Another victory for the horses

On Friday September 21, 2007 the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled unanimously to uphold a decision by the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, reaffirming the constitutionality of an Illinois law preventing the slaughter of horses for human consumption. The three judge panel recognized that the will of the people of Illinois and the law should be upheld and struck down the challenge of the slaughter plant, Cavel International, that the law was unconstitutional.

The Illinois state Congress passed a ban on horse slaughter in May of 2007 and when it was signed by the governor it became law immediately. Following that Cavel International, filed suit in federal court to challenge the law's constitutionality. On July 5, the US District Court ruled the law constitutional and enforceable. However, Cavel appealed that decision to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and were able to argue for an injunction to allow them to continue to slaughter horses while the case was considered.

“The court made the only decision they could under the circumstances. So, while we are happy with the decision it was not unexpected,” said Shelley Sawhook, President of the American Horse Defense Fund (AHDF). “The state of Illinois spoke decisively on the issue and the people of Illinois did not want their state to be the home of the nation’s only horse slaughter plant.”

This does not mean that Cavel has no options and will never again slaughter another horse at their US plant. They can challenge the ruling through appeals by either petitioning for a review by the full panel of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, or it can appeal directly to the Supreme Court of the United States. However, earlier this year the Supreme Court refused to hear a similar request by the two Texas horse slaughter plants operating in violation of Texas law.

“The AHDF and all other major humane agencies call on Cavel to read the handwriting on the wall and to stop delaying the inevitable by continuing to challenge the decisions of the courts,” said Sawhook. “Every day this drag on hundreds of horses are killed needlessly. There are options for owners, as evidenced by our book, Alternatives to Auction and Slaughter, other than slaughter”

Illinois is not the only state who has or is considering legislation to ban horse slaughter. Many other states have enacted or are considering laws to protect horses from slaughter. There is also a movement to pass federal legislation to ban horse slaughter in the United States and the transport of horses abroad for slaughter pending in the US Congress. The bills, HR 503 and S 311, are now more important than ever to make sure that horses who would have been sent to Cavel are not exported for slaughter in Canada or Mexico.

“The people of this country are speaking out and saying clearly that they do not wish for their horses to be treated so inhumanely,” says Sawhook. “They believe it is the right thing to do and so do we at the AHDF. It is the humane thing to do and the AHDF is proud to be a leading supporter of the federal law to ban horse slaughter.”

For more information on the American Horse Defense Fund or the pending legislation visit our website at www.AHDF.org. The AHDF is the nation's premier non-profit equine welfare organization with a focus on humane issues relating to all equine both wild and domestic.

Extention for Comments

The comment period for the Sheldon EA has been extended. Please note the new date of October 9, 2007.

I have also received a response about the deleted emails. Mr. Steblien states that if an email was deleted it was unintentional and all emails are entered into a PDF form for future reference. He would like for anyone who received notification of a deleted without reading to forward a copy to him along with their comments so that he can make sure they are entered.

I am asking again for EVERYONE who reads this to provide a comment. This is YOUR national park and YOUR horses and your comment is important. Previously I provided some guidance should you want to support what we are asking, but whatever your opinion whatever your comments please make them. This is sort of like voting and is a privilege that we should all appreciate and participate in and is what makes our nation so wonderful. I hope that everyone will take just a few minutes to tell the people at Sheldon what they would like done with our park and our horses and burros.

I also want to thank each of you who have already responded. It is because of all your comments that they extended the comment period (see below). It shows that what we say may not be their top priority but that it does make a difference. Bravo to all of you!!

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Extension of Comment Period for Revised Draft Environmental Assessment for Horse and Burro Management at Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007 15:01:56 -0700
From: sheldon-hart@fws.gov



Dear Interested Party,

The revised draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for Horse and Burro Management at Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge has been available for public comment since September 12, 2007, and was scheduled to close on September 26, 2007. We have been requested to extend the public comment period by a number of organizations and individuals. With due consideration to these requests, we have extended the comment period 14 days and will now close on Tuesday, October 9, 2007 for a total of 28 days. Summary information on the revised draft EA is provided below with instructions on how to provide comment. Thank you for your interest in Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge.
Sincerely,

Paul Steblein
Project Leader
Sheldon - Hart Mountain NWR Complex
18 South G Street, Rm 301
P.O. Box 111
Lakeview, OR 97630
P: 541-947-3315
F: 541-947-4414
C: 541-219-0161
E: Paul_Steblein@fws.gov
www.fws.gov/sheldonhartmtn/

Update for Wild Horse Comments

Since posting about the wild horse comments needed we have heard that people have been emailing their comments as suggested on the Fish and Wildlife Services website for the Sheldon Hart Wildlife Refuge. However, some have requested receipts to ensure that their comments were received and they are reporting that their comments were deleted unread! We have submitted a complaint and suggest that anyone who has had this happen to them also file a complaint. The public comment period is required by law and the FWS has already played fast and loose with the rules by only allowing 2 weeks for comments. This latest attempt may be a try to possibly "load" the comments to make it look as though they have more support for the removal of the horses than they do.

