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Equine Veterinary Journal ISSN 0425-1644 DOI: 10.1111/evj.12343
Science in brief: Report from the Seventh International Colloquium on Working Equids, London 2014 The International Colloquium for Working Equids is a quadrennial event for all professionals within the working equid sector. It has changed since its inception in 1991, from a purely veterinary conference to an interdisciplinary event that encompasses both medical and social sciences and spans animal welfare and development sectors. The aim of the Seventh International Colloquium, held at Royal Holloway in July and organised by World Horse Welfare (WHW), was to identify how these fields can be integrated and to address some of the obstacles that stand in the way. Delegates from 28 countries spent 3 days in workshops, plenary sessions and on a field day, discussing and consolidating their knowledge and experience. A full report of the colloquium has been produced by 2 rapporteurs [1] and all the presentations from the event can be obtained online [2]. These easily accessible resources provide an additional level of detail to the following overview of the presentations and discussions, and interested readers are encouraged to refer to them. The colloquium focused on 3 questions.
What role do working equids play in human livelihoods – and how well is this currently recognised? We know that there are millions of horses, donkeys and mules in less economically developed countries, and countless more people who rely on these animals for all or part of their daily livelihood: to transport water, food and fuel for their households; to carry goods to and from their place of production and markets; as a vehicle for personal and commercial transportation; to work in smallholder agriculture systems; as a source of financial equity to fund medical care and education. We also know that these animals are often not included in the definitions of ‘livestock’ used by development agencies and political bodies and are often invisible in terms of policy and government-led interventions. There is a real need to raise these animals’ status: as Joy Pritchard said in her keynote presentation [3] ‘We cannot expect working equids to be a central priority and concern to all people and at all times but we can insist that they are not forgotten’. Joy Pritchard emphasised that it is often the women and children whose day-to-day life is directly affected by ownership or use of a working equid. This was supported by Valette and Upjohn’s [4] presentation on the role of equids in the lives of women in Ethiopia, India, Kenya and Pakistan – a qualitative research study that explored the relationships between working equids and the women of the families that own them. One of the more powerful quotes from this piece of work came from Sefiya in Ethiopia: ‘Having a donkey feels like having a tap in my home. I am confident that I won’t run out of water’ [4,5]. The close interplay between these animals and their owners, and therefore the requirement to raise the status of both, was confirmed by Warboys et al. [6]. In Choluteca, Honduras, although the general public recognised that working equids played a role in the region’s economy, with 88% of those questioned using the services of working equids, they overestimated the income of these animals’ owners and did not recognise many of the difficulties that they face. Therefore an important component of the WHW programme in Choluteca has been to increase awareness at a whole-society level. Equine health also plays a role in the contribution of working equids on livelihoods. Bekele et al. [7] presented some striking figures on the economic consequences of epizootic lymphangitis for equid-owning households in Ethiopia. The loss of income when an animal is infected with epizootic lymphangitis is multifactorial. The disease reduces income by approximately 40% due to its direct effect on the ability of the animal to work; but it also carries a social cost, with owners of infected animals being ostracised due to their ownership of an animal with a transmissible and visibly debilitating disease. This represents a potential entry point for interventions that encompass attitudes as well as practices. Financial figures can be produced to emphasise the importance of these animals
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to policy makers, a strategy that was central to the paper by Zaman et al. [8] from the Brooke, which addressed quantification of the financial contribution from equids to families in Uttar Pradesh, India. A methodology called the Household Economy Approach, developed by Save the Children, was adapted for this study, which examined the financial contribution and cost of ownership both of equids and livestock to these Indian households. The conclusions were that families with equids were dependent on them for a living, and that even when taking into account the higher costs involved with caring for them, the income earned was comparable with that obtained from ownership of bovine animals. These quantitative data can be used to influence policy makers and increase the status of working equids in legislative and national strategies. The conversation around human livelihoods stimulated discussion about how the working equid world should integrate with the human development agencies. We cannot expect them to engage, or even understand our message, without providing clear evidence that demonstrates the impact of improving the welfare of these animals on human livelihoods and food security. If we are to raise the profile of these working equids we must bring this evidence to these agencies in a format that is appropriate and relevant. It is not always true that working equid welfare and productivity are directly correlated: for example, up to a point, an extra load on the back of a donkey may not cause it to have to stop working, but will compromise welfare. However, that extra load may be essential for that family’s income. As a sector, we should develop a clear consensus on the messages that we convey, the aim of their dissemination and their target audiences.
