Wild horse activists buzz Denver with anti-Salazar banner
By Bruce Finley
The Denver Post
Posted: 11/20/2009 05:58:25 PM MST
Updated: 11/20/2009 06:06:14 PM MST
Wild horse advocates tried to challenge a federal relocation proposal by flying a banner over Denver this afternoon that called Interior Secretary Ken Salazar "the slaughter czar."
New Mexico-based Wild Horse Observers Association co-founder Patience O'Dowd said her group opposes Salazar's proposal to re-locate thousands of the wild horses that roam the West.
They paid $2,000 to fly the banner over the federal center in Lakewood, where the Interior Department has offices, and over central Denver until sunset.
Salazar was not in Colorado today.
The proposal calls for keeping some 25,000 non-reproducing horses at seven preserves in the Midwest and East.
It would be more humane and feasible to manage growing wild herds by shooting birth-control darts at the horses from helicopters, O'Dowd said.
The growth of wild horse herds over 40 years has challenged federal land managers to find a way to balance wild horse, cattle industry and energy interests without slaughter while also minimizing costs to taxpayers. Federal officials over the past year spent $29 million caring for some 32,000 wild horses and burros rounded up into fenced holding areas around the West.
"We have to find a humane way to manage the horses on the range so that they avoid starvation and so that ecosystems are protected from overgrazing," Salazar spokesman Matt Lee-Ashley said. "Nobody is proposing slaughter."
Opponents to the management plan, he said, "have let their imaginations run wild."
Bruce Finley: 303-954-1700 or bfinley@denverpost.com
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Keep Those Cards, Letters, Faxes and Calls Flying!
Wild horse removal generates over 7,000 comments to BLM
November 16, 2:22 PMLA Equine Policy ExaminerCarrol Abel
Nevada wild horses photo by Carrol Abel
The Bureau of Land Management logged over 7,000 comments from a concerned public regarding the scheduled round up of 2,700 wild horses from the Calico Complex in Northern Nevada. The 21 day public comment period closed on Thursday, Nov. 12.
Rumors over what was thought to be an incorrect e-mail address posted on the BLM web-site turned out to be untrue. According to Jerome Fox, BLM wild horse and burro specialist, the reason for a last minute change in email addresses could have been due to the large number of responses. Correspondence to either email address will be logged. They are then categorized as coming from an individual, an organization, or another government agency.
Octobers release of the Preliminary Environmental Assessment of the already scheduled Calico round up revealed that between 80% and 90%of roughly 2,700 wild horses from the Calico Complex in Northern Nevada. Between 80% and 90% of the herds are to be removed from the wild beginning December 1.
Question abound regarding the estimated population of wild horses in the complex which consists of five herd management areas. BLM documents show a 2004 population of 575 animals..... almost half of those were mares injected with the immunocontraceptive PZP. The 2007 inventory shows only 761 wild horses. But records just one year later reflect a sudden rise to 2,071. By October of this year, BLM records show the complex as home to over 3,000 wild horses.
The question of accurate inventories is further complicated by a 2008 livestock allotment decision allowing an increase of cattle by almost 300%. American Herds quotes the document as saying there was ,"little evidence of 'wild horse' utilization...given the relative few numbers of horses/burros their impact on upland vegetation during the critical growing period will be minimal. This conclusion is supported by the fact that several upland monitoring sites established ( in one of the HMA's) are no longer monitored because very little or no use by wild horses/burros was documented at these sites."
Mr. Fox stated that he personally took part in the October 2009 aerial survey which took place over 4 1/2 days. The population count of 3,095 wild horses was correct. When asked if the movement of horses throughout the 4 1/2 day time frame could cause some to be counted two or even three times, he began a reference to "natural barriers" then abruptly ended the conversation saying, "I gotta go. Talk to you later. Bye.", then hung up the phone.
Advocate organizations anxiously await the final decision on the Calico Complex gather. Willis Lamb, long time wild horse advocate, responded to the large number of public comments by saying, " If BLM received over 7,000 public comments over a single gather, it kind of makes you think there could be a problem with their plan. And the response sure makes you think that the public is starting to take notice and get concerned about pulling more horses off the range and dumping them in holding facilities. Perhaps the days of "trap and toss" range management are numbered."
