16 February 2004
Countless working horses and donkeys in developing nations are being mutilated because of widespread superstition and ignorance. Owners believe the mutilations can cure ailments or make animals more productive – yet they are leading to widespread suffering, illness and even death.
The often-grotesque mutilations are revealed by UK-funded Brooke - the world’s foremost charity for the welfare of working horses and donkeys - as it launches a new fundraising campaign to help end these practices.
The Brooke runs a network of free veterinary clinics and mobile teams for working equines in Egypt, Jordan, India and Pakistan. Mutilations being seen by our vets include:
Nostril Slitting: Many owners use a blade to slit their animals’ nostrils without anaesthetic in an attempt to widen them, mistakenly believing it will help them take in more air and increase their work capacity. Instead, this widespread practice is painful and may cause serious infection in the open wound.
Firing: Horses and donkeys suffer excruciating pain by being held or tied down and having their joints and tendons burned with red hot irons – a traditional “treatment” for conditions such as lameness and arthritis.
Ear Cutting: The practice of slitting a donkey’s ears lengthwise is used as a quack “cure” for a variety of ailments. Some owners think it can ease colic, others that it confers resistance to tetanus. All it does is cause pain.
Eye “Glassing”: In some regions a working equine animal that develops cloudy eyes may have ground glass blown into the affected eye in the belief this will clear its vision. Instead, the animal suffers and usually becomes blind as the glass destroys the eye.
“Mutilation practices like these are being carried out because of ignorance by otherwise well-meaning owners who depend on their animals for their livelihood,” says vet Bill Swann, Brooke’s International Development Director. “Their intention isn’t to be cruel. They either don’t realise how much suffering is caused or they believe it is unavoidable if they are to protect their animal from a perceived greater harm, such as death from tetanus. The practices are often centuries old and deeply rooted in local folklore. Despite this, our vets - who teach owners good equine care - have already helped to reduce the incidence of such mutilations in their areas of operation. But more needs to be done.”
The Brooke is launching a fundraising appeal to help end mutilation practices across the nations in which it works. The money will help the Brooke’s mobile vets to reach and educate more poor owners and treat animals harmed by mutilations, as well as to continue to bring aid to sick and injured working equines.
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