European Union Bans American Horsemeat

Europeans focus on food safety issue: no more poisoned American Horse Meat

August 6, 2009 -- Hitchcock, Texas -- For decades, the gourmet diners of Europe and Japan have eaten American horse meat poisoned by chemical contamination. The horse flesh exporting by unscrupulous producers and horse slaughter plants will come to an end in April of 2010. The new rules enacted by the European Union will mandate chemical free horse meat entering those countries.

American horses are routinely given powerful chemicals prohibited for human consumption such as wormers, Phenylbutazone (Bute), and a host of other deadly medications which are life giving to a horse but cause serious medical issues when ingested by humans. Like DDT, banned for similar reasons, some of these compounds such as Bute remain in a horse's body long after administered. Studies indicate medical issues such as birth defects, anemia, and cancer are brought on when these dangerous chemicals are consumed by humans.

The ban was quietly announced by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in late July. It quickly exploded across the Internet as news of it made its way to anti-slaughter websites and finally to mainstream equine media worldwide. With the new ban in place, the slaughter of horses exposed to these drugs will stop and the production of commercially available horse meat will grind to a halt.

“We have known of the dangers of chemicals in American horsemeat for years, but our warnings have often fallen on deaf ears,” said Jerry Finch, founder of Habitat for Horses, the nation’s largest all breed equine rescue organization.

“Thankfully, agencies in the European Union responsible for health safety realized that there is virtually no testing for dangerous chemicals in American horses being sold for food,” he said. “Foreign governments will inadvertently bring the slaughter of American horses to a halt while the American government, with their failure to pass legislation, has simply ignored the health of the European people.”

Finch says that the same EU rules will halt the export of American horses slaughtered in Mexico for European consumption.

Habitat for Horses (HfH) is a not-for-profit equine protection agency committed to the prevention, rescue and rehabilitation of neglected and abused horses. The largest organization of its kind in North America, HfH operates a rehabilitation ranch in Hitchcock, Texas, as well as a growing network of foster homes throughout the United States.

Contact: Valerie Kennedy, Director of Public Relations, Habitat for Horses, Inc,

312-371-4933

From R.T. Fitch - Thank you...

Congrats Angel Acres
Please see below our Habitat for Horses perspective on our direction as posted to our boards.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Journey through ZooTooPhew...it's been a long a dusty ride; it's rained, there's been hail, the wind has blown and I even lost my hat but we never wavered, we stuck together and we are getting ever closer to our destination.

Boy; we have had a few laughs, shared some interesting stories around the campfire, taken goofy pictures and built relationships that will last a life time. The best trail ride I have ever been on. We have seen people ride up out of the posse and take the lead, folks we never thought of as trail bosses, before, but they were there, right up front leading us onward with their steely gaze forever fixed on the future and their reins firmly grasped within their hands.

It was a metamorphosis that was a wonder to behold, even the horses took note.But we are at a fork in the trail, we thought we were supposed to go one way, but through several twists and turns we now know the exact direction that we must go...and in making that turn, we further help the horses.

The direction that we are heading is towards Angel Acres Horse Haven, they need our help and we promised to give it to them. They pledged their loyalty to us, and we now return the favor and head off down the trail to help them. We do it because we are one in our mission, our call and our love.

We pick up the speed of our ride as the horses feel the thrill, the excitement of being recognized, of being in the lime light, of having hope.As we near Angel Acres ranch, we brandish our cell phones in one hand while we clutch our reins in the other...it's time for the Habitat for Horses Posse to call for help, we need to bring in the troops, we must circle the wagons.

Only as a unified team can we ensure that Angel Acres reaches out and grasps that ZooToo golden equine ring of hope and as lovers of the horse's spirit we will bear them on our backs to ensure that they win because that, my friends, is what selfless rescue is all about...and "that" is what we are all about."GO ANGEL ACRES!"...we will help you make it so!

Giddy-up and ride hard, my friends, the horses are depending on us!!!!R.T.

R.T. FitchAuthor -
"Straight from the Horse's Heart"
The Force of the Horse®, LLC
1-800-974-FOTH
www.rtfitch.com
www.habitatforhorses.org
www.equinewelfarealliance.org

Habitat For Horses & Angel Acres!

As many of you know Angel Acres and Habitat For Horses have each made it to the Top 20 in the zootoo.com makeover contest. We (HfH and AAHHR) are hoping that we each make it to the top 10...imagine what good we could do to raise awareness about horse slaughter and other issues! But, if only one of us makes it, and the other doesn't, each will have the others 100% support...including my happy dance, if need be! LOL!

But, I wanted to share a conversation that is happening right now on the zootoo.com web site...read on...some folks (am referring to Sissi V who started the conversation)...just don't understand working together for a single cause...together we can move mountains, alone, we will stagnate and fail...

Fron the zootoo.com web site in the Habitat For Horses Fan Club:

ZOOTOO PLACEMENT
First let me say that in no way, shape, or form do I want to diminish any of the wonderful work Angel Acres Horse Haven Rescue does, but I am just really wondering how a tiny organization like this could end up in 14th place? Somebody must have been online 24/7. They currently have EIGHT available horses listed for adoption. Their name was mentioned in an article on "The Horse.com" on 3/17/09.
Started by SISSI V. (sissiv) 1 day ago


1st reply...
Hi,Thank you for your post and your wonderful complement! We actually have 30 horses in the program and work across the nation to help horses. We are members, as is Habitat For Horses, of the Homes For Horses Coalition (I am a steering committee member) and strive to raise awareness about horse slaughter and the need for owner responsibility.