November 16, 2:22 PMLA Equine Policy ExaminerCarrol Abel
Nevada wild horses photo by Carrol Abel
The Bureau of Land Management logged over 7,000 comments from a concerned public regarding the scheduled round up of 2,700 wild horses from the Calico Complex in Northern Nevada. The 21 day public comment period closed on Thursday, Nov. 12.
Rumors over what was thought to be an incorrect e-mail address posted on the BLM web-site turned out to be untrue. According to Jerome Fox, BLM wild horse and burro specialist, the reason for a last minute change in email addresses could have been due to the large number of responses. Correspondence to either email address will be logged. They are then categorized as coming from an individual, an organization, or another government agency.
Octobers release of the Preliminary Environmental Assessment of the already scheduled Calico round up revealed that between 80% and 90%of roughly 2,700 wild horses from the Calico Complex in Northern Nevada. Between 80% and 90% of the herds are to be removed from the wild beginning December 1.
Question abound regarding the estimated population of wild horses in the complex which consists of five herd management areas. BLM documents show a 2004 population of 575 animals..... almost half of those were mares injected with the immunocontraceptive PZP. The 2007 inventory shows only 761 wild horses. But records just one year later reflect a sudden rise to 2,071. By October of this year, BLM records show the complex as home to over 3,000 wild horses.
The question of accurate inventories is further complicated by a 2008 livestock allotment decision allowing an increase of cattle by almost 300%. American Herds quotes the document as saying there was ,"little evidence of 'wild horse' utilization...given the relative few numbers of horses/burros their impact on upland vegetation during the critical growing period will be minimal. This conclusion is supported by the fact that several upland monitoring sites established ( in one of the HMA's) are no longer monitored because very little or no use by wild horses/burros was documented at these sites."
Mr. Fox stated that he personally took part in the October 2009 aerial survey which took place over 4 1/2 days. The population count of 3,095 wild horses was correct. When asked if the movement of horses throughout the 4 1/2 day time frame could cause some to be counted two or even three times, he began a reference to "natural barriers" then abruptly ended the conversation saying, "I gotta go. Talk to you later. Bye.", then hung up the phone.
Advocate organizations anxiously await the final decision on the Calico Complex gather. Willis Lamb, long time wild horse advocate, responded to the large number of public comments by saying, " If BLM received over 7,000 public comments over a single gather, it kind of makes you think there could be a problem with their plan. And the response sure makes you think that the public is starting to take notice and get concerned about pulling more horses off the range and dumping them in holding facilities. Perhaps the days of "trap and toss" range management are numbered."
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
News Release!!!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: John Holland
Vicki Tobin
Governor Schweitzer goes to Derby, leaves slaughter bill to become law
On Friday, May 1st, Governor Brian Schweitzer packed up and left his office to head for the Kentucky Derby. On his desk, he left HB 418, a bill designed to encourage the building of a horse slaughter plant in Montana! The bill was designed to lure a horse slaughter plant to Montana by effectively preventing Montana citizens from challenging such a facility in the state courts.
The Governor had initially issued an amendatory veto of the bill, pointing out that it was almost certainly unconstitutional, but the legislature sent it back to him without his suggested amendments. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ed Butcher, was quick to praise the Governor’s act of surrender.
In an interview published in The Horse, Butcher dismissed the idea that his bill was unconstitutional. He went on to explain his misguided belief that the role of the courts is more like that of movie critics, saying, "Courts have the right to offer an opinion about legislation--they do not have the right to make law. That's the legislature's job."
Butcher has said these safeguards [taking away the access of citizens to the courts] were needed to avoid the types of legal appeals that shuttered the country's last horse slaughterhouses in Illinois and Texas in 2007.
