Wild Horse Freedom Federation has been following the horse cloning issue and this court case. Just a reminder, as “unwanted” horses are sent to an inhumane slaughter, the slaughtered mares’ ovaries and unfertilized eggs are used to create CLONED horses.
Rancher Jason Abraham of Canadian, Texas, and Amarillo veterinarian Gregg Veneklasen, who owns the Timber Creek Veterinary Hospital in Canyon, Texas, aren’t just a couple of cowboys, they’re both major partners with animal cloning company ViaGen.
“ViaGen Inc. has had a field office in Canada since 2007. When the United States closed the doors to their equine slaughterhouses, the company moved north to Canada, as the cloning process requires equine ovaries (a by-product of slaughter horses).
To take advantage of the Fort Macleod, Alberta horse processing plant, ViaGen Inc. created their cloning laboratory, in nearby Lethbridge. Mares sent to slaughter at this plant are used in the cloning process for their ovaries and oocytes (unfertilized eggs). Their cells are then used by the company’s lab to host the DNA from the animal intended to be cloned. The Canadian slaughter horse market provides a continual supply of eggs to be used for Viagen, Inc.” (Jan/Feb 2012 Western Horse Review.com)
Bouvry Exports in Fort MacLeod, Alberta is the largest horse slaughterhouse in North America. Be sure to read “The Push for Cloned Horses As Natural Horses Go to Slaughter.” – Debbie Coffey
Court Says AQHA can Delay Clone Registrations
SOURCE: thehorse.com
by Pat Raia
A federal judge is allowing the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) to delay registering cloned horses until the association’s appeal of an earlier court ruling is decided.
Some owners have used the cloning process—first performed on horses in 2003—to preserve their animals’ bloodlines, particularly those of high-performance equines. In response to cloning as a way to preserve bloodlines, some breed associations ruled on whether or not cloned horses can be included in their breed registries. In 2004 the AQHA board of directors approved Rule 227(a), which prohibits cloned horses or their offspring from being included in the organization’s breed registry.
Last year Jason Abraham and two of his companies, Abraham & Veneklasen Joint Venture and Abraham Equine Inc., filed a complaint against the AQHA which asks the court to order the AQHA to remove Rule 227(a) on grounds that the ban on registering cloned horses and their offspring violates antitrust laws.
Earlier this year, a 10-person federal district court jury found that the rule preventing cloned Quarter Horses from being registered violated both state and federal antitrust rules. U.S. District Court Judge Mary Lou Robinson later signed an order requiring the AQHA to allow cloned animals in its registry.
In October, the AQHA filed a federal lawsuit asking that the court’s ruling be overturned.
AQHA Executive Director for Competition and Breed Integrity Tom Perechino said the AQHA’s complaint also asked the court to suspend clone registrations until a ruling in the association’s appeal has been made.
On Dec. 2, the U.S. District Court in Amarillo, Texas, allowed the AQHA to delay registering clones and their offspring until the breed association’s appeal is heard and decided. The court also ruled that the AQHA must immediately develop its own rules for the registration of clones and their offspring.
Atty. Nancy Stone, who represents Abraham & Veneklasen Joint Venture, was unavailable for comment on the decision.
In a Dec. 3 written statement, AQHA Executive Vice President Don Treadway, Jr. said the association’s executive committee would continue its fight against the cloning regulation.
“The AQHA executive committee, myself, and your AQHA employees are pleased with (the) order granting in part our motion for stay, and we will continue to fight for our membership’s right to determine the rules for its association,” he said.
Treadway said that the AQHA’s appeal case now moves on to the Fifth Circuit Court in New Orleans. The AQHA has until Dec. 24 to file its appellate brief in the case.
Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
This is an issue that has been around for a long time but in the chaos of this time in history it is coming to a head. Not surprising. As I recall some of the Texans want to clone a horse awarded honors for being a great “Bucking Horse”. That IMHO puts it all in my perspective which is just short of horror.
Cloning has been a potential for fifty years and was a point of considerable discussion among the early geneticists who were nearly unanimously against cloning. As a zoologist that intended to be a geneticist, but did not, this brings back a deep disgust and fear for our future. The idea of cloning horses for food was never an inkling. I thought it could not get worst than we thought then, but it has.
