Ag Equine Programs, Department of Animal and Food Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY.
J Equine Vet Sci. 2023 May;124:104266. doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2023.104266. Epub 2023 Mar 8.
What is a social license to operate (SLO)? Why would this concept matter for horse sport? In perhaps its simplest form, "social license to operate" is the public's perception of an industry or activity. It is a challenging concept to fully grasp because it does not arrive as a document given by a government agency. Yet it is every bit as important-perhaps more so. Does the industry in question operate with transparency? Does the public believe in the integrity of the stakeholders who are most likely to benefit from the activity? Do people believe there is legitimacy in the scrutinized industry or discipline? Industries who operate with impunity, during our current era of 24-7-365 scrutiny do so at their own risk. It is no longer acceptable to say, "but we've always done it this way." It is no longer acceptable to say, "if we just educate the naysayers, they'll understand our position." Our horse industry will have a challenging time in the current environment convincing stakeholders that horses are "happy athletes" if we are merely avoiding blatantly abusive practices. The public, as well as a large percentage of equestrian stakeholders, want to be convinced that we truly believe "horse welfare shall be paramount." This is not merely a hypothetical, ethical assessment exercise. This is real; this is a threat; and the horse industry should consider themselves put on notice.
什么是社会运营许可证（SLO）？为什么这个概念对马术运动很重要？从最简单的形式来看，“社会运营许可证”是公众对一个行业或活动的看法。这个概念很难完全理解，因为它不是政府机构颁发的文件。然而，它同样重要——也许更重要。相关行业是否透明运作？公众是否相信最有可能从活动中受益的利益相关者的诚信？人们是否认为受到审查的行业或学科具有合法性？在当前 24 小时、7 天、365 天全天候审查的时代，那些肆无忌惮运作的行业是在冒险。现在不能再说“但我们一直都是这样做的”。现在也不能再说“如果我们只是教育那些反对者，他们就会理解我们的立场”。如果我们只是避免明显的虐待行为，我们的马业在当前的环境下将很难让利益相关者相信马是“快乐的运动员”。公众以及很大一部分马术利益相关者希望确信，我们真的相信“马的福利应放在首位”。这不仅仅是一个假设的、道德评估的练习。这是真实的；这是一种威胁；马业应该认为自己已收到通知。