Does a holistic approach to improving equine welfare produce better outcomes? The landscape of the working equid sector is changing, with a shift to interventions that focus on and work with local communities that own and use working equids. It is important to remember that this does not always result in a sustainable or holistic resolution; evidence of the effectiveness of each different approach must be used to inform the design of these programmes. The importance of approaching animal welfare problems with a broad perspective rather than a top-down attitude cannot be denied; however the definition of holistic (and the practical implementation of a ‘holistic’ intervention) remains unclear and was the subject of much discussion. Are we being holistic in our viewpoint or in our approach? In the second keynote presentation, Tom Morrison gave examples from his experiences in rural development. He described 4 integrated components that he saw as key for any holistic intervention: education of end users; capacity building of service providers; microcredit and financial services; and policy and strategy. Very quickly the context specific nature of any community-based development is revealed and, as Tom Morrison said, ‘one of the rules of development is never to impose a common solution, every situation is different’ [9]. Rodríguez Rodas and Pérez [10] explored this theme, describing how the WHW project in Guatemala had used network analysis to profile the specific contexts in which they work. Mapping the hierarchy of advice chains that are used by equid owners on husbandry and healthcare allowed design of a programme around these information chains, with built-in flexibility to allow for the dynamic nature that is inherent in both the community and animal welfare. This involved placement of a community-based equine welfare adviser, located at the centre of an equine welfare matrix, linked with farriers, veterinary service providers, community authorities and saddlers. Using pre-existing societal norms was also the theme explored by Kalita et al. [11] from the Brooke, who described the creation of self-maintained community-led equine welfare groups in India as a sustainable approach to improved equine welfare. Four separate initiatives were described that had been implemented by these groups: women-only welfare groups, bulk buying of nutritionally balanced feed, tetanus Equine Veterinary Journal 46 (2014) 768–770 © 2014 EVJ Ltd
P. Compston
vaccination and community-based insurance. This last project was also the topic of the winner of the overall poster prize, describing a local insurance system where mainstream insurance products were not available for owners of working equids. Each owner contributed a sum initially and had to abide by welfare-friendly preconditions, such as not overloading or beating their animal, to validate their insurance. Whenever an animal is sick, collective peer pressure is exerted on its owner to seek appropriate veterinary care and in this way equine fatalities have been avoided [12]. Hernandez-Gil et al. [13] described the Donkey Sanctuary’s approach to welfare, using their 5 fingers approach. This takes into account the animal’s environment and its interaction with people, as well as its health and fitness, recognising the importance of considering the temporal nature of any measurement of well-being. They also described the National Autonomous University of Mexico School’s successful ‘social service’ student programme, where final year students live in rural communities, allowing them to gain clinical experience and provide a continuous veterinary service. Through these and other initiatives, the Mexican Donkey Sanctuary programme has moved from an approach of free direct healthcare to a system that is integrated with the people and animals it has been put in place to help. The final presentation in this theme by Nawaz et al. [14] from the Brooke looked at the ways in which we can measure these holistic interventions. It is much easier to calculate ‘number of donkeys dewormed’ or ‘horses seen by a mobile clinic’ than to monitor welfare improvements due to community engagement. However, this move from output to outcome metrics is essential if programmes are to be considered sustainable. In common with the rest of the development sector (and as the call for evidence-based clinical veterinary science gains momentum), the impact that interventions are having must be evaluated against predetermined and applicable metrics. Developing the tools that create the evidence of this impact is difficult. Animal welfare cannot be described by one single measurement and it can change quickly. This makes an intervention’s sustainability difficult to confirm. Knowing if a change in animal well-being is due to an organisation’s actions or external influences can be impossible, and although the use of control groups is a theoretical option this can raise important ethical questions: is it acceptable to take measurements from a group of people who are being deprived of aid? This is one of the more obvious of many ethical questions that surround working with poor, often illiterate, communities and their animals, and emphasises that all data collected must be robust and transparent.