We are still asking people to submit comments, we may need more than ever to overcome the disappearing comments. However, if you are submitting your comments via email please request a read receipt. Another way may be to fax your comments. Please let us know if your comments are deleted without being read.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Sheldon-Hart Mtn National Wildlife Refuge Complex
Paul Steblein, Project Leader
David N Johnson, Deputy Project Leader

P.O. Box 111, 18 South G Street
Lakeview, Oregon 97630
Phone: (541) 947-3315
Fax: (541) 947-4414
Email:  sheldon-hart@fws.gov

A few points that can be made in your comments are:

• The Sheldon Hart Officials should extend the public comment period to the usual and customary 30 days
• Support Alternative A, no horse roundups until a full Environmental Impact Statement is completed and scientific analysis of impact is done not only of the horses, but of other wildlife like pronghorn deer, sage grouse, and other species.
• The Sheldon Hart proposed draft EA is a significant federal action that is controversial and requires a full Environmental Impact Statement to be compliant the National Environmental Act (NEPA)
• The aerial survey of horses found 100% (800) less horses then the initial proposed environmental assessment in May, 2007 which reported there were 1600 horses. The survey should be independently verified by actually counts as an alternative to aerial surveys.
• The contractor, Dave Cattoor and Cattoors Livestock,of Nephi, NV referenced throughout the EA has prior convictions of hunting wild horse by aircraft in May 22, 1992 and selling wild horses to slaughter in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Wild Horses In Danger, Comments Needed

It seems that everyday I hear about more and more inhumanity towards our horses. I often wonder if there is just some room somewhere that cruel people sit to figure out new and different ways to torment horses. In addition to slaughter, we are also watching our wild horses disappear from the wild and soon they will be extinct in the wild.

In December of 1993 reporter Keith Rodgers reported about the BLM cutting wild horse areas in half. In the report I found something very frightening. It states But wild horse activist Michael Blake, author of "Dances With Wolves," has contended that the BLM inflates wild horse figures so it can continue to remove the animals from public lands. A private survey that Blake commissioned found only 8,300 wild horses in Nevada. This means that in 1993 the wild horse numbers were substantially lower than even previously thought. (BLM estimated wild horse numbers in Nevada to be around 25,000 in 1993.) If these numbers are correct, we could face the extinction of our wild horses much sooner than previously thought. We know that there are now more of our mustangs in governmental holding pens than in the wild. Did you know that the BLM says that 2,700 is an appropriate level of wild burros? At this level any other species would be on the endangered list. At the current rate of removals of burros we could see them vanish from the wild completely before you could even plan a vacation to see them (if you could even find them).

As bad as all that is, the Fish and Wildlife Service would like to see every single wild horse and burro removed from their managed areas. Recently the Sheldon Wildlife Refuge attempted to remove the majority of the wild horses from their park (which borders a BLM herd management area). Through public outcry and a threatened lawsuit from In Defense of Animals they said they intended to hold off on all removals. However, they are once again planning a removal and the date for comments is looming large over us. The date for all comments to be received is next Wednesday September 26th. The contractor they are planning to use is the same one used in 2006 that left foals tied on the range for days and horses were pushed so hard that they ran over each other. Much of this abuse was covered up and we have no way of knowing how many animals were destroyed in the park to cover up even more "problems" to hide them from the public. There are no plans for having a vet onsite during the removals and the current plan calls for leaving the decision to destroy animals with the contractor or manager.

We need EVERYONE to respond to the newest Draft Plan by next Wednesday. Even if you are unsure of what to say or feel that you have no experience in responding, your comments are needed. Please do not think that the responses of the wild horse groups or humane groups will suffice, they won't. If it had not been for the large numbers of responses they received last time we would have seen more than half of the wild horses removed from the park this year. For us to stop this plan we will need even more responses. Please try to keep your responses polite and matter-of-fact. Just politely state (in your own words please) that you feel the removal of horses during foaling season is inhumane, the use of the same contractors is not warranted due to the apparent abuses in 2006, that the use of paid agents to find homes for the horses has not worked in the past due to many horses from Sheldon being found in slaughter feedlots, due to the complaints in 2006 that there should be a vet and independent oversight by humane groups onsite during the removals and to make life and death decisions, that the park should consider the use of PZP ONLY for population control and that the park reevaluate the number of horses and burros the park can manage. Send your comments by mail to Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, P.O. Box 111, Lakeview, Oregon 97630 and by email to Sheldon-Hart@fws.gov. Remember all comment must be received by Wednesday September 26, 2007.

