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Equine ProtectionThe Perfect Time to End the Slaughter of American Horses
September 1, 2010 – At the moment, the news is rife with stories about the level of equine neglect in the United States, with many of the articles blaming the “unintended consequences” of closing the US horse slaughter plants and calling for them to be reopened. But in reality, we are coming up on a once in a lifetime opportunity to get rid of this abominable practice once and for all. To understand this apparent paradox, one needs to get past unsubstantiated myths to the real forces at play in the market. First, one needs to understand that it is completely impossible to blame the current glut of excess horses on the closing of the slaughter plants because the closings simply sent the horses over the Mexican and Canadian borders for slaughter. In 2006, the year before the closings, 142,740 American horses were slaughtered, and that number only dropped by 14% the year the plants were closed. By 2008, slaughter was back to the second highest level in almost ten years. Next, it is necessary to understand what really causes neglect, and that is unemployment. After years of studying the relationship between neglect rates and slaughter volumes, I had concluded that there was no relationship whatever. Then I looked at the rates of neglect in Illinois in comparison with unemployment in the state. The correlation was striking. Read more> http://www.horsesinthesouth.com/article/article_detail.aspx?id=12051 Arrest Announced for Failure to Report Horse DiseaseSeptember 1, 2010 – TALLAHASSEE — Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson today announced the arrest of an Indian River County woman who allegedly tried to conceal from authorities her two horses that were infected with Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA). Arrested by Bronson’s Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement (OALE) was Regina Chesser, 56, of Fellsmere. She was charged with failure to report a dangerous transmissible disease, which is a second-degree felony. Authorities allege that Chesser brought her horse “Dolly” to a Vero Beach veterinary clinic to be tested for EIA. When the test results were positive for EIA, authorities with the department’s Division of Animal Industry attempted to contact Chesser only to find that she had given the alias Cheryl Hearndon with a false address and phone number to the clinic and used a an email address registered to a friend. The false information was given because Chesser believed “Dolly” was infected with the EIA virus. The case was turned over to Bronson’s Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement to initiate a criminal investigation of the matter. After an extensive search, Chesser’s true identity and location were discovered. Authorities then learned that there were two horses on Chesser’s property and subsequent testing showed that both of the horses were carriers of EIA. As Study Begins, the Animal Welfare Institute Calls on BLM to Halt Wild Horse RoundupsWashington, DC (September 1, 2010) – While the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) welcomes the recent news that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has asked the National Academy of Sciences National Research Council (NAS/NRC) to review its National Wild Horse and Burro Program starting January 1, 2011, we are deeply disappointed with the agency’s blatant disregard for calls to halt wild horse roundups pending completion of the review. AWI first recommended this outside review along with a moratorium on roundups over a year ago given the widespread problems being reported in the BLM’s management of wild horses. “While we are grateful that the BLM has finally realized the urgent need for advice from scientific experts, we continue to be disappointed at their stubborn refusal to halt the massive wild horse roundups they are conducting at an alarming rate,” said Chris Heyde, deputy director of government and legal affairs for AWI. In testimony to the House and Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittees, AWI laid out its reasoning and criteria for an independent study by the NAS, a moratorium on all non-emergency roundups, and the critical importance of maintaining language preventing the BLM from killing tens of thousands of healthy wild horses. In July, similar concerns were raised with the BLM in a bipartisan letter from House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV), National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and 52 of their colleagues. The Public Has Spoken – Our Pony Express Goal Has Been Exceeded!Dear Supporters, Wow! What amazing supporters we have! On August 1st, we gave you a goal of 20,000 letters to take with us for our Pony Express Mustang Delivery to Washington. Our deadline was set for September 1st. We just wanted to let you know that we have completely blown our goal out of the water with the overwhelming response from so many wild horse supporters! Just over this past weekend, we received 7,234 letters from so many of you, which brings our current count to 26, 995! *Keep the letters coming and each of you can stand as a voice for each individual mustang that has been rounded up by the Bureau of Land Management and the ones left on the range. We are their voices, their spokespeople. Disaster Tips for Horses
The following items are recommended for inclusion in a disaster kit specifically for horses. Make one kit for each horse in your care. Food and Water: * One-week supply of the food or special feed your horse is used to eating. Store in an airtight, waterproof container and rotate every three months to ensure freshness * One-week supply of water, stored in a cool, dark location. 50-gallon barrels are good for storing water * If tap water is not suitable for humans to drink during a disaster, it is also not suitable for cats to drink * Feeding and water buckets PZP in the Pryors
 Bolder & Texas, a ten-year-old mare who has foaled only once, PZP'd again last fall in the roundup Comments on BLM’s Plan to Extend Infertility Drug Use through 2015 Due by September 16th Dear Cloud Supporters; Mark your calendars. Comments regarding a five-year plan to continue the use of Porcine Zona Pellucida (PZP) infertility drugs on Pryor wild horse mares are due on September 16. The initial scoping letter from the Billings BLM was mailed on August 18. As a result of aggressive infertility applications delivered via shots last fall and dart guns this spring, 52 mares on the mountain are cycling monthly (coming into estrous or heat), being bred, and defended by their band stallions. Makendra and I were in the Pryors last week for 5 days and I witnessed more societal disruption than I have seen in over 16 years of documenting these horses. Currently, it is a herd in chaos. 60% of the 18 bands we observed have had some kind of disruption. Three band stallions have lost their families all together. Some band stallions have benefitted from the intense competition — like Cloud, who won a new mare. This high degree of disruption has taken place just since our last visit in July. Urgent Appeal from Habitat for Horses
It isn’t often that I come to you with an urgent appeal, but these are not ordinary times. We need your help, now more than ever. Please listen to your heart as you read about Prince.
