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Working for K’S PATH can be a bit of a roller coaster. I have days when I absolutely love my job, and days I could really live without. One of the worst scenes we regularly encounter is that of neglected horses. I use the word neglected, because they are rarely abandoned until survival is almost impossible. Instead, they are kept, often without shade, food or water for most of the day. They are denied adequate if any veterinary care, and their condition gets worse day by day until the inevitable end finally arrives. The ‘lucky’ horses die where they live. In the worst cases, someone makes a prognosis of hopelessness, and the animal is left in the desert to die without any possible chance of survival; a practice referred to as ‘turning it’s fate over to God.’ With a small sanctuary full of donkeys and horses, and monthly expenses pushing 700KD, K’S PATH has few options to accommodate new horses. The obvious solution is to prevent the animal from being neglected in the first place. We try talking to the owner as politely as we possibly can.
The result is invariably the same: ‘you can’t tell me what to do with my horse.’ And they are right. Their ownership under Kuwait law is absolute, and it would take a brave legal team with no more prominent case to enact Kuwait’s limited cruelty laws. So we do our best. We give them water, and we buy them what food we can afford to give, because we’ve learned over time that when you can’t fix a problem, you can only do all you can, then move on to the next animal.
What do we need to solve this problem?
1. Legal help, in the form of an enforcement and prosecutorial team.
2. A properly sized, equipped, staffed, and funded sanctuary.
3. Education. This we do. Our message? Compassion and kindness.
You can find an equine success story [Here]
Post by John Peaveler
Managing Director
Kuwait Society for the Protection of Animals and Their Habitat
4 replies on “Commentary: Horse Neglect”
sad to hear that the owners dont care for the animal so precious who was and still is a companion of humanity in history but totally neglected today.
By the way i love horses and i want to look after one.
Thank you for doing a thankless job….Wish you all the best
The only solution I see is to require all live stock that is traded I.E.(not for consumption) to have a transfer fee imposed. This fee would go into a fund that would sponsor only origination’s such as K’s path and Paws (non profit non government) to allow the humane care and when necessary euthanasia.
This fund should be contracted out to a responsible credited organization such as the SPCA. Under no circumstance should any Kuwaiti company or government entity be involved to ensure funds are not LOST WASTED or STOLEN.
This way animals that the owner can not care for be dealt with humane treatment.
Else this practice will continue.
Sickening, Hopeless and a waste of time, So much pain… its like these owners have no soul, how else can u explain that they do not sympathize!
Sorry but enough is enough, ppl in this country are locusts, they do not conserve their own country’s wealth and beauty. what a shame…