NY - Sheriff Wins On-Line Bidding for Retired (Arthritic) Police Horse: Outbids Killbuyers by a Few Cents!

Steve Lieberman
slieberm@lohud.com
August 10, 2009

Rockland Sheriff James Kralik loves horses.

His devotion last week cost him $596 for an arthritic Percheron just retired
from his department's mounted unit.

Kralik won the bidding war for Dee, a 1,500-pound black horse whom the
sheriff says he's ridden for years in ceremonial events, training sessions
and for crowd control.

And the sheriff says his maximum would have been $700 for the 16-year-
old horse during the weeklong computerized bidding run by Auctions
International.

The Rockland Purchasing Department put the horse out for bid.

Kralik wanted to make sure he put the horse out to pasture rather than
seeing the beast become dog food.

"There's always the potential meat-packing companies will bid," Kralik
said. "What else would people do with a horse gone lame with arthritis?" (Bloggers note; Alternative to slaughter: E-u-t-h-a-n-s-i-a)

The large Percheron usually lives 18 to 20 years, he said.

Dee will spend her last days on Kralik's Gettysburg property in Pennsylvania,
with three other retired horses and 30 working horses. Kralik is a certified
guide for the Civil War battlefield.

"I wanted the horse because it is a decent, wonderful animal," Kralik said.
"I loved riding her. The horse deserves a good home and that's what she'll
now get with me."

The Mounted Unit took the horse off patrol because she had recently fallen
twice and the officers got scared, Kralik said.

The Mounted Unit patrols high-crime and crowded areas, spending this
summer in Nyack, Spring Valley and Haverstraw. The 10-foot-high cops
on horseback also patrol during parades, festivals and other events as a
deterrent.

The 32-year-old unit has five full-time officers and seven horses. The
Sheriff's Department gives certified training to other mounted units.

Kralik said the department recently donated a horse to Camp Venture,
but Dee's physical condition hurt her chances of being donated as a
riding horse.

The online bidding started at 12:49 p.m. July 30 and ended at 6 p.m.
Thursday, according to records kept online by Auctions International,
which also auctions off surplus items for municipalities and businesses.

The horse's pre-auction bio states, "Dee was diagnosed with front foot
soreness and lameness due to arthritis and signs of lower ringbone on
both front legs. There is some lameness to the right rear hock and the
possibility of some mild neurological problems. Interested bidders should
call to inspect."

For the "1993 Percheron Sheriff's Horse," 35 bids were made, starting with
Kralik's opening bid of $50.

The horse drew four bidders with "jerseyoneauto" and "kralikj" bidding the
cost up to $303 by Aug. 1, according to the Web site.

Then another bidder, "12333," competed until "kralikj" bid $373.

Finally, "123sondaydrivebernvil" bid $400 and went up to $490 until
"kralikj" filed a $500 bid at 4:25 p.m. Aug. 2.

Kralik said he had authorized his bids up to $700. The final price of $596
included fees.

Dee remains at the unit's stables off of Route 202 and will be taken to
Pennsylvania soon to live out her golden years in Gettysburg.

"And the horse was extremely grateful," Kralik said, laughing.

Additional Facts
Information

Click on title above to go to "1993 Percheron Sheriff's Horse" at www.auctionsinternational.com/item.cgi?show_item=48278.

And the Beat Goes On Re: American Horse Slaughter

From: Animals' Angels
Sent: Thursday, August 06, 2009 9:27 AM
Subject: For Immediate Release

For Immediate Release

August 6, 2009

Animals' Angels
phone: 410-848-3153
fax: 410-848-0213
www.animals-angels.com

Undercover Investigation Underscores USDA-documented Brutality

30 month long investigation proves worst-case scenario is ongoing

A thirty month long investigation into the plight of horses who have been sold for slaughter has revealed the worst levels of inhumane treatment. The abuse and neglect of these horses, sometimes referred to as "kill horses," was uncovered during the investigation and is consistent with findings and photographs contained in a 906 page document released by the USDA last year.

The investigation and report by Animals' Angels, a Maryland based animal welfare
organization, confirmed that injuries and inhumane treatment documented by the USDA during 2005 continue. Both USDA and Animals' Angels (AA) documents show horses severely injured, left medically untreated, ill, trampled to death and worse on their way to and at slaughter.

