A working animal is an animal, usually
domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to
perform tasks instead of being
slaughtered to harvest
animal product
An animal product is any material derived from the body of an animal. Examples are fat, flesh, blood, milk, eggs, and lesser known products, such as isinglass and rennet.
Animal by-products, as defined by the USDA, are products harvested or ma ...
s. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g.
oxen and
draft horses) or for transportation (e.g.
riding horses and
camels), while others are
service animals trained to execute certain specialized tasks (e.g.
hunting
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
and
guide dogs,
messenger pigeons and
fishing cormorants). They may also be used for milking or
herding. Some, at the end of their working lives, may also be used for meat or other products such as
leather
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...
.
The history of working animals may predate
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...
, with dogs used by our
hunter-gatherer ancestors. Around the world, millions of animals work in relationship with their owners. Domesticated species are often
bred for different uses and conditions, especially horses and
working dogs. Working animals are usually raised on
farm
A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is use ...
s, though some are still captured from the wild, such as dolphins and some
Asian elephant
The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus '' Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in t ...
s.
People have found uses for a wide variety of abilities in animals, and even industrialised societies use many animals for work. People use the strength of horses, elephants, and
oxen to pull carts and move loads. Police forces use dogs for finding illegal substances and assisting in apprehending wanted persons, others use dogs to find game or search for missing or trapped people. People use various animals—
camels,
donkeys, horses, dogs, etc.—for transport, either for riding or to pull wagons and sleds. Other animals, including dogs and
monkeys, help
disabled people.
On rare occasions, wild animals are not only tamed, but
trained to perform work—though often solely for novelty or entertainment, as such animals tend to lack the trustworthiness and mild temper of true domesticated working animals. Conversely, not all domesticated animals are working animals. For example, while cats may catch mice, it is an instinctive behaviour, not one that can be trained by human intervention. Other domesticated animals, such as sheep or rabbits, may have agricultural uses for meat,
hides and
wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...
, but are not suitable for work. Finally, small domestic pets, such as most small birds (other than certain types of
pigeon) are generally incapable of performing work other than providing companionship.
Roles and specializations
Transportation
Some animals are used due to sheer physical strength in tasks such as ploughing or logging. Such animals are grouped as a draught or draft animals. Others may be used as
pack animals, for
animal-powered transport
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to animal-powered transport:
Animal-powered transport – broad category of the human use of non-human working animals (also known as "beasts of burden") for the movem ...
, the movement of people and goods. Together, these are sometimes called beasts of burden. Some animals are ridden by people on their backs and are known as mounts. Alternatively, one or more animals in
harness
A harness is a looped restraint or support. Specifically, it may refer to one of the following harness types:
* Bondage harness
* Child harness
* Climbing harness
* Dog harness
* Pet harness
* Five-point harness
* Horse harness
* Parrot harness ...
may be used to pull vehicles.
Riding animals or mounts
They mainly include
equines such as
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
s,
donkeys, and
mules;
bovines such as
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...
,
water buffalo, and
yak. In some places,
elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantida ...
s,
llamas and
camels are also used.
Dromedary camels are in arid areas of Australia, North Africa and the Middle East; the less common
Bactrian camel inhabits
central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
and East Asia; both are used as working animals. On occasion,
reindeer
Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subs ...
, though usually driven, may be ridden.
Certain wild animals have been tamed and used for riding, usually for novelty purposes, including the
zebra and the
ostrich
Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There ...
. Some
mythical creatures are believed to act as divine mounts, such as
garuda
Garuda ( Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garu ...
in
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
(See
vahana for divine mounts in Hinduism) and the winged horse
Pegasus in
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities o ...
.
Pack animals
Pack animals may be of the same species as mounts or harness animals, though animals such as
horses,
mules,
donkeys,
reindeer
Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subs ...
and both types of camel may have individual bloodlines or
breed
A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...
s that have been
selectively bred
Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant ma ...
for packing. Additional species are only used to carry loads, including
llamas in the
Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
.
