Animals also faced wartime horrors

THIS month marks 100 years since the end of the First World War.

On this anniversary, it’s so important that we remember the people and animals that lost their lives during this terrible conflict.

More than 16 million horses, donkeys and other animals were made to serve during the war, transporting everything from ammunition and messages to food rations and supplies. They hauled guns and pulled ambulances, while cavalry horses often led the charge on the front line. They faced unimaginable horrors and, tragically, nine million of these animals were killed.

As we stop to remember those who suffered and died a century ago, we must also not forget that animals continue to be innocent victims in brutal conflicts across the world today. In recent years, SPANA has worked in war zones, from Kosovo and Iraq to Afghanistan, to provide urgent veterinary treatment to animals in severe distress. It is a sad reality that this appalling suffering is not a distant memory, consigned to history. Geoffrey Dennis Chief Executive of The Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad