LifeLine Gives Abandoned Dog a Second Chance

Vol. 21
| No. 2 | Spring 2007
p u b l is h e d f o r m e m b e r s o f u ni t e d ani m a l na t i o ns
er
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Sur de ! LifeLine Gives Abandoned Dog a Second Chance
Insi
UAN at forefront of national revolution in disaster response for animals • 2006 program highlights
UAN president and CEO visits horse rescue • Horse slaughter update • Pet summer safety tips
Dear Friends,
We’re busy preparing for a disaster season
that’s expected to bring nine named hurricanes! In addition to offering Emergency
Animal Rescue Service (EARS) training
workshops and community education events
nationwide and in Canada, UAN is taking a
lead role in federal and state efforts to include
animals in disaster planning (see pages 4
and 5). I encourage you to prepare, too. Visit
our EARS program page at www.uan.org
and click on “disaster preparedness”— and
encourage others to do the same.
This issue of the Journal is full of other
ways you can help animals — your own and
those in crisis. Look for summer safety tips
for pets (page 13), spread the word about
PMURescue.org (back cover), or learn what
to do if you spot animal cruelty in your
community (page 9). You can help animals
every day by being a compassionate consumer (page 12). The choices you make can
change the way meat, dairy and other products are produced, saving billions of animals
from needless suffering. If you have the
opportunity, bring your friends and family
to visit a sanctuary where you too can feed
chickens and rub the bellies of happy pigs —
it’s an experience you won’t soon forget!
Thanks for all you do for the animals!
Warmly,
Nicole Forsyth
President & CEO
Visit the ABC Campaign at
www.uan.org to find farm
sanctuaries like this one.
Vo l . 2 1
| No. 2 | Spring 2007
Table of Contents
2
Program News
4
Emergency Animal Rescue Service
6
LifeLine Grants Second Chances
6
2
Member Survey:
Complete to Win Prizes!
8 Up Close and Personal With a
Rescued Premarin Horse
10
Halting Horse Slaughter
12
Decoding Humane Food Labels
13
Hokie & Friends
Cover:
6
After being abandoned by her family,
Buffy got a second chance thanks to
a LifeLine Rescue Grant. Photo courtesy
Central Wisconsin Wolfdog Rescue.
The Journal is published quarterly by United
Animal Nations and is distributed to its members.
Annual membership is $25.
© 2007 United Animal Nations.
Design/Layout Page Design Group
S TA F F
President & CEO Nicole Forsyth
Chief Financial Officer Rebecca Sarsfield
Program Director Karen Brown
Communications Director Alexis Raymond
EARS Program Director Matthew Herlocker
EARS National Director Kay Mayfield
Program Coordinator Cristina Stoyle
Membership Services Coordinator Erin Sowa
Program Assistant Dariel Miller
Administrative Assistant Tiffany Benton
U N I T E D A N I M A L N AT I O N S
P. O. Box 188890
Sacramento, California 95818
tel: (916) 429-2457 fax: (916) 429-2456
toll free: (800) 440-EARS (disaster assistance)
web: www.uan.org e-mail: info @ uan.org
8
PROTECTING
ANIMALS IN
DANGER OR NEED
The mission of United
Animal Nations, a
tax-exempt nonprofit
organization, is to protect
animals in danger or
in need and to focus
attention on their plight.
Members Matter
UAN receives many notes of gratitude and encouragement
from generous donors and friends who make our work possible.
Here are just a few of them.
I just wanted to say a great big thank
you to UAN. A neighbor of mine who
knows what I do called me to say that
she received a LifeLine grant for a cat
she adopted from a humane society.
That was wonderful. Thanks for all you
(and we) do!
— Lisa Dreager
EARS Kentucky State Coordinator
Lin Price su
ppor ted UA
N through
workplace ch
her
arit y progra
m
We are very pleased to announce
that you have been selected as the
“charitable organization of the month”
in our “Safety for Charity” program.
This program rewards employees who
win our year-long safety incentive
program with a $150 donation to the
charitable organization of their choice.
Lin Price was a recent winner and
selected you. Congratulations for all
you do.
In 1999 at age 49 I had to undergo
a complete hysterectomy. Thanks to
animal-loving groups such as yours,
I became aware of the way in which
Premarin was obtained, the drug being
recommended to me after the surgery.
I have not taken it or any other prescribed
supplement to cope with menopause.
I don’t need it, I feel great and I can
observe the beautiful horses I’ve always
admired without guilt.
— Cheryl
Jackson, California
UAN members like Barbara
Caruso wear many hats. A former
English teacher, she founded
Ani-Pals, a student-faculty animal
advocacy club at Hackensack High
School in New Jersey. Barbara says
Ani-Pals members are always interested in the issues addressed in the
UAN Journal; recently the plight of
Premarin horses and foals prompted
the club to raise $100 for UAN.