Domesticated
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...
and
yaks
The domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Kachin ...
are also used as pack animals. Other species used to carry cargo include
dogs and
pack goat
A pack goat is a goat used as a beast of burden, for packing cargo. Generally, large wether (castrated buck) goats are used for packing, though does may also be packed. While does are generally smaller and therefore able to carry somewhat l ...
s.
Draft animals
An intermediate use is as draft animals,
harnessed singly or in
teams, to pull
sled
A sled, skid, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle that slides across a surface, usually of ice or snow. It is built with either a smooth underside or a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners ...
s, wheeled vehicles or
ploughs.
*
Oxen are slow but strong, and have been used in a yoke since ancient times: the earliest surviving vehicle, Puabi's Sumerian sledge, was ox-drawn; an acre was originally defined as the area a span of oxen could plow in a day. The
water buffalo and
carabao, domesticated water buffalo, pull wagons and ploughs in Southeast Asia and the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.
*
Draught or draft horses are commonly used in harness for heavy work. Several breeds of medium-weight horses are used to pull lighter wheeled carts, carriages and buggies when a certain amount of speed or style is desirable.
*
Mules are considered tough and strong, with harness capacity dependent on the type of horse
mare used to produce the mule
foal. Because they are a
hybrid animal and usually are infertile, separate breeding programs must also be maintained.
*
Ponies and
donkeys are often used to pull carts and small wagons. Historically, ponies were commonly used in mining to pull ore carts.
*
Dogs are used for pulling
light carts or, particularly, sleds (e.g.
sled dogs such as huskies) for both recreation and working purposes.
*
Goats also can perform light harness work in front of carts
*
Reindeer
Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subs ...
are used in the
Arctic
The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
and sub-Arctic Nordic countries and Siberia. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
deployed
deer transportation battalions on the
Eastern Front. In the twenty-first century, Russian soldiers continue to train with reindeer sleds in winter. In traditional festive legend,
Santa Claus's reindeer pull a sleigh through the night sky to help
Santa Claus deliver gifts to children on
Christmas Eve.
*
Elephants are still used for logging in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
.
*Less often,
camels and
llamas have been trained to harness. According to
Juan Ignacio Molina
Fr. Juan Ignacio Molina (; (June 24, 1740 – September 12, 1829) was a Chilean Jesuit priest, naturalist, historian, translator, geographer, botanist, ornithologist, and linguist. He is usually referred to as Abate Molina (a form of Abbot Moli ...
the Dutch captain
Joris van Spilbergen observed the use of
chiliquenes (a llama type) by native
Mapuche
The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who s ...
s of
Mocha Island as
plough animals in 1614.
Assorted wild animals have, on occasion, been tamed and trained to harness, including
zebras and even
moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...
.
Guard animals
As some domesticated animals display extremely protective or territorial behaviour, certain breeds and species can be utilised to guard property, including
dogs,
geese and
llamas.
Powering fixed machinery
Working draught animals may power fixed machinery using a
treadmill and have been used throughout history to power a winch to raise water from a well.
Turnspit dogs were formerly used to power
roasting jacks for roasting meat.
Treatment animals
Working as a form of biological treatment for the environment. Animals such as Asian
carps were imported to the U.S. in 1970s to control algae, weed, and parasite growth in aquatic farms, weeds in canal systems, and as one form of
sewage treatment
Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding en ...
.
Searching and retrieving
Hunting
As predatory species are naturally equipped to catch prey, this is a further use for animals and birds. This can be done either for sustenance, sport, or to reduce the population of
undesired animals that are considered harmful to crops, livestock or the environment.
*
Hounds and other dogs are used to kill and fetch prey. Certain breeds have been bred for this task such as
pointers and
setters.
*
Mousers (domestic cats used for hunting small rodents and birds) are one of the oldest working animals having protected food supplies from pests since the foundation of human agriculture.
*
Caracal
The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted ...
s are sometimes used as hunting animals in some parts of the Middle East, although they are normally kept as pets.
*
Cheetahs that have been tamed but not domesticated have been used by humans for chasing down prey.
