Wednesday, May 26th, 2021

Title: Horse Welfare From Inside Out. A 21st Century Roadmap For Equestrian Coaches.

Author: Lisa Ashton

Keywords: Social Licence to Operate for Equestrian Coaches

Abstract: From the inside of our horse sports, to the outside, public acceptance of horse sports is earnt through our legitimacy, transparency, communication and trust. Following a 4 week Equestrian Coach Challenge during first Covid-19 lockdown by the author, Horse Welfare From Inside Out. A 21st Century Roadmap For Equestrian Coaches ebook was created as a resource for equestrian coaches to navigate the challenges of earning our social licence to making a difference for horses. Pro-active Over Re-active. Social licence for equestrian sports is more about showing up to get it right for horses, not to be right.

Key citations: Horse Welfare From Inside Out. A 21st Century Roadmap For Equestrian Coaches, An ebook by Lisa Ashton (I would be delighted to send the review committee the ebook to focus a presentation around, it is a large document so will need send via Wetransfer. Please let me know.)

Email: avani@live.com

Institutional affiliations: Adjunct Faculty, FLAME University; Research scholar, Savitribai Phule Pune University

Keywords: Jallikattu, animal welfare, traditional sport, cultural identity

Abstract:

Animal ethics is a complex issue in India. The social, political, and legal support for animal welfare functions at two levels: consumption of animal meat or product as one and prevention of cruelty to working or performing animals is another one. When we add the complexity of traditionally or culturally rooted and ritualised sport such as Jallikattu, ethical analysis becomes more complex. The socio-cultural history of the sport is contributing to the community identity as a form of resistance to marginalization. It also has aspects of unique rural and agrarian human-animal relationship which also contributes to preserving native breeds of animals such as bulls. The public portrayal of animal welfare weighed against valuing tradition in playing the sport underestimates this complexity. When traditional values come together in a sport, separating ethical norms becomes difficult. This paper brings out the complexity at the intersection of animal ethics, sports ethics, and work ethics. Jallikattu forms the crucial case study showing the different values relevant to ethical analysis of sports involving animals.

Key citations:

1. Sharma, G., Singh, S. Regulating India’s blood-sport: an examination of the Indian Supreme Court’s decision in Animal Welfare Board of India v. A. Nagaraja. Jindal Global Law Review 6, 113–122 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41020-015-0008-1

2. Jayashree, B., Aram, A., & Ibrahim, Y. (2019). The voices of culture, conservation and the media event around bullfight ‘Jallikattu’ in Tamil Nadu, India. Journal of Media and Communication Studies, 11(3), 20-30. https://doi.org/10.5897/JMCS2018.0644

Title: “They wouldn’t do it if they didn’t love it”: Theory of Mind as a Framework to

Understand the Involvement of Horses in American Rodeo.

Author(s) name(s): Deelen, Evelien

Institutional affiliation: PhD student in Cultural Anthropology at Washington State University

Keywords: American Rodeo, Anthrozoology, Theory of Mind

Abstract: 

This paper presents the results of an ethnographic study into human-horse interactions in North

American rodeo. The pivotal event in rodeo is bronc (or bucking horse) riding; a ‘rough-stock’

category in which a contestant rides a fiercely bucking, ‘rough’ horse for eight seconds.

Although cultural outsiders often argue that these horses are provoked to buck through the use of

cruel tools, rodeo associates (including participants, breeders, organizers, and fans), argue that

their livelihood depends on the wellbeing of the animals, and that abuse has no place in rodeo.

However, while such negative stereotypes are persistent and widespread, the perspectives of

cultural insiders remain underrepresented.

Through semi-structured interviews and a self-administered online survey, 81 self-identified

rodeo associates from the Western United States were questioned about their relationship with

broncs. The results demonstrated that my informants attribute a certain motivational theory of

mind, or mental state to their animals. This model of reference is based on recently emerged

breeding practices, behavioral interpretations, and cultural beliefs about the nature and genetic

predisposition of bucking horses. This perspective validates the use of broncs in the sport, but

also seals the fate of individuals who fail to comply to this anthropocentric model.

