Animal Welfare Laws May Increase in Pennsylvania

Paws Up!

To Senator Richard Alloway II and Senator John Eichelberger for working to improve animal welfare laws in the state of Pennsylvania.

In a recent news article, Senator Richard Alloway II proposed Senate Bill 373 and Senate Bill 78. S.B. 373, which would impose greater restrictions on animal tethering. The law would not allow owners to tether their dogs outside for more than 30 minutes when the temperature is below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. S.B. 78 would prevent immediate family members from applying for a kennel license if another family member has had one revoked. Senator John Eichelberger has proposed

If passed, Cordelia’s Law would include horses in the states animal cruelty statues, along with other companion animals.

Senate Bill 294, named Cordelia’s Law, after a horse who starved to death while being tied up in a junkyard. S.B. 294 would be the first bill in Pennsylvania to include horses in animal cruelty laws.

Take Action: Pennsylvania residents contact your legislators and petition that S.B. 373, S.B. 78, and S.B. 294 be passed into law. Non-residents, contact your state to see what types of animal welfare laws have been passed and express your support for laws that will grant animals more protection.

When you think about it…is there glory in winning the Triple Crown?

Horse racing is not fun or beneficial to horses.

California Chrome didn’t go down in history as a Triple Crown winner. Should we care? Should we be upset that the prize was lost? No, we should not. Instead we should be outraged at the treatment horses in the racing industry must endure to make it to any race let alone the major races of the year. Horse racing is a dying industry—but it seems no one has told racing officials. People still buy horses with the thought of becoming the next millionaire; and with the winnings California Chrome brought to his owner, you know there are others who are just dying to get a piece of the action. Unfortunately, there are many horses that are dying because of horse racing. There’s nothing about horse racing that supports the horses—all the support is for the money people can make off the backs of magnificent animals. Racing is not a sport—the horses don’t agree to “suit up.” The owners, jockeys, trainers, and everyone else who might make a buck off a stallion or filly have a say—but not the horse. It’s time we realize that when we really think about it…there is no glory in winning the Triple Crown or any other horse race.

Horse Transportation Safety Act

Interstate transport of horses should be conducted as safely as possible.

HR 4440 and S 1459, known as the Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2013, would prohibit the transportation of horses in interstate commerce in motor vehicles containing two or more levels stacked on top of one another. Hauling horses in double-deck trailers is dangerous and inhumane. These trailers do not provide sufficient headroom for horses to stand upright. Also, there is always the possibility of accident or injury if the trailers collapse or are involved in roadway incidents.

Contact your senators and representatives urging them to support H 4440/S 1459, the Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2013.

Horses Need Protection

Soring inflicts unnecessary pain on horses.

While horse soring has been illegal under the Horse Protection Act since 1970, the practice continues. Horse soring is used by owners and trainers of Tennessee walking horses to get the horses to walk in an unnatural manner. The soring is done by the application of blistering agents or by burning or lacerating the horses’ limbs.

HR 1518 and S 1406, known as the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act is before Congress,

Please contact your representatives and senators and ask them to support HR 1518 and S 1406, respectively.

Horses Live

The president of the Navajo Nation has ordered a temporary suspension of the roundup and slaughter of feral horses on the reservation.

Paws Up!
To the president of the Navajo Nation for no longer endorsing horse slaughter.

According to a news article , “…the president of the Navajo Nation, Ben Shelly, has reversed his stance on horse slaughtering, saying he will no longer support it and will order the temporary suspension of the roundups of feral horses on the reservation.”

Horse slaughter had once been almost eliminated in the United States. However, there is now the possibility that horse slaughterhouses will once again become operational.

Take Action: Send a note of thanks to the president of the Navajo Nation for his decision. Additionally, if you live in a state where there is a proposal for a horse slaughterhouse to open, contact your local and state legislators and let them know there is no room in your state for such a business.

Ben Shelly, President
Navajo Nation
Post Office Box 7440
Window Rock, Navajo Nation, AZ 86515

Say Neigh to Horse Slaughter

The sale of horses and horse parts would be prohibited under the Safeguard American Food Exports Act of 2013.

The Safeguard American Food Exports Act of 2013, HR 1094 and S 541, would prohibit the sale or transport of horses and horse parts in interstate or foreign commerce for human consumption. It’s time to stop any plans to approve horse slaughter facilities in the United States. Congress must act to put a permanent end of these facilities.

Write your representative and senators and urge them to support the Safeguard American Food Exports Act of 2013.

When you think about it…horses just aren’t safe anywhere.

Horses in the U.S. are often times transported to other countries for human consumption.

