URGENT ACTION NEEDED FOR THE HORSES!

We all need to put a stop to the lies and deceit that Representative Sacia of Illinois is telling legislation of Illinois and the people of Illinois. He is not giving accurate facts about horse slaughter, and he needs to be stopped! Please read the documentary below from an organization called "American's Against Horse Slaughter". We need to take action now! So please be the horses voice and make calls to the legislative committee in Illinois and plead with them not to support Rep. Sacia's bill H.R.583. Thank you in advance for your support.

Dear Americans Against Horse Slaughter Members,

The following is just in from AWI. Illinois needs our help now! Although this alert is aimed at Illinois constituents, this is a National issue. Please read the following urgent alert and call each member of the House (IL) and ask them to oppose H.B. 583. URGENT AWI eAlert: Illinois Horse Slaughter Advocate Trying to Overturn Ban - Again February 26, 2009 Dear Humanitarian: The Illinois General Assembly may soon consider H.B. 583, a bill designed to overturn the state’s ban on horse slaughter. The ban, which went into effect in 2007, closed the country’s last remaining horse slaughter plant – Cavel International (based in DeKalb, IL) – which was foreign-owned, marking the end to an utterly cruel practice that the majority of Americans oppose. The sponsor of the pro-slaughter bill, Representative Jim Sacia, has a long history of fighting to keep horse slaughter alive despite strong opposition from the majority of Illinois residents and the American public. Rep. Sacia is out of step with public opinion and his effort is in vain; having sat empty for almost two years the former Cavel plant recently opened to slaughter non-equine species. Further, the U.S. Congress is currently considering the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, which is anticipated to move quickly, and will prohibit the slaughter of horses here as well as their export for slaughter abroad. Now Rep. Sacia is telling media outlets that support is growing and implying it is the humane community. Rep. Sacia is profoundly mistaken and clearly misleading the public and his colleagues in the General Assembly, opposition is as strong as ever. It is a shame that he is resorting to these tactics in order to pass legislation overturning a law that was soundly supported by the State of Illinois only two years ago.

HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO

If you are from Illinois please click here for a link and call each member of the House and politely ask them to oppose H.B. 583. Remind them that: You strongly oppose H.B. 583 because horse slaughter is a cruel and unnecessary practice. The Illinois General Assembly banned horse slaughter by an overwhelming majority in 2007, and urge them to reject Representative Sacia’s bill, H.B. 583.

There is no evidence to support Rep. Sacia’s claims that Cavel’s closure has led to an increase in horse abandonment. Ending horse slaughter stopped an overt form of animal cruelty and has only been good for the horses. The state ban is important. Rep. Sacia complained that closing Cavel would put local workers out of business despite the cruelty of the industry. The building that formerly housed Cavel has recently re-opened to slaughter non-equine species, thus bring jobs and income to the local economy. His argument is even more irrelevant given this development. The humane community and the majority if Illinois residents DO NOT support the overturning of this ban no matter what Rep. Sacia may claim, including the inclusion of a $25 fee for each horse slaughtered. Please also let them know that you support passage of the federal Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, which is expected to move quickly this Congress. The bill will prohibit the slaughter of American horses throughout the United States as well as their export abroad for the same purpose. Thank you for your support and commitment to equine welfare. We cannot allow those who which to defend animal abuse continue to mislead legislators and the American public. Be Sure to share this eAlert with friends, family and coworkers and encourage them to call as many Representatives as possible. Continue to check back at: http://www.awionline.org/legislation/horse_slaughter/whats_new.htm for updates.

Sincerely,

Chris Heyde Deputy Director
Government and Legal Affairs
Animal Welfare Institute

This message was sent by: Americans Against Horse Slaughter, 1551 Willow Pond Dr., Yardley, PA 19067


Are you doing all you can to make this world a better place to live in?

THE BITTER TRUTH ABOUT PREMARIN (MENOPAUSE DRUG) AND HORSES! PLEASE READ AND VIEW VIDEO!

Premarin, the most popular hormone drug for treating menopausal symptoms, is made from the urine of pregnant horses. Even worse, the horses used for or born from as a result of this industry are often at risk of being sold for slaughter. Find out more about the bitter truth behind drugs like Premarin, and what can you do to help the horses.

If you are taking the drug Premarin or Prempro, please watch this video and visit the United Animal Nations website listed at the end of this video. Premarin and Prempro has been found not to be a safe drug to use for Menopause, please ask your doctor about the synthetic drugs that are out there that have replaced Premarin and Prempro. Premarin and Prempro are made up of Pregnant Mare Urine, and has serious side effects. Please take the time to learn more about this and please spread the word to other women. We need to stop this horrible treatment to Mare's, and we can do that by stop using Premarin and Prempro. Thank you in advance for taking the 2 minutes out of your day to watch this video. :)

The Bitter Truth About Premarin Video



Are you doing all you can to make this world a better place to live in?

HORSE SLAUGHTERER'S ARE PILING ON STATE RESOLUTIONS! PLEASE HELP US TO STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING, MAKE THE CALL TO THE FOLLOWING STATES LISTED!

PLEASE GO TO THIS WEBSITE TO GET THE INFORMATION YOU NEED ON YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVES AND CONTACT INFORMATION. JUST CLICK ON THE HIGHLIGHTED AREAS ON THE WEBSITE AND IT WILL TAKE YOU RIGHT TO IT. HERE IS THE WEBSITE URL WHERE THIS ARTICLE IS FOUND:
http://www.animallawcoalition.com/horse-slaughter/article/682
Horse Slaughterers Are Piling On State Resolutions
Posted Feb 9, 2009 by laura allen

Horse Slaughter State legislators have been introducing pro horse slaughter resolutions on behalf of foreign investors anxious to defeat H.R. 503.

H.R. 503, which is pending in Congress would stop them from using American horses for horsemeat served as a delicacy in fine restaurants primarily in parts of Asia, Europe and South America.

These resolutions are worded almost identically.

The resolutions proclaim that there is an increase in "unwanted" or "unusable" horses, as many as 100,000 or more annually, because of the closing of U.S. horse slaughter facilities in 2007. They claim the closing of U.S. slaughter houses in 2007 had "significant economic impact on the...equine industry". These resolutions call for "processing" or "harvesting" horses, euphemisms for "slaughter", which they describe as "humane". They claim slaughter can be managed through inspections and regulations.

These resolutions, if approved by the state legislatures, would be sent to Congress, as the state's position that H.R. 503 should be defeated.

It is important to voice your opposition to these resolutions. These resolutions are pending in these states:

Montana, H.B. 418 would prohibit courts from issuing injunctions against horse slaughter facilities and impose expensive bonds and high penalties on anyone who challenges a horse slaughter facility in court. The bill also paves the way for a horse slaughter house to open in Montana should it become legal again in the U.S. There is a hearing Feb. 12 on this bill. Go here for more information and how you can voice opposition to this bill.

Arizona, S.C.M. 1001 Find your Arizona legislators here. Contact all Arizona state House and Senate members.

Utah, H.J.R. 7, which has already passed the state House and has been approved by a Senate committee. Contact all Utah state Senators.

Missouri, HCR 19 in the House and SCR 8 in the state senate. These resolutions also call for opening a horse slaughter house in that state. Find your Missouri legislators here. Find all Missouri state representatives and senators. HCR 19 is pending before the state Agri-Business Committee and SCR 8 will be voted on by the state Senate Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions, and Ethics Committee.

South Dakota, S.C.R. 2 has already passed the state House by a vote of 63-1. A separate, second bill, S.B. 114, asks the South Dakota state legislature to spend $100,000 on a study "of the feasibility, viability, and desirability of establishing and operating an equine processing facility in the state. Find your South Dakota state senators here. Find email addresses for all South Dakota state senators here. Find contact information for all South Dakota state representatives and senators here.

ND S.C.R. 4021 will be heard on Feb. 12, 2009 at 11 a.m. by the Senate Agriculture committee. Fax the committee at 701-328-3615 or email lcouncil@nd.gov A second bill, H.B. 1496 has already been approved by a legislative committee. The committee approved $75,000 in North Dakota for a study of possible markets for horse meat, applicable laws and funding for a horse slaughter facility there. Find all North Dakota state senators here. Find all House members here.

Wyoming, H.J.R. 8 has already passed committee. Find all Wyoming legislators here.

