September 7, 2011 – Chicago (EWA) – The long awaited Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on horse welfare fell far short of the respectable reporting we have come to expect from the GAO, even raising questions as to the agency’s credibility.
The Equine Welfare Alliance (EWA) and Animal Law Coalition (ALC) have issued an exhaustive analysis and executive summary, demonstrating the embarrassing and shocking lack of evidence for GAO’s findings.
The analysis concludes that the GAO report is “disturbing” as it is filled with speculation, anecdotes, hearsay and unsupported opinions. The GAO sources appear to be largely known slaughter proponents.
“The GAO’s pro-slaughter bias is clearly evident in the report’s defamatory accusation that the Cavel fire in 2002 was started by so-called anti-slaughter arsonists,” states co-author and EWA vice president, Vicki Tobin. The cause of the fire was never determined and it was Cavel’s owners who benefitted from the fire, claiming $5M when the damages were estimated at $2M.
The EWA/ALC analysis details how, instead of doing the hard work of gathering actual data, the GAO relied on chitchats with a handful of state veterinarians with a few livestock board and other state officials and on information provided by pro-slaughter organizations.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011 – Drought conditions continue to be widespread across the state. As a result, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality informed water-rights holders on April 11, 2011 that there may be a need to administer water rights on a priority basis. On April 18, 2011, TCEQ received a senior priority call in the Brazos River Basin.
In response, the executive director of the TCEQ notified certain Brazos River Basin junior water-right holders that their right to divert water is immediately suspended. Suspended water rights include those with a priority date of 1980 or later, term, and temporary water-right permits in the mid- and lower- Brazos River Basin.
In order to protect public health and welfare, water rights with municipal uses or for power generation have not been suspended. Land owners with property adjacent to the Brazos River may also continue to divert water for domestic and livestock use as part of their inherent riparian rights.
These actions are guided by the priority doctrine in Texas law. The most senior water rights are served first during times of drought with domestic and livestock uses superior to any appropriated rights. Water rights are suspended or curtailed by priority date, with the most recently issued – or “junior” – priority users suspended before senior water rights in the area.
The TCEQ has asked that all Brazos River water-right holders take steps to conserve water, implement their drought contingency plans, and prepare for additional suspensions or curtailments should drought conditions persist.
Water is a precious resource – all Texans are encouraged to conserve, especially during times of drought.
Contact: Andrea Morrow
Phone: 512-239-5011
Pager: 512-896-3727
Watch the video interview with Dr. Huber about the new pathogen that’s threatening our food!
And then tell President Obama to say “no” to GMO Alfalfa and Sugar Beets
On January 17, 2011, Dr. Don Huber, an internationally-recognized plant pathologist and Professor Emeritus at Purdue University, sent a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack alerting him to a serious problem facing U.S. agriculture. This letter warned Secretary Vilsack of a previously unknown pathogen that “should be treated as an emergency.”
Dr. Huber’s letter discussed the new pathogen in dire terms, saying that a top team of scientists had discovered a link between the new pathogen, the steady rise of plant diseases in Roundup Ready corn and soybean crops, and the high rates of infertility and spontaneous abortions of animal livestock consuming feed that had been treated with the weed killer Roundup.
The letter urged Secretary Vilsack not to approve Roundup Ready alfalfa because of the high levels “of this new animal pathogen in Roundup Ready crops, and its association with plant and animal diseases that are reaching epidemic proportions,” and to conduct research on the relationship between Roundup Ready crops, glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup), and this new pathogen.
Richard Spooner and Lady Like won the $50,000 Vita Flex Match Race and the Vita Flex Victory Pass Award during the tenth week of the 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. (Photo courtesy of SportFot)
Wellington, FL (April 12, 2011) – During an exciting night under the lights in the International Arena at the 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, Richard Spooner and Lady Like cleared the Vita Flex oxer in winning time during the final phase of the $50,000 Vita Flex Match Race to take home the winning ribbon as well as the Vita Flex Victory Pass Award. The $50,000 Vita Flex Match Race featured five rounds of races with riders competing head-to-head in competition over mirror-image courses.
Spooner was thrilled with his victory and said he always enjoys competing in match races. There were 32 combinations in the $50,000 Vita Flex Match Race, and Spooner won against Karina Aziz, Todd Minikus, Paul O’Shea and Jonathan McCrea. He praised Lady Like, a 1999 Holsteiner mare, and said she was quick and careful over the five rounds which included beating out Daniela Cordero and T Cavalier in the final round.
Spooner’s $50,000 Vita Flex Match Race victory also helped him take home the Vita Flex Victory Pass Award. Spooner was pleased with both wins and thrilled to win a competition that offered such a large monetary prize. Spooner compared the $50,000 Vita Flex Match Race to horse racing and said that the crowd was really behind the event.
Track wild horses and relive the Old West in the seldom-visited Pizona area of Inyo National Forest. From a central meadow camp, riders track mustangs in their natural pinyon forest habitat. Observe and photograph mustang herds and wildflowers. Learn the social behavior of the horses and their current struggle. Enjoy spectacular sunsets of the Sierra and White Mountains while a cook prepares dinner over an open fire. This program is a special opportunity that combines a superb outdoor adventure and a unique educational experience in exploring the biology, ecology and behavior of a proud and beautiful animal — the North American wild horse.
June 11-14: Sat.-Tues., 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
Bishop, Calif.: Benton Hot Springs Bed and Breakfast, 55137 Hwy 120.
