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| HORSE SLAUGHTER
Horse Slaughter & The Issues
One of the most baffling issues surrounding the equine world is horse slaughter in the United States. Horse slaughter in our country exists for the sole
purpose of providing horse meat to foreign countries. Europeans and Asians who consume this product consider it a delicacy and willingly pay a high
premium.
Auction houses across the country facilitate the problem. They provide an "easy out" for irresponsible equine owners, where all they have to do is
drop off an animal at an auction facility and wait for a payment. Auctions in the North East have been found selling sick, sore, lame, disabled, blind and
pregnant equines on numerous occasions. Many of these horses are accepted for sale without a negative coggins test or a general health certificate.
For every animal that is sold, the auction collects a fee, so, it is in the best interest of the auction's pocket to accept and sell as many animals as possible.
Numerous licensed horse dealers who act as middlemen for the slaughterhouses frequent these auctions. The dealers arrive with either large stock
trailers or double decked trailers to transport horses to slaughterhouses, feedlots or resale facilities. Mass quantities of horses are sold to these
dealers at unbelievably cheap prices, who then transport the horses inhumanely and resell them to the slaughterhouses for profit.
Often these horses are:
Not examined by a veterinarian to determine if they are in pain or fit for transport
Not provided quality food, clean water and comfortable shelter
Not tested for disease
Not tested pharmaceutical and chemical residues that render their flesh unfit for human consumption ( Tainted Meat)
Many times an auction house and the dealer won't turn away an unfit animal, because as long as it is alive, it can be sold for meat.
Horses that have been stolen disappear without a trace this way. Mustangs allegedly under the protection of the Bureau of Land Management have
been disposed of this way. Thoroughbreds and standardbreds that are no longer equitable to their owners are sold this way so that the very last nickel
possible is squeezed out of them (Excellor).
The entire horse meat industry, regardless of the angle or involvement, is driven by greed and money.
People have domesticated horses and used them as work or companion animals for hundreds of years. Essential in the development and success of our
nation, horses have been used during our wars and continue to provide us with companionship, recreation and hard labor. They truly deserve our
protection.
Always remember,YOU CAN Make A Difference! http://www.gopetition.com/online/8638.html a petition for you all
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| CATS AND DOGS TORTURED IN A HAWAII HUMAN SOCIETY
By Pat Gee
Star-Bulletin
A group that pushes for alternatives to euthanizing stray animals is accusing the Hawaiian Humane Society of using "brutal" methods of killing dogs and
cats that amount to "criminal cruelty."
But society spokeswoman Eve Holt said these charges are "just not true."
At a press conference this morning, Animal Care Foundation vice president Frank De Giacomo said former humane society employees told his group
that dogs to be euthanized are not always sedated and are stabbed with a long needle aimed for the heart that sometimes misses the mark.
"This is equivalent to a human being being stabbed in the chest with an ice pick," De Giacomo said.
He said cats are stored in metal cages stacked 16 inches away from an incinerator and are held in cages for 12-hour stretches with no food or water.
But Holt said "the most humane method" of euthanasia is used on all animals at the society, and every animal is sedated and treated individually.
Pamela Burns, president of the society, said last year the shelter received 10,725 dogs, of which 53 percent were euthanized. It received 18,074 cats --
9,000 of which were "unsocialized feral cats not appropriate for adoption" -- of which 92 percent were euthanized.
The society has been "aggressive" as well as "progressive" in its free or low-cost spay/neuter and microchip identification programs, Burns said.
De Giacomo said Animal Care policy "precludes the killing of any animal not suffering."
His group believes there should be a mandatory spay and neuter law and that the society should increase volunteer programs, create a larger holding
area, and create a better system of adoption and foster home placement.
He said the feral cat population "should be managed (with neutering)," and the animals should be "returned to their colonies ... not brought here (to
the society)."
"There is a national no-kill movement. It's time it comes to Hawaii," he said.
To stop this cruelty please sign this petition- http://www.petitiononline.com/hhs1/petition.html | | |
| POUND SEIZURE
What Is Pound Seizure?