*
Ferrets prey on creatures living in burrows, such as rabbits.
* In
falconry, birds of prey are used as hunters in the air.
* Aquatic birds, such as
cormorants in China, can be used to catch fish.
Humans
*
Search and rescue dogs, with their highly developed sense of smell, are used to locate humans, such as escaped prisoners, a thief or people lost in remote areas. They are used also to find people who are trapped, such as in avalanches or collapsed buildings.
* Dogs can also be used to look for dead people.
*Searchers use horses in remote areas to cover large areas of rugged terrain. The horse's natural awareness of their surroundings often alerts human handlers to the presence of something unusual, including lost hikers or hunters. Like some dogs, some horses are trained to follow scent. The use of horses in search and rescue is known as
Mounted search and rescue.
* Animals can be used to detect the presence of pathogens and patients carrying infectious diseases. Dogs
[ Available unde]
CC BY 4.0
and bees have been trained to
detect COVID-19 infections.
Foods
*Dogs and pigs, with a better sense of smell than humans, can assist with gathering by finding valuable products, such as
truffles (a very expensive subterranean fungus). Frenchmen typically use
truffle hogs, while Italians mainly use dogs.
*Monkeys are trained to pick coconuts from palm trees, a job many human workers consider as too dangerous.
Contraband
*
Detection dogs
A detection dog or sniffer dog is a dog that is trained to use its senses to detect substances such as explosives, illegal drugs, wildlife scat, currency, blood, and contraband electronics such as illicit mobile phones. The sense most used by ...
, commonly employed by law enforcement authorities, are trained to use their
sense
A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system re ...
s to detect
illegal drugs,
explosives, currency, and
contraband electronics such as illicit mobile phones, among other things. The sense most used by detection dogs is
smell, hence such dogs are also commonly known as 'sniffer dogs'. For this task, dogs may sometimes be used remotely from the suspect item, for example via the
Remote Air Sampling for Canine Olfaction ('RASCO') system.
Interfacing and organization
Assistance animals
*The best-known example is the
guide dog or seeing eye dog for blind people. See also
service dog.
Miniature horses are also occasionally used for this purpose as well.
*Trained dogs and African, Asian, and American
monkeys, such as
capuchin monkeys have been taught to provide other functions for impaired people, such as opening mail and minor household tasks of the same like.
Herding
*A very close working relationship exists between a
stockman or
shepherd, a
herding dog, and the herd (or mob) of sheep or cattle. Cattle and sheep herders in other parts of the world also use various dog breeds.
*Certain breeds of horses also have an innate "cow sense" that allows them to effectively carry a rider to the right place at the right time to
muster (gather or round up) livestock. See
stock horse;
cutting horse
A cutting horse is a stock horse, typically an American Quarter Horse, bred and trained for cutting, a modern equestrian competition requiring a horse and rider to separate a single cow from a herd of cattle and prevent it from getting back to ...
Employers
Police and military
The defensive and offensive capabilities of animals (such as fangs and claws) can be used to protect or to attack humans.
* The
guard dog barks or attacks, to warn of an intruder,
sniffer dog
A detection dog or sniffer dog is a dog that is trained to use its senses to detect substances such as explosives, illegal drugs, wildlife scat, currency, blood, and contraband electronics such as illicit mobile phones. The sense most used by d ...
s are used to detect explosives
contraband and
attack dog
An attack dog (guard dog, patrol dog, or security dog) is a dog trained to attack a person on command, sight, or by inferred provocation. They are used to defend people, territory, or property. Attack dogs have been utilized throughout history ...
s are trained to attack on command.
*
War elephants were trained for battle in ancient times and are still used for military transport today.
*
Military uses of horses have changed over the millennia but still continue, including for
police
The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...
work.
*
Camel cavalry
Camel cavalry, or camelry (french: méharistes, ), is a generic designation for armed forces using camels as a means of transportation. Sometimes warriors or soldiers of this type also fought from camel-back with spears, bows or rifles.
