Reward offered in Castle Hot Springs, Ariz., Wild Burro Shooting

Humane Society of the United States

Two wild burros found shot to death

The Humane Society of the United States, through its Platero Project, is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for shooting two wild burros.

A concerned resident notified the Bureau of Land Management that two federally-protected mature burros were found dead, apparently victims of gunshot wounds. The shooting occurred last week in the BLM’s Lake Pleasant Herd Management Area northwest of Phoenix. The BLM is investigating the incident.

Anyone with information on the Lake Pleasant burro killings is encouraged to contact the BLM at 800-637-9152. All calls are confidential.

Kari Nienstedt, Arizona state director for The HSUS said: “We hope that the reward will assist in the BLM’s effort to find the killers of these burros and bring them to justice. Wild burros are protected under federal law as living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West that enrich the lives of the American people. They must be cherished and protected on the habitat that remains for these noble animals in the American West. We thank the BLM for investigating this tragic incident.”

Fewer than 7,000 wild burros remain on BLM lands in the West; more than half of them are located in Arizona. In June 2013, the National Academy of Sciences advised the BLM to evaluate whether the low allowable management levels the agency has set for burros can sustain healthy populations. The BLM conducts periodic roundups and removals of burros from the range, but the NAS warned that “removing burros permanently from the range could jeopardize the genetic health of the total population.”

The HSUS’s Platero Project was launched in April of 2013 to promote the protection of wild burros managed by the BLM. The aim of the project is to develop partnerships and programs to research the effectiveness of contraceptive vaccine on wild burro herds and to reduce the number of wild burros currently living in BLM holding areas by increasing adoptions and relocating difficult-to-place burros to sanctuaries. The project was financed by an anonymous donor who cares deeply about the humane treatment of burros.

Media Contact: Naseem Amini, 301-548-7793, namini@humanesociety.org

Bill Includes Language to End U.S. Horse Slaughter

Straight from the Horse's Heart

Source: By Karrie Allen as published on the Chatham Courier

For 2 years, but Equine Advocates president says, ‘we are finally on the road to a permanent ban’

CHATHAM, NY — Jan. 17 was a good day for Equine Advocates President and founder Susan Wagner and the hundreds of organizations and supporters who have lobbied to end horse slaughterin the United States. On this day, President Barack Obama signed the $1.1 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, which included language to defund horse meat inspection, thus ending horse slaughter in the United States for two years.

While grateful to Obama for signing the bill, Wagner also thanked Vice PresidentJoseph Biden “for spearheading the effort to insert the language into the Omnibus bill.”

She also credited Florida State Sen. Joseph Abruzzo and equine advocate Victoria McCullough. “It is because of their tireless and dedicated efforts that horse slaughterhouses will be prevented from opening in the U.S.” due to passage of the bill.

The summit

In 2012, Wagner hosted the first American Equine Summit at her horse rescue and sanctuary in Chatham with two objectives: To come up with a strategy to reverse the damage done by Congress and move toward a federal ban on horse slaughter and to empower the “80 percenters” who are against horse slaughter and give them the tools to be able to effectively make their voices heard and inspire change. Among the speakers was McCullough, CEO of Chesapeake Petroleum and an accomplished international equestrian.

At this summit, McCullough announced that she would take on the challenge of ending horse slaughter in the United States, stated Wagner. “She took the lead from the experts speaking at the summit, each of whom had invaluable information and experience and helped contribute to the resolution of this hard-fought issue.”

The expert

One of the experts was John Holland, president of the Equine Welfare Alliance (EWA), who was also a speaker at the summit. McCullough used much of his research and information from published papers and studies to make her case against horse slaughter to Vice President Biden, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and others in the Executive Branch, noted Wagner.

One such case was the 2011 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that blamed falling horse prices and increased abuse and neglect on the closing of domestic slaughter plants in 2007. Texas and Illinois closed the last three plants in 2007 and that was the last time horses were slaughtered in the United States.

From 2006 through 2010, horse slaughter shifted to Canada and Mexico and exports increased from 148 to 660 percent, according to the GAO report.

