World Horse Welfare is a registered charity in the United Kingdom and Scotland that was previously named The International League for the Protection of Horses.

Anne, Princess Royal Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of ...

is its patron.

History

World Horse Welfare was founded in 1927 as a campaigning organisation to prevent the export of live British horses for slaughter. The charity's founder, Ada Cole, was spurred into action after witnessing a procession of British work horses being unloaded and whipped for four miles to slaughter in Belgium. The Irish branch was founded in 1928 by Eleanor Whitton. In 1937 after political lobbying by the charity, the Exportation of Horses Act was introduced to protect the welfare of horses destined for the slaughterhouses of Europe. This introduced the concept of 'Minimum Values', which effectively stops the export of live horses for slaughter from Great Britain. The charity opened its first horse rehabilitation centre in Britain, in 1949, and started its first international training course in Morocco in 1985.

Aims

World Horse Welfare works in the United Kingdom recovering, rehabilitating and rehoming horses. The charity has 16 full-time field officers based around the UK who investigate concerns reported by the general public. Horses needing attention are taken into one of the charity's four Recovery and Rehabilitation Centres, based in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

(the

Glenda Spooner Glenda Spooner (1897–1981), née Graham, was a journalist and author writing about horses. She was the founder, Chairman and Organising Secretary of the Ponies of Britain Club. She was well known as a pony breeder and for her involvement with po ...

Farm),

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

and

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

. The charity works in the

developing world A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

training local people in skills such as

saddlery Tack is equipment or accessories equipped on horses and other equines in the course of their use as domesticated animals. This equipment includes such items as saddles, stirrups, bridles, halters, reins, bits, and harnesses. Equipping a horse i ...

farrier A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses' hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves, if necessary. A farrier combines some blacksmith's skills (fabricating, adapting, and adjus ...

y, nutrition and horse management. World Horse Welfare campaign to achieve welfare improvements through changing policy, practices and attitudes.

References

External links

World Horse Welfare's website
!-- (Commenting this out as we generally don't keep lists like this, but if someone can use them to expand the article and integrate them as citations, that would be great.)
Obese horse numbers 'increasing'
(BBC News, 20 Aug 2008)
Horse rescues 'more than double'
(BBC News, 7 Apr 2009)
Five guilty of neglecting horses
(BBC News, 8 May 2009)--> Animal charities based in the United Kingdom Animal welfare organisations based in the United Kingdom Horse sanctuaries Organisations based in the United Kingdom with royal patronage Organizations established in 1927 Charities based in Norfolk Horse welfare organizations {{animal-rights-stub