Three Days And Counting…..

As you are all aware, we are basically down to three days before the court proceedings in New Mexico.  That lawsuit is not solely about the New Mexico facility as we have discussed.  Pretty much any horse slaughter plant that hopes to open has a vested interest in how this case shakes out.  So having said that, why is it the Valley Meats plant in New Mexico seems to be the only one getting all the grief?  Breaking news today is that the plant in Roswell was set on fire on the weekend.  (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/30/slaughterhouse-hit-arson/2600303/).  I would seem the plant is still standing, but the refrigerator units have suffered some damage.  I’m not even going to float much of an opinion as to who is responsible as people will make up their own minds one way or another.  However, IF this was done by somebody against slaughter, this is not the way to get things done and not cool at all.  De Los Santos plays enough sympathy cards without handing him additional ones and the law is still the law.  Protest, write letters, and make your calls to your reps.  All those things actually help.  Doing batshit crazy stuff no matter if you are pro or anti is just going to get yourselves in trouble.  I do know one thing though, saying that any and all anti is capable of something like this, is about like saying any and all PSAs are running black market slaughter facilities in their garages.  Both sides have extremists and they are equally as crazy.  Ok, enough preaching for now.  We have more fun things to talk about, mainly a `Call to Action’ posted by D-bag Duquette, but is actually a letter from Charlie Stenholm.  It’s awesome!

For those of you that don’t know, Stenholm is a former Congressman from Texas who currently fills his days lobbying for slaughter and attempting to drum up support from different tribes.   Stenholm is paid of his support of the slaughter industry  Here is a link to his latest, but I’ll give you the highlights.  (http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Letter-from-Congressman-Stenholm.html?soid=1112812195452&aid=iHav0F2VgAU).  It really is a masterpiece of spin that is worth looking at.

As you know, the issue of horse slaughter has rallied the animal rights crowd together for the last several years. HSUS and its allies have gained substantial traction on the matter this year. First, the Obama Administration submitted a budget to Congress with a prohibition on funding for FSIS inspectors at horse slaughter facilities. Next, the current House and Senate Appropriations Committee versions of the FY 2014 Agriculture Appropriations bill reinstates the funding ban for FSIS inspection of horse slaughter. However, with the state of affairs in the 113th Congress, it is unlikely that the FY 2014 appropriations bill will be enacted as law by the September 30th deadline. Thus, we will likely operate on a Continuing Resolution without a ban on domestic horse slaughter inspection.

– Let’s not forget that Charlie is paid to rally the troops here.  Not sure about the rest of you, but the fact that the defunding language is in that bill with overwhelming support would suggest that the future of horse slaughter is far from certain regardless of what happens on Friday.   You can’t be a great business person to gamble that much money on a venture that may only be legal for a few months.

 

With their chances for a legislative victory slipping as the deadline approaches, HSUS has turned to the federal courts to block horse slaughter. On June 28th, FSIS issued a grant of inspection to Valley Meat Co., a Roswell, NM-based equine packing plant. FSIS also issued a grant of inspection to Responsible Transportation, LLC, a Sigourney, IA-based horse slaughter plant. Within five days, HSUS had filed suit in a San Francisco federal court to block FSIS from proceeding with its plans to allow horse slaughter to re-commence in the United States. The case, Front Range Equine Rescue v. Vilsack (No. 1:13-cv-00639-MCA-RHS), has since been transferred to the federal court in Albuquerque, NM.

 

HSUS argues that the decision to re-commence horse slaughter in the United States constitutes a major federal action and, as such, FSIS was required to conduct an environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Without question, this is a desperate attempt to delay USDA from providing inspectors to the point that the financially-strained horse slaughter plants are forced to shutter. However, HSUS has gotten traction on this argument in the past (see HSUS v. Johanns, 2007 WL 1120404 (D.D.C.)). If HSUS succeeds on this matter, then FSIS will be forced to conduct an environmental assessment (EA) and possibly put together an environmental impact statement (EIS) prior to inspecting horses for slaughter. After FSIS has delivered its EA or EIS, HSUS will have an opportunity to litigate the validity of those documents too. This can draw out the NEPA process to 2 to 5 years.

–  Ahhh, typical PSA tactic at play here.  State your misguided opinion as fact and hope people get on board.  Not sure what he bases the slipping chance of legislative victory on, but he’s not paid to paint a clear picture, he’s paid to rally the troops.

I am writing you because, no matter what stance your organization takes on the horse slaughter matter, the Front Range Equine Rescue case is important to your constituents. If HSUS is able to succeed on the NEPA argument, what is stopping them from using this same argument to target the next opening or expansion of a beef, swine, or poultry processing facility? The future growth of the animal agriculture industry could be imperiled by an unfavorable outcome in this case.

 

HSUS is not going to win this case without a fight. By law, DOJ is obligated to defend FSIS in this matter. Furthermore, the proposed horse slaughter plants and the Yakama Nation have intervened in this matter to ensure that they have a say in this litigation.

–  His letter was addressed to `friends’, so we’re not really sure who he is writing to and I’m guessing he wasn’t sure either.  Notice he worked in the standard scare tactic of this opening the door to all slaughter being targeted and the growth of the ag industry.  Does anybody actually believe that?  You don’t see antis running around in all seriousness saying that the slaughter of horses for consumption will lead to dogs and cats being on the menu at every restaurant.  One thing does not always lead to another.  Although that is a far more likely scenario than the ban of beef, swine and poultry from our menus.

However, USDA has issued press releases acknowledging that it would prefer to not commence horse slaughter. Secretary Vilsack has opined that he desires an alternative, such as adopting out the annual 150,000-plus supply of unwanted horses to veterans suffering from PTSD. Based on these statements, I believe USDA would hardly be disappointed if a federal court tied its hands on the horse slaughter matter. And it’s hardly out of the question that a “sweetheart settlement” is in the works in light of what we saw between the EPA and environmental groups in the 2008 CAFO Rule and the Chesapeake Bay TMDL.

 

Two essential things are missing from this fight: the broader animal ag industry and financial resources. Animal agriculture stands to lose much by remaining on the sidelines in this case. An unfavorable decision on the NEPA matter could mean that HSUS and its allies could burden the next slaughter plant with NEPA-borne bureaucratic red tape that could hinder the industry’s ability to promptly respond to changes in the marketplace.

– He fails to talk about why the USDA would like the ban reinstated.  The fact is that with limited budget and the EU deadline, which is today, the writing is on the wall that the horse slaughter industry has no future in this country.  Why should we pull inspection funding and resources away from our very food supply to fund this foreign industry that is questionable at best?   I never have been able to understand why certain cattle producers think any of this would be a good idea when the return of domestic horse slaughter would end up hurting their bottom line.

The current intervenors in this matter are financially strapped and without the option of sending thousands of excess horses to USDA-inspected plants, they neither have the cash flow nor the reserves necessary to carry on an extended battle with HSUS and its barrels of money. These intervenors could certainly use the credibility and resources of your organization on their side.

 

The next event in the Front Range Equine Rescue case is a preliminary injunction hearing on Friday, August 2nd in New Mexico. After this hearing, the judge will decide whether to enjoin FSIS from inspecting horse slaughter while the NEPA case is pending. Regardless of the outcome on Friday, this case is expected to continue well into next year.

 

Although the deadline to intervene for participation in this Friday’s preliminary injunction has passed, there is still an opportunity for your organization to participate as an intervener in the case in chief. If you are interested in ensuring that your organization can have a say in this matter and join in the fight against HSUS, please contact me. I would be happy to put you in touch with the folks in our litigation team here at OFW Law.

– And finally we get right down to it….SEND MONEY.  It’s always about them with their hands out.  Pay for my horse, clean up my mess, give me money, blah, blah, blah.  Besides, this is NOT a fight with the HSUS, this is a fight for horses.  Period.  Thank goodness we do have an organization as powerful as the HSUS that can advocate for them.

In other news today,  the Equine Welfare Alliance has finally released its long-awaited white paper on how the GAO Report on `horse welfare’ is basically a huge fraud. (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/58277209/How%20the%20GAO%20Deceived%20Congress%20v4.pdf).  Of course, many of us have known for a long time that the data collected for the GAO report was questionable at best and designed to prop up the pro-slaughter side of things, but now you have the hard copy on exactly how they did that.  There is an excellent synopsis of this paper on YouTube that you can watch also. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSxUPNgzgn4).  Of course, the PSAs have already resorted to personal attacks on John Holland as if that makes this report any less convincing.  The fact is they won’t be convinced there is any other option other than slaughter no matter what evidence you present them with.  These types of reports are for the fence sitters and the law makers that truly may not have a leaning one way or another.  The GAO report is the most often cited `proof’ that PSAs use to back up the need for slaughter and I’m quite certain it will be bandied about in court on Friday.  Thankfully, there is now irrefutable evidence as to why nothing should be based on that work of fiction.