“That GAO report was like a fixed race,” commented Wagner.

The EWA and Animal Law Coalition (ALC) set out to prove the report was fraudulent — and they did. “Our EWA research looked state by state at trends in abuse and neglect and at the factors that might have been responsible for the trends, such as unemployment, the rate of slaughter, the price of hay, etc.,” stated Holland in an email. “What we found was that the rate of equine neglect was largely determined by the price of hay and that the price of hay is largely determined long term by land use policies and short term by weather.”

Slaughter proponents used the results from the GAO study to push for the reinstatement of inspections funding, he added, but research by the EWA proved the study “had been completely misrepresented. This became ammunition for reversing the reinstatement.”

According to an EWA press release, funding language was passed by both the House and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committees in 2013, but neither budget reached the floor for a full vote. It was the key support of Vice President Biden and congressional leaders that pushed for the language in the bill.

McCullough “was the one who made this happen,” Holland stated in the press release. “It was the fact that Victoria … was spending her own fortune without regard for any personal gain that I believe gave her the credibility to accomplish this.”

He later added in his email that McCullough, who had already gained a ban in Florida, felt the information she got at the 2012 summit “showed that slaughter of horses is in no way justified.”…(CONTINUED)

Click (HERE) to read the rest of the story and to comment at the Chatham Courier

For Immediate Release: Consumer Deception over Origin of Horsemeat - The Tales of Swiss Retailers and Importers

Animals' Angels

The Swiss retailers Migros, Denner and Coop and importers like Skin Packing and Jemmely claim to have full traceability of the horsemeat they sell and import. 

“It’s consumer deception”, says Sonja Meadows, president of Animals’ Angels Inc. “The public demands more transparency and honesty from the parties concerned. Consumers are being lied to, even though the intolerable conditions of horsemeat production in Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay and Canada are known”, Meadows accuses retailers and importers.

On their websites and in the media, Denner, Migros, Coop and importers like GVFI, Skin Packing, Jemmely S.A. and Delicarna claim they can guarantee the traceability of their horsemeat products. Skin Packing, Migros‘s exclusive supplier, even claims that they can trace every horse back to its breeder. According to Sonja Meadows “that is an outright lie”. Over the past six months, Animals’ Angels conducted research proving the opposite. “In the US, horses are still being bought via auctions, collection points and middlemen for the Bouvry slaughter plants in Canada.  Regulations currently in place do not guarantee accurate traceability of horses”, adds Meadows.

Denner claims their horsemeat comes from Ireland, the US and Uruguay and is fully traceable. “With that, Denner shows complete ignorance of the actual conditions or they consciously commit consumer fraud”, Meadows accuses the subsidiary of Migros. In Uruguay, for instance, there isn’t any legislation to protect animal welfare.  Additionally, horses are being imported from Brazil, where the origins are sketchy. The same applies in the United States.  As horses are not being slaughtered there, dealers buy them from middlemen and private individuals at auctions across the country. The horses change hands many times before arriving at Mexican or Canadian slaughter plants. Traceability generally does not exist, as information about origin and medication is provided by the last owner. Usually the last owners are kill buyers who want to turn these horses into profit as quickly as possible.

Migros’s supplier Skin Packing claimed in a recent statement that they only offer horse meat from Canada. “It’s a fact that Skin Packing obtains horsemeat from Canada, Mexico and Australia. Jemmely, founder of Skin Packing, imports horsemeat from Argentina”. The devious business relations of both parties prevent transparency for customers and make inspections difficult. An investigation conducted by Animals’ Angels in Canada in October 2013 proved intolerable conditions, sick and neglected animals left to their own devices, dead horses decomposing in pens.

The horsemeat which Skin Packing imports from Mexico predominantly originates from American horses, bought, traded and transported under terrible conditions. „During August and October 2013 we accompanied transports to slaughter from the US to the slaughter plants in Mexico. Weak, sick and injured horses are still being transported for days. Horses down inside the trailer are trampled to death, the animals are not taken care of“, Meadows reports.

