The Impact of COVID-19 on the Working Equid Community: Responses from 1530 Individuals Accessing NGO Support in 14 Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic was declared on 11 March 2020. The working equid community includes some of the world's most marginalised people, who rely on animals for their daily lives and livelihoods. A cross-sectional study investigated the effects of COVID-19 on working equid communities, with the intention of developing methods for replication in future unprecedented events. A multi-language survey was developed, involving 38 predominantly closed questions, and carried out face-to-face, over telephone, or online. There were 1530 respondents from a population of individuals who received support from equid welfare projects across 14 low- or middle-income countries projects during November and December 2020. Overall, at the time of survey completion, 57% (875/1522) of respondents reported that their equids were working less, 76% (1130/1478) reported a decreased monthly income from equids, and 78% (1186/1519) reported a reduction in household income compared to pre-pandemic levels. Costs of equid upkeep remained the same for 58% (886/1519) of respondents and 68% (1034/1518) reported no change in the health of their equid. The potential long-term impacts on human and equid welfare due to reported financial insecurities necessitates monitoring. A One Welfare approach, involving collaboration with governments, humanitarian, and animal welfare non-governmental organisations is required to mitigate deep-rooted issues.

Keywords: LMIC; One Welfare; coronavirus; equine welfare; human–animal relationships; sustainable development; working animals; working equids.

Figure 1

First confirmed COVID-19 case and associated movement restrictions across the 14 countries involved in the survey, incorporating data from Worldometer (first confirmed case) and Our World in Data (movement restrictions) [30,31].

Figure 2

Regional differences for mean number of equids owned per respondent, before the pandemic and at the time of survey completion, measured using the primary axis. Regional differences for mean number of people living in a household per respondent, at the time of survey completion, represented by the orange dots and measured using the secondary axis.

Figure 3

Types of work carried out by working equid, as reported by owners.