Toward An Equine Bill of Rights
08. Jun, 2009 
10 Comments
A gentleman from LinkedIn posed a question about a pets’ bill of rights that got me thinking about the point of having such a thing for horses and its possible uses and abuses.
For a little research, I Googled pets’ bill of rights and found a few inane lists by pet care companies (“we have the right to snuggle daily”) that included rights obvious to any animal lover but really didn’t, um, fit the bill.
I did find something on the site of the National Alliance of Pet Owners that might prove a good starting point.
Responsible pet owner (sic) have important constitutional liberties and rights under the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights. State Constitutions and States Bill of Rights also reinforce the concept of Pet Owner Rights.
The Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth amendments of the U.S. Constitution protect citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures, affirm our rights to property which cannot be denied without the due process of law, ensures equal enforcement and protection of the law, and imposes fundamental constraints on what government can do to a citizen in the name of the law. This is what most responsible pet owners have been taught to believe and to place their trust.
The remainder of this so-called bill of rights is a rant against animal rights activism instead of a real document. It certainly opens an enormous can of worms in terms of taking aim at PETA and HSUS.
I wonder if there is any interest out there in working toward a real Horses’ Bill of Rights that might someday be ratified by applicable organizations? I’m thinking more of something useful for animal welfare rather than the hot button topic of animal rights, mostly because things get done quicker when you travel down the middle of the road.
I wonder if there is enough interest to brainstorm the constituent articles of such a document and come to agreement on what is essential?
If you have opinions on this, please weigh in.
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Hi Kim,
Good work writing on this. I know what you mean about the difficulties people seem to have as to whether something is ‘rights’ or ‘welfare’.
I think a great place to start is the 5 Freedoms of Animal Welfare, which started in the U.K. for domestic farm animals. I believe these to be the pertinent matters for domesticated animals, including horses (and basic also, as human welfare issues).
A second place to go for information on a well-considered ‘Code of Recommendations and Minimum Standards for the Welfare of Horses’, a New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries publication – it can be down-loaded or read through here: http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/animal-welfare/codes/horses/index.htm
I hope this adds some food for your thoughts, keep up the good work!
Kaizen
Thank you. Here in the states, especially among fox hunters, basically the only horse people I know besides Tellington TTouch Practitioners, animal rights is a four-letter word.
I don’t agree with those who would categorize it as such for the same reasons they do, but I have major qualms about the whole throwing-paint-on-fur-wearers and free-all-the-pets campaigns.
On the on hand, I don’t want anything I write to be associated with that kind of extremism, while on the other, I know in my heart that in all matters, extremism is the foundation upon which all change occurs. We would not have the ERA, or the freedom to associate with people of any race, or any “modern” freedoms at all if not for radical action. So call me a hypocrite if you have to. (I think Shoshin will probably chime in here, and I will deserve it.)
The 5 Freedoms is a great place to start. It’s just that I don’t know where to go from there. I don’t want to be the Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams of Horses all rolled into one, and that’s my insanely optimistic and unrealistic goal for any movement like this. No, I’m not on acid. Everything has to begin somewhere.
I will look up the New Zealand Code in the morning when I’m at least partially sane. I’ve ben writing for work all night! There’s a veritable banquet for thought. Never show the smorgasboard to the fat girl.
I look forward to your contributions on this topic and to our collaboration on many more interesting subjects.
Jeezoman folks. I re-read my above response and I didn’t mean to say what I said: I meant that my insanely optimistic and unrealistic goal for a Bill of Rights project was that it have the IMPETUS of something like the Declaration of Independence or the original Bill of Rights.
Not that I want to be all those dudes rolled into one.
See? I need sleep.