Executive Director of Animals' Angels, Sonja Meadows said their investigations quickly revealed that, "Both government records and our report show that being on U.S.soil was not then and is not now the slightest guarantee of humane treatment."

The slaughter of horses in the U.S., which stopped with plant closures in 2007, continues in Canada and Mexico. Groups advocating the slaughter of American horses have called for the reopening of U.S. horse slaughter plants, saying horses are better protected by U.S. humane laws than by laws in Canada and Mexico. However, during the 30 month long investigation that included repeated visits to auctions, feedlots and slaughter plants, AA investigators concluded abuse and inhumane treatment are inherent to the horse slaughter industry.

"It takes inhumane treatment to make the economics work," said Meadows. "We found the cruelty starts well before horses arrive at the slaughter plant."

The AA report documents available veterinary care withheld from horses severely injured or near death. Undercover investigators were routinely told, 'That horse is going to slaughter anyway,' or the horses are 'just passing through.'

Treatment of horses designated for slaughter ranged from beating horses and jabbing them in the eyes, to using a cable winch to drag downed horses with a wire wrapped around a back leg. Investigators observed horses being injured or killed after being forced into dangerously crowded pens where they were kicked or trampled. Others were found frozen to the ground after overnight temperatures dropped well below freezing. Young and small horses, as well as horses injured or weak were trampled to death in trailers crowded with 40 horses. Workers failed to separate stallions, ensuring fierce fighting in close quarters during transport.

Making conditions worse is the issue of stolen horses, according to Debi Metcalfe, founder of Stolen Horse International, Inc., a non profit that operates www.NetPosse.com, a horse theft recovery network that averages 80,000 unique visitors per month. "We have dealt with cases where horses were stolen," said Metcalf. "We later found out that these innocent pets had been slaughtered."

At both Canadian and Mexican slaughter plants investigators discovered horses left in bloody "kill boxes", used to restrain horses as they are being killed, during lunch breaks. According to the report, the horses were "shaking violently as if [they] might fall down." Plant management told investigators the horses 'aren't bothered by it.'

AA investigators documented injured and dead horses at every stop along the horse slaughter pipeline. At feedlots and export pens horses had no food and water troughs were empty. An export facility veterinarian informed investigators horses too weak for transport would be left behind to die in the pens.

"The public has been duped into thinking horse slaughter has ended, but it just moved a few hours further down the road," Meadows pointed out. "It hasn't somehow changed it into something it is not. It is the same terrible suffering it was in 2005."

"By the time the horse finally stands in the kill box at the slaughter plant, it is often not the worst thing that has happened to it since this dreadful journey began," said Meadows

What can you do?

Please urge your representatives and senators to support the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act H.R.503 / S.727!

Animals' Angels is a 501 (c)(3) non profit organization incorporated in Maryland with fulltime investigators working in the United States and Canada. We work with law enforcement and government agencies to end animal cruelty and to improve conditions for farm animals. We are in the field every week, trailing livestock trucks, visiting markets, collecting stations and slaughter plants.

Contact:

Sonja Meadows
Executive Director
Animals' Angels USA
410-848-3153

info@animals-angels.com

Click on title above to go to the Animal Angels website where you can find links to the documents mentioned above;

www.animals-angels.com

New EU rules may end slaughter of American Horses (NOT)

Isnt it amazing that we have to rely on the rules and regs of foreign countries to take this issue seriously; these new regs may slow the slaughter pipeline down, but I doubt it will stop it. Plus, I am sure the devious, diabolical and greedy bloodthirsty killers will find a way around ANY law. Strict enforcement will be needed if this new reg is to really effect them. What r the chances of that? ha ha ha dont make me laff ....just like the anti-horse slaughter laws they passed in California waaaaay back in the late 90's,....ha ha ha So how come California horses are still being sent to slaughter? ha ha ha lack of enforcement is why.

CHICAGO, (EWA) - The European Union (EU) and Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) have announced that the rules on slaughtering horses for human consumption are about to change radically due to concerns regarding contaminated horse meat.

The new EU rules will become effective in April, 2010, requiring that either the animals have complete health records showing they have not received banned substances or a 180 day quarantine for the horses. Claude Boissonnealut, head of the CFIAs red meat programs, has indicated that Canada will likely abide by the 180 day quarantine.

