in the veterinary journal ' Preventative Veterinary Medicine ' . While further welfare assessments are being carried out in new countries of operation, the Brooke/Bristol teams are now evaluating the complex causes of key health and welfare problems identified by the assessments - such as tail-base lesions, nose wounds, lameness and dehydration. The teams will also devise interventions to treat these problems.

Dr Helen Whay from Bristol University, who is leading the research project with Joy Pritchard, the Brooke's Veterinary Advisor, explains why this project is so important: " The Brooke is now expanding its work to reach even more animals. This welfare assessment is critical because it allows us to assess suffering and causes of suffering, while continuing our very practical work. It also gives the Brooke a scientific means to measure its effectiveness, particularly as it expands and moves into new countries of operation in the coming years. And because our welfare assessment techniques look at the animal itself," adds Joy. " It has been possible to look at and compare the welfare animals in any environment, from the horses pulling carts on the busy streets of Pakistan to the mules carrying pilgrims to places of worship in the Himalayas"

There are an estimated 90 million working equine animals in the developing world (*), and with Brooke's work showing that an average of six people are dependent on each working animal, this ground-breaking research is not only vital in preventing untold suffering of the (animal) engines of the developing world , but also to safeguard the future of millions of people who are dependent on these animals for their livelihoods.

The Brooke currently helps half a million working equine animals across seven countries by providing free veterinary care, and training and education for animal owners via a network of mobile veterinary teams and community participation.

www.thebrooke.org

(*) - FAO 2003. FAO Statistical Database Website. Food and Agriculture Organisation, Rome, Italy (FAOSTATS: http://apps.fao.org)

The Brooke: In 1934, a compassionate Englishwoman, called Mrs. Dorothy Brooke, founded the Brooke in Egypt to save ex-cavalry horses, British, American and Australian, abandoned in Egypt after World War One. From humble beginnings as The Old Warhorse Memorial Hospital, the Brooke has grown into an international lifesaver reaching over 500,000 working equine animals each year in Egypt, Jordan, India and Pakistan and through partnerships in Afghanistan, Kenya and Guatemala, ensuring they are healthy, happy and fit for work - and benefiting the several million family members who are supported by the labours of their animals.

Horses have such a powerful urge to socialise that they may be prepared to risk even serious physical harm in order to be able to interact with others of their kind. This far-reaching finding - with potentially serious implications for “leisure” horses and ponies stabled alone - was the subject matter at a Landmark International conference about Animal Sentience, which took place the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, 17-18 March 2005 .

The findings were announced by one of Britain’s leading veterinarians, Dr Bill Swann, international director of the Brooke Hospital for Animals, to hundreds of delegates from 50 nations at the ground-breaking conference, “From Darwin to Dawkins: The Science and Implications of Animal Sentience” being organised by the Compassion In World Farming Trust charity.

The desire for equine animals to socialise has long been known: Dr Swann’s finding indicates it is far more important to them than previously suspected. His discovery emerged during a new project that the Brooke - the world’s foremost charity for the health and welfare of working horses - is undertaking in northern Guatemala, Central America. When Dr Swann carried out an initial welfare assessment of working horses in the region he found that while they were in good condition they were unusually fearful of people. The reason soon became clear: here, most horses aren’t tethered after work but simply left to roam.

“They wander in small groups, nuzzling each other, playing, chasing and foraging together, ending up on private land, including fields in forest clearings where families grow corn,” says Dr Swann. “To prevent them causing damage and stealing corn people drive them away by kicking or throwing stones at them - sometimes even attacking them with machetes - frequently causing injuries. Despite this cruelty the horses keep returning to forage together. “The conclusion is that social behaviour is so important to horses they will risk even serious injury to engage in it,” says Dr Swann.

This study reinforces his belief that socialising may be as important to equines as foraging itself. As he explains: “In Delhi where the Brooke already works, donkeys working at brick kilns become dehydrated and hungry. However, on release from work, we have noticed that they engage in social behaviour before moving as a group to food and water.” These findings indicate that allowing horses to interact is a keystone of their welfare - it may be of equal importance to the provision of adequate food and shelter. Ensuring they can exercise, run, roll, chase and explore together leads to fulfilment and reduces the stereotyped frustration behaviour commonly seen among singly-housed animals.

Dr Swann’s discoveries were supported by another conference speaker, Prof. Christine Nicol ( University of Bristol) who has been studying how horses learn complex tasks. “ The importance of social contact in horses cannot be underestimated,” she says. “Horse owners should consider the benefits of allowing them appropriate social contact – I have found it makes them calmer and cleverer.”

Joyce D’Silva, CEO of the CIWF Trust, says: “These discoveries of the remarkable importance of socialising for horses add yet another vital piece of evidence to the astonishing picture science is building up of animal sentience. Scientist after scientist is discovering that animals are thinking, feeling, sentient beings who, to a greater or lesser extent, experience emotions just like us - even those once considered uniquely human, such as love and grief. Our conference will confirm this and send a strong message to governments and businesses worldwide: it’s time people began treating animals as somebodies, not somethings.”

For information about speakers and their work, requests for interviews, media accreditation to the conference please contact: Carol McKenna, conference press officer on +44 (0) 1962 793003, mobile: 07979 805169 or email: [email protected] For detailed information of the event, full programme and speakers biographies visit: www.ciwf.org/conference2005