Pound seizure refers to the taking of cats and dogs from shelters and pounds to serve as models in biomedical research. The practice started many
decades ago in small-scale projects, but exploded after World War II as funding for biomedical research zoomed upward.
When dogs and cats are acquired for research, their fates become uncertain. While some animals may die quickly, others may be earmarked for long-
term studies. Once the pound or shelter releases the animal for research purposes, the animal is rarely protected by anti-cruelty laws.
Rationale Flawed
Pound seizure proponents rationalize that animals in the shelter are going to die anyway. After all, the argument goes, the animals were lost or
abandoned as unwanted pets. Why not use them for research? Many humane organizations reject this argument, insisting that animals have a right to a
safe and happy existence. Furthermore, the animals chosen for the laboratory are the ones most likely to be adopted - young, one to three years of age,
healthy, friendly, and of medium size. Those who are rejected by researchers are the animals least likely to find adoptive homes.
Interestingly, the National Institutes of Health, the largest funded of biomedical research in this country, stopped using shelter animals in its own in-
house research several years ago because they consider such animals unsuitable research subjects. Shelter animals are not fully known by the
researcher as are purpose-bred animals. Nothing is known about the shelter animals' origins, health conditions, or age, and typically the animals lack
conditioning for research. Further, it is more expensive to buy, treat, and condition shelter animals than it is to purchase animals purposely bred for
research.
A Safe Haven For Animals?
By allowing pound seizure, we're placing a cheap price on animal life - allowing shelters to serve as discount warehouse suppliers for biomedical
research laboratories. Shelters are intended to be protective havens for animals, not commodities brokers for laboratory resources.
Pound seizure is unfair to both companion animals and communities. It violates a public trust that shelters and pounds will provide shelter for animals
and either a future with a new owner or a humane death. Citizens might be reluctant to bring in a stray to a shelter knowing that the animal might wind
up in a medical experiment, often involving pain and suffering.
Current Law
Fourteen states currently prohibit the release of impounded animals to research facilities: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, and West Virginia. Of these,
Massachusetts is the only state which specifically prohibits the sale of pound animals brought in from other states as well. This ban has not collapsed
biomedical research in that state nor has it run up costs. instead, the state continues as a leader in biomedical labs. Massachusetts law is a model for
other states to adopt in their jurisdictions.
Release of impounded animals for research purposes is required in the District of Columbia, Iowa, Minnesota, Oklahoma (by pounds only; shelters may
release animals for research), South Dakota, and Utah.
Release of impounded animals for research is allowed in Arizona, California, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Washington, and Wisconsin.
All other states permit pounds or shelters to decide for themselves whether or not to provide animals for such purposes.
To the best of our knowledge South Florida Shelters and other Florida Shelters do not participate in Pound Seizures. Please contact your local shelters
to ask if they participate in this practice and ask them to stop.
Please contact your elected officials to ask them to stop giving government funding for lab testing on companion animals for medical research.
Suggested Contacts
Please feel free to send this letter to different media contacts. You can send to TV stations, as well as newspapers. If you are sending a letter to the
editor about "pound seizure," you must write an
original letter. The goal is to make sure the public is aware of "pound seizure."
Contact info for your local media: http://capwiz.com/congressorg/dbq/media/
20/20
2020@abc.com (abc.com)
ABC News
netaudr@abc.com (abc.com)
Nightline
niteline@abc.com (abc.com)
NBC News
letters@msnbc.com (msnbc.com)
Dateline
dateline@nbc.com (nbc.com)
Today Show
today@nbc.com (nbc.com)
NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw
nightly@nbc.com (nbc.com)
48 Hours
48hours@cbsnews.com (cbsnews.com)
60 Minutes
60m@cbsnews.com (cbsnews.com)
Evening News with Dan Rather
evening@cbsnews.com (cbsnews.com)
CNN
community@cnn.com (cnn.com)
SAMPLE LETTER:
"Pound Seizure"
To Whom It May Concern:
Some pounds, shelters and humane societies in the United States sell "surplus" dogs and cats to Class B dealers and/or research facilities. This
practice is commonly called "pound seizure." Most people are not aware that this happens. We request that you cover this very important issue and
help to educate the public.