Camel ...
was used in deserts since they had better performance and survivability in the harsh desert environment than horses. India's
Border Security Force
The Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India, and was raised in the wake of the 1965 war on 1 December 1 ...
and some other countries still used camel cavalry for patrolling in the
Thar desert
The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the north-western part of the Subcontinent that covers an area of and forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. It is the world's 20th-largest desert, ...
.
* Dolphins and sea lions carry markers to attach to
mines as well as patrolling harbors.
* On land, dogs can be trained to find
landmine
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
s.
Rats, which are lighter and less of a risk to set the mines off, have recently been used more frequently. Detection rats such as those trained by
APOPO
APOPO (an acronym for Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling: "Anti-Personnel Landmines Detection Product Development" in English) is a registered Belgian non-governmental organisation and US non-profit which trains southern gian ...
can also be taught to identify diseases, especially pulmonary tuberculosis.
*
Homing pigeons transport material, usually messages on small pieces of paper, by air.
Legal status
In some jurisdictions, certain working animals are afforded greater legal rights than other animals. One such common example is
police dogs and
military dogs, which are often afforded additional protections and the same memorial services as human officers and soldiers.
India law have provision for the
in loco parentis for implementing animal welfare laws. Under the India law the non-human entities such as animals, deities, trusts, charitable organizations, corporate, managing bodies, etc. and several other non-human entitles have been given the status of the "
legal person
In law, a legal person is any person or 'thing' (less ambiguously, any legal entity) that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. The reason f ...
" with legal rights and duties, such as to sue and be sued, to own and transfer the property, to pay taxes, etc. In court cases regarding animals, the animals have the status of ''"legal person"'' and humans have the
legal duty to act as "
loco parentis" towards animals welfare like a parent has towards the minor children. In a case of
cow-smuggling, the
Punjab and Haryana High Court mandated that ''"entire animal kingdom including avian and aquatic"'' species has a ''"distinct legal persona with corresponding rights, duties, and liabilities of a living person"'' and humans are ''"loco parentis"'' while laying out the norms for animal welfare, veterinary treatment, fodder and shelter, e.g. animal drawn carriages must not have more than four humans, and load carrying animals must not be loaded beyond the specified limits and those limits must be halved when animals have to carry the load up a slope. A court while deciding the ''"
Animal Welfare Board of India
The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), headquartered at Ballabhgarh in Haryana state, is a statutory advisory body advising the Government of India's Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying(Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairy ...
vs Nagaraja"'' case in 2014 mandated that animals are also entitled to the
fundamental right to freedom enshrined in the Article 21 of
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ...
i.e. right to life, personal liberty and the
right to die with dignity (
passive euthanasia). In another case, a court in
Uttarakhand state mandated that animals have the same rights as humans.
[Birds to holy rivers: A list of everything India considers “legal persons”]
Quartz (publication), September 2019.
See also
*
Animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...
*
Animal sentinel
*
Animals in film and television
The following is a list of individual animals which have performed in film and television, sometimes called animal actors. Bears
* Bart the Bear (Kodiak bear; 1977–2000)
** "The Bald-headed Bear" in '' The Great Outdoors'' (1988)
** "The Kodiak ...
*
Animals in sport
*
Draft horse
A draft horse (US), draught horse (UK) or dray horse (from the Old English ''dragan'' meaning "to draw or haul"; compare Dutch ''dragen'' and German ''tragen'' meaning "to carry" and Danish ''drage'' meaning "to draw" or "to fare"), less oft ...
*
Drafting dog
*
Cruelty to animals
*
Commercial animal cloning
*
Donkey rides
The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...
*
Experiment (horse-powered boat)
*
Horse-drawn boat
*
Horse-drawn vehicle
*
Horseboating Society
*
Hymenoptera training
References
*
External links
Working Goats Documentary produced by
Oregon Field Guide
''Oregon Field Guide'' is a weekly television program produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting focusing on recreation, the outdoors, and environmental issues in the state of Oregon. The show has become part of the Oregon zeitgeist. Steve Amen i ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Working Animal
Livestock
Power (physics)