“I’m very inspired,” Barbara told us.
“I’m very active in my local animal
shelter and I campaign against groups
that exploit animals.”
Barbara Caruso (back row, left) and members of Ani-Pals.
— Costco Wholesale
Roseville, California
Thanks, Lin! If you have a workplace
giving, matching gifts or incentive
program like Lin’s don’t forget to
mention UAN and the animals.
Spring 2007 Journal www.uan.org
Program News
Crisis Relief Grant Brings
Hope After Heroic Rescue
firefighter
rescued Soki from a burning
house, UAN’s
LifeLine program
helped pay for
S
heri and Eric Bibins of Stone
Mountain, Georgia were devastated
when they lost their home and all of its
contents to a fire in February. They would
have lost Soki, their beloved 15-month-old
blind chocolate Labrador mix, too, if it
weren’t for a brave fireman who crawled
through the smoke-filled home to save him.
Soki responded well to the oxygen
therapy he received on-site, and was
breathing and walking on his own soon
thereafter. He seemed to be doing fine,
but took a turn for the
worse two hours later.
Soki started vomiting and displayed
other symptoms of smoke inhalation,
prompting Sheri and Eric to rush him to
an emergency veterinary clinic where he
spent the night in an oxygen chamber.
Sheri and Eric’s insurance did not
cover veterinary expenses, and after just
two days in the clinic Soki’s veterinary
bill was more than $1,000 and climbing.
Living on just $500 from the Red Cross
for food and clothes, the couple found
the cost of Soki’s care, in addition to the
loss of their home, daunting. The couple
asked family and friends for assistance
Protect your animals in case of fire. Order your Emergency Rescue
Provided by United Animal Nations
and its Emergency Animal Rescue
Service (EARS). www.uan.org
Window Decal from the UAN Store at www.uan.org today!
Mom and Puppies Survive
Thanks to UAN Assistance
N
oelle, a one-year-old, pregnant pit
bull, was surrendered by her owner
at an Ohio shelter. Breed-specific Ohio
laws make it difficult for the shelter to
adopt out pit bulls, so the sweet dog was
scheduled to be euthanized in the gas
chamber, a method most shelters consider inhumane. When she was next in
line, she began having her puppies right
on the cold, filthy concrete floor. Horrified
at the thought of having to kill ten newborn puppies, the shelter staff contacted
Measle’s Animal Haven, which agreed to
take in the family, foster them and find
After a heroic
United Animal Nations Spring 2007 Journal
loving homes when the puppies were
old enough to be adopted.
As if taking in a group of ten puppies
and their mother wasn’t challenging
enough, the rescue group struggled when
Noelle became gravely ill with mastitis
a few weeks later. Prompt — and expensive — emergency care saved her life,
but she was no longer able to nurse her
puppies. Then, despite vaccinations, all
ten became ill with parvovirus and two
required intense hospitalization. Measle’s
Animal Haven turned to UAN’s LifeLine
Crisis Relief Grant program to provide
her vet care.
and applied for, and received, a
$500 UAN LifeLine Crisis Relief Grant
for Individuals.
“This is the type of situation that
the UAN Crisis Relief Grant was designed
for — helping loving pet owners get
through a personal disaster with their
families intact,” said UAN President and
CEO Nicole Forsyth.
Today, Sheri and Eric are rebuilding
their home and, while not yet 100 percent,
Soki is definitely on his way to a full
recovery. “We are all getting better day
by day,” says Sheri. “And we appreciate
the generosity of your donors more than
words can express!”
relief from their increasing financial burden
for this rescue effort.
“UAN’s generous support enabled us to
pay the veterinary care costs so we can
continue to save the lives of more pit bulls,”
said Executive Director Robin Laux.
A LifeLine Crisis
Relief Grant
saved the life of
this puppy and
nine others.
2006 Program Highlights
A
lthough no major disasters requiring
UAN’s assistance occurred in 2006,
it was still a busy and productive year for
the animals. Here are just a few of the
things we accomplished last year:
• In May, UAN co-sponsored the National
Conference on Animals in Disasters, the
premier gathering for agencies and individuals involved in emergency animal
rescue and response.
• In 2006, UAN issued 153 LifeLine
Rescue Grants totaling $33,610 to
Good Samaritans and animal rescuers
to alleviate expenses associated with
emergency veterinary care. One of
those animals was Rex, a puppy
who suffered internal injuries and
a broken jaw after being thrown or
falling from a moving car.
• We also issued 155 LifeLine Grants
totaling $16,465 to low-income
individuals whose pets required lifesaving veterinary care. One of those
recipients was Kristin, who turned to
UAN because she couldn’t afford the
$2,000 vet bill when her cat of six
years, Wee Kitty, broke his jaw.
• In 2006, 668 horses and foals cast
off from the industry that uses pregnant
mares’ urine (PMU) to manufacture
hormone drugs for women were
adopted through PMURescue.org.
Since 2003, more than 2,100 horses
have been adopted into new homes
through the Web site.
• As part of the
California Animal
Association, UAN
staff worked to
pass a law preventing residents
from chaining or
ABOVE: Vega, a PMU foal once at risk of
being slaughtered, now lives in New Mexico
with her new family.
BELOW LEFT: LifeLine Rescue recipient Rex.
tethering dogs for longer than three
hours in California. Less than two
weeks after the law took effect on
January 1, 2007, animal control authorities in Santa Cruz County issued 15
warnings in cases of chained dogs.
“This new law is very proactive to
ending the suffering of animals,”
one officer said.
Familiar Story, Happy Ending
T
he story is all too familiar: A cat
rescuer feels unable to turn away any
cat in need and becomes quickly overwhelmed with too many animals, leading
to an inhumane and dangerous situation.
In this story, set in Florida, the main character was a man in his thirties — and he
was housing nearly 60 ill and unsocialized
cats in filthy conditions. He had collected
the cats as strays in just one year.
The local animal control agency could
have intervened, but that would have
resulted in the euthanasia of all the cats.
Instead, a newly-formed rescue group,
Suncoast Animal League, stepped in to
remove the cats, rehabilitate them and
adopt them out to loving families.
“When we removed the cats, we
couldn’t stay in the home for more than
ten minutes at a time because of the
smell,” recalled Executive Director Rick
Chamboudy. “The cats had severe hair
loss, upper respiratory infections, ear
mites and were malnutritioned.”
Suncoast Animal League turned to a
UAN LifeLine Crisis Relief Grant to provide
funding for the urgent veterinary care that
nearly all the cats required. They are also
providing follow-up support to help ensure
that the situation does not reoccur.
“It’s nice to know that, when we go
out on a limb, we have support,” wrote
Rick. “Thank you so much for the grant.
It really helps.”
UAN’s LifeLine Crisis Relief Grants
provide funding for grassroots organizations that are responding to a crisis
involving a group of
animals. Learn more
at www.uan.org.
Spring 2007 Journal www.uan.org
Emergency Animal Rescue Service
UAN Shaping How Nation The world of animal disaster response is significantly changing in the
United States and UAN is at the forefront of this evolution. Inspired by
the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina, non-profit organizations that provide
disaster relief services have entered an era of unprecedented coordination
and cooperation. Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS) Program
Director Matt Herlocker and EARS National Director Kay Mayfield are
now participating in several national collaborative projects and working
with other organizations to formalize how organizations like UAN rescue
and shelter animals during disasters.
Non-profit cooperation
National Animal
Rescue and Sheltering
Coalition Members:
American Humane Association
ASPCA
Best Friends Animal Society
Code 3 Associates
The Humane Society of the United States
International Fund for Animal Welfare
National Animal Control Association
Society of Animal Welfare Administrators
United Animal Nations
UAN is one of nine non-profit organizations comprising the new National
Animal Rescue and Sheltering Coalition.
These organizations will cooperate to
help communities plan and respond to
incidents that place animals in distress.
After Hurricane Katrina, officials with
these organizations realized that helping
communities care for their animals during
disasters requires more resources than
any one group can provide. The coalition
adopted UAN’s emergency shelter forms
as the national standard for tracking the
animals any coalition member cares for
in a disaster. EARS Northwest Regional
Director Kurt Cruickshank leads the coalition’s effort to update the national system
for categorizing animal rescue and sheltering resources. In March, UAN hosted the
group in Sacramento, where participants
received Incident Command System
training, discussed other animal-related
emergency planning efforts in the
Untied States, and worked to further
formalize the coalition.
An EARS volunteer comforts a dog after
Hurricane Katrina, a disaster that prompted
unprecedented collaboration among
government and non-profit organizations.
U.S. Department of
Homeland Security
(DHS) assistance
In January, the Animal Issues Workgroup
invited Matt Herlocker to assist with revising the National Response Plan (NRP) —
a document that describes how the federal
government will support state and local
governments during disasters. The U.S.
Department of Homeland Security invited
representatives of state animal emergency
response programs, non-governmental
animal welfare organizations and other
federal agencies to address animal rescue
and sheltering issues. “It is certainly an
honor to contribute to a document that has
the potential to touch every community
in the country,” Matt said. Because of his
prior emergency planning experience,
Matt is a contributing author to the major
materials currently being developed.
