Redwings Horse Sanctuary has launched a new animal welfare pledge alongside the University of East Anglia (UEA), to honour the legacy of Anna Sewell, the author of Black Beauty.TheBlack Beauty Pledgeis inspired by the Bands of Mercy, an organisation established during Annas lifetime, to promote kindness to animals, especially amongst children.The Bands of Mercy groups were incredibly popular in their day, said Nicola Knight, Redwings Head of Communications and Campaigns. They had a similar promise that we wanted to reinstate for the modern times.The idea is that the pledge, to promise to treat all animals as you would like to be treated if you were that animal, gets us thinking about what a particular animal needs to be happy and healthy.We hope that by signing up to theBlack Beauty Pledgechildren and young people especially will be motivated to take action to be kind to animals.Band of Mercy. Photograph, c.1890. Collection of the National Museum of Animals & SocietyEveryone who signs up on the Redwings website will receive a certificate and key ring, saying they have made the pledge. In addition, those who go on to show the charity what they have done for animals will also receive a prize of sweets by local producer Sweet Smiles of Norfolk, a copy of their Black Beauty book and a collectable Schleich horse. They will also be featured on a special gallery of people who have done something positive for animal welfare on the charitys website.Redwings are the custodians ofAnna Sewell Housein Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, where Anna was born. Two years ago, they collaborated with the UEA on a special fundraising edition of Black Beauty (which can be purchased here) and have been working together to further Annas legacy since then.We are so excited to launch theBlack Beauty Pledge, two years on from the publication of our special edition of Black Beauty, our first collaboration with Redwings, to raise funds for them, said Professor Thomas Ruys Smith, Professor of American Literature and Culture at the UEA.We hope this will inspire everyone who signs up to think about the welfare of the animals in their life, and those they encounter, and consider their behaviour towards them with that animals welfare in mind.Anna Sewell wrote Black Beauty at a time when horses were relied upon in many aspects of peoples lives, not as a work of fiction but as a tool she hoped would change hearts and minds and lead to improvements in their welfare. We want to honour her legacy through this Pledge.To find out more and sign up to the Black Beauty Pledge please go tothe the Redwings website.Related contentBeware autumn laminitis: expert advice to keep your horse safe this seasonLaminitis in horses: essential guide for every ownerInsulin resistance in horses explainedThe post Redwings launches animal welfare pledge in honour of Black Beauty appeared first on Your Horse.