NURSE MARE FARMS -- AN UNNECESSARY EVIL

so many throw away foals...

The other day I received an e-mail about 15 new foals who had just arrived at a sanctuary and were in desperate need of homes. Huh, says I – why so many? Where did they come from? Who is breeding these animals and not taking any responsibility for them? I am totally confused. So I started digging and this is what I found. Just when you think it is “safe to go back into the water” another atrocity strikes.

Known as “nurse mare foals,” these orphaned babies are the throwaway by-product of a cynical industry that leases out lactating mares - their mothers - to nurse foals other than their own. Their own foals are taken from them between one day and one week of age. These foals are either killed, sent to slaughter or rescued. Some are also skinned and their hides used for high end leather products – soft like a baby’s skin.

Why does this evil practice even exist you ask? Here is why: A mare who is prized as a race horse can immediately return to work as a show horse or racehorse after giving birth to her own foal. Instead, her baby is nursed by the nursing mares who are leased out. A prized mare can also be bred again if she does not have to be involved with nursing her own foal. She, of course, does not have a choice. It is all about money and elitism. It is wrong.

The only way to stop this evil is for the racing industry and others who do this to allow their mares to nurse and wean their own young for as long as it takes.

Please see these links on the issue and on the rescues that are helping the unwanted foals:

Nurse-Mare Farms: The Industry’s "Other" Dirty Little Secret

Dream Equine Therapy Center

Mountain View Rescue

A word about the homeless horse crisis, which is directly related to horse slaughter.

According to the USDA, 112,904 US horses were slaughtered in 2010 – up from 106,542 in 2009. 53,104 went to Mexico and 59, 693 to Canada. Horse slaughter is illegal in the US.

We need to put a stigma on the breeding of horses just like we have done about the irresponsible breeding of cats and dogs. We still kill millions in animal shelters yearly, but the numbers have gone down significantly because of campaigns emphasizing spaying and neutering and controlling births. The same thing must be done with horses.

There are far too many and not enough good homes. The slaughter house is no option and we need to get a handle on this obscene problem. While these babies are adorable and are in desperate need of a home, they will displace other horses already here. It is an industry that should be abolished.

As long as so many - horses, cats, and dogs – are throwaways, dying for lack of good homes, something is wrong with our society.

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NURSE MARE FARMS -- AN UNNECESSARY EVIL

So many throw away foals ...

The other day I received an e-mail about 15 new foals who had just arrived at a sanctuary and were in desperate need of homes. Huh, says I – why so many? Where did they come from? Who is breeding these animals and not taking any responsibility for them? I am totally confused. So I started digging and this is what I found. Just when you think it is “safe to go back into the water” another atrocity strikes.

Known as “nurse mare foals,” these orphaned babies are the throw-away by product of a cynical industry that leases out lactating mares to nurse foals other than their own who are taken from them between one day and one week of age. Their own foals are dumped and often are either killed, sent to slaughter or rescued. They are also skinned and their hides used for high end leather products – soft like a baby’s skin.

Why does this evil practice even exist you ask.? Here is why: A mare who is prized as a race horse can immediately return to work as a show horse or racehorse after giving birth to her own foal. Her baby is nursed by the nursing mares who are leased out. A prized mare can also be bred again if she does not have to worry about nursing her own foal. She, of course, does not have a choice. It is all about money and elitism.

The only way to stop this evil is for the racing industry and others who engage in this practice to allow their mares to nurse and wean their own young for as long as it takes.

Here are some links on the issue and on the rescues who are helping the unwanted babies:

Nurse-Mare Farms: The Industry’s "Other" Dirty Little Secret

Dream Equine Therapy Center

NYC CARRIAGE HORSES - it is not what will happen to them if there is a ban. It is what is happening NOW!

I have to admit that I am very tired of this question - what will happen to the horses if the carriage industry is banned? If you are new to the issue, I can understand the question. But if you are not, it means you are not reading the proposed legislation that has been out for almost four years – first Intro 658 and then Intro 86! This is important if you are to be fully educated about this issue.

