Horse Tips

July 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1993:

Prairie Bayou, the pre-race favorite in the

June 5 Belmont Stakes, suffered a shattered foreleg

while running 11th in the backstretch among a field of

13––an indication of exhaustion or injury––and was eutha-

nized half an hour later. Prairie Bayou placed second in

the Kentucky Derby five weeks earlier, and won the

Preakness Stakes two weeks earlier as another top-ranked

horse, Union City, collapsed and was destroyed due to

similar fractures. The loss of the horses drew attention to

the theories of several experts about horse racing injuries.

Veterinarian James Rooney of the Maxwell H. Gluck

Equine Center in Lexington, Kentucky, argued that the

back-to-back collapses of Prairie Bayou and Union City

were, “Pure bloody coincidence,” claiming that only 2%

of North American races result in fatal breakdowns––but

that would still mean the deaths of 1,600 horses a year.

Estrogen therapy fills horsemeat slaughterhouses

July 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1993:

BRANDON, Manitoba––Two new reports from

the Canadian Farm Animal Care Trust affirm that the fast-

growing estrogen drug market is driving the equally fast

expanding Canadian horsemeat export trade––as ANIMAL

PEOPLE reported in April, based in part on earlier CAN-

FACT publications.

The Manitoba Animal Rights Coalition is asking

other animal protection groups to join it in an international

campaign to publicize the source of the increasingly popular

“natural” estrogen replacement drug Premarine: PMU, the

urine of catheterized pregnant mares, who are kept standing

in barns from September to April of each year. This is the

peak period for equine estrogen yield, coming in the fourth

through tenth months of the mares’ 11-month gestation

cycle. Draft breeds are preferred because of their placid

nature and greater capacity for producing urine.

Cats & Dogs

July 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1993:

The older men who get the most emotional benefit

from keeping pets are those who have the least free time, the most

difficulties in personal relationships, and the most financial trouble,

according to a newly published study by Ohio State University psy-

chology professor Sara Staats––whereas the women who derive the

most satisfaction from pets are those with the most free time and

the most satisfactory relationships with other people. Staats’ data

came from a survey of 250 people over age 50. The findings appar-

ently reflect the role of pet as family member for women, contrast-

ed with the role of pet as surrogate for family among many men.

Further gains against pet overpopulation

July 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1993:

Continuing to refine the data on pound and shelter admissions and

euthanasias as more complete state statistics become available, Phil Arkow of the

Humane Society of Pike’s Peak has revised his estimate of the current U.S. euthanasia

toll, reported here in June, upward slightly to 5.7 million dogs and cats per year. This is

still the lowest total ever discovered––and reflects the most thorough research. Arkow’s

estimate is based on the 1991 totals, the most recent available in most instances, from

California (717,000); Colorado (69,766); Iowa (48,653); Massachusetts (79,500);

Maryland (90,000); New Jersey (75,263); Oregon (79,713); Texas (597,591); and

Washington (109,274). Together, these nine states include more than a third of the U.S.

human population, and are demographically almost identical to the U.S. as a whole.

Animal Control & Rescue

July 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1993:

New Hampshire has followed

New Jersey and Connecticut in establish-

ing a statewide low-cost neutering pro-

gram. The New Hampshire program, man-

aged by the state department of agriculture

and funded by a $2.00 surcharge on dog

licenses, will subsidize neutering animals

adopted from shelters and those belonging

to people of low income.

The percentage of purebreds

among dogs received by pounds and shel-

ters appears to be edging up, e.g. from 22%

in 1991 to 25% in 1992 at the SPCA of

Monterey County, California, which keeps

some of the most comprehensive records on

purebreds. Other shelters claim to be

receiving as many as 30% purebreds. The

percentage may be up simply because total

admissions are generally down while the

number of dogs surrendered by owners is

holding even, and owned dogs are more

likely to be purebred.

WOOFS AND GROWLS

July 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1993:

USDA-licensed Class B animal dealer Noel

Leach of Chase City, Virginia, facing disciplinary action

for 46 alleged violations of the Animal Welfare Act, sued

Friends of Animals on May 24 for purportedly defaming

his character and interfering with his business relation-

ships in connection with bringing many of the alleged vio-

lations to the USDA’s attention. Leach claims FoA under-

cover investigators trespassed on his property while gath-

ering evidence. FoA attorney Herman Kaufman respond-

ed to the suit with a request for dismissal, pointing out

that the action is based on an alleged tort in 1990 for

which the statute of limitations is just two years, and that

the statute of limitations in defamation cases in Virginia,

where the suit was filed, is only one year. Well known to

USDA inspectors, Leach was rapped for six previous

AWA violations in 1983. His primary business is selling

dogs and cats to research labs and dissection supply firms.

Who’s in charge at the National Humane Education Society? FOUNDER, 83, TAKES NO PAY; FUNDRAISER TAKES $512,909

July 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1993:

LEESBURG, Virginia––The history of the

National Humane Education Society is in microcosm the

history of the humane movement in the 20th century––and

perhaps that’s the problem.

Financially struggling for 37 years, NHES con-

tracted with the fundraising firm Steve Cram and Associates

in July 1986. Tear-jerking direct mail campaigns increased

revenue from $852,007 in fiscal year 1986 to $2,230,076 in

fiscal year 1990: almost a three-fold jump. The growth in

revenue enabled the three NHES no-kill shelters to more

than double the number of animals in their care, from circa

300 to the present 800. But expenses in connection with

fundraising have claimed an increasingly large share of the

income: 39% in 1990, and as much as 52% in fiscal year

1992.

Performing Animals

July 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1993:

Anti-cruelty laws in most states do apply to ani-

mals at state and county fairs, carnivals, and circus,

reminds Vermont Volunteer Services for Animals humane

officer Sue Skaskiw. If you see cruelty, including live ani-

mals being offered as prizes, report it.

Christopher Ponte, 22, of Wappingers Falls,

New York, climbed a four-foot-high plastic fence at the

Fishkill Mall in nearby Fishkill on June 6 to get into an

enclosure with 10 elephants belonging to the Clyde Beatty-

Cole Brothers Circus. He was crushed to death when one of

the elephants turned, pinning him against a truck.

At least two pig-racing concessions are on the

county fair circuit this summer––Triple W Racing Pigs, run

by Wanda, Rachel, and Gene Webber of Shelby, North

Carolina, and Bob Hale Pig Racing Stables of Sikeston,

Missouri.

Habitat

July 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1993:

Eighty percent of the remaining old growth

forest in the Pacific Northwest would be protected from

logging under a plan to protect endangered spotted owls

and salmon runs unveiled July 2 by President Bill Clinton

in response to rulings by Federal District Judge William

Dwyer of Seattle that have restricted logging for nearly

three years. During the halt, the logging workforce has

declined from 145,000 to 125,000. The protected zones

would run along watersheds. Loggers would be allowed

to cut about 1.2 billion board feet of old growth per year

in less sensitive areas, down from five billion board feet

in the mid-1980s. While most of the plan does not

require Congressional approval, it must be ratified by

Dwyer before any old growth logging on the land covered

by his decisions can resume. Dwyer’s decision, based on

the provisions of the Endangered Species Act, is due in

mid-July. The Clinton plan, drafted with heavy input

from Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, drew immediate

flak from House Speaker Thomas Foley, who indicated

he might cross party lines in an attempt to gut the ESA

when it comes up later this year for renewal.

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