On a related topic there is a planned removal in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. They are doing a removal "because they have always done one like this". They have not filed an Environmental Impact Statement or an Environmental Assessment. The current plan calls for the horses to be removed and sent directly to an auction where they will more than likely be picked up by kill buyers and shipped to slaughter in Canada. The park manager says that they maintain wild horses in the park for tourists, but she and the wildlife biologist know nothing about the horses and don't care to know about them. We contend that any removals done without the proper paperwork or public comment is not legal, no matter how they have always done it. You can call the park and register your comments by calling 701-623-4466.

Since both of these situations need every response we can get please pass along this info to family and friends. Also, please consider donating to AHDF so that we can continue to provide these alerts and allow us to do whatever we can to protect horses. The AHDF focuses on just horses so that we can focus our expertise and attention on the issues related to equine.

Musical Horse Aid Results

I just got home from the first annual Musical Horse Aid event in Wisconsin. The bands were VERY good and I found myself wanting to buy all of their cds. I will soon be speaking to one of the groups about a song that I would love to have on the AHDF website for downloading. The groups were all very interested in helping protect the horses and did a great job of motivating the audience. The hostess of the event was from a local radio station and was very good and also did a great motivational job. There was a good deal of media surrounding the event as well, so the issue of horse slaughter got alot of attention prior to the event. Attendees got some added entertainment from some local riding drill teams who were very good and added some excitement and an equine touch. We will be adding some of the pictures I took of the groups to AHDF's website.

There were several speakers during the day from HSUS, Lazy Maple Rescue, Midwest Rescue, RACE Fund and, of course me, for AHDF and Habitat for Horses. All the speakers were interesting and did a great job of portraying the plight of the horses. I was the final speaker of the evening and the crowd seemed to listen intently to what I was saying. I got the greatest compliment after my speech when a young girl came up to me. I had been speaking about being 13 and wanting a horse so bad and that there are enough 13 year old girls (even if they are in a much older body) that want these animals. Anyway, the girl said to me "I am one of those 13 year old girls". It was very touching and made the trip worthwhile.

Now for the not so good news. It was an incredibly cold day and even colder evening. This seemed to keep most folks home. The turn out was not what the event planners had hoped. However, there were a number of donations dropped off at the gate from folks who supported the efforts but didn't want to get overwhelmed by the facts of slaughter. There were very few regular folks (those not involved with rescue or working the event) so we had few donations or sales of products. However, the silent auction appeared to have done well and somehow I ended up winning a wooden chair (I was trying to encourage bids, but I ended up being the only bidder) that we had to haul back home.

I did end up giving away one product. a very young girl came by our table and wanted one of our little stuffed New Hope horses. She was about 4 or 5 years old. Her mom told her they didn't bring enough money to buy the horse. Later I saw her and I gave her the horse after she promised to give her a good home. Her face lit up and she and that horse galloped around the rest of the day, she was so happy. She told everyone that "the ADF" lady gave her her very own pony. That was one pony we might have raised funds with, but I don't think that it could have ever made anyone else as happy as it made that child.

After the few donations of $45 and sales of $55, we earned $100. However, our costs were much higher. Give away brochures and pens $75 and trip expenses $598 (for hotel and gas). This means AHDF had a loss of $573. However, if we were able to touch those children it was worth it. I will take time to speak at any event where we can make a difference.

BTW, nobody came up to me and mentioned AHDF, so nobody won the tee shirt. So, we will have another way for someone to win it. I will be announcing that later.

If anyone would like to donate to help us make up the difference, please make your Paypal donations to President@ahdf.org or mail your donation to AHDF 1718 M St NW #191 Washington, DC 20036.

Correction

In a previous post about the use of double decker trailers there was an incorrect statement. While the statement was not made by me I felt it necessary to note the facts.

EPN incorrectly stated that AWI would oppose any attempts to ban double decker trailers. AWI provided comments, as EPN stated they did, that the federal regulations were not enough to protect the horses. They would not oppose any laws that would in fact protect horses during transport. I am sure this was just a case of mistaken identity or a simple typo and in no way feel that this statement was meant to be malicious.

I am not sure how I missed that statement, which I would have known to be incorrect. I apologize for furthering the incorrect information.

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