3/28/12

Experts Calling for Slaughter Ban In Wake of United Horsemen Summit Cancellation


March 27, 2012
CHATHAM, N.Y., (Equine Advocates) — Horse experts from across the country will converge on Equine Advocates Rescue & Sanctuary http://www.equineadvocates.org/ in Chatham, NY for the 2012 American Equine Summit on Saturday, March 31st and Sunday, April 1st with one objective — to reverse the damage done by Congress in Nov. 2011 by mobilizing an effective grassroots movement to end the slaughter of America’s horses in the US and abroad. The attendees will be comprised of press, lawmakers and those involved with equine welfare and the horse industry. Interested parties are encouraged to “like” Equine Advocates on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @EquineAdvocates, and for live updates during the Summit, use the following hash tag: #AES2012.

“It’s just plain wrong when lobbies for the Agriculture and Quarter Horse industries can influence members of Congress to supersede the will of the more than 80% of Americans who want a federal ban on horse slaughter,” said Susan Wagner, President of Equine Advocates. “The ‘eighty percenters’ deserve to be heard. Instead, lawmakers controlled by special interests prevailed and gave horse slaughter proponents exactly what they wanted. It’s not only egregious, it’s downright un-American.”

The Summit will be opened by legendary concert promoter and horse lover, Ron Delsener. Two new speakers have been added – Dr. Caroline Betts, who will discuss the discrepancies in the 2011 GAO report on the closings of horse slaughterhouses in the US, and former US Congressman John Sweeney (R-NY), who was the primary sponsor for the successful passage of H.R. 503, the House version of the 2006 American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.

Other speakers include Cathleen Doyle, former head of the California Equine Council and Save the Horses, John Holland, President Equine Welfare Alliance, Dr. Kraig J. Kulikowski, D.V.M., Katia Louise, director of the film, “Saving America’s Horses,” Victoria McCullough who helped pass Florida’s “Equine Protection Act of 2010,” Jo Anne Normile of Saving Baby Equine Charity and founder of CANTER and Paula Bacon, former Mayor of Kaufman, Texas who led the fight to close Dallas Crown, a horse slaughterhouse operating in Kaufman.

Said Bacon, “I believe a horse slaughter plant is among the very least desirable things a community would want.  It ranks with a lead smelter plant and strip clubs, the dead opposite of economic development. A horse slaughter plant creates big, expensive environmental problems for taxpayers and stigmatizes the community as ‘that place where they slaughter horses’ — and good development goes elsewhere.”

States currently trying to revive and reopen horse slaughter plants include Oregon, Missouri and Tennessee.

Founded in 1996, Equine Advocates is a non-profit equine protection organization and Horse Sanctuary based in Chatham, NY.  Its mission is to rescue, protect and prevent the abuse of equines, especially through banning the slaughter of American horses, through education, investigation, rescue operations and public education. Email info@equineadvocates.org or call 518-245-1599 for more information.
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3/15/12

Letter From Cynthia MacPherson To Attorney Dan Erdel

Mountain Grove, Missouri is indeed fortunate to have an attorney like Cynthia MacPherson to represent their best interests. Especially when the question at hand is whether or not to allow Wyoming State Representative and the President of Unified Equine, Sue Wallis and her associates to construct a HSHC (Horse Slaughter for Human Consumption) plant in their town.

After an excellent presentation of the non-existent pros and the many cons, the town decided that there was no way Wallis was going to construct something like that in their town. A great decision, for more reasons than were clear at the time - as the following letter makes crystal clear.


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3/11/12

Sue Wallis Alleges Death Threats to YMCA Director


This is the latest from the Equine Welfare Alliance on Sue Wallis and her ill-fated attempt to force a horse slaughter plant down the throats of the people of Mountain Grove, Missouri. Folks, I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.            


March 10, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:

John Holland
540-268-5693
john@equinewelfarealliance.org

Vicki Tobin                         
630.961.9292
vicki@equinewelfarealliance.org


Horse slaughter promoter alleges death threats to YMCA director

Mountain Grove, MO (EWA) – A bizarre chain of events has followed the contentious meeting of the
Mountain Grove City Council on March 6th concerning the Unified Equine proposal to build a horse
slaughter plant near the town.

Unified Equine CEO Sue Wallis claimed that the project would be a 50% partnership with Belgian
company Chevideco, and that they would invest $6 to $7 million in a plant that would be designed
by Dr. Temple Grandin.

But during the meeting city residents became inflamed by a presentation given by attorney Cynthia
MacPherson, cataloging the pollution and crime that Chevideco’s Dallas Crown facility had brought to
the town of Kaufman Texas.