State animal
response teams
Many state governments organize their
support for local animal disaster rescue
and sheltering through their state veterinarians. Charged primarily to protect
a state’s animal agricultural interests,
many of these professionals have formed
Rescues Animals in Disasters
state animal response teams or SARTs,
interagency organizations dedicated to
preparing for and responding to animal
emergencies. UAN is actively involved
in a plan to create a national network
of these state programs, provisionally
named the National Association of Animal
Agricultural Emergency Programs.
“SARTs are a positive step for states
to help animals during disasters and UAN
is proud to support state governments to
better prepare for animals in disasters,”
said EARS National Director Kay Mayfield.
California disaster
resource and capability
preparedness project
California is one of the most disasterprone states in the nation; but, because
of its innovative emergency management programs, it is a federal test-state
for a national resource inventory program.
Matt is assisting with animal issues,
particularly with regard to integrating
voluntary organizations, like UAN, into
an emergency response.
Mike Rodriguez, Animal Services
Manager for the City of Rancho
Cordova, California and project
team member said, “Emergency
preparedness depends on public-
private partnerships, and efforts such
as this depend on the help of non-profits,
such as UAN, to give a voice to animals
during disasters. Governments are
always going to need the assistance of
organizations like UAN. Through UAN’s
volunteers, the animals have a chance
to get the help they deserve.”
Hurricane Katrina motivated nonprofit organizations to work together.
And while this unprecedented cooperation and collaboration satisfies the people
involved, the animals are the big winners.
UAN President and CEO Nicole Forsyth
said, “I am absolutely thrilled that UAN
is playing a central role to increase the
inclusion of animals in emergency planning and response! This is an exciting
time for UAN and the animals.”
EARS Training
Workshops
I
f you’ve ever wanted to volunteer
with UAN’s Emergency Animal
Rescue Service (EARS), now is your
chance! Our 3,100-strong EARS
volunteer corps is the backbone of
our efforts to provide emergency
services in the U.S. and Canada.
Volunteer training workshops are
scheduled in the following cities,
with more to be announced:
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Anchorage, Alaska
• Boston, Massachusetts
Visit www.uan.org to see the
complete schedule and to register!
ABOVE: UAN is committed to collaborating for
the animals. In late 2005 we joined the Humane
Society of the United States to care for 500
victims of hoarding in Arkansas.
LEFT: EARS volunteers are the backbone of our
efforts to help animal victims of disasters.
Spring 2007 Journal www.uan.org
LifeLine Grants Second Chances
I
Buffy
After her family abandoned her, Buffy got a second chance from local
resuers and LifeLine.
t looked like the end of the road for
three-year-old Buffy when her family
took her to their veterinarian to be euthanized. Sadly, the family was going on a
trip and didn’t want to be bothered with
the pretty golden retriever-Siberian husky
mix. But instead of following through with the family’s
wishes, the veterinarian
called a local rescue group
to see if they could give
Buffy a chance at a better
life. Although Jayne and
Mike’s small rescue was at
its limit, they just couldn’t
turn their back on Buffy.
During an exam, the
veterinarian discovered
Buffy had been living with
a knee injury for about
nine months. The injury
was left untreated for so
long that the muscles had
started to atrophy and Buffy developed
arthritis. Buffy needed immediate surgery
to save the leg, but Jayne and Mike were
unable to cover the entire cost. They
support Central Wisconsin Wolfdog
Rescue almost entirely out of their own
pockets, a difficult feat since most of the
dogs have special needs. But with a
LifeLine Rescue Grant from UAN, they
were able to ensure Buffy would get the
surgery she so desperately needed.
Although Jayne and Mike originally
planned to find Buffy a new home after
her surgery, those plans quickly changed.
“During her recovery process, she became
extremely bonded and attached to me,”
Jayne told us. “Buffy decided that she
wanted to stay, so she has forever refuge
here with us.”
Buffy has come through her recovery
period wonderfully, and now runs like
nothing was ever wrong with her knee.
Jayne thanks UAN and its donors for
the help. “I am so grateful for the assistance that was offered to Buffy and so
many others,” Jayne said. “I will never
forget your kindness.”
LifeLine Also Helped…
Lil Bud…with the
removal of a softball-sized
kidney stone.
Kumma…with a tumor
removal so she could return
home to her best friend.
Mischief…with a bladder
obstruction so he can continue to cause more trouble!
United Animal Nations Spring 2007 Journal
Pepper…receive emergency
heart surgery.
Through its LifeLine program, UAN provides lifesaving
emergency veterinary care grants to animal rescuers,
Good Samaritans and low-income pet owners.
Grace
Two young teachers turned to LifeLine
when they couldn’t afford urgent surgery
for their new puppy.