What is the role of veterinary science? With all this talk of holistic actions and development of methodologies is there still a place for conventional veterinary science? The third keynote speaker, Derek Knottenbelt, definitely thought so with his controversial presentation in which he asserted that ‘the economy of the world would collapse if there were no more working equids’ [15]. He saw education in welfare and clinical equine skills as essential for all veterinary undergraduates, and as a route to the development of national veterinary professions. Many in the audience would agree with this sentiment; however, there was discussion throughout the conference about the role of expertise from more economically developed countries (MEDCs). Many vets in the UK and other MEDCs want to volunteer their expertise overseas and this has been an established route into the working equid sector for many, this author included. Veterinary tourism may have a limited role but must be approached with caution. Providing veterinary services to clientowned animals for free undermines the business economics of local veterinary service providers, who we need to support if indigenous professional networks are to develop. Technical support to these individuals is a stepping stone to true sustainability. This support should be appropriate for the resources available in a given context; and must be coupled with work that improves veterinary and paraveterinary curricula as well as advocacy to support public systems of service provision when these are necessary. A positive example of collaborative working between local vets and experts from MEDCs came from Lunn and Stringer [16,17] who presented the Havemeyer Workshop Report on Infectious Diseases of Working Horses and Donkeys. This prioritised 8 infectious diseases (African horse Equine Veterinary Journal 46 (2014) 768–770 © 2014 EVJ Ltd
Report from the Seventh International Colloquium on Working Equids
sickness, rabies, tetanus, glanders, gastrointestinal nematodes, piroplasmosis, trypanosomiasis and epizootic lymphangitis). These were categorised by their significance in less economically developed countries and the barriers to their successful control, whether these were technical, social or institutional. Without doubt, these diseases account for much equine suffering: several also represent a substantial risk to the integrity of equine (and human) health worldwide. This example of a successful, cooperative workshop was mirrored by Skippen et al. [18] who described a multiorganisational meeting on dentistry. Although often stated as a welfare concern in working equids, there is no substantial evidence base that supports this. However, dental interventions themselves can pose serious welfare concerns, which are closely linked to the skill of the technician. As with the Havemeyer example, one of the successes of this workshop was the production of tangible outputs, in this case, A Practical Guide to Working Equid Dental Interventions [19] with defined tiers of intervention and learning outcomes depending on the level of veterinary service available. Despite the difficulties inherent in field work, there are opportunities for clear, well-structured clinical research projects with working equids. Starkey et al.’s [20] cross-sectional survey from Honduras exposed conjunctivitis, corneal laceration and uveitis as the main causes of ocular disease, documented in 28.5% of the animals evaluated. The most significant risk factor identified was the use of a whip by the owner. Alongside a questionnaire evaluating owner awareness of ocular disease this study revealed that community engagement to address causal factors is central for prevention of these conditions. An update on African horse sickness in Ethiopia followed from Aklilu and Stringer from the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad [21], which highlighted the importance of recognising the appropriate strain for vaccination. Serology had identified that multiple strains were circulating in the Ethiopian equine population and this resulted in the national production of a trivalent vaccine that offers complete protection rather than a monovalent vaccine. Outbreaks still occur in unvaccinated animals and these need to be tackled by increasing public awareness and developing strategies to promote government vaccination. Laing et al. [22] also described a Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad-funded study in Ethiopia, using participatory appraisal and a clinical risk factor study to evaluate the causes of respiratory disease. A syndrome of respiratory disease, without a known aetiological agent, was recognised by the Havemeyer workshop. This study showed that Streptococcus equi equi was the most prevalent pathogen isolated; however many animals did not have an infectious cause of respiratory disease identified and, in the future, this research group will study risk factors for inflammatory airway disease.
