[onthebit12000]

Photo's of the horses may be viewed online here
http://www.saplonline.org/news/texarkana.htm

WARNING...THE PHOTO'S ARE EXTREMELY GRAPHIC.

For Immediate Release
MAN HAULING HORSES TO SLAUGHTER CHARGED
WITH ANIMAL CRUELTY

Badly beaten, abused horses stopped in Arkansas
Congress to act on bill to stop horse slaughter in September...


(August 10, 2006) - Just days after a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives tried to kill legislation aimed at curtailing commercial horse slaughter in the United States, a Mississippi man hauling 19 horses to a Texas slaughterhouse has been charged with animal cruelty involving horses in Arkansas.

Bryan Morgan of Belmont, MS was charged with five counts of animal cruelty under Arkansas state law in Texarkana this week after eyewitness testimony, photographs and video showed 19 horses being transported in a single trailer to the BelTex slaughterhouse in Fort Worth were badly injured and abused.

"This only further demonstrates the immediate need for my legislation to be passed and signed into law,” said Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY), who with Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) and Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) is leading the fight to outlaw horse slaughter. “This is a perfect example of why I am so committed to seeing an end to this brutal practice as quickly as possible."

Although it is what one congressional witness, Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens, called “America’s dirty little secret,” some 90,000 horses are hauled to three U.S. slaughterhouses in Texas and Illinois each year and butchered for human consumption, with the meat exported to Europe and Asia and sold as a delicacy in high end restaurants.

“If there were any doubt that the horse slaughter industry leads to cruelty and abuse of horses, this erases it with graphic reality,” said Chris Heyde, deputy legislative director of the Society for Animal Protective Legislation (SAPL), based in Washington, D.C. The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503) is scheduled to be voted on by the House of Representatives in early September.

In the Arkansas case, Morgan picked up the horses in Mississippi and was driving to Fort Worth when the trailer he was pulling blew two tires and forced him to stop in Texarkana for repairs. Employees at the shop called local police after noticing several horses had abrasions and marks across their faces and bodies, including one with facial gashes and swollen eyes.

“It looked like someone took a baseball bat and beat the hell out of the horse,” said Greg Fett, manager of GCR Tires in Texarkana.

Twenty citations for animal cruelty were initially written by local police, after which Morgan was allowed to drive the horses on to the slaughterhouse. This incident illustrates how woefully inadequate the regulations of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are in ensuring the humane treatment of horses being transported to slaughter facilities.

“The local police in Texarkana were particularly diligent in this situation,” said SAPL legal counsel Tracy Silverman. “Often we just never hear about these cases and thankfully responsible citizens alerted authorities to the severely injured animals.”

At a hearing before the House Agriculture Committee on July 28, Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) condemned the legislation that would stop commercial horse slaughter as an unwarranted intrusion on the rights of horse owners. The committee allowed the bill to go to the House floor for a vote, but only after deriding it as unnecessary and unfair to horse owners.

SAPL will assist in the prosecution of Morgan and is filing a formal complaint with the USDA against Robbie Solomon of Belmont, MS, the owner and shipper of the horses, for violating several federal regulations regarding the commercial transportation of horses to slaughter.

///

For More Information or Photos Contact:
Alex Howe, Fenton Communications (202) 822-5200
Chris Heyde, SAPL Deputy Legislative Director (703) 836-4300

The Society for Animal Protective Legislation, the Animal Welfare Institute's legislative arm, is the unsurpassed leader in obtaining laws to benefit animals in need, including the protection of domestic and wild horses. More information is available at http://www.saplonline.org/horses.htm

[summerhorse]

Great big atta boys to the workers at the shop. Too many would look the other way or think nothing of it.

[philosoraptor]

I'm glad we can trust these hardworking folks (the haulers and brokers) to obey existing cruelty laws and handle their cargo with respect.... not!

Further proof the system isn't working and that the slaughter system is not a humane process.

I have to admit I'm shocked they even pressed charges. The usual way to get off the hook from crimminal charges is to claim they were injured "beforehand" and the hauler is just taking them somewhere they'll be put down.

Is there no limit to what cruelty people can do in the name of earning a living?

[summerhorse]

Sadly, no...

[luvmytbs]

Great News!!!!!!

Now they need to go after the USDA inspector and the vet who decided these horses were o.k.!

Neither of them would be on my payroll any longer!

[onthebit12000]

Initially Texarkana police had dropped the charges because USDA and a local VET stated that the horses were going to slaughter and would be dead in a few hours anyway! They deemed the horses "fit to travel" so all were reloaded and travelled the remainder of the journey to Beltex.

We have been working with Texarkana police for the past 2 weeks on this case, and all have concurred that the evidence warranted local cruelty charges to be reinstated, despite USDA's attempts to cover this up. We have also filed a formal complaint with USDA for several violations of federal humane transport laws.

