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Equine Protection Network
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Horse Torture:
Fury Unbridled Northway Death Trail Unstopped
Barney Fowler Staff Writer
Early 80's
WESTPORT - Brutal treatment of horses bound for death in Canadian slaughter house's, a pitiless and wild descent into horror for the animals which are jammed into trailers without food or water for as long as three days, has aroused unprecedented fury throughout the eastern fringe of the Adirondacks. So much so that the North Country Society of' Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has doubled efforts for an amendment to the state Department of Agriculture and Markets law which governs method of movement. Such an amendment has been offered in the past. The Assembly passed the bill: the Senate held it in committee for reasons unknown. It once again has been prefiled in the Assembly by Assemblyman Robert D'Andrea, Saratoga Springs, and State Senators Hugh Farley of Niskayuna and Joseph Bruno of Rensselaer County. Its fate remains to be seen. Meanwhile, the torture continues.
Heading the SPCA battle is Dr. Robert A. Lopez. Lake Shore Road, Westport, Essex County, the veterinarian called by State Police to inspect and treat horses involved in the must recent and gruesome instance, when a load of 85 ponies and yearling horses, packed into a trailer designed for 35, was stopped Dec. 12 on the Northway, Town of Schroon, by Troopers Bob Carlson and Ed Haroff. State Police acted on information given by an alert gas station attendant at Pottersville, who while pumping gas into the mobile charnel house, noted a dead animal in the trailer.
More than one were found dead There were five. Four had been trampled One, next to the open slats on the trailer, in close contact with frigid winds, had frozen stiff. Four more had to be destroyed on the spot after unloading. Many were suffering from pneumonia, bronchitis, equine distemper and broken bones. One pony had an eye gouged out in the fierce struggle to remain alive. Excrement, solid and liquid, covered the metal floor. They were temporarily quartered at a corral in Frontier Town, North Hudson for watering, feeding and medical treatment. They have since been moved to the Bruce Crammond farm in Ticonderoga, where continued medical treatment - medicines and vitamins -has been given daily. Of the original 85, only 57 remain alive.
One pony is -about to foal; she has been separated into private quarters. The animals are under quarantine. Canada has refused entry until all trace of disease vanishes. Hay has been donated, two area farmers each controlled 100 bales. Monetary contributions have been arriving to Dr. and Mrs. Lopez not only from horrified New York state residents, but from individuals in Quebec and Vermont. More than 75 persons wish to purchase the, survivors, but even the number of the those may diminish.
"We are doing our very best." said Crammond, who deals in domestic stock, "but some of them still look pretty bad."
Many today show affection instead of despair. The question remains as to ultimate disposition. Perfecta International, the Florida outfit which owns the horses and contracted to have them shipped to Canada for conversion into meat for the tables in France and Japan, was contacted by Lopez, who told this writer company representatives are "very indignant about the trouble we've caused them."
Rental and board is being charged the Florida-based company. What is hoped is that the rental eventually will top the value of the survivors, and Perfecta will drop the whole situation. At full value, the 85 horses represented about $40,000. As horses die, the load value diminishes. And there will be no release until the horses are certified as free from disease. That's the situation as of now.
Arresting drivers, as was done in the case described, obviously is not the solution to elimination of the "Torture Trail" which the Northway has become. The two arrested in this case were fined $150 each and. released. They were charged with transporting animals in a cruel and inhumane manner. Lopez and others feels the law should be stronger, have more teeth. He is not alone- Ingvar Berg, executive secretary of the, Northeastern Harness Horsemen's Association, Saratoga Springs, says,
"Two years ago State Senator Farley and Assemblyman Bobby D'Andrea introduced legislation to prevent this kind of cruelty. Unfortunately the Department of Agriculture and Markets did not back the bill, and the Humane Society was nowhere in sight. Exposure of this problem. hopefully will bring needed legislature this coming session."
Current Status of Double Decker Trailers
Passed in 1980 New York State had the strongest law on the books banning double deckers until the passage of PA's Horse Transport Law in 2001.
PA Horse Transport Law Cards
Download a card and carry in your car. Help enforce PA law banning the use of double deck trailers to transport any horse, no matter what its final destination!
In 1997 the EPN brought the continued weekly violations of New York law to the attention of the New York State Police resulting in several arrests, hundreds of charges, and fines in the thousands of dollars. Most importantly, the EPN's efforts stopped the inhumane double deckers from rolling out of New Holland each week loaded with horses destined for Canadian slaughterhouses. At the same time the NY Legislature increased the fines and closed two loopholes in the law as a result of the EPN's efforts.
Several other states, VT, MA, CT, VA, MN, CA, and AZ have laws on the books regarding the use of double deckers. Most of these states regulate the use of double deckers for horses and does not prohibit their use as does PA, NY and VT.
The Commercial Transportation of Horses to Slaughter Act passed in 1996 regulates the transport of horses to slaughter and did nothing more than,
"legalize every inhumane practice identified in the transport of horses to slaughter and put the very people identified as the abusers in charge of the horses welfare!"
Christine Berry of the Equine Protection Network
For years it was the horrible and barbaric transport cases that drew attention to the slaughter of America's horses...now it is time to stop the slaughter of America's horses
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