During a presentation at the 2025 American Association of Equine Practitioner convention, in Denver, Colorado, Albert Kane, DVM, MPVM, PhD, from the Bureau of Land Management, described a formal process to ensure humane horse care and treatment as well as document and demonstrate concern for equine welfare to stakeholders and the general public.
What Is Social License to Operate?
To begin, he explained the concept of Social License to Operate (SLO) as “the acceptance or tacit approval of an activity that grants an implied permission to operate.” He explained that SLO is strengthened by familiarity, understanding, and trust. It is degraded by secretive, jargon-filled activities with obscure traditions.
Kane shared the five freedoms necessary for animal welfare:
- Freedom from hunger and thirst.
- Freedom from discomfort.
- Freedom from pain, injury or disease.
- Freedom to express normal behavior.
- Freedom from fear and distress.
How to Create a Formal Welfare Program
He suggested that every equine activity center, from boarding stables to local horse shows to veterinary practices, would benefit from having a formal welfare program to support SLO that takes these freedoms into consideration.
Kane laid out a comprehensive set of steps for creating a formal welfare program. The steps begin by defining the scope, identity, and size of the operation involved in the activity, followed by creating a mission statement regarding the organization’s equine welfare philosophy. Written and agreed-upon standards of animal care and handling for specific disciplines then follow, along with an audit process to judge how well the standards are being followed and a documentation process allowing the findings to be communicated to others in the greater community.
Final Thoughts
By embracing this approach, members of the equine industry can proactively address society’s concerns about the welfare of horses in various activities and build trust that they are being handled with care and compassion for their well-being, he concluded. In doing so, we can help strengthen and protect the equine industry’s Social License to Operate into the future.
Related Reading
- The State of Sport Horse Welfare
- How Did Rodeo Gain its Social License to Operate?
- The AQHA’s Approach Toward Social License to Operate
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