A working animal is an animal, usually
domesticated
Domestication is a sustained multi-generational relationship in which humans assume a significant degree of control over the reproduction and care of another group of organisms to secure a more predictable supply of resources from that group. A ...
, that is kept by humans and trained to
perform tasks instead of being
slaughtered to harvest
animal products. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g.
oxen and
draft horses) or for transportation (e.g.
riding horse
A riding horse or a saddle horse is a horse used by mounted horse riders for recreation or transportation.
It is unclear exactly when horses were first ridden because early domestication did not create noticeable physical changes in the hors ...
s and
camels), while others are
service animal
Various definitions exist for a service animal. The Americans with Disabilities Act defines the term as "dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities". Dogs are the most common service animals, havi ...
s trained to execute certain specialized tasks (e.g.
hunting and
guide dog
Guide dogs (colloquially known in the US as seeing-eye dogs) are assistance dogs trained to lead blind or visually impaired people around obstacles. Although dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are red–green colour blin ...
s,
messenger pigeon
The homing pigeon, also called the mail pigeon or messenger pigeon, is a variety of domestic pigeons (''Columba livia domestica'') derived from the wild rock dove, selectively bred for its ability to find its way home over extremely long dista ...
s and
fishing cormorants). They may also be used for milking or
herding
Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group (herd), maintaining the group, and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. Herding can refer either to the process of animals forming herds in ...
. Some, at the end of their working lives, may also be used for meat or other products such as
leather.
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 t ...
, 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
farms, though some are still captured from the wild, such as dolphins and some
Asian elephants.
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
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...
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, but are not suitable for work. Finally, small domestic pets, such as most small birds (other than certain types of
pigeon
Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
) 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 animal
A pack animal, also known as a sumpter animal or beast of burden, is an individual or type of working animal used by humans as means of transporting materials by attaching them so their weight bears on the animal's back, in contrast to draft ani ...
s, for
animal-powered transport, 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 may be used to pull vehicles.
Riding animals or mounts
They mainly include
equine
Equinae is a subfamily of the family Equidae, which have lived worldwide (except Indonesia and Australia) from the Hemingfordian stage of the Early Miocene (16 million years ago) onwards. They are thought to be a monophyletic grouping.B. J. Ma ...
s 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;
bovine
Bovines (subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including cattle, bison, African buffalo, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The evolutionary relationship betwe ...
s such as
cattle,
water buffalo, and
yak. In some places,
elephants,
llama
The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era.
Llamas are social animals and live with others as a herd. Their wool is soft ...
s and
camels are also used.
Dromedary camels are in arid areas of Australia, North Africa and the Middle East; the less common
Bactrian camel
The Bactrian camel (''Camelus bactrianus''), also known as the Mongolian camel or domestic Bactrian camel, is a large even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of Central Asia. It has two humps on its back, in contrast to the single-humped dro ...
inhabits
central and East Asia; both are used as working animals. On occasion,
reindeer, though usually driven, may be ridden.
Certain wild animals have been tamed and used for riding, usually for novelty purposes, including the
zebra
Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zebr ...
and the
ostrich. 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. Garuda ...
in
Hinduism (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 ...
.
Pack animals
Pack animal
A pack animal, also known as a sumpter animal or beast of burden, is an individual or type of working animal used by humans as means of transporting materials by attaching them so their weight bears on the animal's back, in contrast to draft ani ...
s may be of the same species as mounts or harness animals, though animals such as
horses,
mules,
donkeys
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 ...
,
reindeer and both types of camel may have individual bloodlines or
breeds that have been
selectively bred for packing. Additional species are only used to carry loads, including
llama
The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era.
Llamas are social animals and live with others as a herd. Their wool is soft ...
s 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 and
yaks are also used as pack animals. Other species used to carry cargo include
dogs and
pack goats.
Draft animals
An intermediate use is as draft animals,
harnessed singly or in
teams, to pull
sleds, 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
The carabao ( es, Carabao; tgl, Kalabaw; ceb, Kabaw; ilo, Nuang) is a domestic swamp-type water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis'') native to the Philippines. Carabaos were introduced to Guam from the Spanish Philippines in the 17th century. They ...
, domesticated water buffalo, pull wagons and ploughs in Southeast Asia and the
Philippines.
*
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
A pony is a type of small horse ('' Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared ...
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 dog
A sled dog is a dog trained and used to pull a land vehicle in harness, most commonly a sled over snow.
Sled dogs have been used in the Arctic for at least 8,000 years and, along with watercraft, were the only transportation in Arctic areas ...
s such as huskies) for both recreation and working purposes.
*
Goats
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of th ...
also can perform light harness work in front of carts
*
Reindeer are used in the
Arctic 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the
Red Army 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
In traditional festive legend and popular culture, Santa Claus's reindeer are said to pull a sleigh through the night sky to help Santa Claus deliver gifts to children on Christmas Eve.
The number of reindeer characters, and the names given t ...
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 mainlan ...
.
*Less often,
camels and
llama
The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era.
Llamas are social animals and live with others as a herd. Their wool is soft ...
s have been trained to harness. According to
Juan Ignacio Molina the Dutch captain
Joris van Spilbergen
Joris van Spilbergen (1568 in Antwerp – January 31, 1620 in Bergen op Zoom) was a Dutch naval officer.
Joris van Spilbergen was born in Antwerp in 1568.
His first major expedition was in 1596, when he sailed to Africa.
He then left for As ...
observed the use of
chiliquenes (a llama type) by native
Mapuches of
Mocha Island as
plough animals in 1614.