While there may be no active horse slaughter plants currently operating in the United States, that doesn’t mean U.S. horses don’t wind up being slaughtered for their meat. Horses are routinely transported from locations within the United States to Canada and Mexico to be slaughtered for human consumption. There is nothing illegal in this activity.

Horsemeat is eaten in many countries, including France, Belgium, China, and Japan. Should American horses ever be sent to foreign soil to be slaughtered for human consumption? While some foreign countries find dog and cat meat on their menus, we don’t ship our unwanted cats and dogs to slaughterhouses across our borders. Why then are we shipping our horses? What makes it okay to slaughter one animal for food and not another?

Actually it’s never okay to slaughter an animal for food. Whether in this country or across our borders, no animal should lose his or her life merely to satisfy someone’s taste buds. A vegan diet does not involve the diner in the fear, pain, and death of another living, breathing, sentient being. Celebrate life, not death, with the food on your plate. Because, when you think about it…horses aren’t the only animals who aren’t safe anywhere.

When you think about it…what has horse racing done for horses ?

Horses are majestic creatures that deserve better lives than what the racing industry gives them.

Horse racing enthusiasts look forward to the Triple Crown of thoroughbred horse racing—the Kentucky Derby (May 5), the Preakness Stakes (May 19), and the Belmont Stakes (June 11). Yet, there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of races going on around the country during this same period of time. They receive little or no attention except for local coverage and maybe not even that.

Along with the little attention they get, there is less attention paid to the horses who are euthanized following break-downs either during or immediately after a race. Or to the jockeys who are severely injured or killed.

Horses are majestic creatures that deserve better lives than what the racing industry gives them. Few are turned out to graze on fresh grass. Few get a long “foalhood” during which their young bones can fuse and mature before hard work. Few make it long in the racing industry. Yet, many die trying. While on the circuit, many wind up being raced beyond their capacities and often under the influence of a wide variety of drugs—legal and illegal—all to win a purse, no matter how large or small.

But what of the wannabe race horses? The ones born into the industry but who never make it to the track? Many of them are sold for slaughter.

When you think about it…race day has nothing to do with horses and everything to do with some people’s desires to control a living, breathing, sentient being—even if it kills themselves and their horses.

Read more:
The New York Times
When you think about it…maybe it should be called the Triple Injury Race instead of the Triple Crown.

Diving with Horses

Paws Up!
To the Atlantic City Steel Pier Associates for dropping plans to bring back horse diving on the pier.

According to a news story, “The owner of the Atlantic City Steel Pier says he’s dropping a plan to bring back the Diving Horse to the New Jersey landmark, a legendary attraction featuring a horse and rider plunging into a 12-foot-deep water tank from a platform 40 feet up.”

Thankfully, we will not be seeing this cruel spectacle at Atlantic City's Steel Pier.

While the owner cites his change of mind on other factors, many animal advocates believe it was the intense pressure placed upon the organization that was at least a partial, if not deciding, factor in his decision.

Animals do not belong on the entertainment circuit, whether in circuses, on the silver screen, in rodeos, or any other entertainment venue. Often, they are forced into performing through sometimes brutal training sessions while living in substandard conditions.

Take Action: Thank the owner for canceling plans to revive the Diving Horse act. Regardless of his reason, many horses have now been spared the abuse that such an attraction could create.

Anthony Catanoso, President
Steel Pier Associates
1000 Boardwalk
Atlantic City, NJ 08401
Tele. No.: 866-386-6659
Fax: 609-345-7492
E-mail: customerservice@steelpier.com

Source:
International Business Times
USA Today

When you think about it…do animals belong on the silver screen?

Animals in film often suffer during the training process.

Every year sees its line up of Hollywood blockbuster films that focus on animals. There was National Velvet, Seabiscuit, and now War Horse—just a few films associated with horses. Of course, there have been many others films depicting animals in zoos, circuses, as wild beasts of the jungle, etc. Then there are the television shows and commercials that use live animals as characters in the story or to push a product.

Whether the depictions are realistic or stylized to fit the producer’s and director’s image of what an animal should look like in a movie, television show, or commercial, there is one overriding issue we might all want to consider—what are the lives of these animals like away from the studio and the bright lights?

The American Humane Association (AHA) gives out the “no animals were harmed” stamp of approval to films and television shows that meet its standard, but all that means is that an AHA representative was present while the animals was performing before the camera. No AHA representative checks behind the scenes, is present when the animal is in rehearsals, or visits the location where the animal lives.

With all the modern technology we have today, animals can be depicted in the media without actually having to use a live animal. Of course, the depiction should be realistic, not stylized, and should support the humane treatment of animals in general.

When you think about it…humans make the best actors…nonhuman animals should appear only on the stage of their natural habitat, not on one in downtown Burbank.