When banker Roger Lindsey rose to defend the project he was shouted down and left the meeting.
The unanticipated public anger touched off a series of events. First, the director of the Mountain
Grove YMCA announced that he would no longer permit Sue Wallis to hold a planned meeting there
on the following Monday.

On her facebook page, Wallis explained this apparent snub by saying “We have not spoken to him
directly, but it is my understanding that the YMCA director received death threats to his family, and
to sponsors of his organization, We have heard directly from other community members that they
have received threatening letters just for publicly expressing their support for the project.”

EWA contacted the Missouri State Police, the Mountain Grove police department and the YMCA
director, Chad Watson. State police captain Duane Isringhausen, told EWA’s John Holland that he
had received no such reports. The Mountain Grove police said they had heard the report and
investigated but that they could find no evidence of threats being made to anyone. YMCA director
Chad Watson said he had received no threats and had moved the meeting when he learned of its
subject. “This place is for the children”, said Watson.

Wallis announced that the meeting had been moved to the Wright County Livestock Auction, and
that while the public was welcome, anyone being “disrespectful” would be evicted. On March 10th
the auction owner, Nathan Kelly, said the meeting would be closed to the press. Kelly said he had
been “lambasted” by people opposed to the project.

MacPherson told EWA that she is encouraging people to stay away from the Wallis meeting; however
postings on the popular Topix blog show some residents plan a peaceful protest outside the auction.

The media ban was not the end of this bizarre episode. In subsequent interviews, Wallis was quoted
contradicting her earlier claims of backing from Chevideco saying that she did not have an
agreement, and that she would likely depend on local investors. This revelation follows the earlier
statement by Grandin that she knew nothing of the project.

EWA’s John Holland summed up the situation saying “It now appears that Wallis, rather than
bringing millions of investment dollars into the area, intends instead to borrow millions from the
people of Missouri to have someone who had not been told of the project build them a horse
slaughter plant that they don’t want! What could go wrong with that?

#

The Equine Welfare Alliance is a dues-free 501c4, umbrella organization with over 220 member
organizations and hundreds of individual members worldwide in 18 countries. The organization
focuses its efforts on the welfare of all equines and the preservation of wild equids.

www.equinewelfarealliance.org
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2/23/12

Les Viandes De La Petite-Nation Slaughter Plant Temporarily Closed

IMPORTANT UPDATE: LES VIANDES DE LA PETITE-NATION SLAUGHTER PLANT TEMPORARILY CLOSED

 Les Viandes de la Petite-Nation Inc. slaughter house in Quebec has been temporarily closed, with inspections and audits being conducted at the plant by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).  La Petite-Nation (LPN) was the subject of the December 2011 investigative report by the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition (CHDC) entitled “Pasture to Plate: The True Cost of Canada’s Horsemeat Industry”: http://www.defendhorsescanada.org/lpn.html.

The report cites numerous violations underCanada’s Meat Inspection Act, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) animal welfare standards, cruelty violations, as well as reveals a flawed Equine Identification Documents system.  LPN is one of two plants operating in Quebec, and one of four plants operating in Canada.

 The CFIA’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr. Brian Evans, verifies the temporary closure in this February 16th email:
 Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2012
From: Brian Evans <Brian.Evans@inspection.gc.ca>
To: Sinikka Crosland <sinikka@defendhorsescanada.org>
Sinikka
Thank you for your email inquiry.
With respect to Les Viandes de la Petite-Nation Inc., I am informed by Quebec Operations the enhanced inspection, verification and audit activities on the part of the CFIA continue and it is my understanding that the establishment has indicated its intent to temporarily suspend its operations. With respect to Viandes Richelieu I am advised its status is not changed.
Kind regards
Dr. Brian Evans
(613) 773-5236 / (613) 773-5763
Brian.Evans@inspection.gc.ca

We are seeking further information from Dr. Evans on La Petite Nation’s closure.  In January 2012, the CHDC wrote to Dr. Evans to follow up on the Pasture to Plate report, since there had been no acknowledgement or communication of any kind from the CFIA on the violations that are occurring at the plant.  Dr. Evans’ reply indicated that he would involve Quebec operations regarding horse slaughter violations and tracking system deficiencies at LPN:
http://canadianhorsedefencecoalition.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/dr-evans-of-the-cfia-responds/.

The CHDC finds it questionable that LPN has closed operations voluntarily, yet the CFIA is conducting inspections and audits there.  It is our opinion that findings from the Pasture to Plate report has prompted the CFIA to take measures to somehow try to improve conditions at LPN, but this fourth investigative report on Canadian slaughterhouses proves, once again, that horses cannot be humanely slaughtered in assembly line situations.  We continue to ask the CFIA, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Canadian government to close all horse slaughter plants permanently.

