There is intense international discussion about the welfare of ponies used in rewilding and conservation grazing projects - and the duty of care that should be extended to them.
This follows disturbing reports of Exmoor ponies, Konik ponies and cattle being left to fend for themselves and, in certain cases, fall victim to malnourishment, starvation and suffering - through insufficient food and care.
Should owners and managers of rewilding projects be allowed to treat ponies and cattle differently to those on a farm or in a domestic situation - without duty of care and responsibility to avoid unnecessary suffering and premature death? Or not.
Professor Tim Morris of
Rare Breeds Survival Trust
makes a powerful and significant point in his article for the Summer 2022 issues of
Ark
magazine:
"Animal welfare output standards are a developing area, but as a starting point I would suggest there should be no fundamental differences, whether domesticated species are farmed, conservation grazed or rewilded, in the animal.”
This is a significant and important animal welfare stance and I agree with him.
In the article, Professor Morris discusses a system of welfare outcome assessment, and particularly:
"How do we assess this issue [animal welfare] when how the animals live is so different? To date most welfare standards for domesticated farm animals are based on 'inputs': they describe what must be provided to the animals in terms of certain resources such as housing, space, feed, veterinary care and management practices. But more widely, the effects of these inputs on the welfare of the animals are important as are the absence of them when rewilded. These are known as 'welfare outcomes': the impact of these inputs on the health, physical condition and behaviour of the animals themselves. This as is a process is known as 'welfare outcome assessment'.
"I would suggest a system of welfare outcome assessment is the way to address the animal welfare challenges of the use of domesticated species in rewilding projects, particularly in the UK. RBST has a long history of being an advocate of conservation grazing using native breeds of domesticated species, and has animal health and welfare standards based on the 'five freedoms', which are a form of output standards. RBST also provides training for conservation grazing.
"Animal welfare output standards are a developing area, but as a starting point I would suggest that there should be no fundamental differences, whether domesticated species are farmed, conservation grazed or rewilded, in the animal welfare output standards that are and should be applied. And at present RBST's animal health and welfare standards for conservation grazing would seem the most appropriate starting point to assess animal welfare for rewilded domesticated species."
Professor Tim Morris
I wholeheartedly agree with what Professor Morris is suggesting. While general management practices are somewhat different between rewilded, farmed and domestic situations - the duty of care should remain in place across the board to ensure that animals are provided with a suitable standard of environment and food to remain fit and healthy - and to provide prompt care in the event of disease, illness and injury. Animals should not be allowed to suffer unnecessarily as a result of the situation they have been put in.
Professor Morris's article is published in theSummer 2022 issues of Rare Breeds Survival Trust's magazine Ark. If you'd like to join the RBST and receive a subscription to this magazine please visit
https://www.rbst.org.uk/join-rbst-today
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