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This is off subject, but I spent the entire last night writing a response to an up-and-coming Time article about plans for massive kill off of our wildlife called “Cull the herd”. I wrote about the 2011 USDA-Wildlife Services report which states that close to four million wildlife animals, birds and reptiles were mostly intentionally killed that year by the WS with steel traps, snares, dogs, guns, drowning, bludgeoning, poison, and bombs.
Well, today, that attracted to me this new expose’ of WS whistleblowers providing proof of the corruption in our government that has been manifesting itself as vicious, brutal, abandoned killing of wildlife for pleasure and, for me, connects to the unfathomable deep desire of those killers who yearn to kill our horses wild and domestic.
What we need now is an expose’ from Whistleblowers from the BLM.
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You may wish to read this series of articles about killing of our wildlife.
http://www.sacbee.com/wildlife/
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Thank you, I will take a look.
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I went to the site and was really surprised at how much was there – too busy to read now, but will when not so busy and blue. Here I thought I was the only one who knew about this. We must come together, unite, and spread all the pertinent word. We are going to end this BS. We must.
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I’m right with you!
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Oopps. Here is the link to the movie above. http://www.predatordefense.org/exposed/index.htm?v=52P9cGt0Lbc
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Elaine – thanks for the link – I had read about the Wildlife Services slaughtering predators before. We all should support Predator Defense! As one of the men on there said – killing more coyotes just means their reproduction increases – sound familiar?? As in removing herds of wild horses?
Again, thanks for the many links you provide – the information really needs to get “out there”.
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I am tired of people who like to maime and kill animals. Horses, dogs, cats, wildlife are treated brutally. We need to unite. Frankly, at this moment, I have had it.
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If they cannot respect Wildlife, if they cannot understand their importance in the grand scheme, I say you have no business interfering !!!! they are the Balance of all life……… And Yes Elaine it is and has been time for a Class Action Lawsuit , we need to get them tro s for indefinite time , till we can rid the greed …………… When we say UNITE we Mean everyone !!!!!!!!
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Elaine, I found this today as well, and had the same thoughts about USDA/BLM. This also made me realize we are a nation allowing our government place what are essentially unmarked land mines on our public lands. We should all be alarmed by this and raise holy h**l about it. If those M44s will kill a 250 lb. calf they will kill a person, a child, a dog, or virtually anything alive that steps on it, tugs on it, or sniffs it. This goes wayyyyyyyyyyyy beyond predator control.
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I agree that’s what needs done, and I have no idea how it can or should be done. If someone more creative than I am can come up with something you can count me in all the way. I didn’t know about the FB page for the SAFE Act. We have to inform EVERYONE of this, I believe that’s the only way. Maybe if enough of us scream to the media they will listen but it would have to be an organized scream for numbers sake.
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I just Love addressing the worst of all, horse slaughterers, with no ryhm or reason these people send horses and little foals to slaughter just because they dont meet their criteria. I would venture to say 70% of all horses slaughter come from AQHA………………..
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I wonder if that is true. Most reporters say 40 percent come from race tracks. Of course, they might not all be TBs.
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It would be interesting to find out !!!!!!! Those people are diabolical to say the least, always trying to get the Perfect Breed, they lost the real real love of the Breed a long time ago, it turned to greed they never looked back !!!! Respect of what you love, is essential once that is lost its over…………………..
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Using a slaughter plant to get mares ovaries – now that is almost as low as anyone could go. So we kill thousands (at least) of horses so this company can CLONE more? Frankly, how low can human beings GO?
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I’m beginning to think the human race is lost. Every time I think I’ve seen the lowest of the low…surprise!!! There’s someone even lower.
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Please, Elaine, do not be discouraged. Look at all the folks who are disgusted just on this thread. There are lots of us. We are not as united or as lucrative as we need, but time will bring an end to this horror.
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Dear Elaine, time is of the essence, time is not the Mustangs friend, i have been here for them 20 yrs, I have spent lots of sleepless nites trying to think of something that will help,( I am sure i am not alone) things for Mustangs have only gotten worse, and now the Ultimate betrayal they are experimenting on our precious Mustangs , just like they were lab Rats, Hitler resorted to this horror on humans, what kind of low life pieces of human crap would do this???????? These people gotta go , they must be stopped !!!!!!! and not a minute longer should they have Carte Blanch with our Mustangs not on my dime !!!!!!!!!
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Reblogged this on "OUR WORLD".
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It is time for a Class Action Lawsuit.
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All I can say about these Nazi butchers is WTF this is Dachau for horses in Canada. Shame on the Canadian people for allowing this
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