Sincerely, When a law enforcement officer calls for help with a situation involving horses, we respond as rapidly as possible. That’s why we considered the call urgent. “There’s a horse down and from the looks of it, he’s almost dead. Can you respond and see what you can do?” Within a few minutes we were on the scene. Quite frankly, it looked far worse than I had imagined. According to the owner, the horse had been down a couple of days, but from the looks of the ground and the appearance of the horse, it had been far longer. There was very little life left in this guy. Lying in the hot sun for days on end, he was so wasted away that he looked like a shadow. Upcoming Interview Schedule with Madeleine Pickens and Pony Express UpdateDear Humanitarians, Here’s an update on the Pony Express Campaign: We have been sent 17,351 letters! You all have been fabulous in sending the letters and promoting the campaign! Keep them coming. We’re in the home stretch now. We need 20,000 by September 1st. It takes less than a minute to click here and send your letter to us. Please do this for our wild mustangs and for future generations so that they can see these majestic creatures thriving in their natural environment. A huge thanks to all the organizations that have added the Pony Express to your websites, blogs, and E-blasts, we truly appreciate every single one of our supporters! I will also be a guest on Mr. Wayne’s Radio Show on Restless Republic Radio at 11:15am PST on Thursday, August 26th. He is the Host for The Green Revolution Show. Interior Dept. Accelerates Assault on Wild Horses – Three Actions You Can Take to Help!
Largest Roundup of Wild Horses in California’s History Underway – Act Today to Oppose Other Planned Roundups On August 11, 2010, the Interior Department began the largest roundup of wild horses in California’s history. Nearly half of the 4,000 wild horses left in the state will be removed from their homes and families in the next few weeks. This devastating and unnecessary roundup began despite a lawsuit filed by In Defense of Animals (IDA) and others. We have a representative on the ground at the roundup and will provide an update on the IDA blog later this week. Today we are asking you to take three actions to help wild horses. Congress and the Interior Department must continue to hear from you! Together we can change this broken system if we continue to fight the deeply-entrenched special interests which control the Interior Department’s management of our public lands and the wild horses who live there. Read more> http://www.horsesinthesouth.com/article/article_detail.aspx?id=11934 FEI Congress Hailed as Invaluable Contribution to Debate In-competition Use of NSAIDs Dr Martial Saugy, Professor Tim Greet, Frank Kemperman, Brough Scott and Chris Hodson discussed the public perception of equestrian sports, sponsors and the media perspective on the use of NSAIDs in competition. (Photograph: Patrick Luscher/FEI) 17 August 2010 – The FEI Congress on Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAID) Usage and Medication in the Equine Athlete has been hailed as an invaluable contribution to the debate on the in-competition use of NSAIDs. In a ground-breaking approach by the FEI, the Congress brought together the most up-to-date scientific data and non-scientific aspects of NSAID usage for over 200 delegates from 29 countries at the two-day Congress, which wound up at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland today. The second day of the Congress clearly demonstrated that this is a debate that cannot be viewed purely from a scientific perspective and that ethical values and legal issues also have to be taken into account. Following yesterday’s mainly science-based presentations, FEI General Counsel Lisa Lazarus opened this morning’s session by outlining details from nine European countries that prohibit or may prohibit the use of NSAIDs under national law. In light of these legal issues, Ms Lazarus stated that the FEI has two options: either abandon any proposed change in the treatment of NSAIDs, maintaining the status quo that NSAIDs cannot be administered to sport horses during FEI competition anywhere in the world; or permit the use of NSAIDs at appropriate levels as far as the FEI and its members are concerned, but make it clear to all Athletes and participants that the FEI’s rules do not supersede national law, and that anyone participating in the sport in any of the nine countries must note that national laws prohibit, or may prohibit, the use of NSAIDs. Read more> http://www.horsesinthesouth.com/article/article_detail.aspx?id=11901 |