We reach another very important deadline today; the one imposed by the EU as far as equine traceability, things are getting quite serious.  I’ve not come across any indication on what this means for Canadian slaughter plants as they still don’t have an acceptable traceability system in place either, but it basically wipes out the EU market for US produced horse meat.  The huge problem with all of it is, that horses magically become Canadian or Mexican as soon as they cross the borders and all this hinges on the honesty of kill buyers.  There is absolutely zero way to trace most horses throughout their lifespan as far as medications etc. as the only thing they have been depending on so far is the honestly of the kill buyers filling out the forms.  Because all we really have to go on as far as market, is the Canadian stats, here is a little chart on exported horse meat to show you just how heavily this industry depends on the EU market: (http://www.agr.gc.ca/redmeat-vianderouge/rpt/12tbl39_eng.htm).  We know Japan mostly prefers live horses to slaughter for themselves and Asia and Russia don’t really want out toxic meat either.  I have to wonder where it’s all going to go should they manage to reopen slaughter for horses.  I know I will no longer be consuming any form of red meat and I’m already very fussy about what the dogs and cats get fed.  As always, the only way to end this mess once and for all is to get the SAFE Act passed.  Keep a good thought and send prayers or whatever you believe in as far as the court case in New Mexico, but please continue to make those calls and get the word out on the SAFE Act.  Let’s get this done!

The SAFE ACT will ban horse slaughter of American horses any where forever. I start calling tomorrow and will repeat weekly. Call the committee members-see attached:

Ask them to support the SAFE ACT which is H.R.1094 in the House and S.541 in the Senate.

To make it easier to call, here is a list of the Senators on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that must approve S.541 (202) 224-3121

Tom Harkin, D, Chairman
Lamar Alexander, R, Ranking Member
Bob Casey, D
Kay Hagan, D
Bernie Sanders, I
Tammy Baldwin, D
Michael Bennet, D
Richard Burr, R
Michael Enzi, R
Al Franken, D
Orrin Hatch, R
JohnnyIsakson, R
Mark Kirk, R
Barbara Mikulski, D
Lisa Murkowski, R
Christopher Murphy, D
Patty Murray, D
Rand Paul, R
Pat Roberts, R
Tim Scott, R
Elizabeth Warren, D
Sheldon Whitehouse, D

Here is the list of the Representatives on the Agriculture Committee who are responsible for sending H.R.1094 to the House Floor for a vote.

Rick Crawford, R, Chairman
Jim Costa, D, Ranking Member
Cheri Bustos, D
Michael Conaway, R
Joe Courtney, D
Jeff Denham, R
Scott Desjarlais, R
William Enyart, D
Pete Gallego, D
Christopher Gibson, R
Bob Goodlatte, R
Richard Hudson, R
Steve King, R
Michelle Lujan Grisham, D
Mike McIntyre, D
Randy Neugebauer, R
Richard Nolan, D
Reid Ribble, R
Mike Rogers, R
Kurt Schrader, D
David Scott, D
Glenn Thompson, R
Filemon Vila, D
Ted Yoho, R

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Lessons In Hypocrisy And Cultural Sensitivity From Slaughterhouse Sue

Nine days to go.  Nine days until we hopefully, get some temporary relief from the threat of mass slaughter of countless equines.  With the importance of this case, it would be reasonable to assume that the main players are busy getting their ducks in a row.  I guess I was silly to assume that Slaughterhouse Sue may tone down her inner fishwife long enough to actually prepare for the impending court case that she is a part of.  At the very least, and perhaps worse, I assumed that she would be busy touching herself in places most of us would rather not imagine while moaning `mmmm….horse meat’.  At any rate, I had prepared myself for the fact she would probably not give us much to work with until after August 2nd, after which we could either entertain ourselves with the probable meltdown or shake our heads in disgust with her crowing.  Well folks, it just goes to show you that I am sometimes wrong and I, thankfully, don’t understand how the mind of a slaughterphile really works.  Not content to allow her favorite ass barnacle, Douchebag Duquette, have all the attention this week with the release of his super awesome press release, Suey has decided to throw a little gasoline on the fire and make a few comments on the players on the anti side of the pending lawsuit.  Sadly, she hasn’t gotten around to sniping at Robert Redford yet, but we’ll make do with her gross inappropriateness anyhow.

As many of you may or may not be aware, the slaughterphiles all absolutely loathe the HSUS in particular and President and CEO, Wayne Pacelle, specifically.  I’m sure that at least part of their red zone hatred has to do with the fact that the only thing they have ever managed to get on the guy is some obscure quote he made more than 20 yrs ago about domestic animals.  The notorious statement that Suey and her knuckle dragging butt monkeys like to repeat at any given chance is, “We have no problems with the extinction of domestic animals. One generation and out” which was made in 1993, prior to Pacelle taking the helm of the HSUS.  Even though it was a statement made 20 yrs ago, when I can guarantee you, none of us were paying attention, Suey and company pull it out and wave it around at every opportunity like an especially green and disgusting booger a 3 yr old just mined from his nose.  Now, if you put some context around that quote, you get a much more clear picture of what Pacelle was trying to say.  The quote was made at an agricultural forum when they were discussing `heirloom’ breeds of  livestock that are no longer used commercially.  In response to whether or not we needed an endangered species act to protect these breeds, Pacelle’s full response was: ” We have no ethical obligation to preserve the different breeds of livestock produced through selective breeding… One generation and out. We have no problems with the extinction of domestic animals. They are creations of human selective breeding.”  Whether or not you agree with what he said, putting it in context certainly gives it a different flavor, no? If you want to read what Pacelle, himself, had to say about being misquoted, you can read his own comments about it on his blog ( http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2007/07/desperate-disto.html). I also think you’ll find this page interesting reading the next time the PSAs try to discredit the HSUS: (http://stophumanewatch.org/blog/myths/myth-quote/).

Wayne Pacelle

Let’s get back to Slaughterhouse Suey.    It seems Suey and her ilk operate under the assumption that the HSUS claim to be your local shelter.  Obviously they aren’t nor have they ever made that claim.  Considering that most slaughterphiles, and Suey is no exception, have problems seeing beyond their own expansive girths, the fact is that a large part of the HSUS’s mandate is to advocate for animals through public policy, corporate reform and national and international campaigns.  They do have some shelters, but primarily they are in here to provide education and training to shelters and rescues at the local level.  I know this will be a very tough concept for your average slaughterphile to grasp as their solution to every problem is to hold their hand out and ask for money and bail outs.  What the HSUS does is train these organizations to effectively run their own shelters, etc.  All of this information is readily available on the HSUS site.  Does anybody really believe that an organization as large and high profiled as the HSUS would get away with what Suey suggests for very long?  Put it this way, it isn’t the HSUS that are pushing for Ag-Gag laws to hide their atrocities from the general public.  

Perhaps this would be a good time to take a closer look at one of Suey and D-bag’s favorite groups, Humanewatch.  They are a particularly nasty organization that is a project of  the non-profit Center for Consumer Freedom.  Both were created by wealthy corporate lobbyist Richard Berman.  Berman is a real charmer.  Among other things, under his CFF mantle, he has run campaigns against Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Center for Science in the Public Interest, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  He is largely funded by the very corporations that would benefit from seeing and end to these organizations and in 2008, CFF paid a whopping 92% of its revenue to the for profit firm of Berman and Company which is wholly owned by Richard Berman.  Hmmm.  Doesn’t that all sound a bit like what they accuse the HSUS of, but worse?  I guess none of you will be surprise that Humanewatch think Rep. Crazyass Steve King out of Iowa is a super awesome and wonderful guy.  Basically, Berman is noted for running smear campaigns against public interest groups and, as a result, several media outlets have been forced to issue retractions and apologies for repeating misinformation he has fed them.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is the organization that Slaughterhouse Sue and Douchebag Duquette hold up as ethical.  Awesome! (http://stophumanewatch.org/about/about-hw/)

By now, none of you are probably all that outraged or even surprised that Suey supports Humanewatch.  It’s basically par for the course given her desire to eat her way through the entire equine population before the next decade.  Continuing in that same vein is Sue’s support of yet another anti-animal organization called Protect The Harvest.  She even posted up one of their little cartoons about the HSUS along with this comment: “Less than 1/2 of 1% of their hundreds of millions of deceptively raised dollars actually goes to help a single dog or cat, let alone a horse. And yet they promote the most unspeakable lies about honest, legitimate, agriculture businesses. What a corrupt crock of crap the whole outfit is.” How’s the view from that glass house, Suey? 

I saved the best for last as far as Suey’s rants go today.  Her hypocrisy was out in full force today as after she referred to all antis as `culturally arrogant and ethnically insensitive’ in her last press release, she engaged in a spirited round of `my Indian is better than yours’ as far as the lawsuit in New Mexico goes.

“Turns out the “chief” that HSUS squirrled up is a self-proclaimed chief who according to a letter written by the bona fide tribal leader is to be respected as an elder, but in no way has the authority to speak for the entire tribe (which has a real problem with excess feral horses). Contrast that with the Yakama and other land based tribes where it is the tribal government, the entity that is responsible for managing and preserving tribal lands and resources that are taking deliberative action in the support of the reopening of horse plants as the only humane and economically viable solution to the horrific horse overpopulation problems. Huge difference. This is not about who is a better Indian. This is about protecting the environment from permanent catastrophic ecological damage.”

