February 8, 2012 (Washington, D.C.) – The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends the House of Representatives for unanimously passing H.R. 306, the Corolla Wild Horses Protection Act, introduced by Representative Walter B. Jones (R-NC).  This bill will provide for a new management plan for the free-roaming Corolla wild horses in and around the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

The Corolla horses’ presence on the island is thought to coincide with the arrival of the Spanish explorers on the American coast in the early 16th century.  Today, these beautiful horses roam over 7,500 acres of public and private land in coastal Currituck County, North Carolina.

“This critical piece of legislation will enable the protection and responsible management of a prized herd of Colonial Spanish Mustangs,” noted Chris Heyde, deputy director of government and legal affairs for AWI. “Wild horses have held a significant role in North Carolina and our nation’s history and this bill will ensure their preservation.”

The current Currituck Outer Banks Wild Horse Management Plan of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provides for a maximum of 60 horses, with the population controlled through adoption, relocation, or contraceptive fertility methods.  According to Gus Cothran – a leading equine geneticist at Texas A&M University who has conducted extensive research on American wild horses – the genetic variability of the Corolla horses is among the lowest seen in any wild horse population in the country.

H.R. 306 will incorporate Dr. Cothran’s recommendation to increase the herd to a minimum of 110 animals, with a target population of between 120 and 130.  In addition, the legislation will provide for cost-effective management of the horses while ensuring that natural resources within the refuge are not adversely impacted.  The Corolla Wild Horses Protection Act will mandate a viable population control plan for the horses – including auctions, adoptions, contraceptive fertility methods, and other viable options.

AWI supports the bill’s goal of increasing the population in and around the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge while addressing concerns over conflicts with endangered species on refuge lands, and commends Representative Jones for his commitment to the protection of both wild and domestic horses.  We hope the Senate will likewise move swiftly to approve the measure when it comes up for consideration in that chamber.

For More Information Contact:
Chris Heyde – (202) 446-2142

Friday, February 3, 2102 – Washington, D.C. — The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is pleased to report that the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, H.R. 7, approved earlier today by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, includes a prohibition on the hauling of horses via double-deck trailers. The move to incorporate this prohibition within the larger transportation bill was strongly supported by AWI and championed by Representative Andy Harris (R-MD) and Committee Ranking Member, Nick Rahall (D-WV). The entire bill now goes before the full House of Representatives for a vote.

While the overall transportation bill is by no means an unqualified success and contains many unsavory elements from an animal welfare perspective, final passage of this ban on double-deck transport in interstate commerce would represent a clear and important victory for horse protection. AWI has long fought to have this inhumane practice outlawed, and in the present instance AWI worked to fend off a last-minute attempt by committee member Representative Rick Crawford (R-AR) to amend the bill so as to strip out the double-deck transport ban.

Chris Heyde, Deputy Director of Government and Legal Affairs for AWI, said, “We are very pleased that this ban has been approved by the House Committee. For far too long, unscrupulous individuals have been legally permitted to pack horses into dangerously cramped trailers with ceilings so low that horses are unable to stand properly. The horses are hauled on long-distance journeys that very often cause serious injuries and even deaths. Today, thanks to Representatives Harris and Rahall along with others on the Committee, we moved one step closer to putting an end to this inhumane and utterly unnecessary practice.”

Equine rescue, advocacy, and professional organizations including the American Veterinary Medical Association, National Black Farmers Association, and Veterinarians for Equine Welfare support a ban on double-deck transport of horses. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has expressed opposition to double-deck hauling of horses, stating that, “We do not believe that equines can be safely and humanely transported on a conveyance that has an animal cargo space divided into two or more stacked levels.”(9 CFR Parts 70 and 88). In fact, the USDA has prohibited using these trailers for transporting horses to slaughter, but its rule doesn’t cover horses being transported for other purposes. All horses, regardless of where they are going, deserve this important precaution, and the language included in the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act will provide it.

Media Contact:
Chris Heyde, (202) 446-2142, chris@awionline.org

House Committee to Consider Bill on Thursday

Monday, January 30, 2012 – At long last, a ban on the use of trailers with more than one level for hauling horses is on the verge of being considered by Congress… It is also on the verge of being derailed. While language clearly banning ALL hauling of horses by double-deck trailers is included in the Surface Transportation Extension Act, opponents are trying to undermine this modest yet important legislation.

