Animals used for transportation and for traction

Domesticated animals who are used to provide transportation and perform traction (such as pulling
carriages or plows) are generally known as “draft animals.” Animals are employed in this manner by people
in many countries.

There are several ways humans use animals for traction: hooking the animals up to carriages, making them
provide traction for agricultural tools (such as plows), using them as animal engines in windmills and
waterwheels (sometimes referred to as “blood mills”), and using them for exhibitions. Horses are ridden
with a saddle, used to pull carriages, and used as forced labor in agricultural production.

In many places the use of horses for transportation is a tourist attraction, which is a similar form of
exploitation to that of other domesticated animals used for work. In addition, horses spend a lot of time
tied up, when they are waiting for customers or during hours when they aren’t working. They are put in
dangerous situations in traffic, and may suffer serious injuries if they are hit by cars. 1
In addition to horses, other animals are used in different places for traction activities:

 Mules are ridden without a saddle, or are forced to pull carts. It is customary for them to carry loads
on their backs.
 Donkeys are used for riding, and for pulling carts and plows.
 Camels are widely used in desert areas because they are able to store their water for drinking and
because they have a great sense of direction.
 Dogs are used in snowy and icy areas for pulling sleds.
 Oxen and cows are used in agriculture for pulling plows or carts with loads, and for threshing. In
many places, they are also forced to turn wind or water mills.
The ways in which animals are harmed by this exploitation are diverse. They often suffer beatings and
other forms of aggression to make them work. They often work in harsh environments, which may be
extremely hot or cold and in which they may be greatly overworked.

The work itself often causes health problems. The correlation between the work, the way the animals live,
and the state of their health is evident.2 Unfortunately, adequate veterinary care and limiting the hours that
animals can work is less economical than replacing animals as they age or become debilitated.
The interests of the animals are commonly disregarded for economic reasons. Animals who can no longer
work are often sent to a slaughterhouse, even when they could have continued to live without working for
many years. There are, however, alternatives to the use of animals as a work force. Most are pretty
obvious, such as the development and use of vehicles instead of animals. The use of tractors and other
motorized vehicles is widespread in agriculture. Bicycles are an alternative that have been widely used for
more than a century in rural and urban environments alike. Cars, motorcycles, trains and buses are means
of transport that don’t use animals.
It is possible and necessary to end the use of animals as a means of transport, and replace them with
vehicles. Even in places where such exploitation is traditional, there are alternatives. For example, in
Medellin, Colombia, cargo bikes were provided to those who had previously used horses to collect debris
after the use of horses was prohibited. The same substitutions can be made around the world to move
toward a society free from animal exploitation.

http://www.animal-ethics.org/animals-used-workers/