We are blessed to have a very dedicated group of supporters who worked so hard to land us in the 12th position (not 14th). Also, we have been at it since DAY 1 and have recruited people quite literally, daily.We have several remote facilities and take our time placing horses, many of which never make it to web site are adopted before we have a chance to list them.JoAngel Acres Horse Haven Rescue
Flag this Reply

by Jo D. (angelacreshorsehaven)
on Mar 20, 2009 at 6:34pm
I also just checked...oddly enough...we both have 519 affiliattes!! HOW CRAZY IS THAT?!?!
Flag this Reply

by RemarkablySpecial
on Mar 20, 2009 at 6:48pm
You may not have intended for your statement to diminish or cause harm to Angel Acres, but it certainly seems to imply that the supports of this rescue where some how less than honest.<>As you can probably guess our family adopted a horse from Angel Acres in October of 2006 and we have been faithful supporters, reading the news letters, sending Jo Deibel photos and up dates, donating money and even going to the Maryland State Fair (we live in NJ) to support them.
Flag this Reply

by RemarkablySpecial
on Mar 20, 2009 at 6:55pm
I'll confess (Jo close your eyes or you'll never speak to me again) that while I joined Zootoo.com to help Angel Acres, it was a while before I actually started posting. Once my daughter figured out how to work things, I posted every day, usually earning the maximum number of points possible for that day.

When I posted I tried to make intelligent comments, offer advice from personal experience, add quality photos & videos, reviewed only items and businesses that I was truly familiar with and in my journal entries I tried to be both educational and entertaining. I often posted more photos and videos (and continue to do so) than I was able to receive points for, because I wanted to be an active member of Zootoo and not just participate during the contest. While I wasn't on 24/7 (I am a busy person) I did make it a priority. Had Angel Acres not been involved in the contest I would have supported a different horse rescue because it's so hard for us to compete with the dog/cat rescues.
Flag this Reply

by R.T. F. (rtfitch)
on Mar 21, 2009 at 12:40am
Hi Sissi;As in all volunteer organizations, there may be great numbers of members but there is always a handful that work the issue 24/7. Be it a church, a PTA or your local High School Band, there is a "nut", core of people who sweat blood and make things happen.

That's okay as some people belong and pay membership fees to support the org...that's good...some join to learn more about the main topic of interest of the org...sem problema...and the list continues, but there are some who join to make a difference, to take a stand and to leave a legacy which will long outlive their membership. It does not take many people with that sort of drive to make a difference.

It's not about numbers, it is about commitment...and both of these horse rescues have people with that level drive, otherwise, neither of us would be where we are.R.T.
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by Jerry F. (jfinch)
on Mar 21, 2009 at 8:24pm
Angel Acres is driven by Jo, who is perhaps even more committed to making this world better for horses than am I, and I am committed to this cause completely. The Homes for Horses Coalition's basic premise is working together, side by side, be it starvation cases, race track rejects or fighting the slaughter of horses.

If both of us make it into the top ten, we'll do battle with the numbers and we'll have fun doing it, but if only one of us makes it, the other will support the top ten winner 100%. What they do is just as important as what HfH does. Be it 30 horses, 300 horses or just one horse, a horse's life has been saved and given another chance.

That's the true bottom line. I seriously hope both of us make it into the Top Ten because it will draw attention to the horses, to the starvation and cruelty, to the slaughter issue and to the efforts of both our organizations to educate and responsible horse ownership.
Flag this Reply



by Jo D. (angelacreshorsehaven)
on Mar 21, 2009 at 11:11pm
Thank you Jerry for your wonderful post. I think that HfH is truly a fabulous group! If HfH is in the Top 10, you will have all of the Angel Acres gang voting for you, lookout... we can get rowdy!! lolI truly hope that both of us make it, we can do so much together to raise awareness to help the horses, and have a blast doing it!Here's to seeing you Las Vegas!Thank you so much, truly from the bottom of my heart,Jo :o)

Habitat For Horses Needs Help!

Hi Everyone...below is our newsletter for this week...we are keeping Jerry and everyone at Habitat For Horses in our thoughts and prayers. Hugs from all of us at Angel Acres to everyone at HFH!


Angel Acres Horse Haven Rescue, Inc.
Press Release
Habitat For Horses Needs Our Help...

Change of Plans...

Today was going to be our newsletter announcing the opening of our shoe store. But we just got word in from Fran Burns, our fundraising director, about the destruction of the shelters (among other things) and the loss of the hay at fellow horse rescue facility, Habitat For Horses.

They are located in Texas and the rescue was destroyed by Hurricane Ike and they are in desperate need of donations. I spoke with Jerry Finch just a few moments ago and he said the horses made it through the storm ok, the ranch however, did not.

To view the story click here or copy and paste the url below into your browser:

http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001wQqRFNr8RDs-7DX-LO1yfHpAmybXbR4dhvOHYPE0n824SasdrY1XyyZpudyzXnbusE1lkXzv9dTF4cHnu1GhuZ4XgfU6xSfaNOECLFGueNur77XoXSm5fcc2p21Le5oB-s4kTCgWH1WM2Nj14W8vZw==

Our Angel Acres readers are a fabulous group of people, so who better to spread the word about the need for help for at Habitat for Horses than our readers?

HFH does an outstanding job and are a wonderful organization with a fabulous group of volunteers!

Thank you,

Jo Deibel
Angel Acres Horse Haven Rescue, Inc.