ABSTRACT
Slavery, in the form of 'debt-bondage', is rife in Indian brick kilns, where the enforcement of labour laws is poor. Working equids support brick-kiln workers by transporting raw bricks into the kilns, but the situation of equids and their owners within the brick kilns is relatively unknown. We describe the welfare of donkeys (Equus asinus) owned under conditions of debt-bondage, examine the links between owner and donkey behaviour, and outline the living conditions of both donkeys and humans working in the brick kilns of Gujarat, India. We then explore the unique experience of debt-bondage by donkey owners, compare migration trends to those of non-donkey-owning workers and assess impacts on their children's education. The physical and behavioural conditions of donkeys reflected that of their owners, creating negative feedback loops and potentially reducing productivity. All donkey owners experienced debt-bondage and were particularly vulnerable to unexpected financial loss. Donkey owners, unlike non-owners, migrated within their home state, enabling their children to attend school. Our work highlights the need for policy reform within the brick-kiln industry to acknowledge the pivotal role of working donkeys in supporting human livelihoods.
ABSTRACT
Equids in general experience transient lives where ownership may change multiple times, for working equids this can be more extreme where ownership changes are not only numerous but abrupt, and situations encountered prove difficult, diverse and tough for equids to adapt. In this study, we investigate the life cycle of pack mules in Nepal, investigating the challenges they face during their lives through to end of life. To gain insight into the lives of mules, we conducted semi-structured interviews and livelihood surveys with 27 key informants, gathering the perspectives of the people working with mules. Welfare assessments of the mules were undertaken via the Equid Assessment Research and Scoping tool (EARS) by a trained assessor. Mules had to adapt swiftly to changes in industry type, enduring long distance transportation in overloaded vehicles and across country borders with no checks for biosecurity or welfare. Mules had to show swift adaptation to their new environment, to respond to and learn new tasks via inhumanely administered training, using inappropriate techniques, delivered by owners lacking in understanding of mule behaviour and learning. Environmental conditions were often hard; the negotiation of difficult terrain and challenging weather conditions during monsoon and subsequent high-altitude working without acclimatisation likely pushed mules to their biological limits. This study investigates the lives of a population of mules in the mountains of Nepal, developing a better understanding of their needs and their 'truth' or 'telos' informing what measures will help them to thrive.
ABSTRACT
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) work across the globe to improve the welfare of working equids. Despite decades of veterinary and other interventions, welfare issues persist with equids working in brick kilns. Engagement with all stakeholders is integral to creating abiding improvements to working equid welfare as interventions based purely on reactive measures fail to provide sustainable solutions. Equid owners, particularly those in low to middle-income countries (LMICs), may have issues such as opportunity, capacity, gender or socio-economic status, overriding their ability to care well for their own equids. These "blind spots" are frequently overlooked when organizations develop intervention programs to improve welfare. This study aims to highlight the lives of the poorest members of Indian society, and will focus on working donkeys specifically as they were the only species of working equids present in the kilns visited. We discuss culture, status, religion, and social influences, including insights into the complexities of cultural "blind spots" which complicate efforts by NGOs to improve working donkey welfare when the influence of different cultural and societal pressures are not recognized or acknowledged. Employing a mixed-methods approach, we used the Equid Assessment Research and Scoping (EARS) tool, a questionnaire based equid welfare assessment tool, to assess the welfare of working donkeys in brick kilns in Northern India. In addition, using livelihoods surveys and semi-structured interviews, we established owner demographics, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, religion and their personal accounts of their working lives and relationships to their donkeys. During transcript analysis six themes emerged: caste, ethnicity, inherited knowledge; social status, and impacts of ethnic group and caste; social status and gender; migration and shared suffering; shared suffering, compassion; religious belief, species hierarchy. The lives led by these, marginalized communities of low status are driven by poverty, exposing them to exploitation, lack of community cohesion, and community conflicts through migratory, transient employment. This vulnerability influences the care and welfare of their working donkeys, laying bare the inextricable link between human and animal welfare. Cultural and social perspectives, though sometimes overlooked, are crucial to programs to improve welfare, where community engagement and participation are integral to their success.