R
ecently, life-long animal lovers
Heather and Justin bought a house
of their own, and after years of living
in an apartment with a no-pets policy
they decided it was time for a furry, fourlegged addition to their family. Grace
was a rambunctious little
puppy, which soon got
her into trouble. Over
Thanksgiving weekend,
Grace fell off a bed and
started limping. Nothing
was broken and the puppy
appeared fine, but soon
she was unable to take
more than a few steps
without falling on her rear
with a whimper. Heather
and Justin brought the
puppy to the veterinarian,
who said she would need
surgery costing $1,500.
Heather and Justin
are young teachers just starting out in their
careers, and weren’t able to afford such a
large, unexpected expense. Not willing
to give up on Grace, Heather consulted
another vet who could help Grace at a
fraction of the original estimate. Even
though the new estimate was much
lower, the cost was still a hardship for
the young couple, until UAN stepped
in with a LifeLine Grant to relieve some
of the burden.
After a successful surgery, Grace
is able to run, jump and play like the
spunky pup she is. Heather says that
even though Grace has only been a
part of the family for a few months,
she’s already got them “wrapped
around her paw.”
To learn more about LifeLine
and the program’s eligibility
requirements, visit www.uan.org.
Letters of Appreciation
N
ever would I have thought that an
organization as kind, generous
and wonderful as yours could exist, but
you do! And I thank you so
much for your generosity
in helping me and Maeby!
It’s only been two months,
but I look forward to our
long life together and I will
always remember your
organization.
— Grace
W
ords cannot express
how thankful we are!
Chase’s surgery went very well,
and we expect a full recovery!
I can already tell
that he feels so much
better. We are very
excited! Thank you
again for your help,
you brought us such
relief!
— Amy, Lisa & Chase
T
hank you for the grant to help
Minou regain a normal life through
surgery to repair a fractured jaw. It is
heartening to know that there are organizations such as yours, with caring donors,
who can help injured animals obtain
medical care that would otherwise be out
of reach due to cost. We are gratified to
know that Minou will not have to suffer
the end of other animals who are put
down when the owners cannot afford
medical care.
— The Giraudon Family
Spring 2007 Journal www.uan.org
Up close and personal with
a rescued Premarin horse
by UAN President and
CEO Nicole Forsyth
United Animal Nations Spring 2007 Journal
W
hile on a recent trip to Boston, I
had the pleasure of visiting Equine
Protection of North America (EPONA),
a horse rescue organization near my
hometown in New Hampshire.
At EPONA I met Guy, a four-year-old
rescue from the industry that uses pregnant mares’ urine (PMU) to manufacture
hormone drugs for women. When first
rescued as a foal, Guy had barely known
his mom, and had little-to-no exposure
to human beings. Although Guy adjusted
quickly and was adopted shortly after he
arrived at EPONA in 2003, he was recently
returned to the organization because his
owner has Alzheimer’s disease. Guy is
beautiful and sweet, with a mischievous
look in his eye. He is a tenacious nibbler
who will grab for your sweater as soon as
your attention is diverted away from him.
I was thrilled to hear a few weeks after
my return from New England that Guy
has found a new, loving home!
Guy was one of 15 or so horses
EPONA rescued in 2003, when Wyeth
Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Premarin
and similar PMU drugs, cut contracts
with ranchers who supplied the urine.
At the time, EPONA volunteers used
PMURescue.org, UAN’s dedicated Web
site for rescued PMU horses and foals, to
place some of the horses in new homes.
EPONA currently focuses its attention
on abused and neglected horses. But
Nancy Peacock, president of the EPONA
board of directors, told me if they had the
funding, they would readily take more PMU
horses if Wyeth cuts contracts again this
year. Because of a December 2006 study
linking breast cancer to the use of hormone
therapy drugs like Premarin, we expect to
see the use of this drug continue to decline
— and with that decline, an increased need
to rescue more mares and foals.
EPONA is just one of hundreds of
horse rescue organizations in the United
States and Canada trying to help PMU
horses and others who have suffered
from abuse and neglect. To help rescue
organizations like them handle a potential increase of PMU horses at their
facilities, UAN is working hard to promote
PMURescue.org as the best place online
to adopt wonderful PMU horses. We are
also reaching out to other organizations
that do not currently use PMURescue.org
and could take in more PMU horses by
using it as a resource.
Janie Meyer, the treasurer of EPONA,
vividly remembers the Premarin mares she
helped rescue. “They were incredibly well
tempered for what they’d been through,
although some could hardly walk,” she
says. “They were so dependent on us and
seemed ready to absorb every bit of the
new attention and care we could give.
One I remember wouldn’t stop drinking
water when she first came into her new
stall (she had been water-restricted while
on the pee-lines). Many people mistakenly
believe horses are tough because they’re
so big, but they’re not. They’re vulnerable, social beings desperate to be with
others, easily scared and prone to deep
psychological scarring from abuse.”