Support for banning the use of double-deck trailers is strong, and includes the American Veterinary Medical Association, National Black Farmers Association, Animal Welfare Institute and Veterinarians for Equine Welfare. Equine rescue, humane, and professional organizations realize it is cruel and dangerous to haul horses on double-deck trailers. Even the U.S. Department of Agriculture has come out against their use: “We do not believe that equines can be safely and humanely transported on a conveyance that has an animal cargo space divided into two or more stacked levels.” (9 CFR Parts 70 and 88). In fact, USDA has prohibited using these trailers for transporting horses to slaughter, but its rule doesn’t cover horses being transported for any other purposes – or those supposedly being hauled for another purpose. All horses, irrespective of where they are going, deserve this important protection, and the language included in the Surface Transportation Extension Act will provide it.

On Thursday, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is expected to consider the Surface Transportation Extension Act. There are rumors that someone on the Committee might offer an amendment removing the language calling for a ban on these inhumane trailers. During the last Congress the same Committee unanimously approved the ban on double-deck trailers, and this support is needed again now. Please, can you help us?

Time Is Short; Here’s What You Can Do:

If your U.S. Representative is on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, please take a few minutes TODAY to call and ask him or her to support the existing language and oppose any amendment that would change it. Below is some additional information that might be useful when you call.

To find the name of your Representative and his/her phone number, please visit www.compassionindex.org. You can also call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected.

Thank you for taking action on this very important issue. Be sure to share this eAlert with friends, family, and coworkers and urge them to call in support of the language as well.

Sincerely,
Chris Heyde
Deputy Director
Government and Legal Affairs
Animal Welfare Institute

Washington, DC (January 23, 2012) – Some politicians in Washington feel that restarting a horse slaughter industry on American soil is a good idea. We’d like to offer a small window into how the horse slaughter industry currently operates, as shady players make deals amongst themselves while duping innocent people into giving up their horses to be butchered.  Read on…

A story recently surfaced about a 24-year-old Pennsylvania woman, Kelsey Lefever, who faces felony charges after allegedly collecting over 120 retired racehorses from well-meaning owners, promising them she would find good homes for the horses.  Her intention all along, however, was to sell them to killer buyers. Their “good homes” turned out to be a slaughterhouse in Canada, where they met with a gruesome death in order to become a “delicacy” at restaurants abroad. In the police report, a witness indicates that Lefever told her, “I killed every one of those (expletive) horses — over 120 of them. If they only knew, every one of them is dead.”

Her middleman is alleged to be one Bruce Rotz, Jr., who operates his killer buyer business from barns in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.  He is under contract to buy horses for the Canadian meat company Viande Richelieu.

Long before Rotz was a killer buyer, however, the Rotz family gained notoriety via another avenue of animal abuse: as Class B dealers. Rotz worked for his father, Bruce Rotz, Sr., who acquired dogs via an illicit supply chain and made tens of thousands of dollars a year selling the poor victims — many of whom were likely former companion animals — to research facilities for experimentation.

As dog dealers, the Rotzes had numerous run-ins with the law.  The elder Rotz was fined $1,240 in 2005 for failing to meet minimum requirements under the Animal Welfare Act.  The Rotzes acquired many of the dogs they sold from a family of notorious dealers in Missouri whose license was eventually revoked and a fine imposed for violations of the federal law, including failing to keep accurate records on hundreds of the dogs they sold.

In 2006, Bruce Rotz Sr. let his license to operate as a random source dog dealer expire, and he sold his business. Although Bruce Rotz, Jr. continued to work for the new owner for a while, he was already moving on to horses by then. Though he’s shifted species from dogs to horses, Rotz’s methods appear to be the same.  He is part of a dirty business where animals come to him from questionable sources, and he sells them for profit.  He frequents the nearby New Holland horse auction to acquire horses, including former racehorses, for the trade in their meat.  Recently, according to the criminal investigation, Rotz bought horses from Ms. Lefever.

Rotz doesn’t appear to be any more concerned with where the horses come from than he was with the dogs — and because he is once removed from the known illegal activity, he appears to be successfully ducking prosecution.  While Lefever faces prosecution for her fraudulent acquisition of the horses, Rotz remains free — a fine example of the sort of individual poised to take a lead role in a revised American horse slaughter industry.