In an earlier article “Showdown at Horse Slaughter Pass”, EWA’s John Holland used the metaphor that Butcher was trying to “tie the citizens of Montana to the tracks”, and pondered whether the Governor would save the day. But alas, the Governor had his mind on the Kentucky Derby and left the citizens to their fate. Luckily, Butcher’s bill ties them to the wrong tracks.
Although the plants were cited repeatedly for pollution, sewer and discharge violations, all three plants were shut down by state laws.
The Belgian Velda Corporation’s Natural Meats plant in Saskatchewan, Canada is the most probable target of Butcher’s overtures. Their operating license was indeed suspended in December over unspecified health violations but by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, not a law suit.
Since no slaughter plant can legally slaughter horses in the US for human consumption, the bill’s only real impact may be the statement it makes about Montana, its legislature and its governor.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: John Holland
Vicki Tobin
Governor Schweitzer goes to Derby, leaves slaughter bill to become law
On Friday, May 1st, Governor Brian Schweitzer packed up and left his office to head for the Kentucky Derby. On his desk, he left HB 418, a bill designed to encourage the building of a horse slaughter plant in Montana! The bill was designed to lure a horse slaughter plant to Montana by effectively preventing Montana citizens from challenging such a facility in the state courts.
The Governor had initially issued an amendatory veto of the bill, pointing out that it was almost certainly unconstitutional, but the legislature sent it back to him without his suggested amendments. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ed Butcher, was quick to praise the Governor’s act of surrender.
In an interview published in The Horse, Butcher dismissed the idea that his bill was unconstitutional. He went on to explain his misguided belief that the role of the courts is more like that of movie critics, saying, "Courts have the right to offer an opinion about legislation--they do not have the right to make law. That's the legislature's job."
Butcher has said these safeguards [taking away the access of citizens to the courts] were needed to avoid the types of legal appeals that shuttered the country's last horse slaughterhouses in Illinois and Texas in 2007.
In an earlier article “Showdown at Horse Slaughter Pass”, EWA’s John Holland used the metaphor that Butcher was trying to “tie the citizens of Montana to the tracks”, and pondered whether the Governor would save the day. But alas, the Governor had his mind on the Kentucky Derby and left the citizens to their fate. Luckily, Butcher’s bill ties them to the wrong tracks.
Although the plants were cited repeatedly for pollution, sewer and discharge violations, all three plants were shut down by state laws.
The Belgian Velda Corporation’s Natural Meats plant in Saskatchewan, Canada is the most probable target of Butcher’s overtures. Their operating license was indeed suspended in December over unspecified health violations but by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, not a law suit.
Since no slaughter plant can legally slaughter horses in the US for human consumption, the bill’s only real impact may be the statement it makes about Montana, its legislature and its governor.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Harvest or Slaughter: Still the Killing of America's Horses
Agriculture Associations Misrepresent Horse Slaughter
Using a benign word such as Harvest, a word we all cherish, is an insult and outrage to horse lovers everywhere. This fraud attempts to reduce the horse, the animal which in partnership with man built this nation – attempts to reduce the horse to a commodity such as corn, wheat, barley, or oats.
Not only are the cattle and agriculture associations promoting horse “harvesting” but organizations such as the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) and the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) are often quoted and named in their articles and speeches as supporters and misuse the word harvest to portray a cruel process which they attempt to mask with a word with pleasant associations in the American vocabulary..
These are the very organizations that are entrusted to promote equine welfare and care. They are organizations that have seen recent results of three year long U.S. Department of Agriculture Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) probe by animal cruelty investigator Julie Caramante which resulted in the release of photos and reports from investigations of the department that clearly depict the cruelty and abuse inherent with the entire horse killing process FOIA Reports. The three year cover-up by the USDA has been dubbed by some in the media “Slaughtergate”. It is hardly a harvest.
Horses are not food animals in America. They are trusted work, service, sport, therapy and companion animals. It is time for Americans to stand up and end the hold the predatory foreign market has on the American Equine Industry. It is time for Americans to stand up and let their legislators know that horses are not crops, and that it is imperative that The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009 be passed swiftly and without hesitation by the Congress and signed into law by President Obama.