My visit to EPONA reminded me that,
in addition to the PMU horses UAN has
worked so hard to help, hundreds more
horses are neglected and abused every
day. For example, Thor, Katie and Sue
came from the same place: Their owner,
unable to afford care for three horses,
had brought them to the brink of starvation. Thor is so completely dependent on
Katie, if she is out of view he paces and
whinnies non-stop. Luckily the dedicated
staff and volunteers at EPONA were able
to find a new home where Thor and Katie
could be together. However, Sue, a specialneeds-30-something mare with cataracts,
is still looking for a permanent home.
Prize and Lately, retired racehorses, are
also in need of a sponsor or a permanent
place to retire. Although you’d never guess
by the way they played in the puddles
and rolled in the mud with the new spring
weather, Lately and Prize can never be
ridden again due to leg injuries endured
from racing.
Without rescue organizations like
EPONA, Guy, Thor, Katie, Sue, Lately
and Prize likely would have been processed through one of the few remaining
slaughterhouses in this country and ended
up a gourmet meal on a dinner plate
overseas. (Learn more about the current
state of the horse slaughter industry on
Page 10). I thought of this as Thor, one
of the biggest horses I’d ever seen, tried
to steal our attention by tossing a horse
blanket up in the air. Thor is as gentle as
he is huge and like many rescued animals
I’ve had the pleasure to know, seems to
understand how to take full advantage of
his new good fortune.
B
3. Do not over-react to thin horses.
Body condition can vary due to numerous
factors, such as breed and dominance
status in a herd. Investigators will unlikely
be able to do much unless horses display
very obvious neglect. Horses with more
obvious reportable neglect will have
severely protruding bones.
4. Learn which agency in your community has the anti-cruelty investigatoryarrest powers by visiting www.aspca.org.
5. Contact the person(s) in your
community with this power to find out
what they can or cannot do to help address
the suspected animal neglect or abuse.
6. Contact UAN if a criminal seizure of
many horses or other animals is imminent.
UAN’s Emergency Animal Rescue Service
may be able to help.
ecause UAN is dedicated to bringing animals out of crisis and into
care, we often receive calls from people
concerned about a possibly abused or
neglected horse — like Thor, Katie and
Sue. If you suspect abuse or neglect of
horses or other animals in your community, follow these steps:
1. Do not confront the person(s)
directly with charges of abuse/neglect.
2. Try to discover whether the animal
is newly rescued or if there is another
reason to explain the condition.
OPPOSITE PAGE: Nicole visits with Guy, a Premarin foal rescued in 2003.
ABOVE: Katie with Janie Meyer, Nicole and
Nancy Peacock; Sue; Lately; Nancy and Thor.
Program News
Halting Horse Slaughter
The year 2007 could be a landmark one for ending horse slaughter.
At the time of this publication, incredibly, horse slaughter for human
consumption was not occurring at all in the United States. Though horse
slaughter has been declining for years, from 300,000 horses per year in
the early 1990s to about 100,000 in 2006, this halt provides an important
opportunity to prove that ending slaughter will ultimately improve horse
welfare in the United States.
The road to the end of horse slaughter has been long and complicated:
1949: The Texas legislature passed a
law prohibiting slaughter of horses for
human consumption. Despite the law,
around 1980, two slaughterhouses
opened: French-owned Beltex in Fort
Worth and Belgian-owned Dallas Crown
in Kaufman.
2002: Texas Attorney General John
Cornyn issued an opinion that the 1949
law should be upheld.
2004: A third horse slaughterhouse,
Cavel International in DeKalb, Illinois,
reopened after a 2002 fire. It processed
up to 1,000 horses each week.
2005: A federal bill ended funding for
mandatory inspectors at horse slaughter
facilities. The U.S. Department of
Visit the UAN message boards
at www.uan.org to discuss
horse slaughter.
10 United Animal Nations Spring 2007 Journal
Agriculture (USDA), however, circumvented the ruling and allowed slaughter
facilities to pay for inspectors.
March 2006: City of Kaufman, Texas,
ordered Dallas Crown to shut down due
to public safety, nuisance and environmental concerns. A court battle ensued
that kept the plant operational.
September 2006: U.S. House of
Representatives passed American Horse
Slaughter Prevention Act, a landmark
accomplishment and proof that the
American public does not support this
industry. The Senate adjourned before
considering the bill.
January 2007: Fifth U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals ruled to uphold the 1949
Texas law prohibiting horse slaughter for
human consumption. Within days, both
Texan slaughterhouses ceased operations.
January 2007: U.S. Congresswoman
Janice Schakowsky (D-Illinois) and Senator
Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana) reintroduced
the American Horse Slaughter Prevention
Act in the 110th Congress.
