IDA eNews: 1/30/08

Help Make Your Community a Guardian City in 2008
South Dakota Considers Horse Slaughterhouse
New York City's Carriage Horses Need Your Voice Now


Help Make Your Community a Guardian City in 2008
Learn how to start a Guardian campaign in your community

You can own something, but you can't own someone -- that's the basic idea behind IDA's Guardian Campaign ( http://www.guardiancampaign.com ), which promotes respect for companion animals. Since the year 2000, more than a dozen cities, two counties, and the state of Rhode Island have updated the language of their animal-related ordinances to officially recognize the term “guardian” to describe certain human/animal relationships. We are proud that today more than 5,700,000 Americans are eligible for this distinction, and that the number of officially-designated guardians continues to grow.

Of course, you don't need to live in a Guardian Community to be a guardian. All you have to do is use the term "guardian" in referring to yourself and others, and give your animal friends the love and appreciation they need to be happy and healthy. But then, you don't need to stop there, either. Why not start a campaign to modernize the wording of your community's by-laws to include the term "guardian?"

That's what's happening now in the New Jersey borough of Hightstown, as reported in The Times newspaper ( http://www.nj.com/news/times/index.ssf?/base/news-4/120132394791540.xml&coll=5 ). IDA extends a big thank you to Phyllis Deal, the Hightstown resident and Animal Welcome Committee member who introduced the Guardian resolution to the borough council. If the proposal is approved, Hightstown will become the second community in New Jersey to adopt guardian language, just as the city of Wanaque did in May 2004 ( http://www.idausa.org/news/currentnews/wanaque.html ).

If your community is not yet on the list of official guardian cities ( http://www.guardiancampaign.com/guardiancity.htm ),
please contact Valerie Sicignano at (917) 400-2131 or Valerie [at] idausa.org , to learn how you can make your community the next guardian city. By making an effort, you can truly make a difference for our animal friends.


South Dakota Considers Horse Slaughterhouse
Please urge state and federal legislators to reject inhumane proposal

In September 2007, a court decision regarding enforcement of a new Illinois state law shut down the last remaining horse slaughterhouse operating in the U.S. But now some members of the South Dakota legislature have proposed S.B. 170, a bill that would give a state-funded loan of up to $1 million to anyone wishing to construct and open a horse slaughtering facility in the state. This would be a giant leap backwards for the protection of horses in America, and we must do all that we can to ensure that it is rejected.

Before the court rulings that shuttered horse slaughter plants in Illinois and Texas, more than 90,000 horses were killed for meat in the U.S. every year. The victims included former thoroughbred racehorses and unwanted equine companions typically purchased at auctions, as well as wild horses rounded up from the open range. And tens of thousands of American horses continue to be sent over the border to Mexico and Canada for slaughter.

Please let South Dakota's legislators know that the public is firmly against the slaughtering of horses for meat in our country. In addition, S.B. 170, or any similar state legislation, would be nullified by passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S. 311/H.R. 503), a federal bill that would prohibit the slaughter of horses in the U.S. for human consumption, as well as their export to other countries for the same purpose.

What You Can Do:

1) Please call all members of the South Dakota Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee to let them know that you oppose S.B. 170. You don't have to be from South Dakota to call, because passage of this bill would affect horses and people throughout the U.S. Call (605) 773-3821 to reach the following South Dakota legislators at their Capitol offices:

Senator Jay Duenwald, Chair
Senator Cooper Garnos (cosponsor)
Senator Tom Hansen, Vice Chair
Senator Gary Hanson (cosponsor)
Senator Frank Kloucek (cosponsor)
Senator Jim Lintz
Senator Kenneth McNenny
Senator Jim Peterson
Senator Dan Sutton (cosponsor)

2) Please also call your federal Senators and Representative and ask them to cosponsor and support speedy passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S. 311/H.R. 503). Check to see whether your Representative ( http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR00503:@@@P ) and Senators ( http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN00311:@@@P ) are co-sponsors of the AHSPA. If so, please call and thank them, and if not, please politely ask them to do so. Get contact info for your elected officials ( http://ga0.org/indefenseofanimals/leg-lookup/search.html ). Also send your legislators a follow-up email via IDA's AHSPA Action Alert ( %takeaction-endhorseslaughter2% ).

Talking Points

- Americans overwhelmingly oppose horse slaughter, and this has resulted in closure of the last slaughter plants in the U.S. South Dakota would be out of step with public sentiment if the state legislature passes S.B. 170 into law, and this will reflect unfavorably on the state.

- The overwhelming majority of horses killed for meat would come from other states, including stolen horses and horses sold under false pretenses.