“This makes you wonder why some Members of Congress are fighting so hard to restore an industry filled with crooked individuals like Rotz and Lefever, while thumbing their noses at those responsible owners who lost their horses into slaughter against their will,” said Chris Heyde, deputy director of government and legal affairs for AWI.  “Thankfully, the majority of legislators are supporting passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act which would protect horses from corrupt profiteers.”

For more information:
Chris Heyde, chris@awionline.org, (202) 446-2142

Washington, D.C. (November 15, 2011) – It would appear that some in Congress are all talk when it comes to seriously reducing federal spending and decreasing the size of  government.  Despite overwhelming objections from the American public and the horse community, and despite Congress’ own supposed belief in fiscal restraint, the fate of America’s horses was undermined by three Members of Congress and their staffs behind closed doors this week.  For years, an amendment to the annual Agriculture Appropriations bill has prevented tax dollars from being used to “inspect” horse slaughter facilities in the U.S.  The House of Representatives voted this year to again include it in the Fiscal Year 2012 Agriculture Appropriations bill, but three members of the Conference Committee, Representative Jack Kingston (R-GA),  Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), and Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), removed it from the final bill.  A fourth member of the Conference Committee, Representative Sam Farr (D-CA), was the lone objector.

“I have been in Washington for a long time and this move baffles me.  Both parties talked about making the hard cuts in federal spending and yet behind closed doors, three of the four men thought it was a good use of taxpayer dollars to ignore their colleagues and restore a federal program that will cost Americans at least $5 million a year and pull limited USDA inspectors from ensuring the humane treatment and safety of our nation’s food supply. To make matters worse, this was all done to appease a few foreign companies and Big Ag,” said Chris Heyde, deputy director of AWI’s government and legal affairs department.  “This action shows the true nature of some elected officials — that they are more concerned about helping special interests than doing what they were elected to do.”

Some legislators are trying to disguise what they did as helping the horses, but there is substantial evidence of horses suffering at taxpayers’ expense when slaughter was permitted in the U.S. While a recent GAO report attempted to connect an increase in abuse to a cessation of horse slaughter in the U.S., the authors noted that there was no actual proof other than claims put forward by pro-horse slaughter proponents.

With this cynical move, there is now only one avenue left for ending the tragedy of the slaughter of horses for human consumption:  Swift action on the GAO’s other recommendation — passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.

“AWI commends Representative Farr (D-CA), ranking member of the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, for being the sole member of the Conference Committee to stand up for America’s horses and fiscal responsibility,” noted Heyde.  “We look forward to working with Representative Farr and other Members of Congress on passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.”

The Animal Welfare Institute is calling on everyone who has horses and cares about the welfare of America’s horses to demand that Congress pass the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act immediately.

Chris Heyde, chris@awionline.org, (202) 446-2142

For years, the Animal Welfare Institute’s brochure on horse slaughter has been used by horsemen and activists across the US to help raise awareness about this cruel industry.  AWI has just released an updated version of this fact filled color brochure and will be providing copies for free to those working to help educate the public.  We have also created an insert filled with information about how you can take action in support of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act currently pending before Congress.

If you would like come copies of this brochure and the new insert, please send an email to chris@awionline.org with the quantity of each you would like.

Thanks for your continued help with this important issue.  While you are waiting for your brochures please visit AWI’s Compassion Index to see how your Representative and Senators stand on horse slaughter and other animal protection measures.  While there, be sure to send them an email in support of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act: http://capwiz.com/compassionindex/issues/?style=D&.

CHRIS HEYDE
Deputy Director
Government and Legal Affairs

ANIMAL WELFARE INSTITUTE
900 Pennsylvania Ave., SE
Washington, DC 20003
www.awionline.org ~ www.compassionindex.org

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Animal-Welfare-Institute/11601155278
Twitter: http://twitter.com/AWIOnline

Monday, October 3, 2011 — Washington, D.C. — Earlier this year, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) was honored to announce the exclusive release of the Rolling Stones’ classic “Wild Horses” – performed and produced by the legendary Willie Nelson and his family members. Now, Willie & The Nelson Family have followed up with the release of a video for the song featuring Willie, his daughter Paula, son Lukas and many others from the Nelson family. The video, filmed and produced by Luck Films, was shot at Willie’s ranch in Luck, Texas and features some of the over 40 horses, both wild and domestic, that Willie has helped rescue from slaughter. Willie & The Nelson Family are donating the proceeds from the sale of the song to AWI’s campaigns on behalf of wild and domestic horses. Willie and the entire Nelson family are long-time supporters of AWI and its efforts to end horse slaughter and preserve the right of wild horses to roam free.

