Frankfurt, Germany (Weltexpress). In March 2014, in cooperation with other sports educators and riders, he launched a campaign to prevent abuse of the horse. He first wrote an open letter to the President of the International Olympic Committee about abuse in Olympic equestrian sport. The letter was ignored and a second letter received the same silent treatment. A following letter to enlist the support of the Fedération Equestre Internationale (FEI) received no substantial response. As international administrators of horse sport showed no apparent interest in putting their house in order, he alerted members of the German and European Parliaments to the equine welfare problem. Meanwhile, he sought the opinion of leading scientists worldwide and other figures in public life (see ‘Further Reading’ at www.bernd paschel.de). His Holiness, Pope Francis supported the campaign by responding, “In our accountability before God, we are all called upon to carry the responsibility for animal welfare and protection and to serve in the protection of creation.”
In January 2015, Paschel began a series of interviews published on WELTEXPRESS with scientists whose work, each in their own field of expertise, has led them to question harmful practices in the horse industry.