Conclusions Jeremy Stoner from Save the Children gave a talk, prior to the discussion forum, on the latest developments in the humanitarian nongovernmental organisation field. He emphasised the importance of using indigenous capacity and networks for sustainable development: ensuring that business models were locally appropriate; strengthening local organisations; recognising the ‘collaborative advantage’ of partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders; using technology and online learning for knowledge transfer; and supporting ground breaking research. The colloquium was also privileged to host 2 thought-provoking royal presentations. HRH The Princess Royal gave an insightful speech on the working equid’s status and how this can be raised. She warned against neglecting unintended consequences of our actions, concluding that capacity building and resource support must be thoroughly researched and thought through. HRH Princess Haya’s articulate address mirrored this: she described her personal experience of the Arab Spring and how initiatives that support working equids are an essential part of dealing with attendant humanitarian crises to ensure that local communities can continue to earn their livelihoods. She drew on her experience with human development agencies to advise the delegates on using data structures that these organisations have already developed to help the sectors to integrate with each other. The material presented at the colloquium demonstrated that many different study methodologies are in use: qualitative research;
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Report from the Seventh International Colloquium on Working Equids
participatory rural appraisal; network analysis; mixed methods; economic analysis; participatory epidemiology; and traditional epidemiological study design. The working equid sector has a real opportunity to put the word interdisciplinary into practice. This word is often used yet rarely effectively practised, as different disciplines fail to agree on their methods and even their vocabulary. If we can move forward by resolving these differences and combine the strengths of each stakeholder, the objectivity of veterinary science, the insight of social sciences and the metrics of the development sector, we may be able to create a ‘holistic’ approach to the problems faced by working equids and their owners worldwide. P. Compston The Brooke, London, UK.
References 1. McGowan, C. and Newton, J.R. (2014) Rapporteurs’ report. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids, London. p 214. 2. 7th International Colloquium – Sessions 1-5. All videos available at https://www.youtube.com/user/horsecharity/videos. Accessed 29th August 2014. 3. Pritchard, J. (2014) What role do working equids play in human livelihoods – and how well is this currently recognised? In: Proceedings of the 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids, London. p 2. 4. Valette, D. and Upjohn, M. (2014) Voices from women: working equids as ‘invisible helpers’. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids, London. p 16. 5. Valette, D. (2014) Invisible Helpers: Women’s Views on the Contributions of Working Donkeys, Horses, and Mules to Their Lives. Key Findings from Research in Ethiopia, Kenya, India and Pakistan, The Brooke, London. 6. Warboys, D., Robles, M., Chapman, A. and Lagos Blessing, O.G. (2014) Cross-sectional survey on the importance of the role of working equids in Honduras. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids, London. p 7. 7. Bekele, M., Leggese, G., Teshome, W., Nahom, W., Anteneh, K. and Tewodros, T. (2014) Socioeconomic impact of epizootic lymphangitis in cart mules in Bahir Dar City, North West Ethiopia. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids, London. p 10. 8. Zaman, S., Kumar, A. and Compston, P. (2014) Contribution of working equids to the livelihoods of their owners in Uttar Pradesh, India. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids, London. p 19. 9. Morrison, T. (2014) Does a holistic approach to improving equine welfare produce better outcomes? In: Proceedings of the 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids, London. p 54.
