How would you like another usless, unenforceable, high cost to horse owners law?
Jane Flaspholer is seeking signatures to have the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1821-1831) amended to make it illegal to transport "sick horses" across state lines. She, of course, has no plan for "enforcement".
Get Real, Jane! We already have a law banning the transport of a horse across state lines without a Coggins test. Who's enforcing that law? You can cross virtually any state line and never get asked for a Coggins certificate...and if you do, no one looks at the horse to make sure the horse being transported is the horse it is supposed to be. No one at horse shows checks on your horse...they just ask for current Coggins...which is about as useless as anything I can think of...a Coggins taken today means the horse didn't have EIA within 15 minutes of the time blood was drawn...but the Coggins is good for six months to a year; the horse could be infected (not likely) for a year and be getting a free pass on the Coggins cert. Get Real!...the Coggins test and the whole "fight to stop EIA" is just a money maker for veterinarians and governmental agencies.
Jane and anyone who wants to stop sick horses from coming into "public" places or crossing state lines... need to ask to have the horse's temperature taken. If the horse has no temp, he isn't sick at that moment and he isn't going to spread EIA. The Coggins test means nothing, the health certificate means nothing.
You want some meaningful change?...ask public facilities to request the horse's temp be taken...you want to protect yourself...don't accept a horse until after you take its temperature.
The last thing we need is another silly regulation which will do no good whatsoever!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Well so much for me taking classes from you Mr. Blazer. I want my money back.
ReplyDeleteInstead of criticizing someone who is taking action and trying to call attention to some of the problems facing responsible horse owners today maybe you could use your time more productively by becoming an activist yourself. I see you made a suggestion for a solution to this problem. Have you, yourself acted on that suggestion? If you are not willing to become an active part of the solution then you are part of the problem. Blogging and complaining about how others did not solve the problem correctly does not qualify as a activism.
Apparently you did not read my entire petition. I do have a plan to enforce these laws.
ReplyDeleteIf there is NO law requiring state officials, show management, horse registries, vets and owners to REPORT the sick horses they see at the shows there is nothing to enforce. The show management and state officials were made aware that the horse did have a temperature and was sick but because by law they are NOT REQUIRED to act on this information nothing was done. Each agency just passed the buck to the next person in line. If you have laws that require these officials to report what they see or face penalties and fines it can be VERY motivating.
Jane: would be happy to see what your plan for enforcement is...and where the budget and manpower is going to come from.
ReplyDeleteYour suggestion for a solution to this problem was:
ReplyDelete"You want some meaningful change?...ask public
facilities to request the horse's temp be taken"
I would be happy to see what your plan for enforcement is for your solution and where the budget and manpower going to come from?
The other day I was at the store with my six year old. As we were leaving a car went by rather fast and splashed water on her. "There ought to be a law against that!" she cried. Later on the way home we saw a cow out in the rain with no shelter. "There ought to be a law against that, it's cruel!" she cried again. I understand her feelings, but expecting a law or the government to control everything and protect us against ourselves in every way possible, is the mentality of a child. Paul Harvey use to always say, "With freedom, comes responsibility". I'll bet that one of Don's classes talks about seperating new horses from the rest for a certrain period of time when they are first introduced. Especially if they come through a sale barn. Laws don't protect us, they simply make an act illegal.
ReplyDeleteI would like to comment on your statement,"Laws don't protect us, they simply make an act illegal.
ReplyDeleteDog fighting is illegal in the United States. It still goes on every day in the United States. If there were no laws against it Michael Vick would still have a dog training facility for dog fighting on his property. Responsible horse owners vaccinate their horses and separate them after a show. What about the foal that was not properly cared for and brought very ill to the show? Who protects him? Who protects the other horses at the show exposed to the his illness? Everyone turned their heads and said it is not my problem. Responsibility for oneself and community works for me. Every man for himself mentality does not work for me. It breeds apathy in a society already not willing to, "get involved" or blame societies' ills on the government.
Your right, I agree, of course. Their should be a law to protect that foal from being brought to a show or sale sick. I also think their should be a law to keep that foal from getting sick in the first place, after all, we care about the foal whether it is at a show or at home. Their should be a law so that the irrisponsible owner will properly vaccinate all his foals. Their should also be a law so he deworms them, after all, ascarid contamination in a foal can be devestating. I think their should also be a law to force the owner to give proper foot care. Have you ever seen a foals feet after months of neglect? I think that sick foal came from a urine soaked manure filled poorly ventalated stall, so their should be a law to force owners to clean stalls properly, and to supply correct airflow to protect their lungs. He also needs proper nutrition, so how about a law that owners purchase good ballanced rations rather than straight oats? YaDa YaDa YaDa
ReplyDeleteI find it odd that you will not publish the articles I found written by Scott Weese? Scott Weese is an associate professor of pathobiology at the University of Guelph, in Ontario.
ReplyDeleteOne about a horse's body temperature below:
www.equidblog.com/tags/body-temperature/
The other about keeping your horse disease free at horse shows:
www.equidblog.com/tags/horse-shows/
Thank you.
ReplyDelete