Once again, Suey and the horse eaters seem to be quite unable to see things beyond the end of their snotty noses.  For those of you that don’t know, the native support Suey has managed to drum up in her quest to slaughter equines is the Confederated Tribes of the Yakama Nation (http://www.yakamanation-nsn.gov/).  They are based in Washington state and have a population of about 1o,000 give or take.  The native leader she has been floating around is `Jason Smith’  0f the National Tribal Horse Coalition or the Northwest Tribal Horse Coalition depending on what press release you read, but the problem with that is it seems nearly impossible to find a website for this group or any information at all other than that he wrote an opinion paper at Suey’s behest.  A document, I’m sure, will be used in the court case, but neither him nor his organization are named in the suit that I can find.  For the record, Jason Smith is from the Warm Springs nation in central Oregon and his actual title is range and ag manager.  Remember yesterday when D-bag suggested that Victoria McCullough send their tribe about half a billion a year to manage their horse population and then went on to whine they have had NO help or bailout money?  Yeah, well we’ve never accused D-bag of actually knowing WTF he is talking about.  It seems that Warm Springs actually has had considerable assistance from APHIS with managing their herds.  According to the USDA blog, they periodically hold feral horse castration clinics, coggins testing (so they can ship them off to slaughter should they choose) and vaccination clinics.  All of this is done at no cost to the tribes.  (http://blogs.usda.gov/2012/10/25/wild-horses-take-aphis-veterinarian-to-new-heights/).  Naturally Smith whined that holding gelding clinics is not an effective way to reduce herd populations, but he did allow that it would help with quality and manageability, whatever that means.  At any rate it would appear that Smith is an employee of Warm Springs and holds no leadership position whatsoever.  Whether or not he was enticed to support the United Horseturds and their pro slaughter agenda, we will never know, but he seems to have more of a vested interest in slaughter than concern over tribal lands.  Mr. Smith likes to `range raise’ rodeo stock and Quarter Horses (http://www.smithranch.1colony.com/index.html).  Make of that what you will.

Jason Smith

So, what about the chief that actually did sign on as a plaintiff in the lawsuit that Suey claims is self-appointed?  Well, to begin with there are two chiefs that are listed as plaintiffs, so we’re not sure which one she is referring to.  The first is Chief Arvol Looking Horse of the Lakota, Dakota, Nakota Nation and he is also knows as `Sung Wakan’ – Horse Man.  He is the 19th generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe and is recognized as a chief and the spiritual leader of all three branches of the Sioux tribe.  He is widely respected and looked to for his spiritual teachings. There is quite a lot of information out there on him and he has seen his share of controversy so I’m going to guess that this would be the faux chief Suey is referring to. (http://arvollookinghorse.homestead.com/chief_arvol_bio_2001.html).

Chief Arvol Looking Horse

The other chief signed on as a plaintiff  is Chief David Bald Eagle of the Minikoju Band of the Cheyenne River Tribe Lakota Indians and First Chief of the United Indigenous Nations of the Americas.  For those of you that don’t know, the Lakota refer to themselves as `The Horse People’.  Chief Bald Eagle is the grandson of Chief White Bull, who fought along with Crazy Horse in the Battle of Little Bighorn.  He is 94 yrs old and a life long horseman, still running a large herd of his own horses.  On his 94th birthday, he narrated a letter to Congress, all Indigenous Nations of the Americas and the American People.  One of the statements in that letter was as follows:

“We only eat the meat of animals that are vegetarian. All except the horse. We have always held a special feeling for the horse. The horse is sacred to our people. We have never eaten the horse. In Lakota, the horse is called Sunka Wakan. Sunka means dog, Wakan means Sacred or holy, “Sacred dog.”

The horse did not abandon us in Little Big Horn. The Horse did not abandon the Cherokee and Choctaw tribes in the Trails of Tears. The horse did not abandon us in our hunting. We will not abandon the horse now.”

This kinda tells a different story than the one that Suey and D-bag are screeching from the roof tops that ALL land based tribes are pro-slaughter and have no problem with horses being used for human consumption. Chief Bald Eagle seems to be quite wise to the ways of people like Suey and Big Ag groups as he also had this to say: “In these times we need the Native American people to wake up. It is easy to be misled by money, greed and false power. The Native American people are easily influenced as they have strayed from our traditional values and Way of Life…If the Native American people allow the horse slaughterhouses on Indian lands, it opens the door for Government and other special interest groups to control our lands and our way of life.”  Of course anybody from the Rosebud Sioux nation could back him up on that statement as they had their problems letting in Trent Loos and his factory hog operation.  Chief Bald Eagle’s letter is quite poignant as he goes on to describe what horses have meant to his people and their respect for `natural law’.  It’s very much worth the read. (http://www.returntofreedom.org/meeting-the-chief-david-bald-eagle/). Oh, and in case Suey decides to disrespect this man any further, he is a veteran of the 82nd Airborne, decorated for bravery, and wounded behind enemy lines on D-Day(http://www.johngawne.com/baldeagle.html).  In other words, Slaughterhouse Sue and D-bag Duquette are not worthy to shine this man’s shoes.

Chief David Bald Eagle

If there is one thing I have noticed about the PSA side of things, it’s that all their `experts’ hold very lofty titles.  Lots of presidents of various coalitions etc.  The problem with it all is that nobody has ever heard of any of these organizations and nine times out of ten, Suey is behind it all in some form or another.  We can’t just have employee and rancher, Jason Smith give an opinion on something, we need to create an organization and make him important!  Then he doesn’t even sign on to the lawsuit because he probably doesn’t have permission from his band to do so.  Or who knows? Maybe he’s just tardy for the party and will get around to it at the 11th hour.  Just like the PSAs have attempted to lay claim to the label of `animal welfare’ and appoint themselves as `industry’, saying it doesn’t really make it so.  Then, if all that wasn’t bad enough, Suey in an astonishing lack of self-awareness, shows her gigantic,  pimpled ass to be about the most`culturally arrogant and ethnically insensitive’ of them all.  Surely, this isn’t the best she can do in making her case?  I have a feeling that we’re in for much more hilarity and hijinks from the maven of horse hating in the coming days.

 

 

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When In Doubt……Whine!

As the clock runs out on pending litigation in New Mexico that will, at least temporarily, decide the fate of countless horses, both sides of the slaughter issue are making their best plays and pulling cards out of their sleeves.  For the anti side of the issue, we have seen some high-profile and high-powered people such as the Attorney General of New Mexico, Gary King, former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, as well as celebrity and noted conservationist, Robert Redford join in the fight to remove slaughter as an option.  Also stepping out of the shadows are long-time and powerful advocates Victoria McCullough and Sen. Joe Abruzzo (http://www.bizpacreview.com/2013/07/18/political-savvy-a-powerful-weapon-in-horse-slaughter-fight-79868). We have also seen many native people, including tribal leaders join in on the side of anti slaughter as well.  Positive developments for sure.  As far as the pro side of the issue, well….they have Douchebag Duquette and his press releases and today’s was epic.   Because I’m a giver, I’m going to walk y’all through it in all its glory.

Yes, you all read correctly.  Douchebag Duquette has temporarily vacated Slaughterhouse Sue’s rectum long enough to issue a press release.  As we have come to expect as of late, this release appears to have been ghost written or at least heavily edited for D-bag as it is fairly easy to read and devoid of most of the grammatical and spelling errors that he is prone to.  You can read it for yourself here: (http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Round-One-Begins.html?soid=1112812195452&aid=_rjqzVMgurs).  Not surprisingly, D-bag kicks off his little memorandum by whining about Victoria McCullough.

Here is reason one of why our battle has been so difficult, read on;

 

“The only child of the late Rexford Davis, founder of the country’ s largest, privately held petroleum company,  McCullough says she has no idea of her net worth as Chesapeake Petroleum’s heir and reigning board chair, nor does she care.

  

Hers is a life of privilege, but McCullough doesn’t take it for granted. Money can make you, break you or give you some vision, she says, and for her, it’s the latter. For her, it has helped fuel a passion for saving the animals that have given her such joy, and purpose.”

  

So while at first reading this sounds really good, like we can get behind this. But all it takes is one more paragraph of this article  and you will see another uninformed  billionaire.

– For those of you new to this part of the slaughter wars, it is worth mentioning that according to any good PSA, if you have any money and are not sucking the government tit, you can’t possibly know anything about horses.  The article he linked is the same one I did above and clearly states that Ms. McCullough is actually an accomplished horse woman and has rescued over 1800 horses to date, including buying out an entire slaughter sale at Sugarcreek, Ohio.  She isn’t exactly new to this cause although she has done her work quietly up until now.

Let’s take for example Feral Tribal Horses, now this excludes the 9-10 million domestic horses, let’s just talk about the Tribal horses. If this billionaire really wanted to help out and put her money to good use she would be able to help much more than 1,800 horses while also helping the thousands of deer, elk, moose and antelope affected by these feral tribal horses, and lets not forget the human cost of all this. All she would have to do is give the Tribes about a half a billion a year to feed and manage the horses that they have no way to control.

– How awesome it must be to be as simple as D-bag Duquette.  The fact is that other tribes aside from the Yakama Nation are exploring other options besides slaughter to manage their herds and want no part of his disgusting plans.  If you notice, `give me/them money’ is a very common theme for the PSAs.  They get in over their heads and then it’s up to everybody, especially the taxpayer to bail them out so they can continue on the way they always have.  Everybody else must always be responsible for cleaning up their mess.