Minnesota, S.F. 133 is currently in the state Senate Agriculture and Veterans Committee. Find your Minnesota state senator and representative. Find all Minnesota state senators and representatives.

Kansas, HCR 5004 Find your Kansas legislators here. Find all Kansas state House and Senate members.

Arkansas H.C.R. 1004, also calls for incentives and support for opening of horse slaughter houses nationally and in the state. This bill has already passed in the state House and is in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Find here all Arkansas state senators, including yours if you live there.

In Illinois Rep. Jim Sacia has introduced a bill, as he did last session for the repeal of the 2007 state law banning horse slaughter. That state law helped shut down the horse slaughter facility in Dekalb, Illinois.

Rep. Sacia's bill, H.B. 583, would also allow horses destined for slaughter for human consumption to be shipped into the state for slaughter with no certificate of veterinary inspection contrary to current state law governing horses. 510 ILCS 65/4 The new law would also exempt downed, sick, diseased, lame or disabled horses from the requirements of the Humane Care for Animals Act governing animals in this condition. 510 ILCS 70/5, 7.5

This means Rep. Sacia and the interests he represents in the horse slaughter underworld understand that horse slaughter is brutal and cruel and so would want to exempt their sordid practice from the animal cruelty laws and inspection requirements.

Contact Illinois state House and Senate members and urge them to vote NO on H.B. 583 and keep horse slaughter out of Illinois.
The horse slaughterers' strategy

These resolutions and bills are a not-so-subtle ploy by the foreign investors that own horse slaughter houses to defeat H.R. 503 which would ban the sale, transport, and possession of horses in interstate and foreign commerce for slaughter for human consumption.

Even without H.R. 503, horse slaughter cannot occur legally in the U.S. There is no point in states appropriating tax dollars for studies when currently horse slaughter for human consumption is not allowed in the U.S. These resolutions will simply insure horse slaughterers can continue to take American horses to Mexico or Canada for slaughter.

There is also another goal: to make horse slaughter acceptable to Americans and, in fact, create a market in the U.S. for the consumption of horsemeat. The resolution proposing the North Dakota study says as much. If Americans begin eating horsemeat, the theory is that Congress will be forced to fund ante-mortem inspections. Under current law because these required inspections are not funded, horse slaughter is not legal in the U.S. For more on this.....

Keep in mind when the remaining 3 horse slaughter houses in the U.S. closed in 2007, they were owned by foreign companies, Dallas Crown, Inc.; Cavel International, Inc. and Beltex Corp., which now operates a horse slaughter house in Mexico, Empacadora de Carnes de Fresnillo.

Even when there were horse slaughter houses in the U.S., they were part of a horse meat industry that was only 0.001% of the U.S. meat industry. The foreign-owned U.S. horse slaughterhouses paid little in income taxes. One facility paid $5 in federal taxes on $12 million in sales. These slaughter houses paid no export taxes, meaning the U.S. government effectively subsidized the sale of horse meat to consumers generally in parts of Asia, South America and Europe.

The profits went to the foreign investors. The communities where horse slaughter houses were located were left with horrific odors of dying and dead horses, blood literally running down the streets, and illegally dumped waste. There is no economic or other benefit to these states in subsidizing horse slaughter. Just the opposite. It is akin to supporting dog fighting rings.

Horse slaughter is also not a means of controlling numbers of "unwanted horses". This is a myth perpetuated by the horse slaughter industry that is simply repeated over and over again as in these resolutions. Horse slaughter is a multi million dollar a year business that is driven by a demand for horse meat. Kill buyers buy horses at auction for slaughter, and the USDA has said over 92% of American horses slaughtered, are healthy, not old, sick, injured, or neglected. These horses were not unwanted; they were simply sold at auction, and their owners had no control over who purchased them. Without the kill buyers who skulk around horse auctions, looking for the best potential horse meat, most of these horses would be purchased by others or end up in rescues or sanctuaries.

As John Holland, a free lance writer and researcher on horse slaughter and consultant for Americans Against Horse Slaughter, has explained, "Kill buyers do not go around the country like dog catchers gathering ‘unwanted horses' as a public service."

As Americans Against Horse Slaughter points out, "Just over 100,000 horses were slaughtered in the U.S. in 2006. If slaughter were no longer an option and these horses were rendered or buried instead, it would represent a small increase in the number of horse being disposed of in this manner - an increase that the current infrastructure can certainly sustain. Humane euthanasia and carcass disposal is highly affordable and widely available. The average cost of having a horse humanely euthanized and safely disposing of the animal's carcass is approximately $225, while the average monthly cost of keeping a horse is approximately $200."

Also, the horse slaughter industry actually encourages the over breeding of horses. Because owners can make money from the brutal slaughter of their horses, they have an incentive to over breed. As Paul Sorvino put it, "37% of those horses are going to be slaughtered because they couldn't run fast enough....So, it's run for your life." If the slaughter of horses for human consumption is illegal, there is no reward for over breeding.

Sadly, pro-slaughter groups have disseminated disinformation in the media to convince the public that without horse slaughter, there will be large numbers of abandoned, abused and neglected horses. (Even if that were true, which it is not, it is not clear how substituting one form of cruelty for another is somehow a solution.)

Indeed, these reports in the media have proven to be unfounded. A study released last year showed a decrease in horse abuse and neglect cases following closure of the last U.S. horse slaughter house in 2007. Any abandoned or neglected horses are not a result of a lack of horse slaughter houses.

Historically, there have not been increases in abandoned, neglected or abused horses following closures of horse slaughter houses. In 2002 the Illinois slaughter house burned to the ground and was out of commission for some time. Reports of abandoned, abused and neglected horses in the Illinois area were actually on the rise in the 2 years before the fire but decreased afterwards.

Remember the number of horses slaughtered in the U.S. dropped significantly from over 300,000 annually in the 1990s to 66,000 in 2004. There was no notable increase during that time of abandoned, abused or neglected horses.

When California banned horse slaughter in 1998, there was no rise in cases of cruelty or neglect to horses. In fact, there was a 39.4% decrease initially and that rose to 88% eventually in horse thefts. (What does that tell you about this "business"?)

Also, from 2004-2007 5000 horses were imported into the U.S. for slaughter. If horse slaughter occurs because of all the unwanted horses, why would these horse slaughter businesses need to import them? The answer is, of course, they wouldn't. Horse slaughter has nothing to do with controlling numbers of unwanted horses. It is a business driven by a demand for horse meat primarily as a delicacy in foreign countries.

As Americans Against Horse Slaughter puts it, "The ‘surplus horse population' [argument] is a scare tactic."

Horse slaughter is also in no sense humane euthanasia. That much has been established by documents recently released in response to a FOIA request. The captive bolt gun used in the U.S. slaughterhouses did not typically render horses senseless before slaughter. The slaughter houses never bothered to restrain the horses' heads or use only trained personnel to operate the gun.

As John Holland has explained, "In its 2000 report on methods of Euthanasia, the AVMA stated that the captive bolt gun should not be used on equines unless head restraint could be assured. This is because of the relatively narrow forehead of equines, their head shyness and the fact that the brain is set back further than in cattle for which the gun is intended. It is difficult for an operator to assure proper placement of the gun.

"No slaughter house ever found a practical way to restrain the heads of the horses, so by the AVMA's very definition, the process was not acceptable. The result was a very large number of ineffective stuns. These misplaced blows undoubtedly caused severe pain until a stunning or fatal blow was delivered. "

Imagine the pain and terror experienced by horses as bolts were repeatedly fired at their heads many times by untrained operators. Many times horses were still conscious when they were then hoisted upside down for slaughter. For more information on the brutality of horse slaughter in the U.S., click here to read the July 25, 2006 testimony of Christopher J. Heyde, Deputy Legislative Director for Animal Welfare Institute, before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. Click here to read testimony offered during a Congressional hearing in 2008 about the cruelty of horse slaughter.
Also, listen here to a discussion on WFL Endangered Stream Live Talk Radio about horse slaughter by Laura Allen, Executive Director of Animal Law Coalition; John Holland, journalist and consultant for Americans Against Horse Salughter; Dr. Nena Winand, DVM with Veterinarians for Equine Welfare and Paula Bacon, former mayor of Kaufman, Tx and leader of the fight to shut down the horse slaughter facility that operated there until 2007. (Download this broadcast!)