Horses are not a vegetable crop. They aren’t even food. Would you harvest your dog, your cat, or yes, even your gerbil? Tell these organizations it’s just fine to promote their belief that killing horses for profit is the American way, but at least they should be honest in the language they use to describe this unspeakably cruel act where horses are hung upside down to bleed to death after their throat is cut, an act in which their hooves are often removed while they are still conscious.
For information on legislative activity, visit: Legislative Activity
Contacts: John Holland & Vicki Tobin
CHICAGO, (EWA) - At a time when Americans are experiencing the worst economic period in most of our life-times, Cattle and Agriculture Associations have taken the economic downturn as an opportunity to further the agenda of promoting horse slaughter. The word slaughter has been replaced with the word “Harvest” to portray crops that have ripened and need to be gleaned. Although there is no market in the US for the crop, proponents of this fraud want to ensure healthy horses are killed so there is a continuous supply of meat on the hoof that must continually be shipped to overseas markets that Americans do not own nor profit. This is referred to as the never ending cycle of breed and dump.Using a benign word such as Harvest, a word we all cherish, is an insult and outrage to horse lovers everywhere. This fraud attempts to reduce the horse, the animal which in partnership with man built this nation – attempts to reduce the horse to a commodity such as corn, wheat, barley, or oats.
Not only are the cattle and agriculture associations promoting horse “harvesting” but organizations such as the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) and the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) are often quoted and named in their articles and speeches as supporters and misuse the word harvest to portray a cruel process which they attempt to mask with a word with pleasant associations in the American vocabulary..
These are the very organizations that are entrusted to promote equine welfare and care. They are organizations that have seen recent results of three year long U.S. Department of Agriculture Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) probe by animal cruelty investigator Julie Caramante which resulted in the release of photos and reports from investigations of the department that clearly depict the cruelty and abuse inherent with the entire horse killing process FOIA Reports. The three year cover-up by the USDA has been dubbed by some in the media “Slaughtergate”. It is hardly a harvest.
Horses are not food animals in America. They are trusted work, service, sport, therapy and companion animals. It is time for Americans to stand up and end the hold the predatory foreign market has on the American Equine Industry. It is time for Americans to stand up and let their legislators know that horses are not crops, and that it is imperative that The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009 be passed swiftly and without hesitation by the Congress and signed into law by President Obama.
Horses are not a vegetable crop. They aren’t even food. Would you harvest your dog, your cat, or yes, even your gerbil? Tell these organizations it’s just fine to promote their belief that killing horses for profit is the American way, but at least they should be honest in the language they use to describe this unspeakably cruel act where horses are hung upside down to bleed to death after their throat is cut, an act in which their hooves are often removed while they are still conscious.
For information on legislative activity, visit: Legislative Activity
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Calling All Illinoisians
PLEASE CROSS POST FAR AND WIDE!
Hi, folks. Please take a minute on Monday, Tuesday and/or Wednesday morning to call, fax and email the below committee members. Please be sure to read the synopsis. Sacia is removing every regulation and is basically saying if it’s moving, slaughter it. I have listed the committee members below the information on the bill. We must stop this bill!
Here’s the bill HB 583
Short Description: ANIMALS--HORSE MEATHouse SponsorsRep. Jim SaciaHearings
Agriculture & Conservation Committee Hearing Feb 18 2009 2:00PM Capitol Building Room 122B Springfield, IL