$750. Includes horse, saddle, meals and instruction. Enroll in section 104OTH800.
Mountain Horsemanship: Veterinary Care and Horsepacking in the Wilderness
This deluxe pack trip covers the essentials of horsepacking in the wilderness — with the Golden Trout Wilderness of the high Sierra as your laboratory. The instructor will discuss equipment, emergency veterinary care, feeding and managing livestock in the backcountry. Past participants have acclaimed it as an outstanding adventure. Lecture and laboratory topics include: wilderness conduct of people; trail riding safety and horse equipment; methods of feeding livestock in the backcountry; management of livestock; preventative medicine; evaluating the normal horse; treating a hurt or sick horse in the wilderness; packing equipment, fitting saddles, making loads, hitches and leading strings of mules; veterinary skills including physical examination, floating teeth, IM IV injections, applying wraps, animal restraint and aging horses; and shoeing.
Recycled advertising billboard vinyls are being repurposed as tarp material – www.recycledbillboardtarps.com – for farmers and ranchers that want to cover grass, alfalfa, make windscreens, or use as floor covering stuff in the barn. In addition to being a “green” tarp alternative, they are also cheap and effective.
These waterproof vinyls are super, heavy duty (20 mils thick and 13 oz/yd material) and they’re a heavier material than most any stuff you’d buy at the store. (The blue tarps at Home Depot are just 5 mils thick.) And they are about 75% less expensive than store bought tarps of similar quality!
These tarps can also be seamed together with a vinyl cement to create tarps of any size desire with waterproof seams.
Prices start at $60/vinyl. Common sizes are 10’x30’, 12’x42’, and 14’x48’.
Louisville’s Historic Seelbach Hotel to Host 3rd Annual Old Friends Benefit Saturday, February 19, 2011
LOUISVILLE, KY – JANUARY 18, 2011 – The Historic Seelbach Hilton today announced that it will host the third annual “Old Friends along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail,” a progressive dinner and Bourbon-tasting that will benefit Old Friends, the Thoroughbred retirement facility in Central Kentucky.
The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 19, at the hotel, 500 South Fourth Street in downtown Louisville. Tickets are $100 per person, and the hotel is offering Bourbon Trail guests a special reduced room rate of $95 per night.
The benefit will be highlighted by live and silent auctions of exclusive equine artwork, autographed Bourbon items, racing memorabilia, fine jewelry, and more.
Old Friends, which has locations in Georgetown, KY and in Greenfield Center, NY, is devoted to providing a dignified retirement to horses whose racing and breeding careers have come to an end. The farm is home to such retired champions as Eclipse winner The Wicked North, Breeders’ Cup victor Gulch, and Travers stars Will’s Way and Thunder Rumble, along with many non-black type ex-racers.
January 16, 2011 – Although USDA has acknowledged that planting Monsanto’s genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa poses a significant risk that regular crops will be contaminated, the agency is still proposing to deregulate GE alfalfa and allow commercial plantings!
The agency’s analysis does NOT prove that GE alfalfa is safe for the environment or for animals, nor does it establish how farmers could adequately be protected from contamination and the resulting loss of markets. The agency’s proposal would leave farmers and the public paying the price while enriching Monsanto.
Urge President Obama and Secretary Vilsack to reject GE alfalfa!
MESSAGE: “I am ___________ from __________. I am calling to comment on USDA’s proposal to approve the commercial release of GE alfalfa and their failure to adequately address the public health, environmental, and economic consequences of that release. I strongly urge you to reject the planting of GE alfalfa.”
Toronto, ON, Canada – November 17, 2010 – G&C Farm had a very successful week at The Royal Horse Show in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Pablo Barrios competed aboard G&C Farm horses and won two classes. With an incredible string of top finishes this year, Barrios has vaulted into the top 30 riders in the world in the FEI ROLEX World Rankings. G&C Farm is based in Wellington, FL, and owned by Gustavo and Carolina Mirabal of Venezuela. Barrios, who competes for Venezuela, is also based in Wellington.
As of October 31, Barrios is ranked 30th in the world, and with his top finishes in Toronto, is expected to move up to 22nd in the rankings released next month. It has been an incredible year for Barrios, who started out 10 months ago ranked in the 93rd position.
IF ANIMALS COULD TALK … “As the Wild Goose Flies” … Ron Hevener
It was business as usual … Political strategists were advising British Petroleum on how to save face … Republicans were debating the merits of tea … the stock exchange was crashing on Wednesday and rallying by Friday, the same as always, and nobody could decide which movies were worth watching any more.
On TV, America was dancing with the stars, England was judging everybody’s talent and immigration was the subject du jour of national debate as flocks of wild birds and hordes of colorful butterflies flew as they had always flown – free and beautiful on magnetic paths only they could sense, pulling them towards a destiny only they could imagine.
Nobody bothered asking the birds what they thought of migration. What could common birds and butterflies know about pulling up their roots and starting a life all over again some place else? They didn’t have jobs, houses, cars and passports. Butterflies were made for catching in jars, pinning under glass in scientific biology collections and wreaking their revenge by splattering themselves on windshields at high speeds. Birds? Birds were just feather-brains ….
“Did you see that!” a magnificent gander piloting the flock shouted to his followers as they flew into the night.
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September 7, 2011 – Chicago (EWA) – The long awaited Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on horse welfare fell far short of the respectable reporting we have come to expect from the GAO, even raising questions as to the agency’s credibility.
