Archive for May 10, 2012

Canadian Doc Alleges Slaughtered Horses Now Drug Free

Posted: May 10, 2012 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Horse Slaughter
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by Dave Pink of Ontario’s Better Farming

Fraudulent Records of No Concern to CFIA Director

“Do Not Use In Horses Intended For Human Consumption”

The disclosure requirements for horses destined to be slaughtered for human consumption are working effectively to keep restricted drugs and vaccines out of the food supply, says Dr. Richard Arsenault, director of the meat programs division for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

Any horse that is to be slaughtered for food must have an Equine Information Document (EID), which tracks its history, including any drugs that might have been administered to the horse. Horses that don’t have that document won’t be slaughtered for human consumption, says Arsenault, a veterinarian.

“It’s extremely well respected in terms of compliance,” he says.

Since July 31, 2010, equine presented for slaughter have been required to have an EID, which includes a six-month documented history showing compliant drug and vaccine use. Drugs and vaccines that have been used in the last six months must be safe for use in food producing animals and the period of time since the last use must be sufficient to clear unwanted residues. The EID was made available to the public in January 2010 to allow owners enough time to comply with the July 31, 2010 implementation date.

As well, the CFIA also has a monitoring program that takes tissue samples of slaughtered animals.

Arsenault’s comments come in response to a rumour that a one-time racehorse that had been treated with the anti-inflammatory drug phenylbutazone — better known as bute — had been sold for slaughter. But without that EID documentation no horse will be processed for human consumption, he says.

There are just four slaughter facilities for horses throughout Canada, all of them in western Canada or Quebec. It is a very small industry, says Arsenault, adding that the regulations for drug treatments in traditional meat sources such as cattle and swine have been more clearly researched and defined. Because of that there is less tolerance for horses that may have been treated with any drug.

“We’re taking steps to make sure the system is working well, and our information tells us that it is working well right now,” says Arsenault. “There’s a potential hazard, but controls are in place.”

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Rita Crundwell: Dixon, Illinois Comptroller/Horse Breeder Pleads Not Guilty To Stealing $53 Million

Posted: May 10, 2012 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News
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By ROBERT RAY as printed on The Huffington Post

…they plan to have the horses sold and to give the proceeds to Dixon

ROCKFORD, Ill. — The former comptroller of a small northern Illinois city pleaded not guilty Monday to charges alleging she stole more than $53 million of the public’s money to fund a lavish lifestyle and create one of the nation’s foremost horse-breeding operations.

Rita Crundwell and her attorney, Paul Gaziano, refused to comment after leaving the federal courthouse in Rockford, where she pleaded not guilty to a single count of wire fraud. Crundwell, who is free on a recognizance bond, could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors allege that since 1990, the 58-year-old Crundwell stole more than $53 million from Dixon, where oversaw public finances as the city comptroller since the 1980s, by diverting it to an account she had set up for personal use and misleading city officials.

Authorities say Crundwell bought luxury homes and vehicles, and spent millions on her horse-breeding operation, RC Quarter Horses, LLC, which produced 52 world champions in exhibitions run by the American Quarter Horse Association.

Prosecutors say her scheme unraveled only when a co-worker filling in for Crundwell while she was on an extended vacation stumbled upon the secret bank account.

Her arrest stunned tiny Dixon, a small city along a picturesque vein of the Mississippi River about a two-hour drive west of Chicago in Illinois farm country. Its 16,000 people are largely lower-middle class, working at factories, grain farms, the local prison and a hospital, among other places.

Prosecutors also have filed a lawsuit seeking 311 registered quarter horses and dozens of foals that are expected to be born this spring. Prosecutors said while announcing the lawsuit that they plan to have the horses sold and to give the proceeds to Dixon, where the late President Ronald Reagan lived as a boy.