Pony Oreo and biscuit
Neglect - Animal Welfare Act - Morality
From the perspective of an Aiderbichler
(written by Gisela Pschenitschnig)
(…) As an animal owner, you have legal obligations to fulfil and must, among other things, feed, care for and house your animal appropriately. Neglect within the meaning of the Animal Welfare Act is when an owner or carer fails to fulfil these duties due to a lack of or inadequate care and the animal’s welfare is significantly impaired as a result. This does not presuppose that the animal actually suffers impairment in the form of pain and suffering. Animals are neglected, for example, if they are no longer given food or their accommodation is neglected. In practice, neglect is the most common form of cruelty to animals. (…)
(www.tierimrecht.org/en/law/lexicon-animal-protection-law/neglect)
Oreo and Keks were rescued a few months ago by an animal-loving lady, who owns ponies herself, “from not nice conditions”. The two black ponies are estimated to be between 10 and 15 years old, had not been wormed or vaccinated and had not seen a farrier for years.
What's going on?
Oreo and Biscuit lived for years in the summer in the flock of sheep and in winter the Shettyswere locked up in the box.
What good are animal welfare laws if there are always animal owners who don’t even ignore the Animal Welfare Act? For years, we at Gut Aiderbichlhave been getting to know horses, ponies and donkeys whose hooves are sick or whose hooves have grown out.
Do people who don’t let the farrier come think about the immense pain the animal is in? One of the ponies’ hooves had grown 20 cm. That is more than cruelty to animals. You won’t find a word for such neglect in the dictionary.
This is, like having to walk on your toes for years on toenails that are too long – Animals with fully-grown hooves suffer from pain that no human can imagine.
Oreo and Keks were lucky and had a good farrier
The happiness from her suffering was the lady, who did not look away, but rescued Oreoand Cookiefrom her predicament. Unfortunately, the pain in her hooves was only partially relieved by the farrier’s good work and with the help of painkillers. The pain treatment will still take some time. Once the situation has improved, the two newcomers will be able to go out with the other ponies.
Oreo and biscuit are not particularly donkey friends
Oreo and Keks moved to Henndorf a few days ago. We now have a bit of training to do and we hope that they will get on better with the Henndorf donkeys than with the Carinthian donkeys. They liked to steal the food from the Carinthian donkeys. We are hoping for help from the Henndorf ponies, and especially from the pony professor called“Bubi”. Pony Bubi is always the adoptive father for new ponies. Pony Chris, for example, who came from a clinic as an orphan foal a few years ago, has benefited from Bubi’s warm-hearted, patient nature for the rest of his pony’s life.
Bubi, Amigo, Pumuckl, Bounty and all the other ponies in Henndorf will certainly show Oreo and Keks what a cosy pony life is all about.
Good luck!
Sincerely, iYour Gisela
You don't have one heart for people and one for animals. You have one heart or none at all.
~ Alphonse de Lamartine