Last Action
Date
Chamber
Action
2/11/2009
House
Assigned to Agriculture & Conservation Committee
Statutes Amended In Order of Appearance
225 ILCS 635/13.1 new
225 ILCS 635/1.5 rep.
410 ILCS 605/2.1
from Ch. 8, par. 107.1
510 ILCS 65/4
from Ch. 8, par. 954
510 ILCS 70/5
from Ch. 8, par. 705
510 ILCS 70/7.5
510 ILCS 75/2
from Ch. 8, par. 229.52
Synopsis As IntroducedAmends the Illinois Horse Meat Act. Restores language that exempted certain types of horse meat from regulation under the Act. Repeals a provision that prohibits the slaughter of horses for human consumption. Amends the Animals Intended for Food Act. Expands the definition of "animal" to include "horses, mules, or other equidae". Amends the Illinois Equine Infectious Anemia Control Act. Allows equidae more than 12 months of age to enter the State for immediate slaughter without a certificate of veterinary inspection. Requires equidae entering the State for immediate slaughter to be accompanied by a consignment direct to slaughter at an approved equine slaughtering establishment. Amends the Humane Care for Animals Act. Creates an exemption from the general prohibition against selling, offering to sell, leading, riding, transporting, or driving on any public way any equidae that, because of debility, disease, lameness or any other cause, could not be worked in this State. Deletes a provision that prohibited injured equidae from being sent directly to a slaughter facility. Amends the Humane Slaughter of Livestock Act. Deletes a provision in the definition of the term "livestock" that excludes "horses, mules, or other equidae to be used in and for the preparation of meat or meat products for consumption by human beings". Imposes conditions on any rulemaking authority. Effective immediately.Actions
Date
Chamber
Action
2/5/2009
House
Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Jim Sacia
2/6/2009
House
First Reading
2/6/2009
House
Referred to Rules Committee
2/11/2009
House
Assigned to Agriculture & Conservation Committee
Here is a list of the committee members. You can click the names for the contact information. Just in case the links don’t work, you can go to this page and click the names http://www.ilga.gov/house/committees/members.asp?committeeID=626
Agriculture & Conservation Committee - Members96th General Assembly
Members
Notice of Hearing
Bills
Role
Representative
Party
Chairperson :
Brandon W. Phelps
D
Vice-Chairperson :
Patrick J Verschoore
D
Republican Spokesperson :
Jim Sacia
R
Member:
John D. Cavaletto
R
Member:
Shane Cultra
R
Member:
Lisa M. Dugan
D
Member:
Robert F. Flider
D
Member:
Mary E. Flowers
D
Member:
Julie Hamos
D
Member:
Donald L. Moffitt
R
Member:
Richard P. Myers
R
Member:
David Reis
R
Member:
Dan Reitz
D
Hi, folks. Please take a minute on Monday, Tuesday and/or Wednesday morning to call, fax and email the below committee members. Please be sure to read the synopsis. Sacia is removing every regulation and is basically saying if it’s moving, slaughter it. I have listed the committee members below the information on the bill. We must stop this bill!
Here’s the bill HB 583
Short Description: ANIMALS--HORSE MEATHouse SponsorsRep. Jim SaciaHearings
Agriculture & Conservation Committee Hearing Feb 18 2009 2:00PM Capitol Building Room 122B Springfield, IL
