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Working Animals
A working animal is an animal that is kept by humans and trained to perform certain tasks or a semi-domesticated wild animal, such as a logging elephant.
There are many working animals such as:
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Police horses
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Police dogs
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Hearing dogs for the deaf
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Guide dogs for the blind.
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Service dogs to assist people with disabilities
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Search and rescue dogs
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Race horses
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Racing greyhounds
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Pet therapy for people in hospitals and institutions
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Monkey helpers for people with disabilities and limited movement
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Dolphin therapy often used for children with terminal illnesses
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Working heavy horses, WSPA (The World Society for the Protection of Animals), says that more than half of the worlds population are dependant on working horses for their livelihood.
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Working dogs, such as pointers and setters, these are predatory species and can be bred to kill and fetch prey.
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Domesticated cat, natural predators and will kill birds and mice and sometimes rats and baby rabbits.
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Ferrets can be used by some people to kill rabbits and hares.
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Falconry, this uses birds of prey to hunt for rodents and reptiles in the air and then they swoop in for the kill.
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Aquatic birds such as cormorants in China help fisherman to catch fish.
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Film and televison work. Companies such as first choice animals, supply, train and co-ordinate any species of animal for film, television, advertising and the media.
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Elephants used for logging, beasts of burden and ceremonies.
Draught animals are used for their muscular power and strength. The camel is often used as a beast of burden. Water buffalo work in very wet sub-tropical areas of the world, which are very wet and they work with humans in the rice growing fields.
The large draught horses such as the shire and clydesdale were used a great deal in times gone by for various tasks such as, brewery deliveries, ploughing fields and forestry work, some of these wonderful horses do still work alongside humans but are in decline and may only be seen at shows.
SPANA (The Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad), raises awareness and funds to educate people and protect animals from cruelty and abuse. For instance, in Thailand, horses have to pull tourist carriages in hot sun and in crowded cities and do not receive the care and attention that they deserve. Also many mediterranean countries also exploit horses in this way, making them work for hours in the hot sun, causing them distress and exhaustion, horses may also be made to work on hot beaches, taking tourists out, hour after hour, day after day, to earn their owners as much money as possible, these horses often are cruelly treated and have no quality of life at all.
In Columbia up to 7,000 horses work non-stop, transporting goods, food, and waste products, again they are used without due care and concern for their wellbeing, without organisations like SPANA and other caring agencies to protect the animals and bring about awareness of their sufferings, these animals would die unnoticed.
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Working Animals
