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Why horses and dogs have no place in protest policing

From EthicalGlobe.com
May 2024

Humans have used horses as instruments of toil, power, and conquest since as far back as 3500 BCE. Being on horseback made soldiers fast and strong. It also gave them a higher view than foot soldiers. Plus, before tanks, what could be scarier than a wall of horses charging at you? A strong cavalry could win wars. These reasons for using horses in war apply to modern-day protests and riots. Much of this article has focused on the use of horses as a tool for crowd control. We must acknowledge that many of the points also relate to how dogs are used by police in protests and riots.

Horse Dog

Humans have used horses as instruments of toil, power, and conquest since as far back as 3500 BCE.

Being on horseback made soldiers fast and strong. It also gave them a higher view than foot soldiers. Plus, before tanks, what could be scarier than a wall of horses charging at you? A strong cavalry could win wars.

These reasons for using horses in war apply to modern-day protests and riots.

But just because a practice has a long history doesn’t mean it’s ethical. In today’s blog, let’s explore the issues around welfare, oppression, and intersectionality.

From Overseer to Officer

The Metropolitan Police founded its mounted branch in 1760. Horse patrols would intercept highwaymen or criminals on the turnpike roads outside London. These police units were mobile, able to respond rapidly, and intimidating.

The model of mounted policing spread from Britain to its colonies throughout the 19th century (as this article by David Grundy explains). Law enforcement began to use horses to control how subjugated populations behaved. At the same time, overseers on plantations in the Antebellum South of America used them to “manage” enslaved people.

Read the ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE, including:

  • From Overseer to Officer
  • Horses become a familiar sight during protests
  • Horses are sometimes used by protestors too
  • Horses in protest policing situations today
  • Conflict without consent – ethical considerations of using horses for protest policing
  • Is public opinion shifting?
  • Risks to protestors
  • Dogs and crowd control
  • What are the alternatives for crowd control?

Posted on All-Creatures.org: June 1, 2024
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