Then contact your U.S. representative and urge him or her to vote YES on the Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009, H.B. 503.
Also, tell your representative to vote YES on H.R. 305, the Horse Transportation Safety Act, which will put an end to all transports of horses on double decked trailers.

Where You Can Find More Information on Horse Slaughter

WFL Endangered Stream Live, Saving Our Horses

Read Frequently Asked Questions About Unwanted Horses and the AVMA's Policy on Horse Slaughter

Read Veterinarians for Equine Welfare's Horse Slaughter - Its Ethical Impact and Subsequent Response by the Veterinary Profession


Are you doing all you can to make this world a better place to live in?

FEDERAL AND STATE ACTION NEEDED ON H.R.503! WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Dear Americans Against Horse Slaughter Members,

As promised, we will be sending out frequent updates to let you know the status of the Federal Legislation to end horse slaughter along with instructions on how you can help. Also included will be links to information on states that need help in stopping State Legislation promoting the slaughter of horses. Information on Federal Bill HR503
with strategy on action for you to take, please go to:

http://www.alexbrownracing.com/wiki/index.php/Horse_slaughter

If you live in any of the following states, WE NEED YOUR HELP! Please pass this information along to friends, neighbors, relatives and co-workers.

NORTH DAKOTA
http://www.animallawcoalition.com/horse-slaughter/article/663

ARKANSAS http://www.hsus.org/legislation_laws/state_legislation/arkansas/horse_slaughter.html

KANSAS
http://www.hsus.org/legislation_laws/state_legislation/state-legislation-list.html?state=kansas

ILLINOIS
http://forums.prospero.com/alexbrown/messages?msg=33377.1

ARIZONA
https://community.hsus.org/humane/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=30799352

For those of you who are new to the fight to end the slaughter of American horses, you can find links to everything you need to know at www.americansagainsthorseslaughter.com as well as links to State Blogs with state specific information. As many of you already know, we have no other agenda than to end the brutal slaughtering and the transport of our horses to slaughter for human consumption.

Thanks for all your help!

Americans Against Horse Slaughter

This message was sent by: Americans Against Horse Slaughter, 1551 Willow Pond Dr., Yardley, PA 19067

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON HOW YOU CAN HELP FURTHER!

Great news......as of the beginning of this week, we have 84 co-sponsors for HR503!! Our goal for this week is to reach 100 co-sponsors. To achieve this goal, we will continue with the following plan. Please check back to this post daily. We will be removing names as they sign on to co-sponsor so this thread should be current every day. The strategy now is to gain co-sponsors for HR 503, the Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equity Cruelty Act of 2009. Please call upon your own Representatives if they have not yet co-sponsored HR 503. To find the current co-sponsors go to: www.thomas.gov and search by Bill number HR503. You can then click on co-sponsors.

Once you have called your own Representative, the plan is to start with those co-sponsors of HR 6598 that have not yet signed on. Following is a list of these Representatives. As they co-sponsor, their name will be removed from this list.

Co-sponsors of 2008 Bill 6598 who have NOT yet signed to 2009 Bill HR503:
NOTE TO MICHIGAN RESIDENCE: I CALLED CONGRESSWOMAN CAROLYN C. KILPATRICKS OFFICE TO ASK HER "MALE RECEPTIONIST" IF REP. KILPATRICK HAS SIGNED THE BILL H.R.503, NOT ONLY WAS HE RUDE IN RESPONSE, BUT HE DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO LOOK IT UP TO LET ME KNOW. THEY HAVE ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION FOR WHEN CONSTITUENTS CALL IN, SO PLEASE BE PERSISTANT AND MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR ANSWERS, TELL THEM YOU WANT TO LEAVE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS. DON'T LET THESE ASSISTANCE OF THE REPRESENTATIVES INTIMIDATE YOU INTO NOT GETTING YOUR ANSWERS. YOU ARE A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES, AND IF IT WASN'T FOR YOUR VOTES, THEY WOULDN'T BE IN OFFICE! You can also try to contact her Administrative Director James Williams at jamesm.williams@mail.house.gov or ask for him at the following Rep. Kilpatrick line listed below

Rep Abercrombie, Neil [HI-1] - Phone: 202-225-2726 Fax: 202-225-4580
Rep Arcuri, Michael A. [NY-24] - Phone: 202-225-3665 Fax: 202-225-1891
Rep Blumenauer, Earl [OR-3] - Phone: 202-225-4811 Fax: 202-225-8941
Rep Brown, Corrine [FL-3] - Phone: 202-225-0123 Fax: 202-225-2256
Rep Clay, Wm. Lacy [MO-1] - Phone: 202-225-2406 Fax: 202-226-3717
Rep Cleaver, Emanuel [MO-5] - Phone: 202-225-4535 Fax: 202-225-4403
Rep Davis, Danny K. [IL-7] - Phone: 202-225-5006 Fax: 202-225-5641
Rep Doyle, Michael F. [PA-14] - Phone: 202-225-2135 Fax: 202-225-3084
Rep Ellison, Keith [MN-5] - Phone: 202-225-4755 Fax: 202-225-4886
Rep Engel, Eliot L. [NY-17] - Phone :202-225-2464 Fax: 202-225-5513
Rep Eshoo, Anna G. [CA-14] - Phone: 202-225-8104 Fax: 202-225-8890
Rep Farr, Sam [CA-17] - Phone: 202-225-2861 Fax: 202-225-6791
Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] - Phone: 202.225.4001 Fax: 202-225-5392
Rep Frank, Barney [MA-4] - Phone: 202-225-5931 Fax: 202-225-0182
Rep Giffords, Gabrielle [AZ-8] - Phone: 202-225-2542 Fax: 202-225-0378
Rep Harman, Jane [CA-36] - Phone: 202-225-8220 Fax: 202-226-7290
Rep Hirono, Mazie K. [HI-2] - Phone: 202-225-4906 Fax: 202-225-4987
Rep Johnson, Eddie Bernice [TX-30] - Phone: 202-225-8885 Fax: 202-226-1477
Rep Johnson, Henry C. "Hank," Jr. [GA-4] - Phone: 202-225-1605 Fax: 202-226-0691
Rep Kilpatrick, Carolyn C. [MI-13] - Phone: 202-225-2261 Fax: 202-225-5730
Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9] - Phone: 202-225-2661 Fax: 202-225-9817
Rep Lynch, Stephen F. [MA-9] - Phone: 202-225-8273 Fax: 202-225-3984
Rep Matsui, Doris O. [CA-5] - Phone: 202-225-7163 Fax: 202-225-0566
Rep McCollum, Betty [MN-4] - Phone: 202-225-6631 Fax: 202-225-1968
Rep Mollohan, Alan B. [WV-1] - Phone: 202-225-4172 Fax: 202-225-7564
Rep Moore, Dennis [KS-3] - Phone: 202-225-2865 Fax: 202-225-2807
Rep Neal, Richard E. [MA-2] - Phone: 202-225-5601 Fax: 202-225-8112
Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [DC] - Phone: 202-225-8050 Fax: 202-225-3002
Rep Olver, John W. [MA-1] - Phone: 202-225-5335 Fax: 202-226-1224
Rep Pallone, Frank, Jr. [NJ-6] - Phone: 202-225-4671 Fax: 202-225-9665
Rep Pascrell, Bill, Jr. [NJ-8] - Phone: 202-225-5751 Fax: 202-225-5782
Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [FL-18] - Phone: 202-225-3931 Fax: 202-225-5620
Rep Roybal-Allard, Lucille [CA-34] - Phone: 202-225-1766 Fax: 202-226-0350
Rep Schmidt, Jean [OH-2] - Phone: 202-225-3164 Fax: 202-225-1992
Rep Solis, Hilda L. [CA-32] - Phone: 202-225-5464 Fax: 202-225-5467
Rep Stark, Fortney Pete [CA-13] - Phone: 202-225-5065 Fax: 202-226-3805
Rep Tauscher, Ellen O. [CA-10] - Phone: 202-225-1880 Fax: 202-225-5914
Rep Tierney, John F. [MA-6] - Phone: 202-225-8020 Fax: 202-225-5915
Rep Towns, Edolphus [NY-10] - Phone: 202-225-5936 Fax: 202-225-1018
Rep Tsongas, Niki [MA-5] - Phone: 202-225-3411 Fax: 202-226-0771
Rep Welch, Peter [VT] - Phone: 202-225-4115 Fax: 202-225-5974
Rep Wilson, Joe [SC-2] - Phone: 202-225-2452 Fax: 202-225-2455
Rep Wittman, Robert J. [VA-1] - Phone: 202-225-4261 Fax: 202-225-4382

FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE - You can use this toll-free number 800-828-0498and ask for a legislator by name (or ask for extension, last 5 numbers of legislator's office phone)

This list will be friends of the anti slaughter legislation so they should be the easiest to approach without going into a lot of detail. We will be editing this list daily as people sign on, so please check this post each day. And we will start a new thread with current lists each week.