HISTORY: In 2006, the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages began the campaign to put an end to this inhumane, unsafe and frivolous carriage trade in NYC. But one would think that we went into this without any thought to the horses, considering some of the questions we get. This is the only reason we are involved in this issue at all.

It was and remains our desire to save the horses. Period.

NEW DISPOSITION LANGUAGE: In 2007, we worked with former Council Member and present NYS Senator Tony Avella to introduce Intro 658. This bill was historic, the first ever bill to ban the carriage industry. The language to deal with “horse disposition” as it is referred to, was considered very carefully by the City Council’s attorneys because the horses are privately owned. The “A” section addressed horse disposition. For those of you who have never read this section of the bill, it is included below.

The purpose was to amend the existing Administrative Code. The text in brackets [ ] means it is removed. The italicized sections indicate new language. The intent of this amended section would require that the owners be held accountable for all the horses in their businesses and make sure they were either adopted into a good home or a sanctuary. They would not be allowed to be sold to work in another carriage trade.

The present law states that a horse must be disposed of in a ”humane manner,” which is meaningless because it never included an explanation. The law also does not require that sales or transfer records be submitted to the Department of Health if the transaction is made outside of New York City as most are. This means a horse can be taken to auction and the owner is not required to provide this information to the Department of Health. This is where many horses fall through the cracks. When one studies the existing carriage horse regulations, it is quite apparent that they were written to protect the industry -- not the horses -- and to secure the veil of secrecy.

Section 1. Section 17-329 of title 17 of the Administrative Code of the city of New York is amended to read as follows:
§17-329 Disposition of licensed horse. a. The department shall be notified of the transfer of ownership or other disposition of a licensed horse within [ten] five days thereafter. Such notice shall include the date of disposition and [if sold in New York city,] the name and address of the buyer or other transferee and such other information as the commissioner may prescribe.
b. A horse shall not be sold or disposed of except in a humane manner, which, for the purposes of this subchapter shall mean one of the following:
1. The owner shall sell or donate the horse to a private individual who signs an assurance that the horse will not be sold and shall be kept solely as a companion animal and not employed in another horse-drawn carriage business or as a work horse and will be cared for humanely for the remainder of the horse's natural life; or
2. The owner shall sell or donate the horse to a duly incorporated animal sanctuary or duly incorporated animal protection organization whose president or executive director signs an assurance that the horse will not be sold and shall be kept solely as a companion animal and not employed in another horse-drawn carriage business and will be cared for humanely for the remainder of the horse's natural life.
c. Records indicating the name, address and telephone number of the private individual, duly incorporated animal sanctuary or duly incorporated animal protection organization to whom the horse was sold or donated together with the assurance specified above shall be sent by the owner to the department within five days after such sale or donation. A copy of such record shall also be maintained at the stable.


VINTAGE CAR BILL: Intro 86, the vintage car bill, which was introduced in 2010, did not include anything about saving the horses. They would still continue to fall through the cracks on their way to auction in upstate New York and Pennsylvania. We asked the sponsor of the bill, Council Member Melissa Mark Viverito to add this same section to her bill, which she did.

But the City Council is never going to pass a bill without seeing a prototype of this “vintage replica electric hybrid car.” And because the sponsors of this bill know that and have been supposedly working on this “car” since 2008, we wonder why they have not produced a model car. Some Council Members brought this up over one year ago at the Council hearing of Intro 86.

And while all this inaction continues, the horses continue to disappear – approximately 1/3 - about 70 - disappear from the Department of Health rolls each year. Carriage horses have an average working life on the street of only four years. Because of the way the existing law is written, favoring the lack of transparency by the industry, they keep falling through the cracks on their way to the slaughter auctions. Sure some of them – the favorites – are saved and find good homes. But the majority probably do go to auction. There is simply no real proof because of the way the law is written. The industry can claim they adopt every one, but they are not required to show any proof.

