Hope for Horses UK

Can you imagine someone investing in a horse and then leaving it for dead?

I met Mark Johnson a few months ago. He started the campaign, Hope for Horses UK in February 2014. I was quite shocked to find out that someone would buy horses, leave them in a land that’s not fit for purpose, breed them and disregard the horses that get in to trouble. They were pretty much viewed as disposable!

You can see an example of this in the photo below. This horse was stuck and left to die! She was named ‘Hope’ and it was her rescue from which the campaign Hope for Horses came about! Mark and other volunteers tried to help free her, but she had been left overnight and become far too weak to survive.

Find out more here http://hopeforhorses.co.uk/our-work/how-it-all-started/

Who is behind the campaign Hope for Horses?

Hope for Horses is a campaign group which is working towards UK animal welfare law for equines being implemented and enforced. You might wonder why this is needed. If there’s a law, it would be followed and if not, the relevant authority would be able to penalise and punish those breaking the policy. Right? This is NOT the case! Unfortunately, horses in the UK horses are protected by animal welfare laws, which clearly make neglect a criminal offence, but the law is rarely enforced and thousands of horses suffer and die because of neglectful owners.

Hope for Horses have found that the number of equines paying the price for over-breeding, collapsing prices and rising costs; is on the increase!

What type of campaign strategy are Hope for Horses using?

The campaign is peaceful but determined.
The group is using strategies, such as, protesting, petitioning and persistently applying pressure on the agencies involved.

Click here to read the Hope for Horse’s timeline of events

What does Hope for Horses want to achieve?

• their goal is for the Government to ensure that local authorities fully enforce the law, when horses are at risk
• they want the police to investigate cases of neglect
• they believe that and the local Trading Standards should be involved
• action must be swift
• further suffering must be prevent suffering
• those who own the horses should be prosecuted if they have neglected or abandoned horses that are under their care

In this short video, Mark Johnson introduces about the campaign Hope for Horses UK

Is this maltreatment and disregard for horses a problem that only exists in Leicester?

The problem is all over the UK, so each and every council needs to identify and deliver a workable protocol to address cases of neglect and maltreatment. They cannot do it alone. The police, across all areas of the UK, need to support the action that needs to be taken when these cases arise. In addition to this, welfare agencies, such as, the RSPCA and local/national horse sanctuaries have a place in ensuring that problems of neglect are resolved and prevented.

What can you do?

1. Visit http://hopeforhorses.co.uk/our-petition/ to download a petition or a petition pack
2. Help create a lobby group to enter Parliament – find out more here
3. Write to your MP
   • find a letter template here
   • use the template or write your own letter and send it to you MP online using https://www.writetothem.com/
4. Emailing Downing Street directly using https://email.number10.gov.uk/ – more information here
5. Like and share the page on facebook
6. Buy their merchandise from which they don’t make any profit
7. Attend a protest – you’ll find information about future protests here
8. Make a donation to a horse sanctuaries and rescue/re-homing centre
9. Re-home a horse or pony
10. If you are worried about a horse you have seen, please visit http://hopeforhorses.co.uk/worried-about-a-horse/ to be guided about what to do

Here’s a short clip, in which, Mark Johnson talks about some of the things you can do to help