LAND AND WATER 
September 19, 1914 
ANIMAL DEFENCE SOCIETIES AND 
HORSES IN WARFARE. 
By ROY HORNIMAN. 
BEFORE dealing with llic actual issue which I am 
anxious to bring to the public notice, aud which is 
suggested by the phrase at the head of this article, 
it is necessary to state a few preliminary facts. 
The part played by the horse soldier in the 
present and recent wars has entirely falsified the 
prediction put forward at the time when artillery was being 
revolutionised that cavalry would become less and less im- 
portant. Its importance has, on the contrary, grown side by 
hide with the astonishing development of gunnery of all kinds. 
The exigencies of artillery and transport demand a greater 
supply of horses than ever before. With the growth of 
mechanical transport for purposes of civil life, and for more 
than one other reason which will be fairly obvious, the ques- 
tion of a supply of horses available for service in time of war 
has become acute. There is, in fact, great danger of a shortage. 
That this is felt to be the case was shown by the feverish 
activity with which foreign agents were occupied in buying 
up all the hoi-ses obtainable in the United Kingdom for some 
years before the present crisis. In Ireland the writer was told 
"that the vast majority of these buyers were Germans and 
Austrians, as the English military authorities declined to pay 
the prices asked. We allowed the supply of our best horses 
lo be seriously interfered with to the advantage of our present 
opponents. 
It thus becomes obvious, without reference at the moment 
to the humane side of the question, that any laxity in our 
Army veterinary arrangements, either at the front or on any 
uther line of defence, constitutes a serious economic defect. 
That these veterinary arrangements are totally inadequate 
no one will deny who is acquainted with the true state of 
j.ftairs, or who has read Sir Edward Ward's statement on the 
.subject. A cavalry officer, wounded and returned home, states 
that he lost three chargers which had been slightly wounded 
because there were no facilities for removing them to a base 
hospital, of which there are all too few. He adds that he 
never saw a veterinary officer. This is not surprising ; it was 
years before the work of the Red Cross was recognised and 
placed on a proper basis. 
Before I arrive at the main reason of my article, I should 
like it to be clearly understood that such animal defence 
societies as I am connected with are not unreasonable senti- 
mentalists on the question of the use of horses in war. 
It is clear to them that there can bo no injustice in using 
horses to fight in defence of a country in which the practical 
standard of the treatment of animals is the highest in the 
world. Those agonies which humans endure for their enfran- 
chisement they may clearly ask horses to share when the 
interests of the latter are also at stake. I would the reason 
for animal suffering were always so well grounded. 
From this, it follows, however, that by all rules of honour 
and gi-atitude we are bound to protect them by some such 
organisations as the Red Cross, which has become an economic 
necessity and a humane duty. Hundreds of thousands of 
pounds will be saved and a great amount of agony and suffer- 
ing mitigated and prevented. A beginning has been made. 
Certain^ animal defence societies are anxious to place all their 
forces at the disposal of the Government, both in the interests 
of the country and those of the animals. 
The Blue Cross Fund of Our Dumb Friends' League came 
into existence at the time of the Balkan War, when it was 
able to send £500 to Lady Lowther, the wife of our Ambas- 
sador at Constantinople, for the use of army horses. W^hen 
the present war began it at once set to work. 
The committee of the Blue Cross Fund does not expect 
miracles. The proper care of wounded horses in warfare, and 
especially the removal and proper nursing of those engaged on 
the field of battle, is a comparatively new idea. Indeed, the 
whole attitude towards animal life has evolved enormously, 
and in this respect Britons lead the van. 
To begin with, there is a very important point to be 
settled, a point wliitli must bo settled by international con- 
vention before any society can work efficiently on the battle- 
field. Certain nations which do not share the advanced views 
of this country would see no di.Terence between the saving 
of g-uns and the saving of horses. With them horses 
are munitions of war. nc.thing more. The recognition of 
the Blue Cross will be a long and troublesome business. 
This generation may not see it. But the uccefisary spade 
work leading to- this end becomes difficult in the face of 
recent action taken by the Royal Society for the Prevention 
of Cruelty of Animals. Before the war was many days old 
the R.S.P.C.A. issued the following circular: 
HORSES ON THE BATTLEFIELD. 