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10. Rodríguez Rodas, D. and Pérez, J. (2014) Design of an equine welfare network matrix as the implementation model for equine welfare projects in Guatemala. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids, London. p 58. 11. Kalita, J., Gogoi, P., Ali, M. and Compston, P. (2014) Community-led actions in India: a path-finding approach for sustainable equine welfare. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids, London. p 63. 12. Kalita, J., Singh, A., Kumar, N. and Pandey, G. (2014) Community-led equine insurance system for equine welfare associations. Poster presentation. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids, London. p 113. 13. Hernandez-Gil, M., Rivero-Moreno, A., Madariaga-Najera, M., Vasquez-Rios, J.E. and Fernando-Martínez, J.A. (2014) Changing the approach: promoting animal welfare where livelihoods rely on equids. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids, London. p 67. 14. Nawaz, S., Kawe, N., Kumar, A. and Upjohn, M. (2014) Holistic approaches to monitoring and evaluation of working equid programmatic activities. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids, London. p 72. 15. Knottenbelt, D.C. (2014) What is the role of veterinary science? In: Proceedings of the 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids, London. p 166. 16. Lunn, D.P. and Stringer, A. (2014) Havemeyer Workshop Report: infectious diseases of working horses and donkeys. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids, London. p 164. 17 Stringer, A., Lunn, D.P. and Reid, S. (2014) Report on the First Havemeyer Workshop on Infectious Diseases in Working Equids, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, November 2013. Equine Vet. J. Epub ahead of print; doi: 10.1111/ evj.12359 18. Skippen, L., Compston, P., Saville, K., Upjohn, M. and Hirson, T. (2014) Exploring approaches to dentistry in working equids. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids, London. p 170. 19. Skippen, L. (Ed) (2013) A Practical Guide to Working Equid Dental Interventions, Report from the working equid dentistry conference, Devon, UK. 20. Starkey, E., Matas, M. and Verheyen, K.L.P. (2014) Ocular disease in the working horses of Choluteca, Honduras. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids, London. p 176. 21. Aklilu, N. and Stringer, A.P. (2014) African Horse Sickness in Ethiopia: a review. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids, London. p 180. 22. Laing, G., Christley, R., Stringer, A., Radford, A., Aklilu, N., Newton, R. and Pinchbeck, G. (2014) Unravelling the causes of respiratory disease in the working equids of Ethiopia. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids, London. p 183.
Equine Veterinary Journal 46 (2014) 768–770 © 2014 EVJ Ltd
Equine Veterinary Journal ISSN 0425-1644 DOI: 10.1111/evj.12343
Science in brief: Report from the Seventh International Colloquium on Working Equids, London 2014 The International Colloquium for Working Equids is a quadrennial event for all professionals within the working equid sector. It has changed since its inception in 1991, from a purely veterinary conference to an interdisciplinary event that encompasses both medical and social sciences and spans animal welfare and development sectors. The aim of the Seventh International Colloquium, held at Royal Holloway in July and organised by World Horse Welfare (WHW), was to identify how these fields can be integrated and to address some of the obstacles that stand in the way. Delegates from 28 countries spent 3 days in workshops, plenary sessions and on a field day, discussing and consolidating their knowledge and experience. A full report of the colloquium has been produced by 2 rapporteurs [1] and all the presentations from the event can be obtained online [2]. These easily accessible resources provide an additional level of detail to the following overview of the presentations and discussions, and interested readers are encouraged to refer to them. The colloquium focused on 3 questions.