Please Note: We have started a separate thread titled “State Action Needed”. Several States have introduced their own legislation to allow horse slaughter. These states need our help. to keep this from happening. Please pass the word!!

Remember, WE ARE BARBARO’S VOICE.....Let it be heard.

Americans Against Horse Slaughter



Are you doing all you can to make this world a better place to live in?

URGENT ALERT FOR KANSAS, NORTH DAKOTA AND ARKANSAS RESIDENTS! PLEASE STOP YOUR LEGISLATION FROM OPENING UP HORSE SLAUGHTER PLANTS IN YOUR STATE!

I was just informed from a reliable source of mine that Kansas, North Dakota, and Arkansas legislatures are trying to open "horse processing" plants in their state.

I'm urging the people who live in these 3 states to call their Congressmen and Senators and express to them that this is not what you want. Tell them that you don't want horse slaughter to exist in your state, and that you want them to support bill H.R.503, that is pending in the Committee as we speak.

Please, there is no time to waiste, it only takes a couple minutes of your time to call these Representatives. It would mean so much to all the horses. We are really close to ending horse slaughter here in the U.S.A. and our horses will be safe from being transported out of our Country for slaughter. So please, I'm begging you, please don't give up the fight. Don't fall into the lies of the Pro-slaughter industry that slaughter is a necessary evil, because it's not. If you saw how horse slaughter employees and truck drivers abuse and mistreat horses, you would see that they are worse than any private owner out there that may be mistreating their horse. There are many more horses being starved, abused and neglected on feedlots and in double decker trailers than any horse in the US that have private owners. There is no such thing as a unwanted horse, and if we change the fact that there is too much over-breeding and put stipulations on these types of things, we could end this problem we are having. But horse slaughter is not the answer! So please call your state Representatives today! Before it's to late.........thank you for all your support and care for our horses.


Are you doing all you can to make this world a better place to live in?

ATTENTION RACE TRACKS! DON'T GIVE THE AMISH YOUR BROKENDOWN HORSES!! Boycott Amish Products (Equine Cruelty is More Widespread Than Ever!)

AFTER READING THIS STORY ON HOW CRUEL AND ABUSIVE THE AMISH ARE TO THEIR HORSES, PLEASE DON'T BUY ANY AMISH PRODUCTS, SUCH AS "SARGENTO CHEESE'S" AND OTHER AMISH PRODUCTS.

ATTENTION RACE TRACKS!! PLEASE DO NOT SELL YOUR BROKENDOWN AND NOT FAST ENOUGH HORSES TO THE AMISH!! THE HORSE WILL HAVE A LIFE OF ABUSE AND CRUELITY DONE TO THEM.

I found the following "letter to the editor" on the internet and I believe the writer to be 100% honest about horrific treatment of horses by the Amish.


Let me preface my remarks by noting that while I have not lived in this area (PA) for nearly thirty years, I grew up in Southern Lancaster County, where I lived and worked on my family's dairy farm from the time I could help until I left for college in 1980. I also rode and showed horses during my junior high and high school years. I know the challenges of farming and that sometimes animals can be contrary and uncooperative, requiring humane correction.

That being said, I was appalled and sickened, as I believe anyone with an ounce of compassion would have been, at the scene that greeted me in the early afternoon of July 12 as I turned onto Pumping Station Road, en route back to my brother's home near Kirkwood. I saw an Amish buggy stopped alongside the road, the horse pulling it had fallen on the ground and was clearly in distress, and a team of draft horses with some sort of conveyance behind them in front of the stricken horse. A rope attached to the conveyance was also attached to the fallen horse's bridle.
I assumed that the injured horse had been struck by a vehicle, but no, the young Amishman and the preteen Amish boy who were there casually informed me, the horse was a "balker" and had fallen to the ground after their attempts to yank him forcefully along behind the draft animals. This horse was clearly injured and in distress; he was bleeding from both his front and rear legs and from his mouth. He was also terrified; his neck was twisted in an awkward and painful angle, and he was still attached to the buggy, finding it very difficult to move. When I asked if he had broken a leg, the Amishman nonchalantly replied, "No, just a stubborn horse," and proceeded to viciously kick this horse in the head to try to get him to stand up. They finally got the buggy removed from him, at which point more brutal kicking was delivered to both his head and hindquarters. Though the horse tried to get up, he had fallen on the road and thus had no means of traction and fell to the ground again. At this point, the Amishman suggested that I could be on my way. With my hands bloodied from where I had touched the horse's head to try to calm him, I managed to utter in my disgust that I seriously doubted that beating the horse was going to accomplish their goal. I seemed to have little choice but to drive away, though I was tempted to call the police. As I looked in the rear-view mirror I saw another round of blows delivered to the horse's head. It was one of the most brutal cases of animal abuse I have ever witnessed. Perhaps I should have tried to do more; perhaps making this incident public is the best I can do.

This is not the first time in my years living here and then visiting at least twice a year since I left that I have observed Amish cruelty to animals. Workhorses and mules can be seen even from the road as they are grazing with open, untreated collar sores. (Known as an "Amish Necklace" I've seen Amish families driving lame horses at a fast trot, and who hasn't seen horses and buggies tied for hours in the hot summer sun? And we all know that some inhumane Amish breeders are key players in Lancaster County's dubious distinction of being the puppy mill capital of the United States. There are horrible cases of animal cruelty throughout this country. Nor, I imagine, are all Amish abusive to their stock. However. the myth of the Amish is that they are a deeply religious, Christian, meek, gentle, pacifist people. As I watched that Amishman brutally abuse that injured and terrified horse, I could not help but think how such behavior flies in the face of all they profess with their faith. Yes, their Biblical injunction gives them dominion over the animals, but somehow I just can't see the God nor the Christ they claim to worship looking down on this scene with approval. It is sheer hypocrisy. Certainly most reasonable people would agree that this brutality was a much greater sin, according to Christian theology, than having a telephone in your house.

Few in Lancaster County want to criticize the Amish because, of course, they are economic bread and butter to the region. The money depends on the mythology. I have plenty of opportunities where I now live and where I travel to answer questions about the Amish, which are always forthcoming once people find out where I'm from. They are curious about this group of people and their traditional ways. One thing you can be sure of: when asked, I will be offering the straight story and a fair one, but one that is not marked by some romanticized, false view of a gentle, consistently nonviolent people.

ONCE AGAIN, READ THE BIBLE VERSE ON "GOD'S WRATH FOR HIS HORSES" BELOW THIS BLOG SITE, AND YOU TELL ME IF GOD REALLY WANTS HIS HORSES TO BE TREATED THIS WAY. EVEN THOUGH MANY YEARS AGO HORSES WERE USED AS WORK HORSES AND SLAVES, GOD DID NOT INTEND FOR THEM TO BE USED AS SUCH. PLEASE READ THE BIBLE VERSE BELOW!!
Are you doing all you can to make this world a better place to live in?

HOW TO END THE SLAUGHTER OF AMERICAN HORSES

Dear Friends of Americans Against Horse Slaughter
This is to let you know the status of the Federal Legislation to end horse slaughter along with instructions on how you can help. Also included will be links to information on states that need help in stopping State Legislation. For information on Federal Bill HR503 with strategy on action for you to take, please go to:

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.alexbrownracing.com%2Fwiki%2Findex.php%2FHorse_slaughter

If you live in any of these states, we need your help! Please pass this information along to friends, neighbors, relatives and co-workers.

North Dakota http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.animallawcoalition.com%2Fhorse-slaughter%2Farticle%2F663

Arkansas http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.hsus.org%2Flegislation_laws%2Fstate_legislation%2Farkansas%2Fhorse_slaughter.html

Kansas http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.hsus.org%2Flegislation_laws%2Fstate_legislation%2Fstate-legislation-list.html%3Fstate%3Dkansas

For those of you who are new to the fight to end the slaughter of American horses, you can find links to everything you need to know at:

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.americansagainsthorseslaughter.com
as well as links to State Blogs with state specific information. As many of you already know, we have no other agenda than to end the brutal slaughtering and the transport of our horses to slaughter for human consumption.