Migros obtains horsemeat from Canada via Skin Packing. According to Sonja Meadows, “the statement of their horsemeat being fully traceable is false”. Migros is currently investing in a new production line, with which they wish to address our complaints from February 2013. The earliest for Migros to put the new feedlot into operation will be mid-2014 and it remains to be seen if there is any improvement. Until then, the horsemeat they offer continues to be produced under deplorable, cruel conditions.

Furthermore, Migros and Coop (with about 6% and 18% respectively) are shareholders in GVFI, the largest Swiss importer based in Basel.  Animals’ Angels partner organization, the Tierschutzbund (TSB) Zürich recently reported GVFI on suspicion of receiving meat from stolen Argentine horses. On December 20, 2013, the District Attorney’s Office in Basel announced that they launched an official investigation based on the evidence provided.

 “The import of horse meat from the United States, Canada, Mexico and Argentina has decreased significantly since the start of our Swiss consumer awareness campaign back in February of 2013”, said Meadows. “However, our recent investigations show that there is still a lot that needs to be done. We will continue to increase pressure on producers and importers”. 

Photo Report: Still Room for Wild Horses in Wyoming’s Red Desert?

Straight from the Horse's Heart

Range Update by Carol Walker ~ Wild Horse Freedom Federation‘s Director of Field Documentation

“While the rest of us were snuggled up around the fireplace during the in-climate cold weather last week, WHFF’s Carol Walker was out in the Wyoming Desert attempting to make an assessment of the few remaining wild horses left in the Adobe Town HMA.  This is report one with several more to follow documenting not only the activities of the wildlife on the public lands but also what the humans are doing on it and to it…many thanks to WHFF Advisory Board member, James Klienert, for the day spent assisting and filming Carol.  Keep the faith.” ~ R.T.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Music by Opus Moon ~ “Wild Horse Anthology” available on iTunes

It has been almost 10 years since I first visited the wild horses in Adobe Town. Adobe Town Herd Area is almost 500,000 acres, set in a fragile high desert terrain, with dramatic landscape feature and a wilderness study area.  The dramatic buttes and desert badlands are home to wild horses and are part of the winter habitat forpronghorn antelope.

On this late January afternoon, I headed into the herd area on a road I have travelled many times over many years.  It is usually peaceful, with a few white pickup trucks passing me during an afternoon, on their way to check oil and gas pads. Today, huge long trucks pass by me frequently, stirring up so much dust that I cannot see and have to stop to let it settle.  It feels more like being on a highway than driving a remote road in the Red Desert. There must be some new construction project going on and I even saw a huge bus filled with people pass by, a Haliburton sign on the side.

Although in the past I would often see wild horses and signs of wild horses on this road, today I do not see any, which is not surprising given the traffic. Soon I turn a corner and I see hundreds of moving white objects covering the sagebrush – sheep!  Although it is winter in Adobe Town right now, it is very dry, with just a few spots of snow left. I see the sheep and their shepherds moving and wonder what on earth the sheep are eating this time of year.  I usually saw sheep here in April passing through, not in January. As I continue to drive and turn onto another road, I see a lone white stallion grazing next to some black cattle in front of Haystack Mountain.  I have never seen a horse with cattle before – he must be a bachelor stallion who is not picky about the company he keeps.

I drive on following the path of all the monstrous vehicles. I see several road graders and huge tractors working on a trench, and dust is everywhere covering my vehicle.  I finally spot the big tower of the drilling rig, and it looks like a city around it with vehicles and lights and road graders. I see rock formations nearby, and the scene is surreal – this area which had been so quiet and remote during my last trip in the fall was now completely transformed.  I finally turn around, sure I will not see any wild horses here – there is too much activity.