What role do working equids play in human livelihoods – and how well is this currently recognised? We know that there are millions of horses, donkeys and mules in less economically developed countries, and countless more people who rely on these animals for all or part of their daily livelihood: to transport water, food and fuel for their households; to carry goods to and from their place of production and markets; as a vehicle for personal and commercial transportation; to work in smallholder agriculture systems; as a source of financial equity to fund medical care and education. We also know that these animals are often not included in the definitions of ‘livestock’ used by development agencies and political bodies and are often invisible in terms of policy and government-led interventions. There is a real need to raise these animals’ status: as Joy Pritchard said in her keynote presentation [3] ‘We cannot expect working equids to be a central priority and concern to all people and at all times but we can insist that they are not forgotten’. Joy Pritchard emphasised that it is often the women and children whose day-to-day life is directly affected by ownership or use of a working equid. This was supported by Valette and Upjohn’s [4] presentation on the role of equids in the lives of women in Ethiopia, India, Kenya and Pakistan – a qualitative research study that explored the relationships between working equids and the women of the families that own them. One of the more powerful quotes from this piece of work came from Sefiya in Ethiopia: ‘Having a donkey feels like having a tap in my home. I am confident that I won’t run out of water’ [4,5]. The close interplay between these animals and their owners, and therefore the requirement to raise the status of both, was confirmed by Warboys et al. [6]. In Choluteca, Honduras, although the general public recognised that working equids played a role in the region’s economy, with 88% of those questioned using the services of working equids, they overestimated the income of these animals’ owners and did not recognise many of the difficulties that they face. Therefore an important component of the WHW programme in Choluteca has been to increase awareness at a whole-society level. Equine health also plays a role in the contribution of working equids on livelihoods. Bekele et al. [7] presented some striking figures on the economic consequences of epizootic lymphangitis for equid-owning households in Ethiopia. The loss of income when an animal is infected with epizootic lymphangitis is multifactorial. The disease reduces income by approximately 40% due to its direct effect on the ability of the animal to work; but it also carries a social cost, with owners of infected animals being ostracised due to their ownership of an animal with a transmissible and visibly debilitating disease. This represents a potential entry point for interventions that encompass attitudes as well as practices. Financial figures can be produced to emphasise the importance of these animals
768
to policy makers, a strategy that was central to the paper by Zaman et al. [8] from the Brooke, which addressed quantification of the financial contribution from equids to families in Uttar Pradesh, India. A methodology called the Household Economy Approach, developed by Save the Children, was adapted for this study, which examined the financial contribution and cost of ownership both of equids and livestock to these Indian households. The conclusions were that families with equids were dependent on them for a living, and that even when taking into account the higher costs involved with caring for them, the income earned was comparable with that obtained from ownership of bovine animals. These quantitative data can be used to influence policy makers and increase the status of working equids in legislative and national strategies. The conversation around human livelihoods stimulated discussion about how the working equid world should integrate with the human development agencies. We cannot expect them to engage, or even understand our message, without providing clear evidence that demonstrates the impact of improving the welfare of these animals on human livelihoods and food security. If we are to raise the profile of these working equids we must bring this evidence to these agencies in a format that is appropriate and relevant. It is not always true that working equid welfare and productivity are directly correlated: for example, up to a point, an extra load on the back of a donkey may not cause it to have to stop working, but will compromise welfare. However, that extra load may be essential for that family’s income. As a sector, we should develop a clear consensus on the messages that we convey, the aim of their dissemination and their target audiences.
Does a holistic approach to improving equine welfare produce better outcomes? The landscape of the working equid sector is changing, with a shift to interventions that focus on and work with local communities that own and use working equids. It is important to remember that this does not always result in a sustainable or holistic resolution; evidence of the effectiveness of each different approach must be used to inform the design of these programmes. The importance of approaching animal welfare problems with a broad perspective rather than a top-down attitude cannot be denied; however the definition of holistic (and the practical implementation of a ‘holistic’ intervention) remains unclear and was the subject of much discussion. Are we being holistic in our viewpoint or in our approach? In the second keynote presentation, Tom Morrison gave examples from his experiences in rural development. He described 4 integrated components that he saw as key for any holistic intervention: education of end users; capacity building