SLAUGHTER STATISTICS: On their web site, the Equine Welfare Alliance (source is USDA) cites 112, 904 US horses slaughtered in 2010 – up from 106,542 in 2009. 53,104 went to Mexico and 59, 693 to Canada. Surely some of those horses were from the carriage trades all over the country. There are too many horses because people unconscionably still breed them. As with cats and dogs and the emphasis on spaying and neutering over the last 20 –30 plus years, we need to make the breeding of horses unacceptable until none are sent on to the slaughter auctions. Considering the price of horseflesh – approximately 60-80 cents a pound, a 1,000-pound horse can bring about $800; 2,000-pound horse (large draft breeds) can bring about $1,600.


In 2010, the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages, along with Equine Advocates and Friends of Animals, rescued Bobby II Freedom from the slaughter auction at New Holland, Pennsylvania. Bobby, then called Billy, was a discarded NYC carriage horse who had been owned by two people from West Side Livery stable on W. 38th St. Bobby’s story is truly heart warming and he was recently immortalized by Peter Max in a beautiful painting that was auctioned off at the Armory’s art show in NYC. He is now living the Life of Reilly at Equine Advocates Sanctuary in upstate New York.

I cannot stress upon you enough that if you care about these horses, you must care about what happens to them now. Intro 86A addresses what will happen to them if the industry is banned.

But we want to take that section and make a stand alone bill and convince the Council to pass it now.

Recently, we put up a petition on Change.org that addresses this issue. The petition generates letters to the City Council asking them to pass a stand-alone bill that would address the issue of horse slaughter now. It would make the owners accountable for their horses.


If you have not done so yet - read and sign the petition on Change.org




SOURCES

Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages
http://banhdc.org/

Horses Without Carriages International
http://horseswithoutcarriages.org/


Equine Welfare Alliance
http://www.equinewelfarealliance.org/


Mary Nash's Horse Meat Website
http://kaufmanzoning.net/

Animals Angels

http://www.animalsangels.org/

photos credited to Animals Angels, Equine Welfare Alliance, Equine Advocates

NYC : 2013 MAYORAL ELECTION …

It's March 2011 and counting. By January 2013, the race for mayor should be in full swing. September 2013 … Primary Day. At this point, it seems like it might be a packed house – at least according to AM-NY, which recently ran a story about the hopefuls. Click here.

TOP CONTENDERS: The top contenders mentioned in the article were Bill Thompson, Anthony Weiner, Christine Quinn, Scott Stringer, John Liu and Bill DeBlasio. A side bar in the paper version mentioned long shots, but still possibilities, as Tony Avella and Marty Markowitz. This, of course, is just for the Democratic primary. A wealthy dark horse could step up at any time as Mr. Bloomberg did in 2001 and knock everybody out of the race with the dazzle of money.

For those of us who care about NYC’s animals and how they continue to be short shrifted, immediately cross Christine Quinn and John Liu off the list. Quinn is so far successfully manipulating some of the large ineffective animal organizations into promoting her as being good for animals. She is not and never has been. The bills she recently passed were pathetic, light weight bills that were either unenforceable or would do little to nothing to help animals. Visit this blog for more information.

By animal issues, I specifically mean the ongoing dreadful city shelter catastrophe, where killing cats and dogs daily is the name of the game ... and the ongoing exploitation and institutional abuse of the carriage horses, all in the name of tourism. Of course, the other issue that needs thoughtful and compassionate consideration by a wise executive is the wide spread slaughter of geese that has nationally shamed NYC.

As for Anthony Weiner, he thinks he can be coy by not addressing these hot button issues, but apparently feels comfortable with other issues like opposing the new bike lanes. See the most recent story in the Gothamist.

STRINGER & DEBLASIO: Are Scott Stringer and Bill DeBlasio really planning to run for mayor? That is the question – but here’s the rub if you care about animal issues in NYC …

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer was elected to his current post in 2003. Although he was only supposed to serve for two terms, he decided that he wanted to run for another – to go against the will of the people. It was too irresistible to stay in office. This disrespect of the people who elected him will forever remain stuck in the craw of many. Recently Mr. Stringer was the recipient of a fund raiser directed to people interested in animal issues ... trying to get on their good side; trying to talk the talk.