Finally I drive to another area which was under construction last year but peaceful now. I see a band of wild horses with two bachelors watching nearby. The horses see me but also know there is a fence between me and them, and are not concerned about my presence, but watchful. The stallion runs down to greet the bachelors, and they run for a bit, before he returns to his family.  I keep driving, and as the sun is going down, a large family of wild horses is lit up and rimmed by the dying light.  They move across the road and I get out to watch and to photograph them.  The stallion moves them along, head down, ears back, but one youngster is curious about me and keeps watching as they move by. This stallion I see a couple of times a year, and he is older and not concerned about humans, and so he tolerates my presence.  I continue to watch them until the sun dips behind a hill and the light fades away.  It is time to drive back to town.  The temperature drops fast at this time of year.

As I drive back to town, I wonder if the competing interests of oild and gas and livestock grazing will be enough to end the wild horse population in Adobe Town. Currently theAML or Appropriate Management Level for this herd is at 700, but the Resource Management Plan for the area is under revision, and I have heard that the plan is to bring the population of one of the largest remaining herds in this country down to 200 horses.  So my question is, is Adobe Town big enough to include wild horses?

Of course my answer is yes!

Super Bowl's Baby Clydesdale: A Budweiser Story

Animal -Welfare Lawyer: Horse Slaughter Suit is now ‘MOOT’

Straight from the Horse's Heart

By Josh Long as published in Food Product Design

USDA is prohibited from inspecting facilities for horse slaughter throughout the remainder of the government’s fiscal year 2014

Attorney Bruce Wagman (center) at the 2012 International Equine Conference with clients R.T. and Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

Albuquerque, N.M.—An annual budget signed by President Obama has rendered “moot” a lawsuit challenging horse slaughter, a lawyer representing animal-rights groups said.

A provision in the $1.1 trillion budget prevents the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from carrying out inspections for horse slaughter. Obama signed the bill on Jan. 17.

Last year, a federal district court judge dismissed a lawsuit that challenged horse slaughter. Front Range Equine Rescue, The Humane Society of the United States and others filed an appeal that remains pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.

“We basically don’t think the court has jurisdiction over the case anymore,” said Bruce Wagman, who represents appellants in the case.

Wagman, a San Francisco-based lawyer with Schiff Hardin LLP, cited the absence of an “active controversy” because there is “no possibility of horse slaughter.” Courts have no authority to hear a case that meets the legal definition of mootness.

“We are going to file something in the next couple of weeks,” Wagman said.

Although he didn’t provide specifics, it’s plausible the appellants will seek to dismiss the lawsuit because the alleged harm—the slaughtering of horses in the United States—is theoretical. USDA is prohibited from inspecting facilities for horse slaughter throughout the remainder of the government’s fiscal year 2014 ending Sept. 30.

Facilities in New Mexico and Missouri had been seeking to slaughter horses for human consumption, although they faced state administrative and legal hurdles as well.

Holly Gann, horse slaughter campaign manager for The Humane Society of the United States, said her organization is calling on Congress to enact a permanent ban on the practice. Such legislation (Safeguard American Food Exports Act) was introduced last year in the House and Senate.

The bills also would end the practice of exporting American horses for slaughter outside the United States, Gann noted. She said more than 160,000 horses were sent to Canada and Mexico in 2012 to be slaughtered.

A. Blair Dunn, a lawyer representing two facilities that have been seeking the green light to slaughter horses—Valley Meat Co. in New Mexico and Rains Natural Meats in Missouri—has said the companies would look into filing a lawsuit that the funding ban violates provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement, The Associated Press reported earlier this month.

Wagman characterized such a proposal as a “crazy idea”.

A message from EWAs president, John Holland re: defunding inspections for horse slaughter

Equine Welfare Alliance






Hi Folks,

This is part three concerning the omnibus bill. Part one, as many of you have discerned, was our optimistic New Year's message hinting at good things ahead, and part two was the announcement of the defunding language in the omnibus budget and how it got there.

These developments have led to the question of how long this will stop slaughter houses from returning to the US. I will attempt to explain the answer to that question. Like most things in Washington, the answer is a bit convoluted. However, I think it is safe to say it will stop their return for at least two years and here is why.

Budgets are, as we all know, a one-year affair that begins October 1st. The process is supposed to start with the President's budget, which is broken into 12 separate budgets (such as the Agriculture Budget), which in turn go to the various appropriations committees to be amended.

