We are committed to enhance the welfare of farm animals in Poland

Horse Market

Our team visits the market regularly.
We are checking on the health of the animals...
...as well as the compliance with animal welfare laws.

In 2016, about 280,000 horses were born in Poland. The horse population decreased a bit in comparison with the previous year. Almost half of the foals are heavy cold-blooded horses. In the region where our Farm Animal Service (FAS) project is situated, there are about 6,300 horses. That is 40 % less than in 2013, and possibly a result of our work. The horses remain healthy for longer with the consequence that less horses must be bought as a replacement. The number of horses at the weekly market also decreased form once several hundreds to about 30 to 40 horses per market day. They are mostly young horses who are sold to one main buyer for slaughter horses.

We almost reached our goal
It took over ten years until the conditions on the market improved to a stage where we only discovered hurt, neglected or sick animals and those unfit for transport in exceptional cases. Now, our team predominantly uses the market to get in touch with animal owners. We offer them our help to eliminate problems with animal husbandry, such as the everyday handling of the animals, as well as their feeding and health. Directly after the market, our FAS-team visits the farms to help local animals in need. For these reasons, we are upholding our regular visits to the market.  

 

Recent investigations:

31. December 2022

Successful closure for our projects in Poland

A decade working for the animals: Bogdan, Anna, Nadja, Michal. Vorne Magda, Katarzyna.

It was an act of strength, a continuous commitment for the animals. When we started we could not foresee how long it would take. We started the first of our projects in Poland more than a decade ago: inspection of the horse market in Bodzentyn in the South of Warsaw in a poor region with around 20,000 animal husbandries. Almost every house had a…

31. October 2021

Poland | Wachock | Anna Lorenzen: Committed to animal welfare since 20 years

31 October 2021 – Anna’s last day of work.

Anna has been committed to helping since 20 years. The first time she worked with us was over ten years ago at the largest regional Polish market for "slaughter" horses in Bodzentyn. Up to 1,000 horses per week, brutally handled, brutally loaded and transported. Today this market no longer exists, also thanks to Anna's consistent market…

31. March 2021

Poland | Bodzentyn | Monthly Report March: Cattle and Horse Markets

Bodzentyn cattle market. Mainly young animals are being sold recently.

This month our team receives the official information that the horse market in Bodzentyn and the cattle market in Lagow stopped operating. This is the reason why our team has not documented any animals during their market inspections since a couple of months.

There is only one market selling live animals left now that our team routinely inspects…