Integrating frameworks from psychological anthropology and anthrozoology, this paper is a

novel contribution to the study of human-animal interactions. By providing a much-needed emic

perspective on the use of animals in rodeo, I aim to contribute to a more balanced and effective

discussion on the ethics of American rodeo.

Key citations: 

Emery, N. J., Clayton, N. S.

2009. Comparative Social Cognition. Annual Review of Psychology 60(1), 87-113.

Lawrence, E.

1982. Rodeo: An Anthropologist Looks at the Wild and the Tame. Knoxville: University

of Tennessee Pres.

Nance, S.

2020. Rodeo: An Animal History. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.

Authors:

Renato Silvano Pulz 1

Rui Carlos Sá 2 ,

Isabelle Tancioni 1,

Vania Plaza Nunes 3 and

Irvênia Luiza de Santis Prada 3,4

1 Associação de Veterinários Veganos e Vegetarianos

2 University of California, San Diego

3 Fórum Nacional de Proteção e Defesa Animal

4 Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia/ USP

Abstract:

Vaquejada is a practice, involving poor handling of bovines, that started in rural areas of

Northeastern Brazil, and has become a popular Brazilian sport/cultural event.

Vaquejada's designated objective is to produce a rotating fall of a running bovine before

a set finish line, by two men on horseback, one pulling the animal's tail while the second

uses a horse as a fulcrum against the bovine. As a result, some bovines have their tail

skinned and all of them suffer intense pain due to their tail being pulled. They often

exhibit multiple lesions in the nervous, muskuloskeletal, urinary, and digestive systems.

Furthermore, horses suffer from the severe training, and they are also often injured by

accidents and contact with the bovine during Vaquejada. In 2015, the Brazilian

Supreme Court declared that Vaquejada was unconstitutional, since it is associated with

animal cruelty. However, a few months later a law was approved designating Vaquejada

as a demonstration of national culture and part of an intangible cultural heritage.

Vaquejada is set to once again be evaluated by Brazil’s Supreme Court, taking into

consideration arguments from animal welfare professionals and from those who want to

promote this practice (beer and entertainment companies, legal and illegal betting, and

other stakeholders). If a practice causes unnecessary suffering, it must be considered

immoral. We consider that the physical and psychological cruelty inflicted to animals is

inherent to Vaquejada, and that no current or future regulations will be effective in

reducing animal suffering to an ethically acceptable level.

Keywords: Vaquejada, animal cruelty and bovines

Key citations:

Prada. I., ed. (2014) Neuroanatomia Funcional em Medicina Veterinária . Jaboticabal:

Terra Molhada.

Rachels J. and Rachels S. ed. (2011) The Elements of Moral Philosophy. 7th ed. New

York: McGraw-Hill.

Email: buyandelger.b@mnums.edu.mn

Mongolian Winter and Spring Horseraces

(Cultural, historical and legal analysis)

Batmunkh Buyandelger1, Batsukh Ganbat2

1-Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences

2-National University of Mongolia

Keywords: Horseraces, Naadam festival, Mongolian national sport

Mongolian horseracing - a unique combination of traditional sports and cultural elements - is one of the three main sports of the Naadam Festival in Mongolia. “Naadam, Mongolian Traditional Festival” was inscribed in the UNESCO “Representative List” of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010. (https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/naadam-mongolian-traditional-festival-00395) According to the Mongolian tradition of horse racing, young children are girls and boys. Historically, adults rode fast horses but it is not clear exactly when children began racing horses.

Since the ancient times, when the Mongols race horses, they trained the horse to coach accurate method for the horse racing. This technique has been used so far. (Altantsetseg L, Lkhagvasuren G and Gundegmaa L, ‘Tradition and learning methodology basis for the formation of the Mongolian national sport’, Bull. Nippon Sport Science University 44, no 1. (2014): 33–35.) However, since the 1990s, the competition has become more widespread than traditional, with competitions taking place not only in summer but also in winter and spring. Unfortunately, in these races, children on horseback have been injured and even killed.

Under international and national law, the child is recognized as an independent legal entity. Mongolia acceded to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990. (‘International Treaty of Mongolia’. Ulaanbaatar. (1990): https://www.legalinfo.mn/law/details/1276) However, until 2019, the legal framework for the protection of the rights of child racers in winter and spring horse racing was not formed.