These budgets are then supposed to go to the floor of their respective houses for a vote. Following their passage in the Senate and House, the resulting budgets are supposed to go to a conference committee to hammer out differences, and then back to the House and Senate for a final vote.

But if there is one consistent theme in Congress, it is that they almost never do things the way they are supposed to. According to the Congressional Research Service, Congress has passed a full budget only three times in the past 26 years! Most years they pass a CR for all or most individual budgets.

Last year, the agriculture budgets got through the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, but neither reached their respective floors for a vote. Both budgets had defunding language, as did the President's budget. The budget for other departments didn't even get that far.

A CR, or Continuing Resolution, is merely a way of keeping spending at the same level (or at some multiple of the current level) for an additional period. The duration can be from a day to as much as the remainder of the current budget year.

An omnibus budget is yet another way for Congress to shortcut its budgeting process. This fiscal year, we got a series of short CRs, followed by an omnibus budget.

Since the omnibus was based on the bipartisan budget "framework" agreement reached a month earlier, and since that agreement was for two years, we can be sure that the 2015 budget will be a one-year CR.

Now it gets kind of ironic. The late Sue Wallis, Dave Duquette and even Charlie Stenholm had speculated publicly, and no doubt prayed, that there would be a CR for 2014. That would have continued the funding for inspections from the previous 2012 and 2013 budgets.

However there is something call an "anomaly" that can be added to a CR to place a restriction on certain funds. Since nobody was sure the omnibus would pass, a CR was indeed prepared and tucked away to keep the government funded the rest of the year if the omnibus blew up.

That CR contained an anomaly that prohibited any funds from being used for horse slaughter inspections. So had they been forced to use the CR, it would have had the same outcome (defunding). We knew this well before the budget deal was struck, and actually expected that is the way things would go.

And why is this important going forward? It is important because it was none other than Secretary Vilsack who signed off on the anomaly. That explains why Victoria wanted to thank him. It also means that it will be virtually impossible for the pro-slaughter camp to accomplish a removal of the defunding language for the 2015 budget CR.

So the plants are locked out for two years and probably more. And that is the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey would have said.

Honoring Garnet Pasquale & Spring Mountain Alliance tonight

Straight from the Horse's Heart

Times for this Wednesday night show are:

7:00 pm PST … 8:00 pm MST … 9:00 pm CST … 10:00 pm EST

Listen Live Here!

R.T. Fitch and I are dedicating this show to honor wild horse & burro warrior Garnet Pasquale, and to talk about her favorite subject, the Spring Mountain Alliance.  If you knew Garnet and have a memory to share, please call in during the second hour of the show.  (Please don’t call in with questions or about other subjects tonight.  This is a tribute to Garnet.)

Call in # 917-388-4520

The shows will be archived, so you can listen anytime.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Garnet Pasquale was fiery, feisty and fierce about saving wild horses & burros from extinction. She spent countless hours working on their behalf, especially the wild horses near Las Vegas, NV, with the Spring Mountain Alliance.  Garnet was a loyal friend to the wild horses & burros, and a great friend to many advocates who were lucky enough to know her.  With much love, this show is dedicated to our dear friend, Garnet.

In Loving Memory of Garnet Pasquale

►

This radio show is co-hosted by Debbie Coffey, Director of Wild Horse Affairs at Wild Horse Freedom Federation and Marti Oakley, PPJ Gazette. This series of radio shows will feature upcoming guests including Elizabeth Lovegrove of Wild Horses Kimberly in Australia, who will talk about the recent aerial culling of 7,000 brumbies (Australia’s “feral”/wild horses).

Breaking News: Slaughter Activist Sue Wallis Dead at 56

Horseback Magazine

by admin • January 28, 2014 • 2 Comments

HOUSTON, (Horseback) – Pro-horse slaughter activist Wyoming State Rep. Sue Wallis is dead. The 56-year old state representative from rural Recluse died of thus far undisclosed causes. More as details emerge. Follow coverage at Horseback Magazine.