Gail

[summerhorse]

Don't you love it? It's OK to abuse them because we're gonna kill'em tomorrow anyway. Jeesh...

[luvmytbs]

We have also filed a formal complaint with USDA for several violations of federal humane transport laws.

Gail

You go girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Daydream Believer]

Wow, I am so glad to hear this guy is being prosecuted! It is so hard to look at the horses in the pics knowing that they are now dead and probably served to some foreigner for dinner....with that consumer probably quite unaware of the horror that their last days were filled with. That poor horse with the beaten face has his ears back and just looks so miserable and in such pain. It's very obvious that existing laws to protect horses during transport are not being enforced and are not even taken seriously by the people charged with enforcing them. What a disgrace that they turned and looked the other way after deciding that "they'll be dead anyway soon." I also hope the vet and the USDA are also both punished for their conduct.

Thank You Gail for your efforts.

[drifter05]

Sweet Jesus....What is wrong with people!!

[A Splash of Color]

Way to go, Gail!!

[DressageGeek "Ribbon Ho"]

Initially Texarkana police had dropped the charges because USDA and a local VET stated that the horses were going to slaughter and would be dead in a few hours anyway! They deemed the horses "fit to travel" so all were reloaded and travelled the remainder of the journey to Beltex.

Gail

I find this extremely upsetting. I invoke the Massive Explosive Diahreaa Curse on that vet, and may he be transported across several state lines in an overcrowded truck with similarly cursed individuals. And may they not be rescued.

[philosoraptor]

we have been working with Texarkana police for the past 2 weeks on this case, and all have concurred that the evidence warranted local cruelty charges to be reinstated, despite USDA's attempts to cover this up. We have also filed a formal complaint with USDA for several violations of federal humane transport laws.

Can I make a suggestion? Contact these people: Animal Legal Defense Fund They can hook you up with the legal counsel & resources to push for prosecution.

Is there something we in other states can do? I'm not sure they'd pay attention to a letter writing campaign if it's from out-of-state (i.e. not voters).

[17handtb]

THANK YOU, Gail, for refusing to let this be swept under the rug...as those who perpetrated it clearly wanted (and no doubt expected) it to be.

[onthebit12000]

I find this extremely upsetting. I invoke the Massive Explosive Diahreaa Curse on that vet, and may he be transported across several state lines in an overcrowded truck with similarly cursed individuals. And may they not be rescued.

Thank you!! I was hoping someone would do that!

There is still a long way to go for justice to be served in this case, but rest assured, we will NOT let this horrific act of cruelty go unnoticed nor unpunished. The authorities involved in this case from Texarkana, AR should be commended for reinstating the charges. Lets just say that they were mislead by "others" into believing that they had no jurisdiction.

There is a LOT more to this case. This is only the tip of the iceburg...there were several other horribly injured horses on this load..two of which had similarly severe head injuries as the bay horse in the photo.

Just sickening.

[LessIsMore17]

I think I'm going to be sick. I hate people

[shmeg<33]

I think I'm going to be sick. I hate people

sameee

[JumpingPaints]

It saddens me that the *only* reason the people responsible were caught was because the driver had to stop in a public place for repairs. How many other horses in transport to slaughter are treated like this and are never seen and reported??? It just reinforces for me that it would be impossible to ever ensure humane transportation to slaughter.

Good job Gail.

[ShowMeTheGlory]

Ok, that pic just PISSES me off! What a f**kin' a**hole!!!!!!

[onthebit12000]

It saddens me that the *only* reason the people responsible were caught was because the driver had to stop in a public place for repairs. How many other horses in transport to slaughter are treated like this and are never seen and reported??? It just reinforces for me that it would be impossible to ever ensure humane transportation to slaughter.

Good job Gail.

Precisely JP...they were only caught because he had the blowout. Even then, because a so-called USDA rep and a Vet said that they were "slaughter horses" they were LET GO!!! It is only because we followed up with the local police and aprised them of the LAWS regarding humane transport that this case is now re-opened! The so-called horse slaughter authorities involved in this either didnt know the laws themselves or lied in order to get the horses reloaded and off to Beltex.

There is soooooooooo much more to this case. As soon as Im cleared to divulge more, I promise I will.

Please take a moment to thank Texarkana Officer Chris Rankin for his due diligence on this case! He is a wonderful man and a superior law enforcement officer.. rankin@txkusa.org

Also, please send a little note thanking the wonderful people at ARTEX who work so very hard each and every day to help all animals in need. ARTEX President Dixie Wilson is an absolute angel! They sure could use our support!

Website: www.artexanimalwelfare.com

email: artexanimalwelfare@artexanimalwelfare.com