Thanks for all your help!


Are you doing all you can to make this world a better place to live in?

"NO DAY OFF" RACEHORSE GOES TO SLAUGHTER! AN HBO DOCUMENTARY WITH VIDEO

After reading this documentary, I had to post this on my site for everyone to read. I have to admit, I cried like a baby for hours, and I pleaded with God to end horse slaughter and to help us with putting an end to horse slaughter for good! Please take the time to read this.........A story of a Filly racehorse, please watch the 2 videos below this blog as well. Thank you for taking the time to read and watch this blog. The Horses thank you as well.

"No Day Off"--"Running For Their Lives"

**Please note** I am simply passing along this story on my blog. I was not involved with this documentary. However, if you would like to donate to the rescue that WAS involved with this documentary, please contact Gail Vacca at- GLV190@aol.com or you can call her at 815-761-4937. Thank you for caring :)


No Day Off
Behind the Scenes of the HBO Real Sports Documentary:
"Running For Their Lives"

by: Anne Russek

The following is my account of the behind the scene events that contributed to the HBO documentary" Hidden Horses." The following individuals will be mentioned in this story as they played vital roles in the production as it pertained to the racehorses. Gail Vacca, Becky Care, and Diana McClure are members of the racing industry, without whose help the Sugarcreek segment would not have been possible. I am sure that there are no words I can write that will adequately convey to the rest of you how supportive and involved these three women were. Hopefully, by the end of the story, you will see them for the unique and caring individuals that they are. I am blessed to have them as my friends.

I had previously written about events that occurred at the Sugarcreek Auction in Ohio on April 11 of this year. At that time, because of a scheduling conflict with HBO, six
thoroughbreds and one pony were rescued from the auction. (That story is on many horse sites referred to as "How Luck and a Village Saved the Sugarcreek Six").

After that rescue, an assistant producer from HBO, Ryan Goldberg, contacted me to ask if I would be interested in assisting in an undercover documentary depicting the chain of events that allows for Thoroughbreds to go from the racetrack to the auctions that then ship to slaughter. I was more than willing to assist in this
production.

I have been involved in racing for over thirty years. I love horses, and I love racing. Five years ago I became aware of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. It was at that time I first became aware of how many thousands of Thoroughbreds go to
slaughter every year. This was absolutely unacceptable to me, and I committed myself to helping to end horse slaughter in this country.

Since this practice of disposing of racehorses happens at every track across the country, we first needed to decide which track to video. I told Ryan that for several years, a young girl named Becky Care, who worked as a groom at Mountaineer Racetrack, had been reporting to me about the terrible conditions there. Mountaineer is located within an hours drive of the Sugarcreek Auction. This allows for owners and trainers to conveniently dispose of racehorses on a weekly basis. On several occasions, I had helped Becky rescue some of these horses, but it truly was a drop in the bucket. The last horse we rescued, Almighty Above, was such an upsetting experience for Becky that she quit her job as a groom and took a job in one of the restaurants at the
Mountaineer Casino.

I called Becky and asked her if it was still" business as usual" at the track. Becky assured me that things had only gotten worse. The track has a policy that any horse who does not finish first through fourth in their last five races, must be removed
from the stable area within five days of that last race. Since most of the trainers at Mountaineer do not have farms and do not make money from their training endeavors, sending horses to Sugarcreek is an acceptable option for disposal. There are actually designated pick up days, Mondays and Thursdays, at which time either Dick Rudibaugh or Wilson Langley will bring their trailers into the stable area to get the horses. For years, Dick Rudibaugh was the main "meat man", but after suffering a heart attack, Rudibaugh has slowed down a little and word on the backside is that Langley would like to take over.

HBO explained to me that it was imperative we could chronicle specific Thoroughbreds being loaded at Mountaineer Park, transported to Sugarcreek, run through the auction, purchased by known kill buyers, and then being loaded onto the trailers bound for either Canada or Mexico. The only way to identify that the Thoroughbreds were the same ones from the track to the auction was through their tattoo numbers.

Ryan explained to me that I would have to track the horses once they arrived at the auction. I assured him I could do this, but I would need Becky to help me. I called Becky and asked her if she was interested in the project. I told her I understood that there could be ramifications for her if she chose to participate because, unlike me, she lived there. Becky never hesitated for a moment. Although Becky acknowledged that if Mountaineer found out she had helped, she would likely lose her job, she understood that this was a chance to show the entire country the abuse and horror these horses endure. Becky was totally on board.

When I called Ryan back to tell him we were set to go, he dropped the bombshell. I was told that the legal department of HBO had indicated that there could not be any rescue of any of the horses filmed. It was explained to me that a rescue could be perceived as a staged event, and that those people who profited from horse slaughter, would only dismiss the documentary as such. I was devastated and emotionally distraught. How could I possibly participate in a documentary knowing that the horses I helped identify would go to slaughter?

I appealed to the HBO producers to rewrite their story. "Wouldn't it be so much better for people to know the horses were saved?" I asked. "Once we showed that the horses had been purchased by a kill buyer, wouldn't that prove our point?". I presented my case over and over, using every angle I could think of to change the
producers mind, but the HBO legal counsel would not/could not budge. Since the documentary was undercover, I was not at liberty to call my friends and ask their advice. I realized for the first time in my life that I was not special. I was not strong enough or smart enough to figure out a way to get my way. I was going to have to compromise my integrity to prove a point. For years I have been telling anyone who would listen that there is nothing legal I won't do to help stop horse slaughter. I never could have imagined that I would have to facilitate slaughter to help end it. I wear my shame every day.

It was decided that we would meet at Mountaineer Racetrack on Thursday, April 17. I left my home in Virginia at 2 AM Wednesday morning. I was better prepared for the auction having been there the week before. This time I brought my own halter and a tape recorder in case we couldn't write down the tattoo numbers. I also brought a thermometer because I wanted to take the temperature of any horses that looked sick. At the time, I actually thought if I could show that certain horses were too sick to travel, they would not be sent to slaughter. Driving for hours in the early morning darkness, I was alone with my thoughts. I was aware that this was no dress rehearsal.
Everything depended on all the players maintaining their usual routine. What if Rudibaugh was sick? What if HBO wasn't discreet? What if I could not get to see the sign out sheet for the horses as I had the week before? My mind was overwhelmed with details. As the morning sun began to appear, I determined to remain optimistic.

I arrived at Mountaineer Park around 8:30 A.M. I pulled into an employee parking lot that sits between the stable area and the racetrack. Dick Rudibaugh´s truck and stock trailer were parked alongside the fence, where he always parks before going into the backside to pick up horses. At least I knew I was on time. I called Ryan on my cell phone and he told me where to meet him. Ryan and the camera person, Sarah, were by the track watching horses gallop. Since I knew the pick up procedure from the week before, Sarah decided she would wait by the stable gate and follow Rudibaugh as he drove through the stable area, and Ryan and I would wander the barn area following Rudibaugh from a different direction. The stable area at Mountaineer has very poor visual access from barn to barn. The barns are very long and are situated parallel to each other alongside a slight hill. You can only see down alleyways between each barn, we had to keep track of each other via our phones.

Sarah called to tell us that Rudibaugh had pulled into the stable area and was heading towards his first barn. Sarah was able to film two men, and Rudibaugh, attempting to load a bay filly onto the trailer. The filly was absolutely refusing to get on the metal stock-trailer. They had put a lip chain on her and were very aggressive, shanking her repeatedly.

Sarah heard the men tell Rudibaugh he needed to move the trailer to another spot so that the step up was more level. Rudibaugh said he knew a spot closer to the stable gate and they should meet him there. Sarah and I followed Rudibaugh and once he had
parked the trailer, the two men walked the filly to the new loading spot. Once again, the filly would not load. Sarah was standing almost next to the one man, Nino Pizzuro. He started to tell Sarah that the filly did not want to race, and that she was going to a farm or a sale. Nino even told Sarah the mares name, NO DAY OFF.