of service providers; microcredit and financial services; and policy and strategy. Very quickly the context specific nature of any community-based development is revealed and, as Tom Morrison said, ‘one of the rules of development is never to impose a common solution, every situation is different’ [9]. Rodríguez Rodas and Pérez [10] explored this theme, describing how the WHW project in Guatemala had used network analysis to profile the specific contexts in which they work. Mapping the hierarchy of advice chains that are used by equid owners on husbandry and healthcare allowed design of a programme around these information chains, with built-in flexibility to allow for the dynamic nature that is inherent in both the community and animal welfare. This involved placement of a community-based equine welfare adviser, located at the centre of an equine welfare matrix, linked with farriers, veterinary service providers, community authorities and saddlers. Using pre-existing societal norms was also the theme explored by Kalita et al. [11] from the Brooke, who described the creation of self-maintained community-led equine welfare groups in India as a sustainable approach to improved equine welfare. Four separate initiatives were described that had been implemented by these groups: women-only welfare groups, bulk buying of nutritionally balanced feed, tetanus Equine Veterinary Journal 46 (2014) 768–770 © 2014 EVJ Ltd
P. Compston
vaccination and community-based insurance. This last project was also the topic of the winner of the overall poster prize, describing a local insurance system where mainstream insurance products were not available for owners of working equids. Each owner contributed a sum initially and had to abide by welfare-friendly preconditions, such as not overloading or beating their animal, to validate their insurance. Whenever an animal is sick, collective peer pressure is exerted on its owner to seek appropriate veterinary care and in this way equine fatalities have been avoided [12]. Hernandez-Gil et al. [13] described the Donkey Sanctuary’s approach to welfare, using their 5 fingers approach. This takes into account the animal’s environment and its interaction with people, as well as its health and fitness, recognising the importance of considering the temporal nature of any measurement of well-being. They also described the National Autonomous University of Mexico School’s successful ‘social service’ student programme, where final year students live in rural communities, allowing them to gain clinical experience and provide a continuous veterinary service. Through these and other initiatives, the Mexican Donkey Sanctuary programme has moved from an approach of free direct healthcare to a system that is integrated with the people and animals it has been put in place to help. The final presentation in this theme by Nawaz et al. [14] from the Brooke looked at the ways in which we can measure these holistic interventions. It is much easier to calculate ‘number of donkeys dewormed’ or ‘horses seen by a mobile clinic’ than to monitor welfare improvements due to community engagement. However, this move from output to outcome metrics is essential if programmes are to be considered sustainable. In common with the rest of the development sector (and as the call for evidence-based clinical veterinary science gains momentum), the impact that interventions are having must be evaluated against predetermined and applicable metrics. Developing the tools that create the evidence of this impact is difficult. Animal welfare cannot be described by one single measurement and it can change quickly. This makes an intervention’s sustainability difficult to confirm. Knowing if a change in animal well-being is due to an organisation’s actions or external influences can be impossible, and although the use of control groups is a theoretical option this can raise important ethical questions: is it acceptable to take measurements from a group of people who are being deprived of aid? This is one of the more obvious of many ethical questions that surround working with poor, often illiterate, communities and their animals, and emphasises that all data collected must be robust and transparent.
What is the role of veterinary science? With all this talk of holistic actions and development of methodologies is there still a place for conventional veterinary science? The third keynote speaker, Derek Knottenbelt, definitely thought so with his controversial presentation in which he asserted that ‘the economy of the world would collapse if there were no more working equids’ [15]. He saw education in welfare and clinical equine skills as essential for all veterinary undergraduates, and as a route to the development of national veterinary professions. Many in the audience would agree with this sentiment; however, there was discussion throughout the conference about the role of expertise from more economically developed countries (MEDCs). Many vets in the UK and other MEDCs want to volunteer their expertise overseas and this has been an established route into the working equid sector for many, this author included. Veterinary tourism may have a limited role but must be approached with caution. Providing veterinary services to clientowned animals for free undermines the business economics of local veterinary service providers, who we need to support if indigenous professional networks are to develop. Technical support to these individuals is a stepping stone to true sustainability. This support should be appropriate for the resources available in a given context; and must be coupled with work that improves veterinary and paraveterinary curricula as well as advocacy to support public systems of service provision when these are necessary. A positive example of collaborative working between local vets and experts from MEDCs came from Lunn and Stringer [16,17] who presented the Havemeyer Workshop Report on Infectious Diseases of Working Horses and Donkeys. This prioritised 8 infectious diseases (African horse Equine Veterinary Journal 46 (2014) 768–770 © 2014 EVJ Ltd
