Aspects socio-économiques de la filière équine: objectifs, perspectives et enjeux du groupe de travail en socio-économie de la commission équine

Présentation Powerpoint International audienceIn the European Union, little is known about the horse industry despite its recent growth and evolutions. However, the number of studies devoted to this sector is recently multiplying all over the world. That’s why a working group in socio-economy has been created during the last EAAP conference. Today, it includes 19 members, mainly coming from European countries. The goal of this group is to share ideas and experiences but also to think about topics of interest for research and development and to build common projects. Sociologic studies are emerging, analyzing actor profiles and behaviors. The economic aspect is also an important topic of research. Each segment has its specificity. For instance, racing and betting generate high incomes, whereas breeding faces some difficulties and needs support in several countries. Another example is the Equine tourism, which is growing spontaneously across Europe but which has been studied very little and promoted even less. Important key challenges are the counting and localization of Equines and also “the unwanted horse issue”, which has been prevalent in the United States since slaughter became illegal or in Ireland. Significant challenges also arise from conflicts over land use with other users in peri-urban areas. Some countries have started to underline the role that Equines are currently playing in rural development: their multi-purpose uses represent a strong advantage in land occupation and management, they contribute to agriculture diversification thanks to horse husbandry and agritourism, they help maintaining relationships between urban citizen and cultural rural life… To conclude, we can say that horses are cultural heritages, social links, economic stakes and rural development actors. For all of these reasons, the horse industry deserves to be studied and that we join our efforts to promote its sustainable development