In the 1960s, my father, who was a sculptor, joined the group Free Painters and Sculptors where he met a brilliant woman, Nina Hosali, who co-founded animal charity Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad (SPANA) with her mother Kate in 1923.
Together, Nina and Kate would travel across North Africa to understand the difficulties facing local communities and their working animals. My father was very impressed by Nina and they became great friends, leading to my own support of the charity since the early nineties.
At that time, it was very unusual for two women to travel independently across North Africa and to be actively working with communities. It’s hard to imagine now how difficult it must have been and how brave they were. I can’t imagine the struggles they must have gone through venturing out into the desert to help working animals.
My wife Anastasia and I took a trip in 2006 to see the extraordinary work being done in Morocco by SPANA, and I felt privileged, in some small way, to follow in their footsteps some 80 years later. I remember visiting one of the centres the charity continues to run, where I saw donkeys being treated and animal owners receiving advice on animal welfare. We also travelled to more remote areas, where hardworking animals were helped by mobile vet clinics. We learned how working animals are vital to families and communities, particularly in low-income countries and the importance of their welfare.
Growing up in rural Lincolnshire, I was surrounded by friends with farms. They were mostly dairy farms, with fairly large herds of milking cattle. These animals were all appreciated and well looked after in a part of the world where we’re lucky enough to have largely clement weather and where animals benefit from access to clean water, nutritious diets and proper medical care. This standard of care was for me the norm.
The circumstances facing the people and animals we met in Morocco were very different. Working animals like donkeys, mules, horses and oxen are used much more widely, for tasks such as ploughing fields, transporting goods to market and collecting water – they are a real lifeline for their communities.
Obviously, it’s much hotter in Morocco, particularly in the summer months. We saw animals pulling heavy loads in extreme heat with little rest, which can lead to health issues such as dehydration, heatstroke and fatigue. At that time, animal owners had limited access to proper harnesses and, as a result, we saw animals suffering from wounds caused by ill-fitting and makeshift equipment.
Globally, the climate crisis is now making life harder for working animals and their owners. Many countries at the sharp end of the climate crisis are already experiencing more frequent droughts and water scarcity. The situation is worse for the most vulnerable, who are less likely to have access to clean running water because of inadequate water infrastructure.
The climate crisis is affecting every corner of the globe, with Morocco among the most hard-hit regions. There, they’ve experienced six consecutive years of drought due to record temperatures caused by climate change. This has led to increased evaporation and threats to water supplies.
And it’s working animals who many communities around the world desperately rely on at times of water crisis. They play a vital yet often overlooked role helping people carry huge amounts of clean water over long distances, often in the most challenging conditions.
It’s animals that help communities endure these desperate circumstances. But, despite being so essential to survival, they’re often the last to receive the little water that’s available.
That’s why, this International Working Animal Day, SPANA is urging governments around the world to prioritise inclusive water services that meet the needs of working animals and the people who depend on them, to ensure fair and reliable access for all. Having witnessed how central these animals are to the communities they support, and the suffering they endure, I’m proud to wholeheartedly add my voice to this call.