March 2007: A federal district court
declared that the USDA wrongfully
allowed private parties to inspect the
slaughterhouses and ordered the program to cease. Without the inspectors,
the slaughterhouses cannot “process”
any horses. Cavel International ceased
operations. In April, the Illinois
House of Representatives
passed a bill that would ban
horse slaughter in the
state if signed into law.
“Having the slaughterhouse closed has
been a tremendous relief for our town,
but our relief is tinged with anxiety.
America’s horses are not safe until the
federal legislation passes.”
We don’t know how long this respite
from slaughter will last because the
slaughter industry is appealing these
decisions.
The only way to keep the slaughterhouse gates closed for good is to pass
the American Horse Slaughter Prevention
Act. Write, fax or call to ask your U.S.
representative to co-sponsor H.R. 503
and your U.S. senators to co-sponsor
S. 311. Go to www.congress.org to find
your elected officials.
According to Paula Bacon, mayor of
Kaufman, Texas, the town has fought the
presence of Dallas Crown for 27 years.
— Paula Bacon, mayor
Kaufman, Texas
She is thankful the plant is now closed, but
recalls with sadness the last day they were
slaughtering horses. “There was a beautiful white draft horse with a flowing mane
in the kill pen,” she said. “It was apparent
that someone cared for this horse. I’ve
seen horses in there with their manes
carefully brushed and braided – sold at
some horse sale where the owner had no
idea where the horse would end up.”
“Having the slaughterhouse closed has
been a tremendous relief for our town,
but our relief is tinged with anxiety,” she
added. “America’s horses are not safe
until the federal legislation passes.”
UAN staff lobbied on Capitol Hill to encourage Congress to put a
permanent end to horse slaughter.
UAN’s Premarin Awareness Campaign
UAN has actively campaigned to
raise awareness about hormone therapy
drugs like Premarin and Prempro. In the
late 1990s, Premarin was the most commonly prescribed drug in the country,
but few women or doctors knew about the
cruelty involved in making it. The drug’s
name comes from PREgnant MAres’
uRINe, and as the name suggests, mares
are kept continually pregnant and strapped
to urine collection devices for months,
unable to turn around and receiving little
individual care.
Part of what makes the pregnant
mares’ urine (PMU) industry so successful is that the horse ranchers involved
have a profitable incentive to continually
breed horses. Instead of selling them as
companions or working horses, they can
make money faster by selling the horses
to slaughter.
This financial incentive to breed
horses without regard for the effort it
takes to find homes for each offspring
extends into other horse industries —
such as racehorse breeding and the
related nurse mare industry, in which
foals are discarded so their mothers can
nurse a racehorse’s offspring.
Eliminating horse slaughter would
force horse breeders to reconsider their
breeding practices in order to remain
profitable. For the PMU industry, which
has been in decline since studies revealed
that the drugs were dangerous to women,
this economic setback could help this
cruel industry come to its inevitable end
more swiftly, saving countless lives.
Spring 2007 Journal www.uan.org 11
ABC Campaign: A Better Choice for the Animals
Designed to help people make choices in their daily lives to help animals.
Decoding “Humane” Food Labels
Food product labels that read “ free-range,” “cage-free,” “certified humane”
and more sound nice, but what do they really mean? You may be surprised.
Many labels are just marketing strategies to placate the increasingly animalcompassionate consumer; however, a few labels do hold some meaning when
it comes to the animals’ welfare.
UAN’s A Better Choice Program is designed to help you make choices in your
daily life that can benefit animals. To that end, we’ve identified the top three
labels to look for if you are purchasing meat, dairy products or eggs but are
concerned about the treatment of the animals who provided them.
Animal Welfare Approved
Administered by the Animal
Welfare Institute (AWI), this
label has the most stringent
guidelines. It is only issued
to meat that comes from independent
family farms so it may be difficult to find,
but products with this label are the most
humane on the market.
What it means: Animals must be able
to perform natural behaviors, have continuous access to water, outdoor access
and appropriate shelter. They cannot be
overcrowded and must have ample room
for freedom of movement and exercise.
Producers must agree to compliance
visits by AWI or one of its agents.
What’s prohibited: Cages, crates,
tethers, genetic engineering, growth
hormones, antibiotics to encourage rapid
weight gain and/or to compensate for
unsanitary living conditions, feed or
feed supplements containing animal
products or genetically modified organisms (GMOs), tail-docking, debeaking,
detusking of breeding male pigs, sow
crates and hot branding.
For more information, visit
www.awionline.org
Learn More
Want to know more about
these labels and other common
terms like “cage-free,” “freeroaming” and “free-range?”
Visit www.uan.org and go
to our ABC Campaign!