- Given that the federal American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act is anticipated to move in 2008, the loan made available via S.B. 170 would be financially risky. The state could be putting scarce taxpayer dollars into an industry that is likely to be banned under federal law.

- The FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill (which funds the federal government) currently before Congress includes a provision that prohibits the use of federal tax dollars for the inspection of horse slaughter. Similar measures may be included in future spending bills, as well. South Dakota could find itself with a slaughterhouse that cannot operate due to federal funding restrictions.

- The REDI fund, through which the loan would be made, is designed to promote job growth in South Dakota. The fact is that a horse slaughter plant would employ only a handful of low-paid, unskilled workers who are more likely to be a drain on the economy than a boon.

- The establishment of a plant in South Dakota would have negative environmental and economic impacts on the area where it is built. Disposal of blood, tissue, and other waste associated with operating a plant would likely stress pre-existing sewer systems, and the infrastructure may even need expensive updates.


New York City's Carriage Horses Need Your Voice Now
Ask City Council members to support proposed ban of cruel tourist trade

Back in the 19th century, before New York City's streets were paved and filled with cars, the horse-drawn carriage was a common form of transportation, sort of like hailing a cab is today. But in the 21st century, horses are basically a superfluous tourist attraction, sharing the road with all manner of modern vehicles and exposed to the loud noises and sudden distractions of a densely-populated urban center. This environment is extremely hazardous to horses' health and safety, and they all should have been retired from this highly dangerous line of work decades ago.

According to an audit by Manhattan's City Comptroller ( http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2007/09/128.shtml ), the horses used to pull carriages in New York City suffer some of the worst conditions of any working animal. Forced to walk on burning asphalt while breathing car and bus exhaust, and not having access to enough fresh water in summertime, horses commonly suffer from heat exhaustion and other serious problems. They are often left standing in their own filth due to insufficient drainage systems, and are routinely whipped by drivers to make them move. In addition, there is no mandatory retirement age for carriage horses, so they can literally be worked to death ( http://www.torontohumanesociety.com/newsandevents/stories/2006/09-14a.asp ).

Horse-drawn carriages also pose a real danger to the public on today's crowded city streets, where an ever-increasing number of cars, trucks, motorcycles, pedestrians, and bicycles share the road. Dragging a carriage filled with passengers along the side of the road with motor vehicles speeding past, horses can easily get frightened by the stimulation of these surroundings, and over the years have been involved in numerous traffic accidents, many of which resulted in horses dying ( http://www.all-creatures.org/nyca/ch-acc.html ). Horse-drawn carriages also impede the smooth flow of traffic, making it especially difficult for emergency vehicles to pass through quickly.

For all these reasons, Queens Council Member Tony Avella ( http://www.nyccouncil.info/constituent/member_details.cfm?con_id=16 ) introduced a bill to the City Council that would finally ban horse-drawn carriages in New York City. "The romanticized idea of enjoying a carriage horse ride through the streets of Manhattan can no longer justify the risk of serious injury or death to these animals or to the public at large," said the Councilman. "It is time to put the horse driven carriage industry out to pasture."

Other major cities around the world -- including Paris, London, and Toronto -- banned horse-drawn carriages from their streets long ago. In fact, the last license issued for a horse-drawn carriage in London was over 60 years ago. It is time for New York City to join them by leaving this inhumane relic of a bygone age behind.

What You Can Do:

The carriage horse industry is mainly supported by tourists, so it is essential that New York City Council members know that there is widespread support throughout the country and the world for banning this cruel trade.

1) Write letters to the following New York City Council members (at 250 Broadway
New York, NY 10007) and ask them to co-sponsor and support Intro 658, the bill to ban the carriage horse trade in New York City, and to oppose Intros 652 and 653 (which are bills supported by the carriage horse industry):

- Dan Garodnick
- Rosie Mendez
- Gale Brewer
- Alan Gerson
- Inez Dickens
- Jessica Lappin
- Robert Jackson
- Miguel Martinez

2) Please also write to the contact following New York City Council members at the same address to thank them for supporting the bill to ban the carriage horse trade in Manhattan:

- Maria del Carmen Arroyo
- Melissa Mark Viverito
- Annabel Palma

3) New York City residents: Please be sure to contact your Council member about this bill ( http://council.nyc.gov/html/members/members.shtml ).


The meat-crazed diet is destroying the planet!
Read "Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler" ( http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/weekinreview/27bittman.html ) from the Sunday New York Times to learn about the massive damage being done to our Earth and its inhabitants.


Is Your Animal Companion the True Valentine In Your Life?
Then make a donation to IDA in honor of your special friend!
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