Nino and his friend spent quite awhile trying to force the filly onto the trailer, continuing to shank her mercilessly for her refusal. I had to keep walking away to keep myself from interfering. It was impossible not to keep thinking that somehow
she knew getting on that trailer was the wrong thing to do. Finally, they backed the filly onto the trailer. Rudibaugh got back in his truck, drove to the stable gate, signed the horse out, and left. Sarah walked over to where I was sitting and sat down
beside me. I asked her if she had gotten everything and she said yes. I told her that was one of the most unprofessional and abusive examples of loading a horse I had ever witnessed. I couldn't keep from quietly crying, I told Sarah I felt very guilty, she agreed it was a very hard situation.

Sarah went to her car to check out the footage and Ryan called Gail to tell her the name of the horse so that Gail could identify her tattoo number. I went to see a trainer I knew who was stabled there. I was carrying my digital camera that I had
brought along for no particular reason. As I walked past the track security office, a guard came out the door and hollered at me ,"hey, no cameras allowed back here". I told him I only had it to take some pictures of my friends horses. The guard told me I
must take it to my car immediately or I would be asked to leave the stable area. I asked him what the problem was, and said surely owners come to the track to take pictures of their horses. He told me that Rosemary Williams, the Mountaineer general
manager, had prohibited cameras on the backside and I needed to get permission from her. I have been on the racetrack over thirty years and I have never heard of such a stupid rule. Another trainer who was passing by and overheard the guard, made the
sarcastic comment that the reason Williams didn't want people taking pictures was because she was afraid that someone would steal the architectural designs for the barns. Considering that Mountaineer Park is one of the most debilitated barn areas I have ever seen, his remark was quite funny.

Gail called back with No Day Off's tattoo number, H19563, and told us that the filly had just raced the previous Saturday and had been pulled up during the race. She was owned and trained by Ricardo Hernandez. We did not know at that time that Nino was not
Ricardo.

Ryan had to drive Sarah to the airport as she was returning to New York and so I told Ryan I would meet him early the next morning at Sugarcreek. I had the rest of the day to drive to Ohio to my motel and so I decided to drive by Rudibaugh´s farm to see if I could find No Day Off. About that time I met up with Becky who told me she had trouble getting off from work and did not think she could get to Sugarcreek before
2 P.M. the next day. I knew that would be a big problem, you definitely need two
people to identify the horses. One person to hold the horses head, and the other to read the tattoo. I called Gail and told her the problem. Gail was worried also and said she would call a few people she knew who had rescued horses from Sugarcreek to see if they could meet me on Friday to help. I told Becky not to worry, something would work out, although at the time I wasn't sure what.

I did drive past Rudibaugh´s house but there were no horses in sight. By the time I got there, he had already unhooked his trailer but I could only see his truck from the road. I was quite certain that No Day Off was not there. I actually had a knot in my stomach because I was worried that Rudibaugh was going to leave her on the stock trailer all night because she had been so difficult to load.

I then drove to Leroy Bakers farm because it is on the way to Sugarcreek. In fact, Bakers farm is about thirteen miles from Rudibaugh´s. There were several houses on either side of the road that must have been relatives of Bakers because each driveway had either a truck or a semi in it with the Sugarcreek Auction logo on the side. There was a barn, but it was too far off the road for me to see into, but I suspected that No Day Off and other horses could be in there. I couldn't shake the feeling that if she was in that barn, she was without hay or water. I was starting to realize that from the time she had left Mountaineer that morning, her journey to slaughter would be a constant downward spiral. Everything happening to her now would be totally foreign to her, her entire routine was disrupted, there would be no kindness, only varying degrees of brutality. My own thoughts were turning into despair.

I was almost to Sugarcreek when Gail called. She told me that my good friend, Diana McClure was going to fly into Akron from Virginia to help me on Friday. I expressed concern that Diana was leaving her training farm operation at the drop of a hat to come be with me. Gail said there was no way they were going to let me do this alone. I cannot begin to convey the wave of relief that overcame me. I did not want to endure this experience by myself, I was so very thankful that these two friends had sensed my vulnerability. I picked Diana up late Thursday night and we checked into a hotel and made our plans for the next morning.

We arrived at the auction around 9 AM Friday morning. Besides the Amish employees, we were one of the first ones there. I showed Diana how to navigate the auction and the pen areas, and she was quick to notice the very thin and sick horses that were already
there.

We found a pen of horses that we knew were Standardbreds and we decided to record their tattoo numbers. Diana was quick to catch on that the horses are in constant motion to protect themselves from getting kicked. During the day, as the pens fill up, the horses push and bump each other to find safety. Diana commented that she did not understand why there were so many horses in very good shape at the auction. It made no sense why people would think this auction would be a good venue to re market their horses.

As we walked down an aisleway, I noticed a large bottle of Banamine (painkiller)sitting on a ledge behind a post. There was a syringe stuck into the top of the bottle. Anyone could have used this medication for any purpose. We went to the unloading area and watched the horses coming in. Trailer after trailer pulled up. The usual kill dealers were there, Ramey(KY), Bauer(OH)& Fisher(PA).

The same veterinarian from the previous week, Melissa Reddick, was drawing blood for coggins testing. As usual, horses with halters were held for this procedure. Horses without halters were run down chutes, individually singled out by being beaten with
sticks, pinned between a wooden gate and the wall, slapped and kicked if they moved a muscle, while Reddick climbed up the side of the gate and reached over to stick the needle into the vein and draw blood. This method is repeated over and over throughout
the day. There is never any attempt by Dr. Reddick to record tattoo numbers, even on those horses that come directly from the racetracks.

Diana and I became very busy trying to follow the groups of horses as they were herded into different pens. The larger pens were filling up very quickly and in one such pen Diana spotted a severely injured horse that looked like a thoroughbred. We
climbed into the pen and it was apparent that the horse had a broken hock. He was unable to bear any weight on the leg, and Diana attempted to move him to a corner of the pen where he would be less likely to be kicked by others, but he was unable to move because the horses were packed so tightly together.

We pulled his tattoo number, he was a Standardbred, R9428. I told Diana to go tell Dr. Reddick that the horse was in trouble. I told Diana to be sure and tell Reddick that she (Diana) is a Thoroughbred trainer who can identify a horse with a broken leg
when she sees one. Diana went to Reddick who was back at the unloading area and reported the horse. Dr. Reddick told Diana it was not her (Reddick´s) problem. She told Diana that since the horse was still owned privately, only the owner of the horse
could authorize her to treat the horse. Since the horse was in a pen with horses that had been dropped off, it was highly unlikely the owner was presently at the auction. Diana went to the office with the horses hip number#81, and asked them to tell her the
name of the owner. The lady in the office said she was too busy and would look later if she had time.

Diana returned to Dr. Reddick and again implored her to please come look at the horse. Dr. Reddick said if Diana was that concerned, she should ask one of the Amish to move the horse to a private pen. Diana approached not one, but several of the Amish
to ask them to help her. Aside from looking at her as if she had three heads, they did nothing. Diana was starting to realize the hell hole she was in.

Diana came back to me and we discussed our limited options. The injured horse was at the back of the crowded pen, farthest from the gate. He could not walk, so Diana climbed back into the pen and herded the more aggressive horses away from him. For a few minutes I was horrified that Diana was going to get kicked. Horses were pushing and shoving, biting each other, kicking, squealing, all in an attempt to get away from the aggressive horses. I grabbed Diana by her shirt collar and helped pull her
back up out of the pen.

About this time Ryan called us on his cell and told us a trailer with Thoroughbreds had just pulled in. We watched as they were run off the trailer with sticks and into an alleyway with gates at each end. Diana and I sprang into action to get tattoos.

Using the halter I had brought with me we developed a system whereby I would hold the horses and hold back their lips, Diana would read the number, then she would hold the horse while I wrote down the number, and then she would reread the number back to me for clarification. The difficulty lie in the fact that there was so much commotion all around us. Not to mention, the Amish knew we were up to something, so they continued to keep the horses moving from one end of the aisleway to the other.

Most of these horses, under ordinary circumstances, would stand very quietly while we handled them. The problem is that from the time the Thoroughbreds leave the track, everyone who handles them uses such abusive force during the auction process, they
instinctively revert to their flight instincts. This can be said for any horse at this auction. In a very short time, people have become predators to these horses. The constant yelling, hitting and kicking these horses endure makes it very difficult for
anyone to handle them once they are at Sugarcreek.

