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sitaangelWASHINGTON
Whitfield-Jockeys
Washington (AP) When U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield took the reins of an investigations subcommittee in the House this year, he turned his sights to a key issue of his home state, horse racing.
Before the year is out, the Republican from Hopkinsville said he plans to hold a hearing that will shed light on practices of The Jockeys' Guild, potentially helping jockeys secure better health insurance and resolving an issue that has affected tracks in the past year.
Whitfield began looking into the Guild after reading reports that it had not renewed an accident insurance policy for riders in 2002, leaving some jockeys without coverage.
Guild spokesman Eric Banks said the group notified members after allowing the pricey policy to lapse, and believes race tracks should be responsible for developing a solution.
Jockeys, like boxers, are usually contract workers who don't receive the type of benefits that many athletes get through teams or unions, Banks said.
After riders argued the $100,000 coverage that race tracks provided wasn't enough to cover catastrophic falls, Kentucky's thoroughbred tracks agreed earlier this year to increase on-track coverage temporarily to $1 million.
Five states offer workers' compensation for jockeys, and some private organizations have chipped in. But Whitfield said federal regulation may be the only way to standardize a hodgepodge of efforts.
"It's kind of nebulous who's really responsible for the coverage and what benefits are being administered," he said. "It's sort of a Byzantine, archaic type of system from my perspective."
Whitfield calls jockeys' coverage a health care issue, but his affinity for horses is clear. He has three small tracks in his district, and his wife, Connie, is on the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority.
A framed photo of 1986 Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand sits on a table in his congressional office, mid-stride in a blitz across the finish line. The horse is believed to have been slaughtered in Japan in 2002.
Whitfield even has a connection to Ferdinand, he owns one mare sired by Ferdinand and co-owns a second. The congressman has been a dogged proponent of banning horse slaughter in the U.S. for human consumption.
On the jockeys' coverage issue, Whitfield said he has "not received total cooperation" from The Jockeys' Guild president Wayne Gertmenian.
Banks, however, said the Guild "supplied all the relevant information and documents that we could as quickly as possible," and "is in the process of complying with everything he requested."
The congressman has also asked for input from race tracks, and organizations such as the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.
Whitfield is not the only one interested in the issue. A panel assembled by the NTRA came out with a series of recommendations, which includes asking jockeys to chip in to bring coverage back up to 2002 levels _ after riders' injuries "brought these issues bubbling to the surface," said Keith Chamblin, an NTRA marketing executive.
In Kentucky, Gov. Ernie Fletcher appointed an 11-person panel to developing recommendations on jockeys' coverage by September, in time to propose legislation for the 2006 session of the state General Assembly.
The group is considering issues including how the industry should pay for coverage and how to include track workers, who are often overlooked, said Jim Gallagher, executive director of the state horse racing authority.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be broadcast, published, rewritten, or redistributed.
Story Filed, Saturday, July 2, 2005
----
The Boston Globe Op-Ed
Wild and free
By Deanne Stillman | July 4, 2005
AS WE GATHER today on town squares and parade down Main Street to proclaim our 229th birthday, let us pause to consider the wild horse -- the great American icon, the fleet-footed wind-drinker that our country rode in on. Pressed into service by the thousands, the wild horse blazed our trails, fought our wars, spilled rivers of blood. Often our cavalry horses were known by number only. Sometimes they had names. I speak of Comanche, a mustang that fought with Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. It was 1876, the year of our centennial, on June 25, that Custer made his famous last stand.
Two days later, General Terry's command arrived and saw the horror -- no survivors, to a man, and all except Custer himself horribly mutilated. Many horses lay dead or dying; some had been killed by their own men to serve as breastworks. But amid the carnage, there appeared a miracle: a badly wounded horse, bleeding from seven bullet holes, still standing with his head low, in the cottonwoods along the banks of the Little Big Horn River. Should he be shot? One man said no, perhaps longing for a survivor on this field of death, and sensing that the horse could endure.
The horse was Comanche, named, according to legend, for the courage he exhibited when a farrier removed an arrowhead from his flank after he was wounded by Indians during a previous battle. Comanche was taken by steamer to Fort Lincoln, nursed back to health, transferred to Fort Riley and retired with honors. ''. . . His kind treatment and comfort should be a matter of special pride," stated General Order No. 7. ''. . . Though wounded and scarred, his very silence speaks more eloquently than words of the desperate struggle in which all went down that day."
