Brooke Latin America and Caribbean

Starting as a pilot project in Nicaragua and now becoming a Regional Office, we’re now supporting working animals and their communities across this entire region and further afield.

Tabs

About

At a glance

  • Brooke Latin America and Caribbean (BLAC) currently works in Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras – these countries have a combined population of 6.5 million people.
  • They are home to over 325,000 working equines.
  • 25% of people in these countries are living below the international poverty line. 
  • In Guatemala, following the devastating Fuego volcano eruption in 2018, we provided emergency support to 24,000 livestock animals and 1,590 families as part of our disaster response work.
  • In Nicaragua, our work in communities has changed behaviours and has led to a 20% reduction in severe lesions in urban equids. Our rural work has reduced the number of equids having an unacceptable welfare status by 25%.
Brooke Latin America and the Caribbean Overview film

Take a closer look

Our work in Latin America and the Caribbean started in 2013 as a four-year pilot program in Nicaragua. One of the poorest countries in this area, Nicaragua has limited access to basic services, especially for farmers and indigenous people. And the political and social context of the region in general presents a series of challenges, for humans and animals alike. 

In rural areas donkeys and mules are used in agriculture, and in urban areas horses are used for transporting people and goods by cart. Some of the main welfare issues they face are poor body condition, heat stress, tick infection, abnormal eye conditions, inability to walk normally and untreated injury or disease.

In 2017 we registered our official branch in the country, and ever since, Brooke Latin America and Caribbean has been working to influence the agendas of decision makers at national and regional levels as well as establishing strong partnerships with local organizations.

Find out more about our work in Latin America and Caribbean

Tel: +505 8796 1231 / +505 8782 0503
infoblac@thebrooke.org 
Brooke Latin America and Caribbean, Rotonda Universitaria 300 metros al lago, Edificio ECCO 4to piso, Managua, Nicaragua.

Our work

What we’re doing

Brooke Latin America and Caribbean recognises the interrelationship and interdependence of animal welfare, human well-being and the environment and with this in mind, we work holistically to achieve sustainable positive change.

Our projects are designed alongside communities and local partners to help create a greater sense of ownership and responsibility. And our work with government focuses on incorporating animal welfare into all relevant polices and practices.

Current projects

Equine wellbeing and eco-friendly farming

We work diligently with local farmers and producers in agroecological projects, these are projects that apply eco-friendly practices in farming and agricultural activities. One of our recent agroecological projects helped 480 families to recognise the contribution of their animals and meant that 850 equines benefitted from more compassionate treatment.

Increasing community resilience during a disaster

Communities are highly dependent on their animals to thrive, and thus, we are joining efforts with the National System for the Prevention, Mitigation and Attention of Disasters to help us reach our ultimate goal to include working equines in their national emergency plans. We are also working at a community level promoting the inclusion of working equines in local plans.

Equine impact on the environment

Through projects that incorporate equine welfare in the conservation and sustainable development of the biosphere we are able to take fast climate actions.  There is some evidence that equines are key contributors to the environment.  

Working with Communities

We engage local communities in best equine welfare practice using approaches such as: forming equine welfare groups, developing community ‘equine champions’, holding events and awareness days and distributing welfare-related newsletters, magazines and story books.

We train local animal health practitioners such as agrovets, farriers and harness makers in good practice, basic veterinary care and good handling as well as encouraging them to exchange expertise and experiences among themselves. We also help practitioners run meetings with communities on the benefits of equine-friendly practice.

We promote and support the inclusion of women and vulnerable groups in all of our projects to increase their voices and empower them to become strong supporters of their communities.

Advocacy Work

By engaging with government bodies and other organisations at a national and local level, we are able to promote the importance of equines to Nicaragua's economy. Our aim is to achieve better representation of basic equine welfare standards in the country's laws, policies and programmes.

Success stories

The mule and the girl who caresses her soul

This is a story about how one family's awarness of animal welfare was greatly enhanced by their involvement with our partners ADDAC - the Association for Diversification and Community Agricultural Development. 

Pictured in the photo is Escarleth and her beloved mule Mulita, whom she takes to her class every day. They have a fantastic bond - Mulita is very used to Escarleth and she is responsive to all her commands and management.  For her part in the deal Mulita gets corn and pets.

One day, Mulita was found to be limping, one of her legs was crippled, and Escarleth’s dad wasn't sure how to approach the problem, as Mulita was so nervous and at the same time started to show a bad temper. She wouldn’t allow her leg to be touched. Don Miguel, Escarleth’s dad, remembered the bond Mulita has with his daughter and called her up for assistance. As soon as she showed up, it was like Mulita changed all of the sudden, she looked at her not as a threat nor as a predator as they usually perceive humans, but as a friend. Escarleth approached Mulita with her kind smile and started to caress her, talk to her, and putting her at ease in a short and impressive amount of time, like the best infant rider from a cowboy movie.

Mulita's attitude always changes when Escarleth is around, she feels at ease, just like we humans feel when we are with kind, motivating, and loving people. Mulita and Escarleth keep nurturing their relationship every day as Mulita takes her to class on a one hour trail from the farm of her family.

The Aguilar Zamoran family have big portions of land dedicated for cattle and agriculture, particularly for growing basic grains and also cacao beans. They own four mules and three horses, and they also have the habit of milking their cows every morning.

The family is a hard working and they are very active with our partners ADDAC to keep incorporating animal welfare. Don Miguel has acquired more knowledge on how to treat physical wounds and handicap in his animals, and with Mulita, he is now very confident to treat her... as long as Escarleth is around. Escarleth is not only growing in her education and helping her family, but she is also learning how to take care of their biggest assets, their animal - namely Mulita.

A historic first for equine welfare

Nicaraguan Disaster & Response Training

Latin America and the Caribbean are two of the most vulnerable regions to climate change. This makes emergency preparedness, response and recovery plans a must have.

For many years Brooke Latin America and Caribbean has worked hard to make sure equines are incorporated into these plans. By training community leaders in Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS), we’ve been able to raise awareness of the value and importance of equines, among both owners and the government bodies that make these plans. And thanks to our continued training the National System for Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Attention (SINAPRED) now include equines in its evaluation tool for the first time in history.

The focus on the inclusion of equines in disaster response and recovery policy has helped protect thousands of animals, as well as the livelihoods of hundreds of families across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Challenges

Our next steps

At Brooke Latin America and Caribbean we are committed to increasing the visibility of working equines even further – until they are recognised at all levels of policy and process.

Although we’ve made great progress there is still more to do. Through partnerships with key animal welfare organisations and local partners who work on rural development projects, we aim to maximise our advocacy efforts on this issue and participate on a global platform.  

Currently we are joining efforts with the Agricultural Protection and Health Institute (IPSA) to increase the knowledge of working equines and make plans and normative in their favour. We are also joining efforts with the Austral University of Chile to pass on a new animal protection legislation and other academic institutions.

In the future we’ll also be carrying out two specific projects on:

  • The relationship of animal welfare and agroecological production of cocoa and coffee.
  • The contribution of equines in the economic areas and livelihoods of rural communities.
  • We expect to expand our partners' portfolio in the region to increase the reach of equines population and generate more evidence to support action in favour of these animals.

We also hope to expand our operations to other Latin America and Caribbean countries including Mexico, The Dominican Republic, Brazil and other countries.