We began to notice that all the Thoroughbreds were kept in pens closest to the auction ring. This should have made things easier except that the Amish kept moving them from pen to pen. At one point, five or six thoroughbreds came running at us, slipping and sliding on the concrete floor, with their halters on. The halters actually had the horses names on them, Point of Attack and Timbers Prospect. How in the world does a trainer take the time to have a horses name embroidered on a halter, only to send that horse to slaughter?

Diana and I frantically tried to quiet them down and read their tattoos. As I would hold one of them, the Amish would try and take the halter off before we could read the tattoo. I would ask them to wait, but they acted as if they couldn't hear me. We
continued to record tattoos in spite of the Amish. I was constantly asking God to help us, especially with the horses that were reluctant to let us hold their heads and flip their lips.

Sometimes Diana could not make out a letter or a number, and we would have to try again and again. One horse in particular, had an unreadable tattoo. Every time we had a chance, we kept going back to that horse to try again. We never did get it right, he
was our only failure.

Around noon, five thoroughbreds were trailered in with Jim Snodgrass from Thistledown Racetrack. He actually told us personal traits about some of the horses, and indicated he hoped we would purchase them privately. At first we thought Snodgrass
might have an ounce of redeemable character, but when he proceeded to pull the halters off the horses, while we were trying to get their tattoos, we realized he was as bad as a kill buyer, because he acknowledged how awful this place was and still
continued to bring horses here week after week.

Just before the start of the horse sale at 1 PM, we still had not found No Day Off. I was having an anxiety attack from hell. I kept thinking that somehow Baker had found out about us being at the racetrack the day before, and had called his son and told him not to bring any horses from Mountaineer Park to the auction. Diana and I had recorded the tattoos of over 34 Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds.

I called Gail and told her my fear. Gail suggested that we must have missed her, or that Bakers son was running late. All I knew was that the clock was ticking and without No Day Off, there would be no HBO documentary.

Diana told me that she was going to go into the auction and record the sale prices on the hip numbers we had tattoos on. I told her to go ahead, I was going to sit at the unloading area and wait for No Day Off. I was at my wits end, where the hell was she? I begged God to help me. I started to leaf through the list of tattoo numbers we had gotten, page after page. I kept staring at the number Gail had given us for No Day Off, H19563 . I flipped a page and saw the number M19563. "Wait a minute" I thought to myself, "what are the chances that two thoroughbreds would have the same numbers with a different letter?" I then realized that No Day Off was already at Sugarcreek and we knew her hip number, 481!

I leapt to my feet and raced to the pens. I called Diana on my cell and told her that No Day Off was hip #481 and we had to find her. Diana answered me back that she had just watched #481 go through the ring and sell to kill buyer, Fred Bauer. I called
Ryan and told him we knew that No Day Off was here. Diana met me and we asked an employee where the Bauer pen was. We went to a pen with about twenty horses in it. Most of them were Thoroughbreds we had already identified, and then we saw her, #481.

We walked in and quietly walked up to her. I held out a handful of hay and she walked over. Diana slipped the grooming halter over her head and we read her tattoo. H19563. Diana immediately said she remembered reading this tattoo earlier because the filly's gums were cut from the lip chain the day before. That was why Diana had first read the H as a M. I told Diana to look at it again, and then we led her over to the camera woman so that she could video the tattoo. We had our documentary.

And then , in an instant, reality sunk in. No Day Off was just standing there. Diana and I were petting her and crying our eyes out. We could not save her. She stood there waiting for us to take her out of that horrible place, and the best we could do was to lead her over to the hay manger so that she could eat hay before she was loaded up for the trip to the slaughterhouse in Canada.

Diana and I went back up on the catwalk and watched the sales horses being run into the different kill buyer pens. It was at this time Diana noticed Hip #81, the horse with the broken hock, standing in a pen of horses that Baker had bought. Diana couldn't believe they had run the horse through the auction in that condition. Diana saw Dr. Reddick standing on the catwalk. She went over to Reddick and asked her to please come look at #81. Dr. Reddick tried to ignore Diana but Diana insisted that
Reddick come look at the horse.

From a distance of over twenty feet, Dr. Reddick told Diana that as far as she was concerned, the horse was weight-bearing and therefore, Reddick saw no reason the horse could not be transported. Diana told Dr. Reddick that she was absolutely wrong, and that the horse was non weight-bearing. Dr. Reddick ended the conversation by telling Diana that Diana was entitled to her opinion.

About this time Becky arrived and I told her what had been happening. Becky told me she was going to try and buy one of the ponies or horses that was in such poor shape they would never survive the trip to slaughter. We walked to the back pen where the worst horses were kept and we saw a chestnut mare lying on the ground. We went into the pen and we saw that she was dying. Her head was resting on the bottom rung of the gate, and her legs were stretched out in front of her. She was barely breathing. She was lying on a manure covered floor, surrounded by horses destined for slaughter.
Once again we approached Dr. Reddick and asked her to intervene. Once again she advised us it was not her job.

I went back to the pen where No Day Off was. Diana and I watched as each horse was let out of the pen and briefly haltered while a farrier removed the shoes from the Thoroughbreds. This is a federal regulation requirement for all horses being transported to slaughter. It is difficult to explain how distressing this is to watch.

At this point I had to leave the auction. Diana had far more courage than me. She stayed with the camera crew to video the horses being loaded onto the trailers. Diana watched as No Day Off slipped and crashed to the ground before being loaded onto a
trailer bound for the Canadian slaughterhouse. The cameras continued rolling as the trailers pulled out of the Sugarcreek parking lot.

Later, I ventured back into the auction to find out if Becky had purchased any horses. I found her in a state of complete distress. While waiting for Leroy Baker to give her a price on one of the debilitated horses, she had witnessed him attempting
to lift the dying chestnut horse with a front end loader. The horse was unable to stand, and Baker finally gave up. Unfortunately, this despicable atrocity is not on video.

Five years ago I read the story of how a Kentucky Derby winner, Ferdinand, was slaughtered for human consumption. No Day Off was not a Derby winner. No Day Off was one of the thousands of racehorses that nobody ever remembers.

I will remember No Day Off forever. I see her face every day. I see her eyes every day looking deep into my soul asking me to take her home. I wake up every day remembering the sacrifice she made for all Thoroughbreds and horses so that Americans would unite together and force our legislators to get off their procrastinating soap boxes and pass the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.

Many of you may despise me for not rescuing No Day Off. But if you do not contact your Congressmen and Senators on her behalf, you share in my complicity. No Day Off was sacrificed in an attempt to show Americans that every aspect of the horse slaughter industry is cruel, abusive, and minimal regulations are not enforced.

The incomprehensible slaughter of Thoroughbred champion, Ferdinand, sparked the effort to ban horse slaughter in the United States. I pray that the equally incomprehensible and unnecessary slaughter of No Day Off, will be the catalyst to
finally end the unconscionable slaughter of American horses.

Postscript: Remembering Those We Lost
by: Gail Vacca
I'm sure that I can safely speak for all of us who love horses and who want to see an end to the atrocity that is horse slaughter, in offering our profound gratitude to HBO for dragging America's dirty little secret out from behind the dark shadows
and exposing the underbelly of the horse industry and its heinous alliance with those who profit in the trade of horses for their flesh.

I hope and pray that everyone who sees this documentary will join forces and take action by demanding that Congress immediately enact the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R.503 and S.311).

I hope and pray that everyone who sees this documentary will contact their local racetracks and the "powers that be" within the Thoroughbred racing industry, and demand that every North American racetrack immediately put into place a program to
protect injured and retiring racehorses from ending up at low-end auctions and being exported to slaughter. The racing industry can and must do better by its horses. The suffering and slaughter of these incredible equine athletes must end at once.

I hope and pray that everyone who sees this documentary will remember that each and every week while passage of the AHSPA is delayed, thousands of U.S. horses will continue to be auctioned off by the "pound" and will continue to be cruelly transported to slaughter in Canada and Mexico. Time is of the essence. Let's end this horrendous cruelty, once and for all.

The horses who were lost on April 18, 2008 in order that truth of
this hideous cruelty could be brought to light.

No Day Off: 2004 Dark bay or brown filly. Tattoo # H19563. 10 starts 0-0-3. Earned $3,993.00. Last raced, 4-12-08 at Mountaineer Park for owner/trainer Ricardo Hernandez. No Day Off was sent to slaughter via the Sugarcreek Auction on 4-18-08, only 6 days after having not been able to finish in her last race. The comment on her race record reads "gave way, eased upper stretch. "No Day Off's only crime was that she was too injured to race competitively. No Day Off was bred by Jerome C. Burdick and was foaled in Pennsylvania. No Day Off was slaughtered in a Canadian
horse slaughter plant in April of 2008 at only 4 years of age.