Assorted wild animals have, on occasion, been tamed and trained to harness, including
zebra
Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zebr ...
s and even
moose.
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
A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the she ...
and
llamas
The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era.
Llamas are social animals and live with others as a herd. Their wool is s ...
.
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.
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.
*
Hound
A hound is a type of hunting dog used by hunters to track or chase prey.
Description
Hounds can be contrasted with gun dogs that assist hunters by identifying prey and/or recovering shot quarry. The hound breeds were the first hunting dogs. ...
s and other dogs are used to kill and fetch prey. Certain breeds have been bred for this task such as
pointers
Pointer may refer to:
Places
* Pointer, Kentucky
* Pointers, New Jersey
* Pointers Airport, Wasco County, Oregon, United States
* The Pointers, a pair of rocks off Antarctica
People with the name
* Pointer (surname), a surname (including a lis ...
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.
*
Caracals are sometimes used as hunting animals in some parts of the Middle East, although they are normally kept as pets.
*
Cheetahs
The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...
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 dog
A search-and-rescue dog is one trained to find missing people after a natural or man-made disaster. The dogs detect human scent and have been known to find people under water, under snow, and under collapsed buildings.
Applications
A dog ...
s, 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
Mounted search and rescue (MSAR) is a specialty within search and rescue (SAR), using horses as search partners and for transportation to search for missing persons. SAR responders on horseback are primarily a search resource, but also can provid ...
.
* 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, commonly employed by law enforcement authorities, are trained to use their
senses 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
Guide dogs (colloquially known in the US as seeing-eye dogs) are assistance dogs trained to lead blind or visually impaired people around obstacles. Although dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are red–green colour blin ...
or seeing eye dog for blind people. See also
service dog
In general, an assistance dog, known as a service dog in the United States, is a dog trained to aid or assist an individual with a disability. Many are trained by an assistance dog organization, or by their handler, often with the help of a prof ...
.
Miniature horse
A miniature horse is a breed or type of horse characterised by its small size. Usually it has been bred to display in miniature the physical characteristics of a full-sized horse, but to be little over in height, or even less. Although such hor ...
s are also occasionally used for this purpose as well.
*Trained dogs and African, Asian, and American
monkeys, such as
capuchin monkeys
The capuchin monkeys () are New World monkeys of the subfamily Cebinae. They are readily identified as the " organ grinder" monkey, and have been used in many movies and television shows. The range of capuchin monkeys includes some tropical fore ...
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
A herding dog, also known as a stock dog, shepherd dog, sheep dog or working dog, is a type of dog that either has been trained in herding or belongs to breeds that are developed for herding.
Herding behavior
All herding behavior is mo ...
, 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
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
A guard dog or watchdog (not to be confused with an attack dog) is a dog used to watch for and guard property against unwanted or unexpected human or animal intruders.
The dog is discerning so that it does not annoy or attack the resident hum ...
barks or attacks, to warn of an intruder,
sniffer dogs are used to detect explosives
contraband and
attack dogs 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 work.
*
Camel cavalry was used in deserts since they had better performance and survivability in the harsh desert environment than horses. India's
Border Security Force and some other countries still used camel cavalry for patrolling in the
Thar desert.
* Dolphins and sea lions carry markers to attach to
mines as well as patrolling harbors.
* On land, dogs can be trained to find
landmines.
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 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 dog
Dogs in warfare have a very long history starting in ancient times. From being trained in combat, to their use as scouts, sentries, messengers, mercy dogs, and trackers, their uses have been varied and some continue to exist in modern military ...
s, 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
The term ''in loco parentis'', Latin for "in the place of a parent" refers to the legal responsibility of a person or organization to take on some of the functions and responsibilities of a parent.
Originally derived from English common law, ...
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" 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
Punjab and Haryana High Court is the common High Court for the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh based in Chandigarh, India. Sanctioned strength of Judges of this High Court is 85 consisting of 64 ...
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 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
Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.
Different countries have different eutha ...
). 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 Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...
*
Animal sentinel
Sentinel species are organisms, often animals, used to detect risks to humans by providing advance warning of a danger. The terms primarily apply in the context of environmental hazards rather than those from other sources. Some animals can ac ...
*
Animals in film and television
*
Animals in sport
Animals in sport are a specific form of working animals. Many animals, at least in more commercial sports, are highly trained. Two of the most common animals in sport are horses and dogs.
Types of animal sporting events
There are many types o ...
*
Draft horse
*
Drafting dog
A drafting dog, pulling dog, or draft dog (also spelt draught dog) is a dog bred and traditionally used for pulling a dogcart, or in winter also for sled pulling. Dogs bred for this work have strong builds. Many draft dogs are either mastiffs ...
*
Cruelty to animals
*
Commercial animal cloning
Commercial animal cloning is the cloning of animals for commercial purposes, currently, including livestock, competition camels and horses, pets, medical uses, endangered and extinct animals, as first demonstrated in 1996 for Dolly the sheep.
...
*
Donkey rides
*
Experiment (horse-powered boat)
*
Horse-drawn boat
A horse-drawn boat or tow-boat is a historic boat operating on a canal, pulled by a horse walking beside the canal on a towpath.
United Kingdom
The Romans are known to have used mules to haul boats on their waterways in the UK. Boat horses were t ...
*
Horse-drawn vehicle
*
Horseboating Society
*
Hymenoptera training
References
*
External links
Working Goats Documentary produced by
Oregon Field Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Working Animal
Livestock
Power (physics)