12 United Animal Nations Spring 2007 Journal
Certified Humane
What it means: Animals
have access to clean
and sufficient food and
water, are able to perform
natural behaviors, and have enough
room to move around freely. Chickens are
uncaged inside barns or warehouses
unless they are “free-range.” Dairy cattle
must have a minimum of four hours of
exercise per day. Pork and beef processors
are held to higher standards for slaughtering farm animals than required by the
federal Humane Slaughter Act and must
comply with certain environmental
standards. Third-party inspectors who are
animal welfare experts verify that Certified
Humane producers are in compliance.
What’s prohibited: Cages, crates,
tethers, growth hormones, non-therapeutic
use of antibiotics, restrictive farrowing
crates for sows, and forced molting in
birds through starvation.
What’s allowed: Debeaking (birds)
and tail-docking (pigs). Outdoor access
and natural daylight are not required for
all species.
For more information, visit
www.certifiedhumane.org.
Hokie & Friends
Greetings Caring Animal People (CAPs)!
I’m super excited because summer is almost
here! I’ve been playing outside without my
jacket, chasing squirrels (when my mom isn’t
looking), and digging big holes in her newly
tilled garden bed. I’m sure she appreciates my
soil-turning talents!!!
I just want to make sure you CAPs have
thought about summer safety for your pets.
Here are some key questions to ask yourself:
ABOVE: Most egg-laying hens live in restrictive “battery cages.”
LEFT: These hens UAN rescued from
a factory farm in August, 2005 now
live at a sanctuary. •Are your pets current on heartworm and flea preventive? Mosquitoes
and other pests will be out in full force soon.
•Do you check the water bowl every day to make sure it is full and clean?
•Do you keep fertilizers and other dangerous chemicals out of our path?
•Are you aware of what plants in your garden could be toxic to us?
Get a comprehensive list on our Web site at www.uan.org
Free Farmed Certified
What it means: This label is
not as comprehensive as the
previous two but does guarantee that the animals have
access to adequate food and
water, are able to perform
natural behaviors, are not overcrowded
and have freedom of movement. While
100 percent compliance is required to be
certified, minor violations found during
the initial inspection do not necessarily
disqualify the producer. Approved producers are given the opportunity to correct
any violations and may be suspended
for non-compliance.
What’s prohibited: Crates, cages,
tethers, use of hormones and non-therapeutic antibiotics.
What’s allowed: Debeaking, taildocking and sow crates. Outdoor access
is not required.
For more information, visit
www.americanhumane.org.
•Have you vowed never to leave us in the car while you run errands?
Parked cars just become too hot, too quickly! What if your errand takes
longer than the “minute” you planned for? Dogs like me can suffer
brain damage, and even death, within minutes.
•Do you limit exercise of elderly dogs or those
with a thick coat or a short snout to the
morning or evening hours? If they like water,
give them a tub to soak in. Check out how
my new pen pal, Bailey, one of our LifeLine
Grant recipients, does it!
•Will you make sure we are in a secure
place during barbecues, especially on the
Fourth of July? Sometimes people get
careless about closing doors and gates
while they’re celebrating, and some of
us are terrified by your fireworks rituals.
Hokie’s
pal Bail
ey cools
off.
•Lastly, have you made an emergency plan that includes us pets?
Summer is peak season for fires, hurricanes and other natural disasters.
Visit www.uan.org for tips and to order disaster kit supplies.
If you have any other suggestions, please write to me at [email protected].
I love pen pals!
Wishing you a CAPpy, healthy summer,
Read previous Hokie columns on the
message boards at www.uan.org.
— Hokie
Spring 2007 Journal www.uan.org 13
PMURescue.org surpasses
2,000 adoptions
S
ince UAN established PMURescue.org in
2003, the site has connected more than
2,100 horses with new homes, and new lives.
These horses were once
part of the industry that
uses pregnant mares’
urine (PMU) to manufacture hormone drugs for
women. The horses used
in this industry are often
at great risk for slaughter
when they are no longer
productive…and the risk
is even higher for their
byproduct foals.
Many unwanted PMU foals end up at
livestock auctions where “killer buyers” purchase
them to be slaughtered and sold to restaurants
and butcher shops in Europe and Asia.
Dudley was one of those foals. He was awaiting his fate at a PMU auction when a rescuer
bought him and posted him on PMURescue.org.
His adopter, Beatrice, says, “PMU horses are
some of the most wonderful horses out there!”
Beatrice has told her friends about her adoption
experience, hopefully encouraging more people
to save a life by giving a second chance to a
rescued PMU horse or foal.
You can help us save another 2,100 lives
on PMURescue.org by telling your horse-loving
friends, too! View hundreds of adoptable horses
online right now at www.PMURescue.org.
Interested in adopting a PMU horse of your own?
Visit www.PMURescue.org today!
(916) 429-2457 •
www.uan.org
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