The Tribes are suffering with NO bailout money coming like the BLM has. Some Reservations have turned into wastelands with horses now starving to death. While Senator Mary Landrieu from Louisiana begs for Federal money to eradicate the feral hogs that are a problem in her state she is pushing for the SAFE act, which we call the Starve America’s Feral Equines act which will make it impossible for the Tribes to deal with their situation.

– D-bag likes to state that the tribal horses are not `wild’ but feral.  That would mean they were turned loose and that begs the question on why anybody other than those that did or allowed this to happen should have to `clean it up’.  How about if the Yakama Nation, and that’s who he’s really referring to, use some of their casino income to deal with their horse problem?  As far as the feral hogs go, clearly D-bag hasn’t ever had an encounter with one other than Slaughterhouse Sue.  They are a danger people among other things.  I have yet to hear of a wild or feral horse launching an unprovoked attack on anybody.  Besides, pigs and horses are kind of an apples and oranges deal, no?

The Humane Society of the US is so afraid the general public will find out what they have done to the Tribes and Tribal lands that now they have found a “Chief”, or should I say paid a tribal member to call himself a Chief to try to show support for their agenda from the Tribes. When the reality is all Land/horse based tribes support bringing domestic slaughter back.

– This may be one of the more ignorant statements that D-bag has issued in quite some time.  Wasn’t it only last week that Suey, called all antis `culturally arrogant and ethnically insensitive’?  How dare he suggest that anybody could just call themselves `Chief’ and take money to do so?  Then to blow a snot bubble out of his nose and say that any native that doesn’t see things his way is just paid by the HSUS because ALL land based tribes support slaughter????  Really?  I guess the Lakota Sioux of South Dakota, the Diné of Arizona,  and the confederated tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, to name just a few,who are all both land based and anti-slaughter don’t count in D-bag’s world.  Many of which have put programs and funding in place to deal with their herds.  I’ve linked this article before, but it will show you that D-bags natives are in the vast minority by being Pro.  (http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/article/american-indians-offer-programs-for-horses-that-treat-the-sacred-animals-as-a-way-of-life-70636+)

Again I pose this question to those who oppose horse processing, what is your solution to the unwanted horse crisis? Those who oppose horse processing have had six years since the original plant closure to come up with solutions. The suffering of horses has only intensified during that time.

– Well D-bag, how is that little rescue and rehab center you promised to have opened up over a year ago coming along?  Those of you who support slaughter have had decades and decades worth of slaughter and still we had abused and neglected animals.  Forgive US if it takes more than six years, throughout which we have spent untold time and resources fighting the PSAs, to clean up YOUR mess.  In other words, the majority of us will be able to funnel all the time, money and effort, we have expended to try to stop slaughter, into helping animals in crisis once we get this issue resolved.  No, the suffering of horses has not intensified at all in the last six years, it’s about the same and will remain the same as long as assholes own horses.  Slaughter won’t fix that.  It never has.

Soon we will be like Australia and this is the wall we will be up against if we don’t come together and fight back against the uninformed. Read about their problem Here.

– I actually have a brilliant idea to help Australia, where they do have slaughter, out and us, who don’t want it.  We’ll just hook them up with the Tongans since their proximity is far closer than Sigourney, Iowa to the Kingdom of Tonga.  There!  All fixed!

The United Horsemen is in it for the long haul. We thank you for supporting us, and we ask for your continued support as we continue to fight for the welfare of horses and the horse industry. We are putting together a strategic nationwide Billboard campaign and we will need the financial support of all of our friends. 

– This last part actually made my whole week.  Yes, y’all read that right.  D-bag and the United Horseturds are going to put together a nationwide billboard campaign.  The very same people that accused anti slaughter people of `wasting money on billboards instead of helping horses’ are going to make up their own billboards.  Anybody want to bet they’ll have poor skinny horses, the kind that never go for food, on them?  They can hardly show the reality of horses with their eyes poked out or gutted horses handing from bleed rails, or any other number of factual slaughter imagery.  Oh well, nobody has ever accused D-bag of having an original thought let alone an independent one.

All in all, I have to say this was a very entertaining press release from D-bag this week.  Aside from his denials, delusions and questionable math skills, the only thing new he brought to the party was his billboard campaign.  I’m sure that will go over about like a fart in church; highly inappropriate, but you won’t be able to stop from laughing.  So far, he’s received 4 whole `likes’ for his latest efforts but that is only on the public United Horseturd page as opposed to the super secret bat cave where they all get worked up over the prospect of torturing horses and give each other congratulatory reach arounds.  It’s good to know that when you pay for your membership, you’re paying for ridiculous billboards rather than actually helping horses at his non-existent rescue and rehab center.  D-bag would do well to remember that every time he takes his finger out of his nose and points, he has four fingers pointing right back at him.

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Good News Sunday *updated*

It seems that everybody is good and stirred up over the looming deadline for slaughter this upcoming week.  Good.  We certainly don’t know how it’s all going to shake out on Friday, but many of us are hopeful we’ll get a stay of execution for our equine friends.  I wish I could tell you all the ultimate good news which is a final end to this madness, but we aren’t quite there yet.  We do have some decent news though that will hopefully cheer some people up and motivate you to keep up the good fight.

As most of you are aware, Front Range Equine out of Colorado (www.frontrangequinerescue.org)have partnered with the HSUS in filing suit to stop the opening of the slaughter houses that have been granted conditional inspection permits.  That would be the case in New Mexico against the USDA over them issuing these permits without proper environmental review.  Yesterday, Front Range Equine issued the following statement on their Facebook page:

A quick update to our lawsuit against USDA:
Yesterday, the State of New Mexico asked the court to allow it to enter the case Front Range Equine Rescue filed against the USDA for authorizing the beginning of horse slaughter without engaging in proper environmental review. In support of its request to be able to join the lawsuit, the State cited the need to protect against a violation of New Mexico environmental and public health laws associated with horse slaughter, to prevent the production of adulterated horse meat, and to prevent a financial impact to the state. New Mexico now wishes to become a plaintiff in the lawsuit and defend the state from the harms of horse slaughter.

Yesterday also saw several Native Americans enter the case, tribal members and leaders who believe that horse slaughter is a violation of Native American principles and culture, and will poison the environment and produce unsafe meat.

There are a couple of things to look at here.  First, the state of New Mexico does not want this industry regardless of what Slaughterhouse Sue and her merry band of horse haters tell you.  Perhaps more importantly is the participation of `several Native Americans’ both tribal members and leaders that also don’t want any part of this barbaric industry.  This paints quite a different picture than the one Slaughterhouse Sue and D-bag Duquette have been flashing around for months and months.  Suey would have us believe that all tribes and their people are positively moist at the prospect of being able to slaughter their horses based on the fact she somehow managed to get Jason Smith, President of the National Horse Coalition, says.  Despite their lofty name and title, it would seem that the National Tribal Horse Coalition is really not speaking for the people and may be just another smokescreen for Suey’s efforts. Kinda the same way she likes to refer to herself as speaking for the entire horse industry that is widely disgusted by her.  It would seem by the both the statement released today and this article from last year (http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/article/american-indians-offer-programs-for-horses-that-treat-the-sacred-animals-as-a-way-of-life-70636) that the native population that are interested in slaughter are a few minority tribes in the mid and northwest and somewhat misleading in naming themselves as the `National’ anything.  The linked article talks about what other tribes are doing to address their horse population while still respecting the animal and NOT slaughtering them.  For anybody interested, court documents can be viewed here: (http://docs.burningbird.net/sun-07212013-1007/several-new-filings-front-range-equine-rescue-et-al-vs-usda-horse-slaughter)

As I always say, when Slaughterhouse Suey shuts her yap for more than 48 hrs, she is normally up to something.  It would seem this time is no different as Front Range Equine also had this to say today:

On Friday, filings to intervene on USDA’s side of the lawsuit are proposed slaughter plants Responsible Transportation (IA) and Rains Natural Meats (MO) along with Chevaline LLC and the Confederated Tribes & Bands of the (highly misinformed and misled) Yakama Nation. Chevaline is Sue Wallis.

That’s right, yet another `company’ that Suey is behind.  Chevaline has been in existence for about 3 years and is listed as an LLC that supplies wholesale frozen foods (http://www.manta.com/c/mx3dzmr/chevaline-llc).  It would seem this will be the company Suey runs with as she has registered `Humane Equine Products’ as a trademark or is at least attempting to.  It is currently published for opposition on this site: (http://www.trademarkia.com/chevaline-humane-equine-products-85779889.html).  Even more questionable is that if you do a company search on Chevaline LLC, it had an estimated annual revenue of $170,00 (http://companies.findthecompany.com/l/30872364/Chevaline-Llc-in-Recluse-WY).  I’m not sure of the accuracy of that number or what it is based on, but it seems rather high considering she hasn’t been able to legally slaughter a horse for consumption in this country yet.  Given the fact that Chevaline is joining in on the lawsuit and that isn’t free, I have to wonder if she isn’t getting backed by foreign interests and filtering it through this company.  We already know she has several companies and organizations so it gets a bit tough to keep up with.  If you want to take a look at the company website, complete with pictures of Suey cavorting with the Tongans in Utah, while they all eat horse meat (legal?), it’s right here : (http://chevaline.us/).  It would seem between Chevaline and Wyoming Meats, Suey is going to be killing a LOT of horses if she gets her way.  As per her own sworn statement to intervene in the present litigation, Chevaline has been in the business of marketing equines for slaughter for consumption since January 2012.  She also states that she contracts with both the Missouri and Iowa slaughter plants.  (http://docs.burningbird.net/horse/courtcase/document51.pdf).  Please let this finally be all of Suey’s hairy ass exposed for us to deal with as I’m just not I’m prepared to see any more crack from this cretin.