“The BLM has been rounding them up at an alarming rate, supposedly for their own good. Sadly, there are more wild horses in holding pens than in the wild. Something is wrong with that, so we must act now before the BLM has managed these magnificent animals into extinction,” said Willie Nelson. “It’s time for the cowboys to stand up for the horses.”

The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was enacted in 1971 to halt the disappearance of these iconic animals from public lands in the American West. Since then, however, over 21 million acres of land set aside by Congress for wild horses have been removed from their range, even as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) – the very agency charged with their protection – claims there is not enough land to support existing herds. The BLM is unnecessarily removing horses based on spurious claims of damage to range and other adverse impacts. The BLM’s mismanagement of America’s wild horses is largely designed to benefit a livestock industry that has, for decades, exploited western public lands while profiting from massive subsidies funded by taxpayer dollars. Willie & The Nelson Family and AWI are calling on the BLM and the Obama administration to immediately halt all wild horse round-ups, restore the land provided by law to wild horses and stop warehousing horses on private lands at even greater expense to the taxpayer.

“There is no greater voice than Willie Nelson when it comes to speaking for the underdog. For decades, Willie has fought to protect family farmers in America, while also advocating for the humane treatment of horses and other animals,” said Chris Heyde, deputy director of government and legal affairs for AWI. “We are so grateful for the support of Willie and the entire Nelson family and we hope this song will raise awareness of the deteriorating situation facing wild horses and help turn things around before they disappear from their lands forever.”

For more information about the problems facing wild horses and what can be done to improve BLM’s wild horse program, please visit www.awionline.org/wildhorses.

To download your very own copy of Willie & The Nelson Family singing “Wild Horses,” please visit www.awionline.org/willienelson today! You can download a copy from your favorite service such as iTunes, Amazon and CD Baby. Join us in our effort to save America’s wild and domestic horses before it is too late! Be sure to share this release with your local radio station and encourage them to play the song for America’s wild horses.

Media Contact:
Chris Heyde, AWI, (202) 446-2142, chris@awionline.org

There are a number of ways for you to voice your opposition to horse slaughter and register your support for a permanent ban on this practice, including responding to AWI eAlerts, taking action through AWI’s Compassion Index at www.compassionindex.org and calling the offices of your Members of Congress.

I wanted to let you know that the Obama administration has created a new petition website where citizens can communicate with the White House on issues that matter to them.  If a petition gets 5,000 signatures within a month of being posted, White House staff will review it, ensure it is sent to the appropriate policy experts, and issue a formal response.

The petition, https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/!/petition/support-ban-horse-slaughter/q30gJg1k, was posted on September 23, 2011 asking for the Administration’s support of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, which was recently introduced in the Senate, S. 1176, and the House, H.R. 2966.  In order for the White House to respond, 5,000 signatures are needed by October 23, 2011.

Supporters of horse slaughter have also posted their own petition so it’s important that we speak up to protect our horses from this torturous treatment by those who seek to profit from their misery.  Thank you for taking action on their behalf.

CHRISTOPHER J. HEYDE
Deputy Director, Government and Legal Affairs
ANIMAL WELFARE INSTITUTE
900 Pennsylvania Ave., SE
Washington, DC 20003
T: (202) 446-2142 ~ F: (202) 446-2131
www.awionline.org
www.compassionindex.org

The Animal Welfare Institute has been working to alleviate the suffering inflicted on animals by humans since 1951.

Please join us in our work to protect animals – visit our website to find out more and to sign up for AWI eAlerts: www.awionline.org.

Please tell your Senators to Support the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act

Turn on the news and much of what you will hear from our elected officials in Washington, D.C. is “cut federal spending,” “stop wasteful federal programs,” or “decrease federal regulation.”  For those truly interested in cutting waste, we have a winning issue: banning horse slaughter.  Not only does the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S. 1176) help end the abuse of over 100,000 American horses being hauled to and slaughtered in Mexico and Canada for human consumption, but this bill would also eliminate a federal program while saving the American taxpayer millions of dollars a year.