Report from the Seventh International Colloquium on Working Equids
sickness, rabies, tetanus, glanders, gastrointestinal nematodes, piroplasmosis, trypanosomiasis and epizootic lymphangitis). These were categorised by their significance in less economically developed countries and the barriers to their successful control, whether these were technical, social or institutional. Without doubt, these diseases account for much equine suffering: several also represent a substantial risk to the integrity of equine (and human) health worldwide. This example of a successful, cooperative workshop was mirrored by Skippen et al. [18] who described a multiorganisational meeting on dentistry. Although often stated as a welfare concern in working equids, there is no substantial evidence base that supports this. However, dental interventions themselves can pose serious welfare concerns, which are closely linked to the skill of the technician. As with the Havemeyer example, one of the successes of this workshop was the production of tangible outputs, in this case, A Practical Guide to Working Equid Dental Interventions [19] with defined tiers of intervention and learning outcomes depending on the level of veterinary service available. Despite the difficulties inherent in field work, there are opportunities for clear, well-structured clinical research projects with working equids. Starkey et al.’s [20] cross-sectional survey from Honduras exposed conjunctivitis, corneal laceration and uveitis as the main causes of ocular disease, documented in 28.5% of the animals evaluated. The most significant risk factor identified was the use of a whip by the owner. Alongside a questionnaire evaluating owner awareness of ocular disease this study revealed that community engagement to address causal factors is central for prevention of these conditions. An update on African horse sickness in Ethiopia followed from Aklilu and Stringer from the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad [21], which highlighted the importance of recognising the appropriate strain for vaccination. Serology had identified that multiple strains were circulating in the Ethiopian equine population and this resulted in the national production of a trivalent vaccine that offers complete protection rather than a monovalent vaccine. Outbreaks still occur in unvaccinated animals and these need to be tackled by increasing public awareness and developing strategies to promote government vaccination. Laing et al. [22] also described a Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad-funded study in Ethiopia, using participatory appraisal and a clinical risk factor study to evaluate the causes of respiratory disease. A syndrome of respiratory disease, without a known aetiological agent, was recognised by the Havemeyer workshop. This study showed that Streptococcus equi equi was the most prevalent pathogen isolated; however many animals did not have an infectious cause of respiratory disease identified and, in the future, this research group will study risk factors for inflammatory airway disease.
Conclusions Jeremy Stoner from Save the Children gave a talk, prior to the discussion forum, on the latest developments in the humanitarian nongovernmental organisation field. He emphasised the importance of using indigenous capacity and networks for sustainable development: ensuring that business models were locally appropriate; strengthening local organisations; recognising the ‘collaborative advantage’ of partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders; using technology and online learning for knowledge transfer; and supporting ground breaking research. The colloquium was also privileged to host 2 thought-provoking royal presentations. HRH The Princess Royal gave an insightful speech on the working equid’s status and how this can be raised. She warned against neglecting unintended consequences of our actions, concluding that capacity building and resource support must be thoroughly researched and thought through. HRH Princess Haya’s articulate address mirrored this: she described her personal experience of the Arab Spring and how initiatives that support working equids are an essential part of dealing with attendant humanitarian crises to ensure that local communities can continue to earn their livelihoods. She drew on her experience with human development agencies to advise the delegates on using data structures that these organisations have already developed to help the sectors to integrate with each other. The material presented at the colloquium demonstrated that many different study methodologies are in use: qualitative research;
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participatory rural appraisal; network analysis; mixed methods; economic analysis; participatory epidemiology; and traditional epidemiological study design. The working equid sector has a real opportunity to put the word interdisciplinary into practice. This word is often used yet rarely effectively practised, as different disciplines fail to agree on their methods and even their vocabulary. If we can move forward by resolving these differences and combine the strengths of each stakeholder, the objectivity of veterinary science, the insight of social sciences and the metrics of the development sector, we may be able to create a ‘holistic’ approach to the problems faced by working equids and their owners worldwide. P. Compston The Brooke, London, UK.
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Equine Veterinary Journal 46 (2014) 768–770 © 2014 EVJ Ltd