Shelter animals are traumatized by losing their human companions and/or by ending up in a strange environment. They should not have to endure even
more trauma by being turned into research tools. Shelters were not intended to be warehouses for research labs. With "pound seizure," no one can be
certain their own beloved pet will never fall into the hands of researchers. A lost or stolen pet may not be located or rescued in time to prevent tragedy.
For more information on this topic, please visit: http://www.savetheshelterpets.com/pound_seizure.htm
The public needs to know what is happening to these homeless, domesticated animals. Please help bring awareness to the animals' plight. We look
forward to seeing your coverage of this issue.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
"If you can't save all the shelter pets, then save just one."
http://www.savetheshelterpets.com/pg04_psz.asp | | |
| MARY SCHNEIDER
Quiz time!
How much alcohol should a pregnant woman drink?
If you answered, "None, zero, zip, nada," go to the head of the class.
If you answered, "The question of whether it is a problem to take a few drinks during a pregnancy has not been addressed at all," then you need to go back and do some very basic reading or get some remedial reading lessons. You can't understand the U.S. government's statement:
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Here Are Some Questions You May Have About Alcohol and Drinking While You Are Pregnant.
http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochure.htm
1. Can I drink alcohol if I am pregnant?
No. Do not drink alcohol when you are pregnant. Why? Because when you drink alcohol, so does your baby. Think about it. Everything you drink, your baby also drinks.
2. Is any kind of alcohol safe to drink during pregnancy?
No. Drinking any kind of alcohol when you are pregnant can hurt your baby. Alcoholic drinks are beer, wine, wine coolers, liquor, or mixed drinks. A glass of wine, a can of beer, and a mixed drink all have about the same amount of alcohol.
3. What if I drank during my last pregnancy and my baby was fine?
Every pregnancy is different. Drinking alcohol may hurt one baby more than another. You could have one child that is born healthy, and another child that is born with problems.
4. Will these problems go away?
No. These problems will last for a child's whole life. People with severe problems may not be able to take care of themselves as adults. They may never be able to work.
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Ok. That seems pretty straightforward and scary enough. So what are we to make of the claim: "The question of whether it is a problem to take a few drinks during a pregnancy has not been addressed at all."?
The person who said this was defending Mary Schneider's research. He just about had to say something in her defense since he chairs the committee that approves her experiments.
Mary exposes pregant monkeys to alcohol, and then tracks the development of their offspring over time. She has reported on many occasions that alcohol disrupts normal fetal development and that this has harmful long term consequences.
Let's look at Mary's history of monkey experiment publications:
1988 Behavioral effects of developmental lead exposure in rhesus monkeys.
1992 Endocrine activation mimics the adverse effects of prenatal stress on the neuromotor development of the infant primate.
1992 Early rearing conditions alter immune responses in the developing infant primate.
1992 Prenatal stress exposure alters postnatal behavioral expression under conditions of novelty challenge in rhesus monkey infants.
1993 Repeated social stress during pregnancy impairs neuromotor development of the primate infant.
1993 Vulnerability of placental antibody transfer and fetal complement synthesis to disturbance of the pregnant monkey.
1993 Prenatal stress has long-term effects on behavioral responses to stress in juvenile rhesus monkeys.
1994 Long-term effects of prenatal stress on HPA axis activity in juvenile rhesus monkeys.
1994 Temperament differences between captive Indian and Chinese-Indian hybrid rhesus macaque neonates.
1997 Effects of prenatal stress on behavior in adolescent rhesus monkeys.
1998 Maternal endocrine activation during pregnancy alters neurobehavioral state in primate infants.
1998 Prenatal stress alters brain biogenic amine levels in primates.
1999 Growth and development following prenatal stress exposure in primates: an examination of ontogenetic vulnerability.
2001 Timing of moderate alcohol exposure during pregnancy and neonatal outcome in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).
