Imagine opening your newspaper one morning and seeing the headline: “Animal Ownership Banned.” The article goes on to say, “The riding of horses has been voted to be an act of animal cruelty. It is henceforth illegal to own, ride, exhibit or compete on a horse. The ownership of all other animals has also been determined to be a form of animal slavery and has been banned under the same ordinance.”

As unbelievable as this scenario may seem, there are animal activist organizations which would endorse and celebrate such legislation. Although most people may not want to believe that the equine industry could someday be faced with a major threat such as this, those who are informed about the true agenda of animal activist groups know that a serious threat is on the horizon.

Whether you own one or more pleasure horses, show horses, race horses, exhibition horses or working horses, you’ll want to learn about the work being done on your behalf by the Animal Welfare Council. The Council is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of humane and responsible care of all animals; while at the same time, endeavoring to protect our rights to interact with, learn from, exhibit, ride, and own them.

The Animal Welfare Council’s mission statement says that it “supports the use of animals in recreation, entertainment, sports and industry, and is dedicated to advancing responsible care and humane treatment in these activities