Last Action
Date
Chamber
Action
2/11/2009
House
Assigned to Agriculture & Conservation Committee
Statutes Amended In Order of Appearance
225 ILCS 635/13.1 new
225 ILCS 635/1.5 rep.
410 ILCS 605/2.1
from Ch. 8, par. 107.1
510 ILCS 65/4
from Ch. 8, par. 954
510 ILCS 70/5
from Ch. 8, par. 705
510 ILCS 70/7.5
510 ILCS 75/2
from Ch. 8, par. 229.52
Synopsis As IntroducedAmends the Illinois Horse Meat Act. Restores language that exempted certain types of horse meat from regulation under the Act. Repeals a provision that prohibits the slaughter of horses for human consumption. Amends the Animals Intended for Food Act. Expands the definition of "animal" to include "horses, mules, or other equidae". Amends the Illinois Equine Infectious Anemia Control Act. Allows equidae more than 12 months of age to enter the State for immediate slaughter without a certificate of veterinary inspection. Requires equidae entering the State for immediate slaughter to be accompanied by a consignment direct to slaughter at an approved equine slaughtering establishment. Amends the Humane Care for Animals Act. Creates an exemption from the general prohibition against selling, offering to sell, leading, riding, transporting, or driving on any public way any equidae that, because of debility, disease, lameness or any other cause, could not be worked in this State. Deletes a provision that prohibited injured equidae from being sent directly to a slaughter facility. Amends the Humane Slaughter of Livestock Act. Deletes a provision in the definition of the term "livestock" that excludes "horses, mules, or other equidae to be used in and for the preparation of meat or meat products for consumption by human beings". Imposes conditions on any rulemaking authority. Effective immediately.Actions
Date
Chamber
Action
2/5/2009
House
Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Jim Sacia
2/6/2009
House
First Reading
2/6/2009
House
Referred to Rules Committee
2/11/2009
House
Assigned to Agriculture & Conservation Committee
Here is a list of the committee members. You can click the names for the contact information. Just in case the links don’t work, you can go to this page and click the names http://www.ilga.gov/house/committees/members.asp?committeeID=626
Agriculture & Conservation Committee - Members96th General Assembly
Members
Notice of Hearing
Bills
Role
Representative
Party
Chairperson :
Brandon W. Phelps
D
Vice-Chairperson :
Patrick J Verschoore
D
Republican Spokesperson :
Jim Sacia
R
Member:
John D. Cavaletto
R
Member:
Shane Cultra
R
Member:
Lisa M. Dugan
D
Member:
Robert F. Flider
D
Member:
Mary E. Flowers
D
Member:
Julie Hamos
D
Member:
Donald L. Moffitt
R
Member:
Richard P. Myers
R
Member:
David Reis
R
Member:
Dan Reitz
D
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Finally a response from Senator Durbin about the BLM and wild horses
Below is the response to my email that I got from Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois. I wrote him when the BLM was talking about killing the wild horses because of lack of funding. You can see by his response that he thinks the BLM is doing a good job. At one time Senator Durbin was a co-sponsor for anti slaughter bills. I wonder who got to him.
January 21, 2009
Dear Mrs. Jirik:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the treatment of wild horses and burros by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). I appreciate hearing from you.
A number of animal rights and conservation groups have expressed concerns about the BLM program that removes wild horses and burros from our federal lands.
For more than 35 years, the BLM has managed wild horses and burros on public lands. When populations of wild horses and burros are found to exceed the appropriate management levels for a given area, selected animals are gathered by the Bureau of Land Management and put up for adoption.
In recent years, adoption rates have declined due to the skyrocketing costs of feed and fuel, leaving an increased number of wild horses and burros under the care of BLM. Unfortunately, funding for the Wild Horse and Burro program has not kept pace with the increasing demands on its resources.
BLM's July 2008 announcement of a proposal to euthanize horses and burros that are not adopted drew strong public criticism.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress, has conducted an investigation into BLM's management of wild horses and burros. GAO found that the program will be sustainable over the long term only if BLM revises its current practices and considers a broader range of available options, including euthanasia and sales without limitations, for dealing with those animals unable to be adopted.
The agency's National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board has recommended a number of alternative ways to manage the number of animals currently in BLM holding facilities. The advisory board also recommended that unadopted animals be offered for sale without limitations or humanely euthanized only as a last resort.
BLM has not made a final decision regarding the use of euthanasia or alternative methods to manage the animals under their care. I will keep your concerns in mind.
Thank you again for sharing your views with me. Please feel free to keep in touch.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator
RJD/hw
January 21, 2009
Dear Mrs. Jirik:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the treatment of wild horses and burros by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). I appreciate hearing from you.
A number of animal rights and conservation groups have expressed concerns about the BLM program that removes wild horses and burros from our federal lands.
For more than 35 years, the BLM has managed wild horses and burros on public lands. When populations of wild horses and burros are found to exceed the appropriate management levels for a given area, selected animals are gathered by the Bureau of Land Management and put up for adoption.
In recent years, adoption rates have declined due to the skyrocketing costs of feed and fuel, leaving an increased number of wild horses and burros under the care of BLM. Unfortunately, funding for the Wild Horse and Burro program has not kept pace with the increasing demands on its resources.