Equine welfare advocates have warned of the contamination of American horse meat for years. Substances banned from food animals range from wormers to phenylbutazone (PBZ), the "aspirin" of the horse world, and even include fertility drugs that can cause miscarriages in women. "PBZ is a known carcinogen and can cause aplastic anemia (bone marrow suppression) in humans", says EWA's Professor of Neurology, Dr. Ann Marini, MD/Ph.D.

But the list of contaminants is not limited to conventional drugs. "Some of the garbage 'treatments' that are given to performance horses included iodine-peanut oil injections along the spine, anabolic steroids, cocaine, amphetamines, opioids and even snake venom", explains Dr. Nicholas Dodman, DVM at Tufts University. "None of these are helpful to the horse and some, in the short or long term, are positively harmful."

The new rules will mean that horses coming from auctions and other sources in the US will have to be kept drug free on a feedlot for half a year. Producers estimate that feeding horses that long will more than double their cost, making them less competitive with horses from other sources. And that is likely to be only half their problem.

EWA member Christy Sheidy, of Another Chance 4 Horses, routinely rescues slaughter bound horses from Pennsylvania's New Holland auction. Sheidy warns, "Outbreaks of diseases like strangles and shipping fever will be inevitable. Left untreated, many horses may die before they can be slaughtered." Treating the horses would restart their quarantine time.

In recent years, European authorities have cracked down on horse meat producers within the EU, requiring a "passport" system that specifically documents whether a horse has received such substances. Owners must state that their horses are intended for slaughter.

USDA statistics show that in 2008 the US exported 56,731 horses to Mexico and 77,073 horses to Canada for slaughter, resulting in the second highest slaughter total since 1995. Diners abroad have no idea whatsoever what dangerous chemicals they are eating in the American horsemeat that is shipped from plants across our borders.

In an interview with EWA, Henry Skjerven, a former director of the Natural Valley Farms operation in Saskatchewan, Canada, said: "Unfortunately, North America, US and Canada, were never geared for raising horses for food consumption. The system as it stood when we were killing horses was in no way, shape or form, safe, in my opinion."

Skjerven went on to say, "We did not know where those horses were coming from, what might be in them or what they were treated with. I was always in fear - I think that it was very valid - that we were going to send something across there [to the EU] and we were simply going to get our doors locked after we had some kind of issue with the product."

Skjerven's plant began killing horses in September of 2007 for the Velda Group in Belgium following the closing of their Cavel slaughter plant in DeKalb, Illinois. Natural Valley's horse slaughter plant was closed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in January of 2009, over health issues.

Unlike Canada, horses going to Mexico are killed in two types of slaughter plants. The three largest plants export the meat to the EU and will fall under the same new rules. Mexican authorities have yet to announce whether their smaller plants, that provide meat for domestic consumption, will be required to follow the new rules.

"We don't need to eat horses. Horses are for riding, jumping and doing a whole lot of great things. They're not food", concluded Skjerven.

www.equinewelfarealliance.org

Groups push to restart horse slaughter in US, Including American Indians

Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com

July 19, 2009

Several groups are pushing to renew the slaughter of horses in the U.S., possibly starting in Oregon.

Proponents are pushing Congress to introduce a bill to allow the U.S. Department of Agriculture to resume inspecting horse meat for human consumption.

The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs also are considering building a slaughter and processing facility — possibly for pet food — on their reservation north of Madras.

The project was recommended last spring by a coalition of Northwest tribes.

The success of either idea is far from a done deal, however.

A congressional spokesman says bills that favor the slaughtering of horses face a chilly reception.

And a tribal spokesman says it's too early to say much about a reservation slaughter facility.

Supporters of horse slaughters say it's a way to deal with tens of thousands of unwanted horses. Factors in the glut include uncontrolled breeding, closure of the last U.S. horse-processing plants and an economy that left many owners unable to pay for feed and care.

"We think it is very fair and accurate to say there are probably 100,000 horses that would go to processing today" if a plant were available, said Wyoming state Rep. Sue Wallis, a rancher in favor if reinstating horse slaughtering.

Animal-rights advocates say slaughters are inhumane and repugnant.

"This is a predatory business," said Chris Heyde, spokesman for the Animal Welfare Institute in Washington, D.C., who called reports of horse abandonment exaggerated. "It is making a political game out of a serious issue."