So there you have it.  It’s not the absolute best news ever, but it’s all good today.  They have a battle on their hands, which we already knew.  They don’t have quite all the support that they would have people believe and it’s not over.  I know many of you are getting frustrated.  It is tiring to keep fighting these asswads on every front.  I know several of you are mostly concerned with the wild herds.  I’m concerned with all horses and for me, the priority is to get the threat of slaughter removed first and then go after what is going on with the BLM.  The good part is you each get to make your own choice, so don’t give up quite yet.  It’s going to be a very long and busy week.  Keep a good thought!

*UPDATE*

Today, Robert Redford and former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, joined in on the pending lawsuit on the side of the horses.  They have formed The Foundation to Protect New Mexico’s Wildlife and their first act was to join in on the federal lawsuit filed by the HSUS to block the opening of slaughter houses for horses.  Also, on Friday New Mexico Attorney General Gary King filed a motion to intervene on behalf of slaughter opponents.  Rumor has it that somewhere in Wyoming, steam was seen to be pouring out of Slaughter House Suey’s ears as she added Robert Redford to her hit list of celebrities she hates which also includes long deceased Bea Arthur.  (http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/redford-richardson-form-foundation-that-wants-to-join-lawsuit-against-horse-slaughter/2013/07/22/beca2778-f2f0-11e2-8464-57e57af86290_story.html)

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Buck Up Little Buddies!

If anything, this whole pro and anti slaughter business has been a fascinating look into human nature.  Sometimes fascinating is a good thing, like a double rainbow  after a violent storm, and then there are the times fascinating is like a really horrific train wreck.  I’m sorry to say, but lately it’s been all train wreck and some of our antis are have been on that train.  None of us were thrilled to see the news come out that the slaughter-house in Iowa was poised to open its doors in a few short weeks.  Not a single one of us on the anti side.  However, the panic and histrionics that have erupted have been nothing short of astonishing. I did expect a lot of upset at the news earlier this week.  That isn’t surprising.  However, the defeatist attitude I’ve seen is a bit surprising.

The biggest thing that irritates me lately is when I see people say `Well, I’m anti, but I don’t see any other way’.  Oh really?   Has anybody considered the amount of dollars and man hours that it has and continues to take to stop this horse slaughter thing once and for all?  All money and time that could be spent working towards the welfare of all horses.  Anybody that owns a horse is responsible for caring for that animal adequately.  That has never changed and it’s not going to change.  However, we’ve had a problem enforcing existing neglect and abuse laws.  When animal welfare people attempt to put stricter laws in place, the slaughterphiles work to strike them down.  It doesn’t serve them to see a reduction in abuse and neglect.  They would have you believe that abuse and neglect has become rampant since the cessation of domestic slaughter.  That is a complete and utter falsehood (http://www.equinewelfarealliance.org/uploads/Study_of_Equine_Abuse.pdf).  To say that lack of slaughter is the sole cause of neglect and abuse is to assume that every single person that neglects and abuses an animal only does so because they don’t have a friendly neighborhood slaughter-house.  Slaughter has ALWAYS been an option and I suggest that if you’re the type of person that neglects and abuses animals, then you probably aren’t overly concerned with how long they may or may not have to stand in a trailer to get there.  Besides, how many of the more vocal PSAs have we seen with skinny or even emaciated horses?  Why didn’t they ship them before it got so bad?  Dorothy Robertson, owner of the two mares pictured below, was busted for neglect and abuse BEFORE slaughter ended in this country as well as after.  Nothing changed.

In another display of defeatism, I’ve seen some antis say `Well, at least they won’t have to ship so far to slaughter’.  I guess that means that y’all think that all those horses maimed and injured during transport only get hurt during the last hundred miles of a long journey.  Actually, most horses are injured during loading and in the initial stages of the journey when they are unsettled.  The rowdy stud colt will likely have his eye poked out before or right after he gets on that trailer and most of the kicking and scrambling, aside from when a horse falls, occurs while they are jostling for position upon loading.  They are still going to have horrible transport conditions and they are still going to be horribly  injured whether they are shipping 100 miles or 500 miles.  Think about it!

Maybe not so many antis, but I see a lot of remarks about the horse market recovering with slaughter coming back.  I guess those 100 or so jobs are really going to boost the economy.  Otherwise, I don’t see the prices changing a whole bunch immediately, especially given the fact that kill buyers have continued to haunt overnight sales without interruption during the past six years.  What you absolutely will see more of is theft and deception.  We’ve all seen those Craigslist Ads where a horse owner says that if they don’t get their price by such and such date, the animal will be shipped.  Well, get ready to see a whole bunch more and get ready for more kill buyers trolling ads and lying their ass off to get free or dirt cheap horses.  The good news is that the prices of quality horses have alreadyrecovered slightly along with the economy (http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/79438/average-up-at-fasig-tipton-kentucky-july).  I guess the next thing we can expect to hear them all whining about is the lack of backyard breeding means the poor 4H kids have no horses to ride.  Although, I saw one of the PSA brainiacs suggest that 4H kids slaughter their horses at the end of the year too, so we all know how far removed from reality they actually are.

I guess the main thing I want to take my anti brothers and sisters to task for is giving up all together.  It’s NOT over.  The announcement of the August 5th opening of Responsible Transportation LLC, is not written in stone.  They still have a rather hard fought battle in court on August 2nd and their victory dance may be premature as always.  The EU deadline of July 31st is very real and that will shut the doors to the export of horse meat to the European Union.  Period.  There is no possible way they can be in compliance despite Olivier Kemseke’s efforts to get `excluded’ animals allowed into the food system.  Also, both the House and Senate committees have voted to defund inspections for horse slaughter (http://animallawcoalition.com/will-congress-reinstate-the-defunding-of-horse-inspections/), as well as the USDA has renewed their request for a ban.  This is in addition to introduction of the SAFE Act (https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/113/s541).  All of these things need all the support we can give them.  I don’t know about you, but I think those are some fairly big hurdles in the way of them getting the plants open.  However, that isn’t to say that Slaughterhouse Sue and her minions don’t have tricks up their own voluminous sleeves.  With the way things have shaken out, it would appear that Iowa was always the `target’ for their flagship slaughter operation.  After all,  Iowa is home to Crazyass Steve King, who basically hates all things animal, female or living for that matter.  You can read all about his hatefulness right here: (https://shedrowconfessions.wordpress.com/2012/08/01/slaughterhouse-sue-finds-her-soulmate/).  Iowa also has fairly strict Ag Gag laws so that any monitoring or attempt to expose abuse and mishandling in that slaughter plant will be difficult.  I guess even though the slaughterphiles love to throw Temple Grandin’s name around, they won’t be acting on her recommendation to have third-party video monitoring of the slaughter process to ensure compliance with humane standards.  Dead horses don’t talk anyhow; especially not the ones that have been butchered.

I’m sorry for bitching at `my own’ today.  I’m also sorry I sound like a broken record, but things are very serious.  There isn’t a lot of point spending hours and hours arguing online with die-hard PSAs.  They aren’t going to change their minds.  What you can do is educate those people that haven’t ever considered horse slaughter or what it means.  Educate them with the truth and realities of horse slaughter.  How about writing a letter to your local paper?  More importantly, continue to call your state reps and the president’s office.  Here is a link to the ASPCA’s page where you just have to plug in your zip code to get your emails to the right people: (http://stage.capwiz.com/aspca/issues/alert/?alertid=62752306&type=CO) Even if you’ve done it before, do it again.  Make your voice heard and make it count.  Today is not the 5th of August and neither is tomorrow.  Hell, it’s not even next week.  The only thing that has changed is there is an identified date that we have all known was coming.  Guess what?   It’s not over yet.

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August 5th and Counting….

August 5th.  That’s the date that the slaughter-houses in Iowa and New Mexico expect to be up and running.  About 3 weeks from now, Responsible Transportation LLC and Valley Meats Co. expect to open their doors and start killing horses.  (http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/iowa-horse-slaughterhouse-opens-aug-5/-/9357080/21004762/-/sb39aa/-/index.html).  That’s not a lot of time obviously, but there are still some mountains to climb.  They base their projected opening date on the August 2nd federal court date in New Mexico brought about by the HSUS and Front Range Equine over environmental concerns.  Attorney, Blair Dunn, who represents the slaughterphiles, seems quite confident on the court ruling in his favor and not granting the injunction to stop production.  However, I don’t think it’s all as simple as they would have us believe.

Basically, we’re dealing with a full court press by the blood thirsty at the moment.  Slaughterhouse Sue has already indicated that IEBA is out of money, yet she keeps writing up press releases at an astonishing rate.  The latest coming yesterday and containing no information nor addressing the pending litigation. (http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs133/1103685263837/archive/1114147593181.html).  Lord knows what she plans to pull our of her ass come August 2nd, but I have a feeling it won’t be Douchebag Duquette.  Now that she feels that slaughter in Iowa and New Mexico is a foregone conclusion, she has adjusted her beady eyes on Missouri.  They’re still spinning the `humane end for old and sick horses’ there to get public support (http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/163748/what-others-say-humane-horse-slaughter-may-serve-sound-purpose/).  The writer of the linked article thinks that with Iowa an New Mexico being ready to roll, there will be no rush for Missouri at this time.  I would suggest that’s BS.  Just the same that the article refers to slaughter as a humane option.  I guess given that Missouri is home to the likes of Puppymill Patterson, we shouldn’t really be surprised that ignorance abounds.  Apologies to the unfortunate minority there that seem to not walk around in a bubble of self entitlement and ignorance.  I know you’re out there!

So, let’s just say that they manage to get their doors open on schedule and horses are back on the menu.  Where are they all of a sudden going to get all these horses to begin killing in 3 weeks?  Clearly, Keaton Walker was playing coy when he danced around the issue.  Don’t think for a moment there aren’t some standing on a feedlot ready to walk that last mile to their horrific death.  Yesterday an Iowa news station ran a story on an attempted horse theft (http://whotv.com/2013/07/15/horse-rustling-owners-warn-of-thieves/).  If you live within 100 miles of one of these new death chambers, you can look forward to many more stories like this without the happy endings.  You will also remember that Keaton Walker indicated that the inspectors aren’t trained yet.  Hell, the staff isn’t hired or trained yet and they’re telling us that they will have the horses, the trained staff and inspectors and it’s all going to happen in 3 weeks?  I have no doubt the doors will open if they are successful in court, but the ones paying the price of training will be the poor horses that are experimented with and trained on.

I’ve said it before, but I have not a single doubt that Slaughterhouse Sue will not rest until she realizes her dream of mass horse slaughter.  Call it a vendetta for the part she says horses played in the death of her husband or just call her plain hateful, she will not rest until she gets her way.  She’s a desperate, lonely woman and if you have ever had a doubt at how `invested’ she is in seeing horses slaughtered, you may want to take a read here : (http://forthesakeofthehorse.blogspot.ca/).  It’s yet another blog of hers mostly do with her plans on writing a book or something.  Nothing overly interesting until you read this passage:

“Now I’m facing a whole new life, and bound and determined to make a living one way or another on this little ranch. It is a hustle because my steady income died with my husband, I won’t be able to get any of his social security or military pension until I turn 60 and that is a good five years away. So, I’ve put together a little horse business and am scrambling for quick income”

She’s broke, she blames horses for the death of her husband and she wants a `quick income’.  We already know her `Wyoming Meats’ plans to co-op horse meat and I’m guessing there will be substantial kick-back for her should one of these slaughter plants manage to get up and running.

Hopefully, today’s news has gotten the majority of you good and fired up.  We are running out of tomorrows on this issue.  The very fact that they think it will be just fine to open these slaughter plants with legislation pending, may well mean they have other things up their sleeves.  Out of money does not mean out of mouth or even an internet connection sadly.  Now it’s our turn to get heard.  Comment when you see articles, news stories, etc. that have misinformation.  Educate people when given the chance.  Don’t threaten them, don’t fight with them, just speak the truth and educate people.  Most importantly, call your reps and let them know where you stand.  They are voted in to be your voice, so make that voice heard.  Here is the list as left in the comment section here last week.  Get busy….August 5th is coming soon….

To close down the borders and to keep them from defunding again in the future. The SAFE ACT will ban horse slaughter of American horses any where forever. I start calling tomorrow and will repeat weekly. Call the committee members-see attached:

Ask them to support the SAFE ACT which is H.R.1094 in the House and S.541 in the Senate.

To make it easier to call, here is a list of the Senators on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that must approve S.541 (202) 224-3121

Tom Harkin, D, Chairman
Lamar Alexander, R, Ranking Member
Bob Casey, D
Kay Hagan, D
Bernie Sanders, I
Tammy Baldwin, D
Michael Bennet, D
Richard Burr, R
Michael Enzi, R
Al Franken, D
Orrin Hatch, R
JohnnyIsakson, R
Mark Kirk, R
Barbara Mikulski, D
Lisa Murkowski, R
Christopher Murphy, D
Patty Murray, D
Rand Paul, R
Pat Roberts, R
Tim Scott, R
Elizabeth Warren, D
Sheldon Whitehouse, D

Here is the list of the Representatives on the Agriculture Committee who are responsible for sending H.R.1094 to the House Floor for a vote.

Rick Crawford, R, Chairman
Jim Costa, D, Ranking Member
Cheri Bustos, D
Michael Conaway, R
Joe Courtney, D
Jeff Denham, R
Scott Desjarlais, R
William Enyart, D
Pete Gallego, D
Christopher Gibson, R
Bob Goodlatte, R
Richard Hudson, R
Steve King, R
Michelle Lujan Grisham, D
Mike McIntyre, D
Randy Neugebauer, R
Richard Nolan, D
Reid Ribble, R
Mike Rogers, R
Kurt Schrader, D
David Scott, D
Glenn Thompson, R
Filemon Vila, D
Ted Yoho, R

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Oops, I Spoke Too Soon!

 

Ughh, I hate writing blogs on the weekend as a rule. Not that my weekend days are a whole bunch different from any other day depending on the time of the year, but there is something magical about a Saturday for some reason.  However, there is a LOT of stuff going on and if I didn’t get this dispatched, I’d be backed up worse than Suey’s colon after consuming the family horse in one sitting.  I mentioned in Point and Laugh Friday, that Slaughterhouse Suey had been a bit too quiet lately and her `no comment’ on slaughter was ominous.  However, I did cover myself by saying that it probably meant she was up to something.  Well, she was.  Among other things that we’ll get to, she was giving a radio interview regarding the newest wannabe Horsey Auschwitz in Iowa.  While I’m not sure exactly what she expected or hoped to accomplish with this interview, it is quite entertaining and somewhat interesting.   We actually had a host that just might have done some research and asked some tough questions.  The best part is that Wayne Pacelle from HSUS was also in on the interview along with Keaton Walker from Responsible Transportation and some woman called Marion Nestle who is a Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health (the department she chaired from 1988-2003) and Professor of Sociology at New York University.  Marion actually didn’t appear to have a dog in this fight.  So, because I love y’all so much, I’m going to give you a little recap on how it all went down.  You can listen for yourself here: (http://iowapublicradio.org/post/horse-slaughter-iowa).  The program aired last week on Iowa Public Radio and was hosted by Ben Kieffer.  This is entry is a  long one, but please read the end part if nothing else.  Some very important updates and information is linked.

Responsible Transportation LLC

For those of you that don’t know, the new plant in Sigourney, Iowa is owned by Responsible Transportation LLC.  They even have this nice little website up and running already with the usual propaganda and a quick send form you can fill out if you would like to give them your horse! (http://www.responsible-transportation.com/).  The CEO of this place is Keaton Walker and he was the first guest on the talk show.  Keaton is rather well spoken and I can see that he may even have a great future in politics as he says a lot without saying much and is completely awesome at not directly answering tough questions.  Although, in this interview I was not sure if he was being deliberately obtuse or he just hasn’t memorized all sections on the `Make People Feel Good About Slaughter’ handbook.  One of the things that Keaton wanted everybody to know is that they vow to humanely euthanize horses.  He then went on to say this would be done via captive bolt by `skilled professionals’.  When pressed exactly what sort of horses he planned on slaughtering, Keaton kinda danced around the issue saying he planned on getting them from the same channels as Canada and Mexico were getting them.  When Ben Kieffer directly asked him if these were going to be old and sick animals, he said that yes they would be along with animals that have no value and met USDA guidelines on being `fit to be processed’.  Last time I checked, sick animals were not fit to be processed, but whatever…Keaton also said that they had been given a conditional grant of inspection but they would not be up and running until the USDA had trained their inspectors and he was very vague as to when that would be.  He hopes to get up to slaughtering ten thousand horses a year in his little shop of horrors and employ up to 25 people.  What a huge boost to the economy 25 whole new jobs will be!  According to his LinkedIn profile page, Responsible Transportation LLC has been around since 2010 but he stated on this show that they had only been doing renovations for the past six months, including a custom `knock box’ in which they will use the captive bolt.  He swears this plant will be more humane and different from the ones in Mexico or Canada, but was very vague on how that would be other than geographically.  Keaton dutifully regurgitated the tired stories of people finding strange horses in their trailers at sales and wanting to provide a `sustainable alternative’ for horse owners.  Huh?  It should be noted that Keaton is young and he wrote this business plan at University and won some competitions for it.  He said he planned to sell his horse product to zoos, sanctuaries and has been `exploring other opportunities’.   Again, he was very vague when directly asked where he was getting his funding from other than to say some local investors had chipped in.  He did admit that if Congress stops horse slaughter in the coming months, his business will have to `evolve’.  Your guess is as good as mine as to what that means.  According to Keaton, it’s really only been people from California who are in opposition to his slaughter-house.  Ok then….

Keaton Walker

Next up on the program was Marion Nestle.  As mentioned, she is a very well-educated woman and she has also written several books on food issues. Apparently, she really digs food.   She really didn’t seem like she leaned one way or another, but was there to provide some background to the European horse meat scandal.  According to Ms. Nestle, it began in Ireland and they came to find that up to 1/3 of packaged super market meals that was labelled as beef was tainted with horse meat.  She said that she was unsure why whatever group it was decided to suddenly test for it, but that it was only recently DNA technology was good enough to find this out and it has been found everywhere in Europe.  Gross. She also suspects it has been going on for a very long time.  She mainly blames it on the slaughter system in Europe and the fact that the supply chains are very complex so it is easier to pass horse meat off as beef.  As a result, she says everybody is testing now.  I’m not sure how true that is or isn’t, but I’m glad I’m not planning on going to Europe this year.

The other thing Nestle discussed was the background on the slaughter ban.  According to her, pet food was originally `invented’ to deal with the remains of slaughtered horses.  What????  Does this mean that, historically, Americans weren’t gobbling up horses at the rate Suey suggests????  This was eventually phased out as beef, chicken and other products have become cheaper to use.  She talked about the end of slaughter causing all the horses to go to Canada and Mexico and that isn’t humane either.  Seriously?  Does not a single one of these people realize those slaughter plants are run EXACTLY how the new ones will be?  Anyhow, she theorizes that America’s strong animal welfare tradition is what has led to the reopening of slaughter; so that we could control the conditions under which our horses are killed or something.  She also says that the whole issue rests on who has the most political power and that the HSUS are very well-organized politically.  For somebody who is professor in food studies and public health, she didn’t seem overly concerned one way or another if people ate horses nor did she ever mention the drug issue or the fact they are not raised and traced as food animals.  I’m gonna give Marion a C on her performance.

Marion Nestle

 

Next we get to the part of the interview I was totally looking forward to.  It’s the Wayne and Suey show!  Wayne Pacelle got to go first.  I guess in this instance since it was  a case of brains AND beauty before…well, whatever you want to call Suey.  Wayne got to say his piece first.  He talked a bit about the pending lawsuit against the USDA.  It is part of a larger effort to block slaughter and is based on them violating administrative procedure and the federal environmental act or something.  He discussed the huge environmental impact of a community hosting a slaughter facility and cited Kaufman, Texas, which we all know the PSAs don’t believe in despite irrefutable evidence and documentation.  Pacelle also said that the SAFE Act was designed to stop ALL slaughter, meaning domestic and shipping to other countries.  Despite what the PSAs think, he said that the burden needs to be placed on all horse owners to properly handle their animals and nobody is telling them they have to provide lifetime care if that animal is of no use to them and can’t be rehomed, but that they can humanely euthanize via chemical or bullet. They aren’t even asking people to take `heroic action’ to keep their horses alive for years after their useful years.  Now if you truly love and care about horses, doesn’t that make sense to you?  He also said that they weren’t suggesting horses be treated as cats and dogs and that they can be used for work, performance or as pets, but that they deserve to be treated humanely.  According to his stats 91% of horses sent to slaughter are perfectly healthy, which sounds about right.  He also touched on the commercial incentive to slaughter and how some horses are unethically obtained for that pipeline, which we also know is true.  We’ll hear a bit more from him in a bit, but now we get to hear from Slaughterhouse Suey.

Wayne Pacelle

Suey is introduced as a Wyoming State Rep, Rancher an co-chair of the IEBA.  I guess since it was only an hour-long show, they didn’t have time to tick off all the other little ventures she has her pudgy fingers in.  I wonder if D-bag is out of favor this week as no mention was ever made of the United Horseturds either.  Anyhow, Suey kicks off her talk as telling us all she comes from an `agriculture background’ and is 5th or 6th generation.  We need to cut her some slack on not being sure what generation she is in as she’s likely her own first cousin as well as aunt, the way they roll where she is from.  It gets confusing, I’m sure.  Anyhow, she makes sure she tells us all that slaughter is great because horse meat is `humane, safe, nutritious, and delicious’.  She always has to put that `delicious’ boot in whenever she talks of horse meat and I can almost picture her with a piece of gristle stuck between her front teeth and grease from the fat dripping from her chin.  She also blathers on about the rights of horse owners and creating jobs and opportunity.  You know, because if each of six slaughter houses create an average of 20 jobs each, those 120 jobs are really going to fix the economy and offset the lost income of not shoeing, feeding, caring for and outfitting tens and thousands of animals a year.  Ben Kieffer actually asks her why not do the same with all the unwanted cats and dogs (I’m paraphrasing obviously) and she says because they are not traditionally food animals.  Oh, kinda like horses then?  Pay attention to that part because it’s important in a bit.  She then brings out the fact that Harvard had horse meat on the menu up until the 90’s.  How many times have we heard this now?   Then she talks about all the ethnic communities that LOVE horse meat like the Tongans.  It’s always about the Tongans for her.  I don’t know a single thing about them nor have I ever met a Tongan.  I just know that they all eat horses apparently.  According to Suey, everybody but the US is chowing down on horses all the time and cites Canada, Mexico, China and Japan.  I’ve spent a lot of time in Mexico and I spend part of my year in Canada and I have yet to see horse meat on the menu anywhere.  In fact, I have only ever seen it in a store ONCE and that was in a very filthy and obscure market in Chinatown in a certain city.  Just saying, that she may be exaggerating slightly.  Between the stammering, stuttering and ummming, Suey manages to call anybody against slaughter elitist and arrogant and saying we sensationalize the issue.  Note that she is the ONLY person interviewed that has felt the need to hurl insults.  Suey also informs us that 75% of the horses processed in Canada are from the US.  That seems a bit inflated to me, but I’m sure one of the readers here can speak to that?

Slaughterhouse Sue

Now we get to the fun part of the interview.  Suey and Wayne get to do a little back and forth.  Pacelle responds to Suey’s sweeping generalizations and skewed stats by addressing global consumption of horse meat and indicates that probably a fraction of 1% of people globally actually consume horse meat.  While Suey indicated China as a big consumer of horse meat, they actually kill something like 4 million dogs a year for consumption.  So much for her `not traditional food animal’ statement as we do have a lot of Chinese people over here. I sure hope he didn’t give her any ideas or that nobody in her family died as a result of a dog bit or they’ll be next on her hit list, I’m sure.  He also said that horse slaughter is not about raw economics but American values and that there is no and has never been a major history of commercial consumption of horse meat.  He even mentioned states such as Texas and Oklahoma having bans on horse meat for human consumption.  Clearly, this pisses Suey off as she is chomping at the bit to rebut and she does by saying that the only reason those states banned horse meat was due to World War II and the cattle and hog population being decimated in the 30’s, making horses a market threat to the cattle industry. BTW, I called up my parents tonight and asked if they ate horse meat as kids (which would have been around that time) and they asked if I had been drinking…. According to Suey, the banning of horse meat was a knee jerk reaction to boost up the cattle industry.  Way to throw one of your biggest supporters under the bus Suey!  She also said the ban had nothing to do with food safety or quality but rather that horse meat could be passed off as beef.  Thanks for helping out our argument Suey!  Awesome!  Suey and Wayne then start talking over each other with Suey getting obviously pissed and Wayne kinda chuckling when he tells her there is no prohibition on horse meat in this country, but that people just don’t really want it.  They can still import it from Canada or whatever but the demand is such that it’s not worth it.  We close with two callers that are Suey lovers that support her and both use hick speak like the good little horse haters they are.  Oops, one said she loves her horses and would sell her house to take care of them but would love to see all others slaughtered.  You know the drill.  The last part is from a FB post about shipping horses and Wayne is asked to speak to that.  It’s a slam dunk because he says the only thing standing in the way of them stopping the horrific shipping to other countries is Sue.  Suey is naturally enraged and quotes her native buddies and talks about poisoning ground water and spending millions to euthanize them or letting them rot after shooting them in the head.  That opens the door for the final spanking from Wayne where he talks about the banned substances given to horses and then it’s all over.

Now, I’ve tried to recap this as best as I can.  I hate listening to much of Suey’s voice and I suck at writing notes while listening to stuff as I haven’t had to do that since college and I didn’t like it then either.  Even though I am very anti, I still tried to cover what was said despite my sarcastic asides.  Suey never really comes out with anything new and I was a bit disappointed the drug thing wasn’t addressed more.  However, I think the host did a pretty good job and asked some tough questions to all concerned.  I couldn’t really tell where he stood on the issue at all, although he did give Pacelle the last word.  The only person that showed a crack in their composure was Suey and that’s pretty standard for her.  Suey was obviously unhappy with how it all went down as she posted this about it:

“Some of you might be interested in listening to this Iowa public radio show I was on a couple days ago, which also included the plant in Iowa, and Wayne Pacelle of HSUS. If you take the time to listen, I’ll let you draw your own conclusions. For those of you who don’t want to, or don’t have the time, I’ll give you the Cliff Notes–Whiny Wayne thinks it is perfectly acceptable to kill horses with lethal drugs, or even to “shoot them in the head” — he just doesn’t think anybody should be able to make a little money on a horse they don’t want or need, or heaven forbid, that anyone would actually enjoy eating good meat. As usual, zero solution to the horrific environmental problems, the steep decline in horse welfare because he and his ilk just stole all of their value, or any other aspect of the devastation that lands squarely in his lap.”

Not sure why she drew quotes around the `shoot them in the head’ bit.  She wants to shoot them all repeatedly in the face.  Maybe she thinks that will be more fun for the horses or something.  The more she reflected on yet another interview going badly for her, the more pissed she got: “In fact, I have come to understand that the entire purpose of their outrageous and totally false accusations that yahoos like Pacelle make is solely for the purpose of spinning up the emotional drama so they can bilk dollars out of good hearted people. The animal rights big orgs and the big enviro orgs are pretty much one and the same, and nothing but gigantic blood sucking fundraising machines that really don’t give a damn for either animals or the environment. It’s all about money and power for the snobby elite. Pathetic that they have so many Americans fooled…” I’m just going to go ahead and assume that it’s the consumption of adulterated horse meat and raw titty milk that is making her so paranoid and angry…I also find it funny that she spoke about the horrific environmental problems when we all know the environmental issues with horse slaughter and earlier she was denying global warming.“The whole climate change travesty is nothing but a collusion between Big Government and Big (so-called) Environmental Nonprofits, who are really lobbying for profit and who are foisting the largest wholesale crime on the whole society ever in history”  Way to be consistent, Suey!  

Sadly, she wasn’t finished with her murderous agenda today.  She also put on her IEBA kaftan and issued another statement.  Actually, I don’t even know if she issued this release as it is both to and from Sue Wallis.  It’s a mess to link, so I’ll give you a rundown.  Basically, she covers the pending lawsuit surrounding the slaughter houses.  Now sadly, I’m neither am attorney nor a hairdresser from Kentucky, so I may be off in understanding what this is all about, (http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1103685263837-163/7.9.13+Update+re+HSUS+litigation-1.pdf), but the gist is that they are asking for all the pending litigation with slaughter to be consolidated to New Mexico where the Valley Meats mess is still going on and that the IEBA is broke.  They’re also really worried about this case setting an `adverse precedent’.  It says a lot more than that, but that’s the bones.  The IEBA release also contains a statement from Keaton Walker, so at least we know for sure who is backing him even if they have spent all their money.

“We are very pleased with the Iowa Department of Inspection and Appeals decision to deny the petition. We are extremely blessed to have the support of horse owners and our local community. Our team at Responsible Transportation would like to thank everyone that has supported us throughout the process.”

Suey also gives us a link to a letter that Jason Smith, President of the National Tribal Horse Coalition, sent to Congress (http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1103685263837-158/Jason+Smith+Op+Ed+CUJ+Opinion+-+Bend+Article.pdf) It has nothing really that we haven’t heard before, but you should all read it because I’m sure these poor people had to sit in a sweat lodge with a naked Suey and pretend they like her in order to get her help on the matter or something.  No, I’m not being racist, I just think they’re being sold a load of goods similar to when they got convinced having a factory hog operation managed by Trent Loos on Rosebud Sioux lands was a great idea and such was the negative environmental impact, that they had to file suit to get him gone.  You have to wonder who is speaking for whom on this issue as only Suey seems to have the hotline to the PSA native population.  At any rate, Suey is more than misleading when she says the natives are just gagging for horse slaughter.  More like most of them are gagging at the prospect.  Please read this article from last year: (http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/article/american-indians-offer-programs-for-horses-that-treat-the-sacred-animals-as-a-way-of-life-70636)  It paints a VERY different picture than the one Suey likes show people.

*sigh* Still not done. 😦  Remember how Suey likes to use the fact that domestic slaughter will be oh so much more humane for all horses?  She even mentioned that in her radio interview.  It’s one of her very few talking points.  Well, she came out with this statement today: “You all know that we work very closely with our counterparts in Canada, and that we have, for instance, adopted the Humane Handling  and Assessment Tool developed by our neighbors to the North as our U.S. standard for IEBA member companies.”  So, I’m going to ask for the thousandth time, HOW IS THIS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT?????   She has also joined forces with Olivier Kemseke of Belgium as he whines about wasting so many horses that are being excluded from the food chain for various reasons and now he thinks they will have a crisis of too many horses as a result.  WTF? (http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1103685263837-161/horse+welfare+Belgium.pdf).  Yup, they are not happy with the EU regulations and now they want to be able to slaughter and eat previously excluded horses.  He cites the reasons for exclusions as: Old horses that were NOT registered before 31/12/2009, animals not registered as a foal, choice by owner, and medical treatment.  I guess that means he wants no restrictions on slaughter and Suey is backing this along with Maggot des Barres in Canada because that means if the EU lifts that, once again they are off the hook as far as traceability.   He goes on to whine about environmental impact and all the tired crap we are so sick of hearing from horse eaters.

Moneybags Kemseke

Suey also wants her supporters to know they did a marketing survey and she found a whole 350 people across the nation that wanted to eat horses too.  She doesn’t give us the name of the marketing firm that conducted this research, but I suspect it was that freebie one she was linking around awhile back that is normally used by teenage girls for their games.  She says we’re all lying when we say Americans don’t eat horse meat because of this survey and that: “ethnic cultures from the Italians, to the Tongans, to the Mongolians, to Asians of all sorts, and lots of Hispanics who consider horse meat an important traditional cultural food…not to mention just good old ranch families that have traditionally butchered a filly or two a year for their own use, that flies in the face of this claim“.  Yup a whole 350 people nationwide means we should start slaughtering tens of thousands of horses.  I guess if they all desire her physique, that number might be enough to sustain them.  I wonder if she is so ethnically sensitive to Muslims and Afro-Americans?  At any rate, she wants people to sign and swear affidavits regarding their lust for horse meat and send it to her.  Yuck.

horse tartare

She also wants everybody to keep their eyes on Washington DC and fight the good fight.  She keeps things very classy with the following statement:

“Make sure you are communicating with your Senators and Representatives and that they hear loud and clear that the Humane Society of the United States, or the ASPCA, or PETA, or any of their myriad offshoots and associates do not have the best interests of either horses or people, or the environment at heart, and that their actions will result in the most horrendous suffering and devastation imaginable, not to mention a total waste of perfectly good meat, and the economic destruction of an entire sector of animal agriculture just to cater to the elitist, culturally arrogant,  ethnically insensitive whims of big nonprofits clustered around the beltway. These snobs are insulated from reality by their six figure salaries that they deceptively bilk out of unsuspecting animal lovers.”

Oh well, I’m pretty used to being called elitist by the PSAs by now and the other part doesn’t really fit considering how many PSAs I saw go orgasmic over the Zimmerman verdict yesterday.  Finally, she closes off with this statement:

“The goal here is, of course, to generate as much positive press for the horse industry as we possibly can given our limited resources. Since the very beginning, this effort has been the grassiest of grassroots struggles. We are a totally volunteer association. Every dime we get goes straight to our mission. We take “bare bones” to a high art form. That is our strength. And the reason we have been able to come so far against outfits like ASPCA and HSUS that pay their executives and their stable of attorneys in the six figures with lots and lots of cushy benefits.  

 

We all need to stand up and tell our own story and not let a bunch of elitist, culturally arrogant, and ethnically insensitive animal rights activists tell a false story about us. When it is our livelihood, our ability to make a living with horses, to raise our kids and grandkids with the joy of horses in their lives on the line, and just because, damn it, it is the right thing to do for horses and people…we are the kind of people who won’t back down, and won’t give up!

 

Finally, the need for your financial and moral support has never been greater.  Quite frankly our coffers are empty, and if it was not for the dedication and determination of those who continue to work on our behalf on just the hope that we can restore this much needed industry…we would already be defeated.  You know who you are, thank you for everything that you do.  

 

Please write checks to IEBA, and send them to our legal fund”

 

Not surprisingly, the address she wants you to send your money to is her home address.  Don’t send your hard-earned money to a rescue or use it to feed your livestock, send it to Suey so she can continue to jet around the country and not work a real job, whilst dreaming of eating horses for every meal.  For the rest of you, you know what to do.  Call your reps and tell them where you stand.  Support the SAFE Act and let’s remove this pustulous boil from the ass of the horse industry once and for all!

Here is the IEBA link for those that want it: (http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=6oijm7dab&v=001OlZyvMDk6biAapo9c8bMU8t5aFnDjRpyzSBFxzyJF7H3k405YNXwEkewSBS_u2QXp8THCgpbqGEaFomVYMl3hG1KDGt3TbQR4-GCBiE1IYFQfZIu-jnaqKA0NPz6ju-vEtg_KtvNaJ-OdutA1jrUWcEdW68eNFVnP1BuTKSunfdLeO9iwtrUF-uUD-r_C6QyZQQKITv24uzyVvODI3K2vyl9BSV4Zq0NhEynbRgUJrlVI5laHdfbZ6-OtWduriZRaJSDBsZleYK2t7_ZqikOS1AGVJWH3GJ0ptzhXburOOue2CXiD2PwB9DVjOvnmjnAdut2ljR0npYyiSwZ_bj7OGRuWlogUc366usdBqIvUVk%3D)

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