Ill view of the great dosii-e of a large body of the piiV>lic Ihiit 
spM'ial steps shoiild be taken to aiiic'lior.ite the condition of liorsea 
on the biitllefield, the t'uuncil of the K.S.l'.C.A. announce that the 
Jlilitary Authorities have publicly 8tat<;d that v) piifote, auxiltnri/, or 
i-iiluntprr retcriimri/ corps jur dextioi/iin/ woiiiidul lioif<:>i vill he 
Mowed to enter the sphere of fiostilitie^, and that no vohiufiiri/ 
ooiiftniiee u> the way of giipitlyinij bandnfjex, medicines, etc., is required. 
The Army Veterinary Department of the War Office is iu sole charge 
of this work, and has provided special inttrunienti for the killing of 
wounded animals by Veterinary OtIic«rs of their own largely increased 
staff, and by all soldiors of and above the rank of .sergeant. Further, 
the Army Veterinary Corps has provided for a chain of hospitals for 
the ti-eatment of those animals th.at can be cured. All funds for 
animals available at this time will be required for the protection of 
those, unfit for military requirements, left in thi.-> country to do the 
e.xtra strenuous work which will inevitably devolve upon them. 
By means of circulars, newspaper advertisements, and 
posters, tlte above statement was disseminated broadcast; the 
last paragraph definitely implies that no horses under Army 
control will be allowed to receive voluntary help of any kind. 
This is absolutely contrary to facts. 
I ask the R.S.P.C.A. to publish the facsimile of the War 
Office document, wherein it publicly makes the statement 
attributed to it. 
The truth of the matter is that Army veterinary officers 
are, as they must do, unless they wish to be grossly inhumane, 
accepting help in every direction. A more kindly set of men 
do not exist, and it is grotesque to suppose that they are 
flying in the face of headquarter instructions. Many of Our 
Dumb Friends' League ambulances have been refitted and are 
in use by the military, and medical comforts have been sujjplied 
at request in large quantities. Anybody reading the state- 
ment quoted would naturally come to the conclusion that 
societies or individuals collecting money for the purpose of 
assisting Army horses were doing so without the least chance 
of succeeding iu their object. 
Ijideed, as a result of the circular, imputations of bad faith 
against Our Dumb Friends' League have not been wanting, 
and to show that I have not strained its implication or its 
effect on the public mind, subscribers have, in some instances, 
asked for their money back. I am happy to say that on being 
informed of the true state of tlie case they have returned their 
subscriptions to the fund. The circular thus resolved itself 
into an attack on those societies which had once again been 
compelled by the policy of .lennyn-street to undertake a work 
which the R.S.P.C.A. might have initiated years ago. 
I assert most unequivocally that, although the R.S.P.C.A. 
has been founded ninety years, although it is by far the richest 
of all animal defence societies, it has beyond argument left 
nearly every new departure in animal defence to those societies 
which have come into being. There should never have been 
any need for the existence of the Canine Defence Society, the 
Equine Defence Society, the Bird Society, the Animal Defence 
Society, and Our Dumb Friends' League, with its seven societies 
in one. Those who doubt this should read the courteous but 
scathing indictment by Mr. Stephen Coleridge in the Fort- 
iiir/hfh/ Eerii'ir oi April, 1914. 
In conclusion, the public will be glad to hear that Anny 
horses may be lielped in spite of the published circular referred 
to above. The work of the Blue Cross Fund grows steadily. 
We have a balance of £1,200, and subscriptions and large gifts 
of stores are coming iu daily. W'e shall hope, when we have 
.shown that we can be useful in the sphere open to us. to 
establish, under the supervision of the military authorities, 
ba.'^^c hospitals at the front. 
Wmi recruiting headquarters at the Hotel Cecil, a private complete 
b.ittalion is being formed of 1,300 strong, hardy, sporting gentlemen up 
to 45 years of age. The hattalion has been accepted by Lord 
I'CitcheKer, and affords an opijortunity for men wishing to serve of 
joining under congenial conditions. Application can be made person- 
ally at the Hotel Cecil- recruiting ofluo between the hours of 10 a.m. 
and 6 p.m.. or by writing and sending name, address, age, height, 
weight, and mcdiciil certificate to the Oflicer in Command, Recruiting 
Ollice, Hotel Cecil, .Strand, Lo.ndon. 
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