BLM's July 2008 announcement of a proposal to euthanize horses and burros that are not adopted drew strong public criticism.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress, has conducted an investigation into BLM's management of wild horses and burros. GAO found that the program will be sustainable over the long term only if BLM revises its current practices and considers a broader range of available options, including euthanasia and sales without limitations, for dealing with those animals unable to be adopted.
The agency's National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board has recommended a number of alternative ways to manage the number of animals currently in BLM holding facilities. The advisory board also recommended that unadopted animals be offered for sale without limitations or humanely euthanized only as a last resort.
BLM has not made a final decision regarding the use of euthanasia or alternative methods to manage the animals under their care. I will keep your concerns in mind.
Thank you again for sharing your views with me. Please feel free to keep in touch.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator
RJD/hw
Sunday, January 18, 2009
We the People of Illinois. . .
This is how the People of Illinois felt about horses when Carvel was slaughtering them in great numbers. And this is how we still feel about horses now that Carvel is out of Illinois. Let us not forget why we got into this fight to save the horses; let us not forget their suffering and let us not forget they are still suffering the horrors of slaughter. We will fight until they are all safe!
PREFACE TO THE ILLINOIS antislaughter LAW - it precedes the first section, 225 ILCS 635/1.5. [This is the law that made DeKalb shut down. . . ]
*******************************
WHEREAS, The People of the State of Illinois find and declare that:
(a) The horse is a living symbol of the spirit, rugged independence, and tireless energy of our pioneer heritage;
(b) Horses have served us in war, carried us into the West and beyond, hauled our goods on their backs and in wagons, and entertained and partnered with man for thousands of years;
(c) The horse is a part of Illinois' rich heritage, having played a major role in Illinois' historical growth and development;
(d) Horses contribute significantly to the enjoyment of generations of recreation enthusiasts in Illinois, while contributing tremendous economic benefit;
(e) Horses are not raised for food or fiber and are taxed differently than food animals; and
(f) Horses can be stolen, or purchased without disclosure or under false pretenses, to be slaughtered or shipped for slaughter; and this practice has contributed to crime and consumer fraud; and
WHEREAS, The General Assembly hereby also declares the purpose and intent of this amendatory Act to be as follows:
(a) To recognize the horse as an important part of Illinois' heritage that deserves protection from those who would slaughter horses for food for human consumption; and
(b) To enact into law that which has been widely accepted for generations in this State: it is immoral and unlawful to slaughter horses in this State to be used for food for human consumption;
therefore
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, . . .[etc and then it goes into the law itself - the law that shut down DeKalb and was upheld by the federal courts].
Just substitute "United States" where it says "Illinois" and there you have it . . .
PREFACE TO THE ILLINOIS antislaughter LAW - it precedes the first section, 225 ILCS 635/1.5. [This is the law that made DeKalb shut down. . . ]
*******************************
WHEREAS, The People of the State of Illinois find and declare that:
(a) The horse is a living symbol of the spirit, rugged independence, and tireless energy of our pioneer heritage;
(b) Horses have served us in war, carried us into the West and beyond, hauled our goods on their backs and in wagons, and entertained and partnered with man for thousands of years;
(c) The horse is a part of Illinois' rich heritage, having played a major role in Illinois' historical growth and development;
(d) Horses contribute significantly to the enjoyment of generations of recreation enthusiasts in Illinois, while contributing tremendous economic benefit;
(e) Horses are not raised for food or fiber and are taxed differently than food animals; and
(f) Horses can be stolen, or purchased without disclosure or under false pretenses, to be slaughtered or shipped for slaughter; and this practice has contributed to crime and consumer fraud; and
WHEREAS, The General Assembly hereby also declares the purpose and intent of this amendatory Act to be as follows:
(a) To recognize the horse as an important part of Illinois' heritage that deserves protection from those who would slaughter horses for food for human consumption; and
(b) To enact into law that which has been widely accepted for generations in this State: it is immoral and unlawful to slaughter horses in this State to be used for food for human consumption;
therefore
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, . . .[etc and then it goes into the law itself - the law that shut down DeKalb and was upheld by the federal courts].
Just substitute "United States" where it says "Illinois" and there you have it . . .
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