Amazingly, however, while some in Congress talk about cuts, a few of the same politicians are quietly trying to restore a USDA program that was eliminated six years ago.  At the time Congress shut this program down, it was costing taxpayers $5 million a year, almost exclusively for the benefit of foreign interests.  Restoring it now would cost much more — and require an increase in federal bureaucracy to boot.  It is time for the American people to stand up for horses while taking  a stand against those in Congress working both sides of the issue when it comes to federal spending.

Contact your Senators TODAY in support of S. 1176, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.  For more background on the issue and the legislation, please visit www.awionline.org/horseslaughter.

What You Can Do:
Call both of your Senators today and urge them to help end horse slaughter, while saving the American taxpayer millions of dollars a year, by cosponsoring S. 1176, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.

To find your Senators’ contact information, please visit AWI’s Compassion Index.  While there, you can also send them an email in support of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.

Remember: Paul Revere, a member of the original tea party, didn’t walk from town to town alerting the colonists that the British were coming, he rode a horse!  Please help us to alert everyone that the time has come to end horse slaughter.  Be sure to share this Dear Humanitarian eAlert with friends, family and coworkers, and encourage them to take action today!

Sincerely,
CHRIS HEYDE
Deputy Director
Government and Legal Affairs

ANIMAL WELFARE INSTITUTE
900 Pennsylvania Ave., SE
Washington, DC 20003
T: (202) 446-2142 ~ F: (202) 446-2131
www.awionline.org ~ www.compassionindex.org
Facebook ~ Twitter

The Animal Welfare Institute has been alleviating the suffering inflicted on animals by humans since 1951. Please join us in our work to protect animals – visit our website to find out more and to sign up for AWI eAlerts: www.awionline.org.

The Animal Welfare Institute’s updated report on the state of America’s wild horses is now available. If you would like a copy you can click on the link below or if you would like to order a large number of the booklets please email directly with your request.

http://www.awionline.org/ht/d/ContentDetails/id/2646/pid/2456

Managing for Extinction: Shortcomings of the Bureau of Land Management’s National Wild Horse and Burro Program

An overview of the BLM’s failure to properly manage these symbols of the American West, 2011, 30 pages.

Executive Summary

A government program biased against the very animals it is designed to protect threatens today’s wild horses and burros. Our national Wild Horse and Burro Program and related federal lands management policies are so flawed that the long-term survival of these animals is in serious jeopardy, as is the health of public lands on which they reside. The federal agencies assigned management authority for the program, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the US Department of the Interior and the US Forest Service (USFS) in the US Department of Agriculture, have lost sight of their legal mandate to “protect” wild horses and burros. Instead, agency officials have focused almost exclusively on accommodating livestock and other commercial uses – at the expense of the welfare of wild horses and burros. This report will demonstrate that:

*       The BLM and USFS are not in compliance with laws and regulations governing the management of public lands and the protection of America’s wild horses and burros;

*       The BLM and USFS Wild Horse and Burro Program and related public lands management policies strongly favor private livestock and other commercial interests to the detriment of wild horses and burros, as well as the health of the land;

*       The agencies’ claims regarding wild horse and burro populations in the wild today and estimated rates of increase are questionable;

*       The “Appropriate Management Levels” (the number of wild horses and burros deemed suitable by the BLM and USFS to live on the range) are arbitrary;

*       The agencies’ mismanagement of the wild horse and burro program wastes millions of tax dollars each year; and

*       Their strategy for the future management of wild horses and burros is scientifically reckless, economically unsound and ethically unjustifiable.

This report describes the history and politics of the controversial and deeply interwoven issues of wild horse and burro management and taxpayer-subsidized livestock grazing on public lands. It offers a new vision of how to better address these often-conflicting interests for the long-term benefit of wild horses and burros, the public lands on which they reside, and the American citizenry.

CHRIS HEYDE
Deputy Director
Government and Legal Affairs

ANIMAL WELFARE INSTITUTE
900 Pennsylvania Ave., SE
Washington, DC 20003
www.awionline.org ~ www.compassionindex.org