On July 4, 1876, as word of the Custer massacre reverberated across the land, our traditional birthday parties became assemblies of grief. But there was hope -- Comanche had lived, and through him so had the country's dream of the frontier.
Poems about the great equine warrior were penned, in honor of ''the lone survivor of the Battle of the Little Big Horn" -- a label that of course was not true, given that there were many Native American survivors and, as it would turn out, cavalry horses that had escaped and run off with Indian ponies, back to the range where they came from. Never to run free again, Comanche -- ''the great silent witness" -- could enter and leave his stall at will. Like many soldiers, he developed a taste for beer. In 1891, soon after the death of his long-time caretaker, he died at the age of 29.
At the time, 2 million wild horses roamed the West. By 1950, there were 50,000. Today, there are perhaps 28,000. What happened? World War I, the pet food industry, and cattle ranchers, who contend that wild horses steal food from cows, and just may, under the Bush administration, finally realize their dream of seeing wild horses permanently wiped from public lands.
In the old days they hired contractors to gun down wild horses and bring them the ears. Today, Big Beef influences senators and representatives in both parties, as well as the Bureau of Land Management, the agency that is supposed to protect the wild horse. During the Bush administration, the mustang has been hit with an onslaught of vicious legislation and voracious round-ups whose aim is to extirpate the wild horse -- federally protected since 1971 -- even if it means sending them to the slaughterhouse.
This year, 10,000 wild horses are scheduled for removal; 5,000 are already gone. Many wild horse advocates fear such a reduction will take herds to the brink of extinction. Recently, the Bureau of Land Management announced that grazing restrictions had been lifted. This is another death knell for mustangs, often fenced off from water by public lands ranchers who claim they must have it for their 3 million cows, which study after study -- including the government's own -- show are destroying the wilderness.
Two scientists have come forward and stated that the Bush administration rewrote their findings in order to lift the restrictions. When asked about the new policy, Kathleen Clarke, director of at the Bureau of Land Management, offered this: ''Grazing is a proud heritage of the West."
Alas, those who wrap themselves in Old Glory while at the same time obliterating our heritage are about to prevail. Their policies defile the four-leggeds who carried us on their backs to our home on the range. When we watch the sparks in the sky tonight, let us never forget that America was born in the fireworks of hoof to stone as the message of revolution thundered across the land. A mustang isn't just a car -- on June 25, 1876, it was the only thing standing -- and it gave us a reason to continue. Let freedom for the wild horse ring. Stop the round-ups and end the stampede. And let's all have a beer for Comanche.
Deanne Stillman, author of ''Twentynine Palms," is writing a book ''Horse Latitudes: Last Stand for the Wild Horse in the American West."
© Copyright 2005 Globe Newspaper Company.
----
Please submit replies to _jkelleher@pulitzer.net_
(mailto:jkelleher@pulitzer.net)
It is very important that Illinoisan's in particular respond to this!!!!
Please take a few minutes to write a reply and send it in!
Thanks!
Gail
ps...dont forget to mention that over 200 equine and humane organizations
are in favor of HR 503, and that most groups opposed to the bill are food
animal groups such as the author who is himself a factory turkey farmer! Here is
his website _http://www.hokaturkeys.com_ (http://www.hokaturkeys.com)
_http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2005/07/05/opinions/letters/letters01
.txt_ (http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2005/07/05/opinions/lett
ers/letters01.txt)
Updated Sunday, July 3, 2005 12:58 AM CDT
Bill for prevention of horse slaughter is flawed
ROBERT KAUFFMAN
Editor:
Gail Vacca's June 22 letter in favor of the American Horse Slaughter
Prevention Act (HR 503) made me look up background information on this bill. I found
more than 40 equine and veterinary organizations opposed to this bill.
Objecting organizations included the American Quarter Horse Association, the
American Association of Equine Practitioners and the American Veterinary
Medical Association. All believe this bill will increase the suffering of horses
due to neglect or abandonment of now worthless horses by owners who will
have no way to recover anything from the horses' sale.