Balachour Prince: 2001 Bay gelding. Tattoo # E14092. 26 starts, 3-7-3. Earned$43,485.00. Last raced 4-12-08 at Mountaineer Park for trainer, Bart Baird and owner, The Estate of Dale Baird. Balachour Prince was sent to slaughter via the Sugarcreek Auction on 4-18-08, only 6 days after his last race in which he finished 10th, beaten 15 1/2 lengths. The comment on his race record reads "lost ground, tired. "Balachour Prince was bred by G.J. Collins Bloodstock and Holly Collins and was foaled in Ontario, Canada. Balachour Prince was slaughtered in April of 2008 at 7 years of age.

Crow Autumn: 2002 Dark bay or brown mare. Tattoo #F20759. 37 starts, 0-2-4. Earned $26,370.00. Last raced 4-12-08 at Mountaineer Park for trainer Bart Baird and owner, The Estate of Dale Baird. Crow Autumn was sent to slaughter via the Sugarcreek Auction only 6 days after her last race in which she finished 7th
beaten 17 1/2 lengths. The comment on her chart reads, "in tight start, tired." Crow Autumn was bred by JB Enterprises Inc., and was foaled in California. Crow Autumn was slaughtered in April of 2008 at 6 years of age.

Arranged Marriage: 2004 bay filly. Tattoo # H27783. 6 starts, 0-1-2. Earned $18,897.00Last raced 4-7-08 at Mountaineer Park for trainer Bart Baird, owner The Estate of Dale Baird. Arranged Marriage was sent to slaughter via the Sugarcreek Auction on
4-18-08, only 11 days after her last race which she did not finish. The comment on her chart reads "bad step, vanned-off." Arranged Marriage was bred by Bass/Seeligson Partnership and was foaled in California. Arranged Marriage sold for $10,500 at the Barrett's Equine Limited 2007 Fall Mixed Sale. Arranged Marriage, clearly suffering from the injuries sustained in her last race, was slaughtered in April of 2008, at merely 4 years of age.

Point of Attack: 2004 Dark bay or brown filly. Tattoo # H05614. 22 starts, 2-1-5. Earned $25,654.00. Last raced on 3-25-08 at Mountaineer Park for trainer Penny L. Mathias, and owner, The Estate of Dale Baird. Point of Attack was sold for slaughter via the Sugarcreek Auction on 4-18-08, only 25 days after her last race in which she finished 6th beaten 11-1/2 lengths. The comment on her chart reads, "Rated pace, wore down". Point of Attack was bred by Point Break Partners and was foaled in California. This daughter of Bertrando sold for $32,000 at the Barrett's Equine Limited 2006 Mixed Sale. Point of Attack was slaughtered in April of 2008 at only 4 years of age.

Explosive Light: 1991 Bay gelding. Tattoo # U00446. 16 starts 1-1-0. Earned $9,375.00 Explosive Light was a steeplechaser who last raced in 1997. At the time he was last raced, he was trained by F. B. Miller and owned by John H. Peace. Explosive Light was
bred by Fares Farm and was foaled in Kentucky. The well bred son of Majestic Light
(73) Explosive Tobin (86), by Explodent(69)sold at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale in 1992 for $220,000. Explosive Light was sold to slaughter via the
Sugarcreek Auction on 4-18-08 and was later that month slaughtered at 17 years of age, following many years of service to his human connections.

Emerald Crossing: 2002 Bay mare. Tattoo #F24713. 7 starts, 0-2-0. Earned $3,339.00. Emerald Crossing last raced on 3-8-06 at Penn National where she finished 2nd, beaten only 1-3/4 lengths. The comment on her chart reads, "3-wide, evenly stretch." At the
time of her last race, Emerald Crossing was trained by George R. Albright and owned by Landslide Farm. Emerald Crossing was sold to slaughter via the Sugarcreek Auction on 4-18-08. Emerald Crossing was bred by Redmond C. S. Finney and was foaled in Maryland. Emerald Crossing was slaughtered in April of 2008, at 6 years of age.

Bohica: 2002 Bay mare. Tattoo # F34049. 34 starts, 3-7-3. Earned $33,290.00. Bohica last raced 7-9-07 at Mountaineer Park for owner/trainer Ashley J. Lewis, where she finished 9th, beaten 32-1/2 lengths. Bohica was sold to slaughter via the Sugarcreek
Auction on 4-18-08. Bohica was bred by F. W. Allen and was foaled in Florida. Bohica was slaughtered in April of 2008, at 6 years of age.

Another Passion: 2004 Bay filly. Tattoo #H14386. Starts 2, 1-0-0. Earned $6,925.00. Another passion last raced on 6-17-06 for trainer Art Sherman and owner Frederick J. Liebau, Sr. Another Passion won her last race by 3 lengths. Another Passion was sold
to slaughter via the Sugarcreek Auction on 4-18-08. Another passion was bred by Janet Sexton and was foaled in California. In January of 2008 Another Passion sold for $900.00 at the Barrett's Equine Limited January 2008 Mixed Sale. Another Passion was
slaughtered in April of 2008 at only 4 years of age.

November News: 2003 Dark bay or brown gelding. Tattoo # G28014. November News never raced. He was bred by Kathryn C. Schultz and was foaled in Florida. November News was sold to slaughter via the Sugarcreek Auction on 4-18-08. November News sold for $3,000
at the Ocala Breeder's Sales Company 2004 Winter Mixed Sale. November News was slaughtered in April of 2008 at only 5 years of age.

***Please note that Balachour Prince, Crow Autumn, Arranged Marriage, and Point of Attack were all owned by the Estate of Dale Baird. All but, Point of Attack (who was trained by Penny Mathias) were trained by the late Dale Baird's son, Bart Baird. Dale Baird has been heralded as the most winning trainer in US history, winning over 9,000 races before his death in 2007. Baird has been twice nominated for consideration by Racing's Hall of Fame. Thankfully, he was denied entry both times. What a lot of people didn´t know about Dale Baird was that while he was no doubt America's winning-most trainer, he was also a man who thought nothing of sending hundreds if not thousands of horses to slaughter, once they were no longer of any use to him. He may
very well have been the trainer who in his lifetime sent more horses to slaughter than any of his counterparts. The sale of Balachour Prince, Crow Autumn, Arranged Marriage, and Point of Attack to slaughter on April 18, 2008 proves that despite Dale Baird's death, his legacy of cruelty and total disregard for the welfare of horses, continues on with his son, Bart Baird. The Baird family reign of equine cruelty must end. Dale Baird must never again be considered for entry into racing's Hall of Fame. To do so would be an insult to all true horsemen. "Trainers" such as Dale and Bart Baird have no place among the many fine horsemen within the racing industry, and they along with others like them, should be banned from racing. ***

In memory of all the horses who have suffered the inhumanity of man, and in honor of all who fight so hard to protect them, I offer you this poem written by Lucille Matte and offered with our heart felt gratitude to all of you, who fight so hard to protect
horses.

A Letter from God about "No Day Off"

I want you all to know, I saw them hit her too.
I was standing right there by her, with every one of you.
Believe me when I tell you, it broke my heart in two and
It was then that I knew, exactly what to do.

That´s why I´m writing this letter, to try and
comfort you.

To let everyone know her treatment was not what I would choose.
I stood there next to her, as she tried to run away.
I told her that I loved her and she was coming with me that day.
So long before the sun went down, I took No Day Off home.
She is here with me in heaven and has miles of fields to roam.
Like all the other horses, that are here in heaven with me,
No Day Off is in paradise, she´s young and wild and free.
I want you all to know, I see you all each day.
I cry with you in anger and my heart breaks in the same way.
I love you all for trying, to save them one and all.
I want you to know I am here, to catch you if you fall.
I want you each to give to me, all the pain that this has caused.
And trust me when I tell you, I will save them all without
pause.

I need you all to hold your heads up high and strong, and protect
those who need us, till you are all safe with me at home.

I love you!

God

Lucille Matte
April 25, 2008


Here are videos of "NO DAY OFF" going to slaughter, a HBO Documentary that everyone must see.

HBO Documentary Part 1


HBO Documentary Part 2




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