2001 Moderate alcohol during pregnancy: learning and behavior in adolescent rhesus monkeys.
2002 The impact of prenatal stress, fetal alcohol exposure, or both on development: perspectives from a primate model.
2002 Prenatal disturbance alters the size of the corpus callosum in young monkeys.
2004 Moderate level alcohol during pregnancy, prenatal stress, or both and limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis response to stress in rhesus monkeys.
2004 Prenatal stress, moderate fetal alcohol, and dopamine system function in rhesus monkeys.
2005 Moderate-level prenatal alcohol exposure alters striatal dopamine system function in rhesus monkeys.
It's pretty understandable why Mary continues to study prenatal alcohol exposure, she bought a lakeside home recently and the mortgage is pretty high.
And, it's pretty clear why the university defends her research,
2005: Schneider, Mary Lynn 5R01AA012277-05
Fetal Alcohol Effects In Monkeys: Dopamine And Behavior
$412,287
2004: Schneider, Mary Lynn 5R01AA010079-09
Moderate Level Prenatal Alcohol Exposure In Primates
$377,084
Schneider, Mary Lynn 5R01AA012277-04
Fetal Alcohol Effects In Monkeys: Dopamine And Behavior
$400,279
2003: Schneider, Mary L R01AA010079-08
Moderate Level Prenatal Alcohol Exposure In Primates
$366,100
Schneider, Mary L R01AA012277-03
Fetal Alcohol Effects In Monkeys: Dopamine And Behavior
$388,620
2002: Schneider, Mary L 5R01AA010079-07
MODERATE LEVEL PRENATAL ALCOHOL EXPOSURE IN PRIMATES
$342,086
Schneider, Mary L 5R01AA012277-02
FETAL ALCOHOL EFFECTS IN MONKEYS: DOPAMINE AND BEHAVIOR
$377,302
Schneider, Mary L 1R01AA012277-01A2
FETAL ALCOHOL EFFECTS IN MONKEYS: DOPAMINE AND BEHAVIOR
$366,312
Schneider, Mary L 5R01AA010079-06
MODERATE LEVEL PRENATAL ALCOHOL EXPOSURE IN PRIMATES$345,083
Five-year total: $3,375,152
Given that the university skims a little over 40% off the top, about $1.3 million, we don't have to scratch out heads too hard to come up with a reasonable explanation for the administration's defense of her redundant observations that pregnant women should'n't drink or her redundant demonstrations that pregant monkeys shouldn't either.
For a taste of the extent to which the UW spin doctors will go to defend this sort of nonsense, check out some not-news about Mary's work.
http://www.madisonmonkeys.com/schneider.htm site of the day
http://www.animalsvoice.com/ | | |
| RUTH BENCA
Ruth Benca must be certifiably insane.
She is a UW psychiatrist with a sadistic interest in hurting animals.
She experimentally induces “mania” in sparrows.
(Grant # 5R01MH071874-02 An Animal Model of Mania)
In a recent study she forced rats to stay awake for five days. She wounded some of them beforehand and some of them afterwards. She discovered that
profound sleep deprivation does not affect wound healing in rats. (Mostaghimi L, Obermeyer WH, Ballamudi B, Martinez-Gonzalez D, Benca RM.
Effects of sleep deprivation on wound healing. J Sleep Res. 2005.)
Ruth Benca has forced many kinds of animals to stay awake for long periods of time.
In one of her sickest moments, she strapped brain-damaged monkeys into chairs and videotaped them throughout the night as they tried to sleep. Then
she killed them. She keeps this videotape locked in a safe in her office. Does she watch it when she is alone?
She refuses to let the public see it.
Ruth’s morbid curiosity in the effects of sleep deprivation has been promoted by the University of Wisconsin as some of the most interesting and
important research on campus. The UW puts nearly half of every animal research grant dollar into its general fund.
When vested interests make claims, watch out.
Ruth’s inventiveness is unbounded. She raises animals in total darkness – perhaps mimicking the darkness of her own troubled soul – doesn’t let them
sleep, she shocks them, injects them with amphetamine, threatens them, kills them, and calls it science.
Ruth, how do you sleep at night?
http://www.madisonmonkeys.com/benca.htm http://www.petitiononline.com/pawsclub/petition.html (sign this petition against animal testing) | | |
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