Rspca
p. 52 · Read in the full issue
Room For The
In W. Samoa
By Incitatus
THE Samoan native treats a horse solely as a beast of burden—nothing more. Any day one may see horses handled in the most despicably cruel manner. The spectacle of a poor skinny horse loaded down with two large sacks each filled with firewood, and on top of it all sitting a complacent native, is one so common that it arouses nothing more than an occasional snarl of disgust from the average European.
I have frequently seen two adult Samoans (that is, adult in body), both astride a young horse, in the poorest con dition, and flogging the animal up a long The native thinks nothing of putting a horse to heavy work with a sore back or lame leg, to say nothing of being entirely ignorant of the proper feeding of heavily worked horses. Now and again there are prosecutions and small fines for cruelty, but I imagine that for every such in stance there must be a hundred cases of foul treatment which go both undetected and unpunished.
Possibly the fundamental reason for this state of things is that the native has simply not yet reached that level of civilisation where a decent feeling for dumb animals entitles him to their possession.
CONDITIONS generally might be much improved if the following steps were taken: (1) The ownership of horses governed by a small annual licence fee; (2) registration and licensing of all stallions on a yearly fee of, say, £5; (3) the appointment of a permanent Stock Inspector on the lines of the RSPCA, with wide powers, this expense being met by the revenue from licences.
The immediate reaction to such regu lations would likely be the gelding of a great number of the pitiful wrecks that now roam uncared-for and indiscrimin ately propagate their kind when they have sufficient energy.
Another result might also be the des truction of many useless scrags; both of these eventualities would have a whole some effect on the main stock, and might well inculcate a little respect and animal knowledge pn the part of Samoans.
It may be objected that such a system of licensing would entail too much work, but surely this could mostly be done through the village chiefs, making each responsible for all owners in his own village.
The idea of suggesting new forms of licensing is naturally a distasteful one, but something should certainly be attempted. Even if a horse ownership licence proved impractical, the registra tion and control of stallions should com mend itself to the authorities on all grounds.