Until two years ago, as many as 100,000 horses were killed annually in the U.S. for meat for foreign markets.

A federal court ruling in 2007 closed the nation's last horse-processing plant — Cavel International in DeKalb, Ill. — on the heels of two Texas closures resulting from a state decision to enforce a 1949 ban on horse-meat facilities.

___
Bloggers note: Apparently the writer of this article was not informed that American Horses are still going to slaughter in numbers even greater than before the closing of the US plants. Slaughter is still very much an option for horse-owners who want that service, so....so much for that argument...it keeps popping back up however. The pro-slaughters are grasping at straws for excuses to keep horse-slaughter going.

July 224 - UPDATE - Correcting MisInformation about the Confederation of Warm Sprngs Tribe; They ARE NOT for horse-slaughter!

This just out in response to above article;

---------------------------

Native Americans proved not to be proponents
News Room 12:58 AM 25-Jul-2009 NZT

A prominent equestrian author, R.T. Fitch, has exposed information reported in an Associated Press article as bogus. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Oregon refuted claims made in the article quoting tribal sources saying there are no such plans to build a slaughter plant on any reservation. The story was reported in the online edition of Horseback Magazine.

On July 18th, 2009, an Associated Press story hit the internet quoting sources saying the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Oregon, would attempt to reintroduce horse slaughter into the United States. The headline, “Groups Push to Slaughter Horses for Meat Possibly in Oregon” swept across the internet like wildfire.

”Native Americans and others are pushing for the renewed slaughter of horses in the U.S….and processing them into meat,” The AP story said. “...The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs are considering building a slaughter and processing facility…on their reservation north of Madras, as recommended last spring by a coalition of Northwest tribes.

The story by Dick Cockle is inaccurate. Several days of data mining and calls to the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs revealed information that refutes virtually everything Cockle reported.

“No, we are not making any plans to build a horse slaughter plant on any reservation”, stated Tim Outman, field representative for the Warm Springs Tribe’s Department of Natural Resources.

Putting all cultural and moral conflicts aside, Outman said, “Who would invest $8-10 million into building a facility where there is absolutely no market? Shipping horse meat is against Federal Law. We have no idea what, where or who, is perpetuating this misinformation.”

“This sort of journalism does nothing to further the cause and public relations of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs”, stated Outman.

The AP also misquoted Chris Hyde of Washington’s Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) as well, says the DC lobbyist.

“Richard Cockle has again written another poorly researched and unsupported article on horses,” an outraged Hyde told an Oregon news organization. “I spent a great deal of time on the phone with him providing facts and evidence dismissing the misleading claims put forward by individuals more interested in abusing horses than advancing the truth.”

“However, what does he do? Prints rhetoric,” Hyde continued. “It is a shame that Mr. Cockle, Sue Wallis and others continue to exploit the truth and suffering of horses just to make a name for themselves nationally.”

Wallis is a Wyoming state representative active in an effort to return equine slaughter to the United States.

R.T. Fitch is Author of the acclaimed Straight From the Horse’s Heart.


Vicki TOBIN


http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=74002

-------------------

KUDOS to the Warm Springs Tribe, However, the National Congress of American Inidans came out last summer asking Congress to allow them to build horse-slaughter plants on some Indian Lands; To my native american brothers and sisters who want horse-slaughter, we have made a petition; Click on the post-title above to go to the petition;

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/south-dakota-sioux-to-slaughter-horses

More Horse Butchery in Miami-Dade

Another horse found mutilated in Miami-Dade

Another horse was found mutilated and killed over the weekend in Southwest
Miami-Dade, apparently the latest victim of amateur butchers only
interested in the animal's meat.

The horse was found tied to a tree and dismembered along 212th Avenue, the
latest in over a dozen horse killings in the area in the past few months.

"It's horrible. It's really frustrating to see something that has been
going on for some time," said Oscar Martinez, who owns a farm nearby where the
latest horse was found. "They have been killing horses all over this area."

