Story by Joey Cresta of Seacoastonline.com
Declan Gregg to be Hosted by Congressman Jim Moran in Washington
Declan Gregg, 9, of Greenland pets Barney recently at the N.H. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Stratham. Declan will be going to Washington, D.C. with the Equine Welfare Alliance to lobby lawmakers later this month. ~ photo by Ioanna Raptis
STRATHAM NH — Children and adults visited the N.H. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on Sunday to voice their support for a Greenland boy who will soon be visiting Capitol Hill to tell lawmakers to end inhumane treatment of horses.
The SPCA on Portsmouth Avenue hosted a letter-writing party to help 9-year-old Declan Gregg of Greenland obtain pleas opposing horse slaughter to bring to Congress later this month. Gregg said his goal was to collect 115 letters before leaving for Washington, D.C., on March 26, and he has already surpassed that number.
On Sunday, he said he was pleased to see many boys and girls join him in speaking up against horse slaughter, which he learned about from his mother, Stacie Gregg, when she was researching the issue.
“They think (horses are) special. They really like them and they don’t want them to be killed,” Declan Gregg said.
Advocates for humane treatment of horses say that many horses each year are bought at auction or otherwise obtained and shipped off to Canada and Mexico to be slaughtered. Their meat is sold to consumers in countries including Japan and France.
Eleven-year-old Emily Lavoie of Eliot, Maine, was one girl who attended the letter-writing party Sunday. “They’re just really beautiful,” she said of horses, adding she wrote a letter in the hope of being able to save the animals.
Her grandmother, Eleanor Pearsall, also attended the event and gave Gregg a picture of her horse. “I think it’s a wonderful thing that you’re doing,” she told him.
Stacie Gregg said the response to her son’s efforts continues to amaze her. She said his blog, children4horses.blogspot.com, has now been visited by people in more than 50 countries.
She said the most common responses thank Declan or laud his bravery.
Help Declan’s Cause
Letter-writing campaign:
Send letters opposing horse slaughter to P.O. Box 614, Greenland, NH 03840.
When he travels to Washington, he will meet with Congressman Frank Guinta, R-N.H., who will take him to the House floor to see a vote of Congress, Stacie Gregg said. She and her son will then spend the next two days lobbying.
Scott Gregg, Declan’s father, said his son’s interest in humane treatment of animals has been a “display of passion and compassion.” He said he is proud of his son, who is “very interested in making a difference.”
Paula Parisi, N.H. SPCA’s manager of humane education programs, said she has seen many compassionate children over the years, but none have gone as far as Declan to protect animals. She nominated him for a 2012 Kohl’s Cares award — the department store’s program honors children who have done great acts of community service.
“He can make a huge difference for horses, and he’s reached so many people,” she said.
Portsmouth resident Denise Brown attended the event to sell copies of her book, “Wind, Wild Horse Rescue,” a story about the rescue of a wild horse. She donated a portion of the proceeds to the SPCA.
“(Declan is) incredible,” Brown said. “The future of wild horses is in the children’s hands today.”
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To Learn More about the EWA Children’s Letter Writing Campaign Click (HERE)
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Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Thank you, RT. Better keep an eye on the comments. We had to take down the comments on our facebook page, yesterday. The darkside doesn’t care who they attack with their propaganda and instead of being proud of America’s youth, they couldn’t miss an opportunity to attack.
The kids are so excited and we didn’t want them getting upset with the garbage being posted. There were some great comments in support of the children but I removed all of them. Every time someone would post in support, there would be an another post spewing venum.
Note to Frank: Thanks for trying to be the voice of reason but as we all know, there is no logic or reason with our opponents.
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Just as our CHILDREN ARE , Our Mustangs and Horses are the HEARTBEAT of AMERICA !!!
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Well, its just too sad…I wonder how compassionate the attackers children are. I would be willing to bet they may have the same mentality. So sad…Most feel animals are a means to an end..Not smart and without feelings, unfortunately I think its the other way around. If they didn’t spew such lies about the process it would be one thing. However, there is no truth in anything they say. I know from experience…I live in the state of Illinois where we once had the slaughter house..I don’t believe any of them can say that..We must keep this terrible and horrific business out of all of our
states by pushing for Legislative action to keep our horses and other equines free from being slaughtered here and being sent out of this country. We need to hold the Legislators feet to the fire because more than 80% of Americans do want that business here.
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Correction to my most recent comments..80% or more Americans DO NOT WANT THAT kind of
business in this country…Can’t believe I made that mistake…
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It is a New Day and Age. Those that want to stay in the dark can stay there. They have a choice, But they will not be allowed to snuff out the light. The Force of the Horse and the Power of the Light is too strong.
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I hope somebody can get thru to these politicians. I just got a form letter reply from Sen Roy Blunt of MO (who was one of the 3 idiots who snuck the horse slaughter thru again) with his silly explanation of why he wanted horse slaughter. This was the identical form letter he sent to someone else who complained about not wanting horse slaughter. Blunt’s original form letter to the person is the reason I sent an email to Blunt. Why don’t they just GET IT? They could care less what constituents really want. Is it a wonder that they have so many people mad at them? I know we must not ever give up.
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I keep praying that we raise a more humane tomorrow. These children fuel that hope!
If anyone thinks that “humane horse slaughter” is NOT an oxymoron, just check out what is happening to horses on OUR side of the border, (by our own government) before they reach Mexico.
Click to access InvestigationintotheexportofhorsestoMexicoforslaughter09.pdf
You see what our own government agency is doing, and our own government veterinarian ( where DO they find these guys!) and anyone with a brain cell can deduce that USA’s government and equine welfare are on opposite poles. Read what the “vet” says at the bottom of the page.
“He has very rarely in his 20 years of experience rejected a horse for transport. When
asked the procedure for rejected horses he stated:
“ I do not provide euthanasia. I am not doing anything. The horse just remains in the
pens of the Chihuahua Cattlemen’s association. They deal with it.”
– Being asked how they would deal with the situation, he explained:
“Either the horse gets better, or it dies in the pen. They would have to call a private
practitioner to euthanize it (I guess…), but I’ve never seen that. Usually the horse is left
to die. I don’t think that’s inhumane. It’s like humans in a coma, they don’t feel
anything, they’re too much out there already. No, they don’t suffer.”
– Being asked if he reports violations of the Commercial Transportation of Equines
to Slaughter Regulations, he answered:
“No, I don’t enforce the regulations. I don’t push for that. And the stockyards don’t
either. These guys are in high demand. There are just too many horses out there”
Now, combine that travesty with the way we know our own government treats our Wild Horses, and anyone can see that “Government oversight” does NOT equal “humane”.
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What a remarkable young man you are. Keep up the good work. Hopefully other kids will join you in your fight. Don’t forget the wild horses and burro roundups. And also don’t forget the poor wolves.
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Really restores my faith in youth to see how Declan too this compassionate iniciative to stop the horrendously cruel slaughter of horses. There’s a better way a comin’ for you (horses) and for me (humans)!
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Declan is a great kid and his mom is 100% supportive of this important job they have taken on. I am thrilled that Declan is taking my book with him to give to President Obama. I hope the President and his family read it to learn the plight of America’s mustangs. “Wind, Wild Horse Rescue” by Denise Brown has over 100 equine sketches by Denise. It’s an easy read and an important book that American citizens need to know about so Congress will vote against the slaughterhouse in America and also Parliment in Canada, too! Best wishes to Declan Gregg and EWA and RHFitch on their visit to Congress next week!
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