Month: August 2012

Defendant in Horse Soring Case gets Probation

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — One of four men who pleaded guilty to soring Tennessee walking horses will not face more jail time.

According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press (http://bit.ly/MhiyXN ), John Mayes was sentenced Monday to the time he has already served and ordered to write an article about horse soring. Soring is a banned practice of using chemicals and chains to train horses to perform high-stepping gaits for shows and competitions.

Rate this:

Ex-BLM Official Arrested in Nevada Child Sex Case

CARSON CITY, Nev. — A former top Bureau of Land Management official has been arrested in Nevada on charges of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.

Ronald Wenker was arrested Tuesday in Reno by Washoe County sheriff’s deputies. He remained jailed without bail Wednesday on two felony counts each of sexual assault and lewdness with a child under 14.

Rate this:

Raw Video Update: The Takhi, Wild Horses of Mongolia

I lot of good folks have been asking for a few media updates from our horseback trek and research trip in Outer Mongolia and with Terry just getting back to the U.S. and me still out of the country we have been struggling with pulling together all the photos and video for your review.

To add to the headache is that I do not have my hands on my normal video editing program but none the less, please find inserted here a rather raw look at some of the fruits of our labor while we attempted to locate and photograph the reintroduced, primitive wild horses of Mongolia, the Takhi.

Please note; no helicopters, fences or traps.

Calming for one’s soul.

Rate this:

Independent Horse Slaughter White Paper

During the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, more than 30 marvelously talented and exceptionally well trained athletes represented the United States and Canada, carrying on a proud tradition which has its roots in the very earliest exploration, creation and development of these two modern neighboring countries in North America. These are the horses of our Team USA and Canadian Olympic Team equestrian squads, competing with their human partners to bring honor to their respective countries in the sports of dressage, eventing and show jumping.

Rate this:

EWA President Clears Air with USDA on Horse Slaughter Issue

I am writing you today on behalf of the Equine Welfare Alliance, our member organizations and individual members to clarify the misinformation and blatant disregard for food safety laws provided in the petition submitted by Sue Wallis.

First and foremost, slaughter should not be used for any purpose other than food production. It is very clear that Ms. Wallis intends to use horse slaughter as a disposal service that will be paid for with our hard earned tax dollars. Our country can ill afford another welfare program.

Rate this:

Wild Horse and Burro Bait-Trapping: Going … Going … Gone

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has divided the western states into six zones and private contractors bid on and received a contract for one or more zones. Each contractor is required by their agreement to capture a minimum amount of wild horses and/or burros in the zone. The MAXIMUM number of wild horses and burros that may be gathered is actually higher than the number that exists on their federally protected Herd Management Areas. The BLM reported that in the 2012 fiscal year there were only 37,294 wild horses and burros remaining on the range, but they have contracted to remove up to 44,000 from bait-trapping alone. So while the BLM feigns interest in humane care and concern for out Wild Horses and Burros, these BLM contracts continue on their fast-moving “managing for extinction”.

Rate this:

Wild Horses: Hazards From Humans on the Pryor Mountains

The priority at that point was to get the foal out and back to his family. It was a holiday weekend, the BLM office was closed, and there was no cell service in the area anyway, so it was up to us to help him. With no access to water or to his mother, the foal would most likely die. We moved very quietly and slowly, not wanting to panic him and cause him to run into the barbed wire, and injure himself. At this point he was bright eyed and active, and watched us as we worked.

Rate this:

Equine Welfare Alliance Counters Horse Eater Propaganda to USDA

Horses are being singled out because they are not food animals in the US. Calling horses livestock does not make them food animals. Food animals are determined by how they are raised and regulated. Accordingly, US horses are non-food animals. They do not meet food safety laws by any stretch of the imagination. US horses are hauled out of the country with or without plants on US soil. According to USDA statistics, 775,474 horses were exported from 1989-2006 when all three foreign owned plants were operating on US soil.

Rate this: