Animals of the Oceans in Danger

GREAT WHITE SHARK ~ Carcharodon Carcharias

The Great White Shark has a conical rather than a flattened snout, black eyes, and large, serrated, arrow-shaped teeth. The upper and lower lobes of the tail are almost equal in size, and the body is blue- or brown-grey, not white, except on the underside. They eat seals, fish, other sharks, carrion, and just about anything else it can manage to swallow.  Temperate oceans of the world. The Great White Shark finds shelter in temperate oceans of the world. The Great White Shark is killed for food and sport, its rows of teeth used as a trophy. Save The Sharks 1, Save The Sharks 2

Equine Issues

"You move so fast you don't have time to wait till a horse bleeds out. You skin him as he bleeds.
Sometimes a horse's nose is down in the blood, sucking up blood from other horses, blowing
bubbles, and he suffocates." -- "Slaughterhouse" by Gail Eisnitz

Horse Slaughter

Since 1980, well over 4 million American horses have been slaughtered in the U.S. and Canada and their meat exported to Europe and Japan for human consumption.

Horse slaughter is not a form of humane euthanasia. "Slaughter Horses" are brutally handled . They are forced onto trucks (including in-humane double-decker cattle trailers- illegal in some states), and are often shipped hundreds of miles, sometimes for over 30 hours, without food, water or rest. Arriving at the slaughterhouses, they are driven out (sometimes dragged) into a killing factory and bludgeoned with a four-inch captive bolt gun which drives a spike into their skulls. If that "machinery" is not working properly, horses can be conscious while their throats are being slit.

Today, an average of over 100,000 American horses are slaughtered annually at U.S. and Canadian plants. (According to the USDA, the number of U.S.-bred horses sent to Mexico for slaughter is "insignificant". The U.S. Meat Export Federation states that 567 horses were exported to Mexico for slaughter in 1998, as opposed to the 23,152 horses who were shipped to Canada for that purpose.)

It is estimated that more than a third of all slaughter-bound horses in the U.S. are bred for racing. They are either no longer competitive or just don't make the grade. Others in-clude: camp, show, "backyard", rental and Amish horses, urban carriage horses, PMU mares and foals, and unwanted pregnant mares and barren broodmares.

Aside from the visible high end, most horses sold at auction are bought by "killer buyers" (middlemen for slaughter plants) and go straight to slaughter often without disclosure or the knowledge of the sellers which promotes and often results in consumer fraud and horse theft.

Most of the horses your children ride at summer camps, dude ranches and riding acadamies are sold for meat when they can no longer perform.

Very little horse meat is used in dog food; it's too expensive with some cuts selling for over US$20.00 per pound.

The majority of surviving foals born to the 80,000 PMU mares in North America to produce the estrogen replacement drug, Premarin, are considered by-products, and are sold for slaughter (as are their mothers when no longer productive.)

Young, old, healthy, sick - they all go.

Slaughter gives indiscriminate "backyard breeders" and some people in the horse industry an easy way to get rid of their unwanted horses quickly, and for a profit.

We say our horses deserve better than this. We owe it to our horses to have them humanely euthanized rather than subjected to a horrific trip to the slaughterhouse.

CALIFORNIA SAYS NO!

In 1998, California became the first state to ban horse slaughter.

Californians voted overwhelmingly to pass "Proposition 6", a state initiative to prohibit horse slaughter for human consumption, punishable as a felony. Hopefully, other states will soon follow Calfornia's historic lead.

(NOTE: This legislation has had no bearing on the taxation or licensing of horses, despite propaganda from the "opposition".)

AMERICANS SAY NO!

State and nationwide polls have shown that the vast majority of Americans are strongly opposed to horse slaughter:

In 1995 - A national call-in TV poll resulted in 93% of callers demanding that "the killing of horses for meat be banned".

In 1997 - A state-wide poll taken in California revealed that 88% of those questioned were opposed to horse slaughter.

In 1999 - A poll conducted in New York State yielded the following results:

Also in 1999 - A citizens' group in McHenry County, Illinois stopped an equine slaughterhouse (Cavel International) from relocating to their area after waging an impressive year-long campaign. They made a difference - so can you!

Meet "Paula" - Rescued from slaughter by Equine Advocates, she is now mascot and "poster child" for its national campaign against horse slaughter.

If horse slaughter is so unpopular, then why do we still have it?

Horse slaughter exists because most Americans are still not aware of it. According to official polls, the more educated and aware Americans become about horse slaughter, the more opposed they are to it.

What do we do with carcasses of horses that have been humanely euthanized?

Outside of burial (where permitted) or cremation (when possible), rendering plants will pick up equine carcasses for a fee. Also, there are landfills that will accept large animal carcasses. The vet who euthanizes your horse should be able to provide you with that information, but you can also obtain it by contacting your appropriate state agencies.


** PLEASE BE SURE TO SIGN THE PETITON BY CLICKING ABOVE **

* Don't patronize businesses that over-breed horses and then send their unwanted equines to slaughter.

* Check out riding acadamies and camps - find out where their "used-up" horses go. There are humane operations - take the time to find them.

* For estrogen replacement therapy, ask your doctor about one of numerous alternatives to Premarin, including Cenestin ("synthetic Premarin)" a new plant-based form of conjugated estrogens by Duramed Pharmaceuticals.

* Don't breed your horse: rescue one - from camps, riding acadamies, race tracks, etc. You could save a horse from ending up as "dinner", while GAINING a new "Best Friend".

* Don't buy articles made from horse hide, i.e., "Corinthian Leather" (some auto upholstery), clothing and accessories made from "Pony Skin", and brushes and other items made from horse hair.

* Before attending an auction, familiarize yourself with all animal health, transportation and cruelty laws in your state. Document all violations effectively and report them to law enforcement. Getting the laws enforced will cost the offenders money and help prevent suffering.

* Support efforts in your state to oppose horse slaughter. If several states prohibit it, a federal ban would then be possible.

* Spread the word about horse slaughter. Thanks to the efforts of pioneers like newspaper reporter Ross Peddicord (for his groundbreaking expose' "The Last Ride" in the Baltimore Sun in 1989 ), TV journalist Christine Lund (for her award-winning series on Eye Witness News in 1992), the now defunct show, HARD COPY, for its shocking and award-winning report, "Save The Horses" (which was repeated over and over in 1995 and '96), and Cathleen Doyle, the originator and main motivating force behind the historic passage of California's "Prop 6" in 1998 (the first anti-horse-slaughter legislation in the nation), horse slaughter is now on the decline. Join those who have already made a huge difference by educating people you know about slaughter auctions and the horse slaughter industry.

* Make a tax deductible donation to Equine Advocates. Your financial support will help us rescue horses in need, conduct important investigations into equine abuse, and intensify our fight and opposition to horse slaughter.

About Equine Advocates

Our mission is to rescue, protect and prevent the abuse of horses through education, investigation, rescue operations, and the dissemination of information to the public.

Since our inception in 1996, we have actively opposed the practice of horse slaughter. We have helped hundreds of horses, most of whom were slaughter-bound.

Equine Advocates, Inc. is a non-profit equine protection organization. Support us with your contributions. They will aid us in making future rescues, increase our abuse investigations, expand our public education efforts, and hopefully, help make horse slaughter a thing of the past.

Journey to Death: The live Export of horses for meat from Poland / Equine Transport to Slaughter Issue / Foster Family Horse Page / Just Say Neigh! IGHA/HorseAid / Wind Ridge Farm Equine Sanctuary, Inc. / End Horse Slaughter Canada

Premarin: A Prescription for Cruelty

As unlikely as it sounds, the most widely prescribed drug in the United States is made from animal waste. The drug is Premarin, an estrogen substitute manufactured by Wyeth-Ayerst and used by millions of women worldwide to ease the symptoms of menopause. Wyeth-Ayerst claims that Premarin's "secret ingredient" pregnant mares' urine (PMU) sets it apart from other estrogen drugs on the market. But Premarin contains another secret ingredient as well: animal suffering.

For six months of their pregnancies, an estimated 75,000 mares are confined to PMU farms in the United States and Canada, kept in stalls too small to take more than a step or two in any direction. The cumbersome rubber urine-collection bags that mares must wear at all times chafe their legs and prevent them from lying down comfortably. Mares are given limited drinking water so that their urine will yield more concentrated estrogens.

And although equine veterinarians say horses need daily exercise, Wyeth-Ayerst's voluntary "Recommended Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Horses in PMU Operations" states only that horses must have as much exercise as is necessary for their welfare.(1) Interpretations of this vague code vary greatly: One PMU farmer in Alberta claims horses can "exercise in the stall. ... [T]hey can lay down, move ahead, back up, [and] go sideways."(2) Some farmers admit to exercising their horses as little as once every three or four weeks; others do not let mares out of their stalls once during the entire six months. When questioned about horses? need for exercise, a Wyeth-Ayerst spokesperson flippantly replied, "Some horses are active, some are couch potatoes."(3)

After participating in a tour of PMU farms approved by Wyeth-Ayerst, the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) identified several problems that contribute to the suffering of mares. For example, WSPA's investigators found horses with untreated wounds and respiratory problems; dehydrated mares fighting and "sometimes becoming injured" as they struggled to drink during water-distribution times; and some farmers tying horses up so tightly they could not lie down at all in their narrow stalls. Says WSPA's John Walsh, "The barns we toured were selected from a list prepared by the industry, so we expect we saw the best. If those are the best, we have very real concerns." Wyeth-Ayerst now refuses to allow WSPA to conduct further inspections of PMU operations.(4)

The American Association of Equine Practitioners, which participated in the same tour, noted similar problems and also observed "numerous lower limb abnormalities" on mares (conditions associated with lack of exercise and strict confinement) and chafed flanks caused by urine-collection bags. The association added that some PMU farmers, did not demonstrate a satisfactory knowledge of routine veterinary care.(5)

Similarly, when inspectors from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) toured PMU farms, they found mares with stiff gaits and limps from "standing the line" without adequate exercise and at least one mare who had been denied veterinary care for a wound that was "dripping pus." The inspectors said they "suspect that some producers may be failing to give parenteral antibiotics when needed to avoid dumping the urine." A veterinarian who treats horses on PMU farms told the USDA inspectors that some horses were suffering from "renal and liver problems," the result of insufficient drinking water.(6)

The fate of the approximately 70,000 foals considered industry "byproducts" who are born on PMU farms each year is equally disturbing. Some are used to replace their exhausted mothers, many of whom have been confined to PMU farms for up to 20 years. Most of the remaining foals, along with worn-out mares, are sold to "kill buyers" and are fattened, then slaughtered. Says one PMU industry insider, "See, the foals and the mares which can't get pregnant any more-they are the by-product of the PMU industry. ... We crush-'em and recycle-'em, just like [aluminum] cans."(7)

A growing number of physicians are challenging the idea that a drug derived from animal waste is beneficial to humans. Dr. Phillip Warner, for example, director of the Menopause Institute of Northern California, has said, "I'm not an animal-rights person. If I felt Premarin was the best product, I'd say take it and to hell with the horses. But it isn't, so I don't prescribe it."(8) And the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which "has historically had significant concern about" crudely purified natural-source drugs, cautions that "the urinary estrogen excretion by pregnant mares is widely variable." Studies have shown that the amount of estradiol-one of the active hormones in Premarin-can vary by almost 400 percent from one batch to the next.(9)

Hormone-replacement therapy drugs made from plant sources or synthetics more closely mimic the estrogens found in the human ovary, and at least three of the drugs currently on the market-Estrace, Estraderm, and Ogen-have been approved by the FDA for use in preventing osteoporosis.

If your doctor recommends estrogen-replacement therapy, please ask for one of the many humane alternatives to Premarin.

Cenestin / Estroven / More Alternatives / The Premarin (PMU) Industry / What's Wrong with Premarin?
The Truth About Premarin / Premarin: Cure or Curse?

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