Day 2 Horse 8


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2/21/12

Unwanted Horse Coalition"It WAS the Economy After All!"


Help for Horse Owners is On the Way

Published: Saturday, February 18, 2012, 11:01 PM     Updated: Monday, February 20, 2012, 9:19 AM
 
"Help! I can't keep this horse anymore."

Sarah Ralston, a Rutgers University associate professor, is all too familiar with that cry of distress during a financially difficult era in which the phrase "unwanted horse" has become an unhappy part of the equestrian lexicon.
"A lot of horse owners have fallen on hard times and can't afford to do the right thing for their horses," she said, but there's more to the unwanted horse problem. Too many people who lack the basics of horsekeeping take on an equine without knowing what it will cost, both in terms of money and work, and have no idea how to deal with a large animal which may be untrained or simply too much for them to handle.
An Unwanted Horse Coalition study that drew more than 27,500 responses showed that indeed, the predominant reason for horses winding up in the unwanted category was because owners could no longer afford them.
But there are other problems, too. They include the horse being too old,injured or unmanageable; the owner's loss of interest, no time to spend with the horse, divorce and children who had ridden the horse moving away from home. Ralston, who is also a veterinarian, noted there is a lot of emotional pressure on the public to rescue horses that otherwise may be headed for slaughter. If the horse turns out to be inappropriate for the new owner, that horse winds up being the last the novice owns, rather than the first of several.
To help find solutions, Ralston is organizing a group promoting responsible horse ownership, which goes beyond the unwanted horse problem. It's called WHOHO (pronounced Whoa-Ho); We're Horse Owners Helping Horse Owners. She sees it as a way "to increase the awareness and utilization of the extensive resources already available through the Rutgers Equine Science Center, The N.J. Agricultural Extension Service and the veterinary community."
Although such resources do a lot aimed at educating the horse owner, Ralston believes there are those, including adopters who get horses from rescue organizations, that are "falling through the cracks." Some may not realize how little they know. Others can be intimidated by experts.
She cited a survey of horse owners that found their most common source of information was other horse owners, not the extension service or expert websites. Unfortunately, some of the information disseminated, whether from a person or a website, may be wrong, or not useful in solving a problem.
Her idea is to turn that around with "a cadre of well-informed volunteers who are aware of the resources available" rather than operating by the seat of their pants. Volunteers would have to be certified, and Ralston envisions an educational program to get them up to speed, though there may be other ways of making sure those involved are qualified.
A core group had its first meeting earlier this month and is getting together again this weekend to continue laying groundwork for the project, which Ralston envisions along the lines of the Master Gardeners program. Karyn Malinowski, the executive director of the Equine Science Center, also suggested that the Environmental Stewards Program or the Woodlands Steward Program that is forming may provide helpful models.
Eventually, Ralston sees the concept going regional, and equestrian experts in neighboring states agree with that concept.
In New York, Karin Bump, a professor of equine business management at Cazenovia College, said a small group has been working for months on the Equine Welfare Assistance Program, a public/private partnership.
"It has some cross-overs to the kinds of things Sarah is talking about," said Bump, the president of the National Association of Equine Affiliated Academics.
"The problems we face with horse welfare and care are national problems, but are going to be best solved by local and regional approaches," she believes.
We clearly need more coordination and communication. There's lots of people doing lots of things, but only in a few instances are there state vehicles by which things get coordinated and communicated so you can put everybody's talents together and see where you're crossing over and where your gaps are."
She noted WHOHO "very much complements the kinds of things we're working on here in New York State. Unwanted horses are a continuing concern, but there's always been an issue of horse welfare and what do horse owners do when they don't have the resources or a horse no longer fits their needs?"
In Pennsylvania, Donna Foulk, Penn State extension educator/equine natural resources, said, "I like this idea, it's pro-active." Foulk recalled that Pennsylvania offered a Crop Master program for farmers, who were supplied with current information that was designed to be passed along to other farmers, and said that was quite successful.
Having the informed farmers help out insured that people got good information, and also had the benefit of letting officials know what concerned the farmers who were being aided, when the volunteers reported back to extension employees.
Regionally, she felt it could work and suggested offering short courses on topics such as hay and nutrition on both sides of the state line.
"I really think we should have stronger ties," said Foulk, who formerly worked at Rutgers.
Malinowski pledged support from Ralston's colleagues in the animal science department and the ESC, while suggesting webinars for some of the programs to make it more convenient and reach out to speakers not based in New Jersey.
Those interested in becoming involved with WHOHO can contact Ralston at ralston@AESOP.Rutgers.edu.
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"From my earliest memories, I have loved horses with a longing beyond words." ~ Robert Vavra