The truth is that Mr. Stringer has done nothing for either the carriage horses or shelter animals in his nine years in office – not even to use the bully pulpit of the Borough President’s office. Think about it … 9 years … approximately 70 carriage horses disappear off the rolls of the Department of Health per year x 9 … that’s a minimum of 630 horses unaccounted for; 9 years … a minimum of 205,390 cats and dogs killed at Animal Care and Control. [these numbers are taken from the web site of Animal Care & Control of NYC.]

And Mr. DeBlasio as the Public Advocate is no better. Recently an article “written” by Bill DeBlasio appeared in the Huffington Post supporting the electric car bill – Intro 86A – a bill that would substitute vintage replica hybrid cars for the horse carriages, phasing them out over three years. The article was most likely written by someone at NY Class, the organization that supposedly wants this new industry to happen. The only problem is that they have been working on it since 2008 and have never produced a prototype. It is a bill in concept only.

Mr. DeBlasio also did not mention the suffering of the horses in his article; he did not even acknowledge that it is actually Intro 86A, which addresses horse disposition and prevents them from going to slaughter, thanks to our intervention on this bill with Council Member Melissa Mark Viverito, the sponsor.

The sad truth is that Mr. DeBlasio has done nothing for either the carriage horses or the shelter animals in his eight years in office as a Council Member and his one year as Public Advocate – not even to use the bully pulpit of the Public Advocate’s office.

So why should those of us who care about animals support either one for mayor? They are all talk and no action, but they know the animal community is ripe with suckers born every minute. They both know you are an easy mark. Maybe because animal people are so desperate – always looking for a pied piper.

My advice to both Mr. DeBlasio and Mr. Stringer is to actually DO SOMETHING FOR THE ANIMALS. Make us want to support you. Don’t take the “animal” vote for granted because you will not get it.

My advice to animal people is to research all of these candidates and see for yourself. Don’t accept what the “big” organizations say. Question all motives.

This is the most important piece of advice I can impart: The City Council is not a democratic body. Only bills that are supported by Speaker Christine Quinn go anywhere. Council members know this but play the game and “sponsor” bills anyway so they look “good” to their constituents. But I am sorry to tell you that it means nothing because when push comes to shove, it is their vote that counts when and if action is taken on the bill. It is about who stands up to be counted.

A few years ago, a bill dealing with a resolution on humane education made it to a vote. It listed over 40 Council Members as supporters. A naive person would expect that the bill would pass since there are 51 council members and the majority clearly supported this bill. But the bill failed miserably when it came to a vote. Most of those council members voted the way Christine Quinn wanted them to and she was opposed to it.

SENATOR TONY AVELLA: I think a draft Tony Avella for Mayor movement looks better every day. Here is someone who put his career on the line and introduced the historic bill to ban horse drawn carriages in 2007. That took a lot of courage. Albany is lucky to have a state legislator with the drive and integrity of Mr. Avella who won the state senate seat from Queens in 2010. Recently, he reintroduced a bill to ban foie gras – a particularly cruel practice of force feeding ducks for a frivolous pate. See Senator Avella’s home page on the Senate web site.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

-- Know the issues and the facts.
-- If you are not already a Democrat, register to vote now in the Democratic primary, which will be held in September 2013 – because this will be where the action is. Don't wait until the last minute.
-- Join a local Democratic club and get active. At some point, they will endorse a candidate for mayor and you will be able to vote and offer your opinions and affect the decision.

And please support our ongoing campaign. We are independent and tireless. We are currently looking for a City Council member who will support a stand alone bill to save the horses from the slaughter auctions.


Elizabeth Forel
Coalition to ban horse-drawn carriages.
www.banhdc.org
Horses Without Carriages International
www.horseswithoutcarriages.org