Click on title to read more: _http://netposse.com/horse_slaughtered_florida.html_
(http://netposse.com/horse_slaughtered_florida.html)

Debi Metcalfe
Stolen Horse International, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
NetPosse.com
PO Box 1341
Shelby, NC 28151 idahonc@aol.com
Home of the IDAHO Alerts for stolen horses, tack, trailers and farm
equipment.
----------
Bloggers Note:
Maybe we should all kick in to put up a reward for the capture of the Miami-Dade Horse Butcherer...do you think NetPossie might help us to do this?
Wouldnt that be nice? Lets ask them!

EASTERN EQUINE ENCEPHALITIS, EQUINE - USA (06): (TEXAS)

******************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases


Date: 17 Jul 2009
Source: Texas Animal health Commission, press release [edited]



Horses in East Texas Die from Eastern Equine Encephalitis
---------------------------------------------------------
So far, 2 horses, one in Jasper County and the other in Newton County,
in East Texas, have died from eastern equine encephalitis (EEE).
Humans also are susceptible to EEE, which causes inflammation of the
brain. The disease is spread by mosquitoes, and measures should be
taken to prevent human and animal exposure to the biting pests.

"As part of their routine health care, horses in all parts of the
state should be vaccinated to protect against dangerous mosquito-borne
diseases, including West Nile Virus, and eastern and western equine
encephalitis (EEE and WEE)," said Dr. Bob Hillman, Texas' state
veterinarian and head of the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC),
the state's livestock and poultry health regulatory agency.

"It takes a week to 10 days after vaccination for the animal to
develop protective antibodies, and booster shots must be administered
as directed by the vaccine manufacturer to maintain the highest level
of protection," he said. "As effective as vaccines are, however, they
are not foolproof, and rare instances of disease can occur. Therefore,
it is essential that you protect yourself and your horses against
mosquito exposure with a repellent containing DEET."

Dr. Hillman also said other preventive measures should include
draining stagnant water, where mosquitoes can breed, and using
approved products that kill mosquito larvae in desired water sources,
such as troughs, ponds and fountains. Avoid being outside at night or
at dawn, when mosquitoes are most active, wear long sleeves when
possible, and consider sheltering horses at night.

"Contact your veterinarian immediately, if your horse acts
erratically, is confused, staggers or collapses. These are clinical
signs of an encephalitic or brain inflammation condition, and a blood
test is needed to confirm the diagnosis. With appropriate supportive
care, about half of infected horses may survive. An infected horse
will not spread the West Nile Virus, EEE or WEE to humans," said Dr.
Hillman. Although they are not regulatory diseases, these
mosquito-spread infections are reportable to the TAHC, due to their
potential to cause human illness. In 2009, a horse in Washington
County, also in East Texas, has been confirmed to have West Nile Virus.

EEE also has been reported in July 2009 in horses in Florida,
Louisiana, Missouri and Virginia.

--
Communicated by:
Carla Everett


[Other areas reporting EEE are the state of Georgia and Canada. - Mod.TG

A map showing the location of Texas is available at:

- CopyEd.EJP]

[See also:
Eastern equine enceph., equine, emus 2008 - Canada: (QC), background
20090715.2528
Eastern equine encephalitis, equine - USA (05): (MO, VA) 20090714.2507
Eastern equine encephalitis, equine - USA (04): (FL, LA) 20090709.2454
Eastern equine encephalitis, equine - USA (03): (FL) 20090701.2378
Eastern equine encephalitis, equine - USA (02): (LA) 20090627.2332
Eastern equine encephalitis, equine - USA: (GA) 20090613.2197]
....................tg/ejp/jw
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Minn. records 1st case of Human West Nile virus of 2009

Last update: July 16, 2009 - 1:53 PM

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Minnesota has recorded its first human case of West Nile virus of 2009, and the Health Department is reminding residents to protect themselves from mosquitoes.

The department said Thursday that a Stevens County woman is recovering after becoming ill with West Nile meningitis in late June.

The Health Department says Minnesota has entered the period of highest risk for West Nile virus in humans as the mosquito that spreads the virus begins feeding on people instead of birds. The high-risk period ends in September.

While residents from throughout Minnesota are at risk for getting the mosquito-born virus, the greatest risk is in counties in western and central Minnesota.

The department recommends using insect repellent, including those with DEET, at dawn and dusk.

___

On the Net:

Minnesota Department of Health: http://www.health.state.mn.us.


http://www.startribune.com/local/50957692.html?elr=KArksUUUU