The organizations also are concerned about horses being shipped out of the
United States to countries with no humane-slaughter act.
I also was alarmed at the high cost of this bill, which calls for increased
funding for enforcement to the tune of several million dollars.
There are 7.2 million horses in the United States. Last year a mere 50,000
(0.7 percent) were harvested for human consumption.
The three horse slaughter facilities in the United States bring jobs and
taxes to offset the small amount it costs us for federal inspection. That
federal inspection brings with it the enforcement of the humane-slaughter act,
which negates all claims of inhumane treatment.
I am most alarmed by the precedent of removing one species of livestock from
its consumptive-use status and changing its status to that of being a pet.
Horse owners will soon find they are not owners but guardians, with few
rights of ownership.
This is the animal rights activists' first step toward the elimination of
animals for use as food.
ROBERT KAUFFMAN
Waterman
----
News Report, AsianWeek Staff Report,
Asian Week, Jul 06, 2005
Newly appointed Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns appears to be headed for a
showdown with veteran Inspector General Phyllis K. Fong for ordering new
tests for mad cow disease in the nation’s beef supply.
Since the tests Fong ordered have returned positive, several countries have
once again stopped buying U.S. beef, provoking uproar in the cattle industry.
Reacting to industry pressure, Johanns now claims Fong requested the tests
without his knowledge or approval and added: “It caught me by surprise, to be
very honest with you. I believe the secretary should be involved in all
decisions of this significance.â€
Fong, the senior officer of the Inspector General’s office of the USDA was
sworn in on December 2, 2002 after serving as Inspector General for the Small
Business Administration. Like Johanns, she is appointed by the president and
confirmed by the Senate. The Inspector General’s office is an independent arm of
the department that performs audits and investigations.
When she ordered the re-testing of the latest case, she issued a statement
saying she was also probing “the performance of [laboratories] in complying with
procedures for conducting tests.†With the cow that was suspected of having
the disease, she reported: “Auditors noted an unusual pattern of conflicting
test results on one sample.â€
The Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Weybridge, England, an outside testing
agency, confirmed that a sample from an animal in November 2004 tested
positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease.
Yet Johanns, who took the reins of the Agriculture Department early this year
in a Bush cabinet shake-up, insists that Fong has overstepped her bounds. “I
was asked by the Senate and the president to operate the department,†Johanns
said. “She could recommend; she could strongly urge. But then the question is
whether it’s an operational decision.â€
He reportedly learned of Fong’s order from his chief of staff after the new
testing was already under way. He charges that it’s up for debate whether Fong
had the authority to order the new tests, and asserts: “It’s my domain.â€
This is not the first time Fong has found herself in the eye of the storm.
After allegations of misconduct arose in the handling of the first cow with
mad cow disease, Fong launched a criminal investigation.
“Currently we are investigating allegations surrounding the actual state of
the diseased cow before it went to slaughter,†Fong testified last year before
the House subcommittee on agriculture appropriations. “So that’s a criminal
investigation that’s open, ongoing, active and it’s focused on that issue.â€
Fong’s investigation concluded that there was no criminal negligence, but in
July she released an audit of the USDA’s testing program and concluded it had
serious flaws that could undermine its credibility and lead to questionable
estimates of how widespread the disease is in America.
Fong recently re-opened investigations started during the administration of
Johanns’ predecessor, Ann Veneman. Veneman began a reform push on testing U.S.
beef, but her efforts eventually ran aground amid battles between competing
interests, including the beef industry, scientists and consumer activists.
The two behind-the-scenes audits follow complaints by several cow-state
senators over policies and procedures in testing for mad cow disease.
Fong said in a statement that “our field work is ongoing†with results
expected “late this summer.â€
USDA’s Top Cop
As a young girl, Phyllis Fong had a hankering for the law. Those interests
began in her childhood, kindled by her father.
“When I was growing up, I remember searching, as all kids do, for a career
path that matched my talents,†she said in an article for the USDA. “And my
father said to me, at one point in high school, that he really thought law school
would be right for me, that I would be a tremendous lawyer. I had never
thought about that as an option.â€
Fong’s family had emigrated from Hawai‘i to China generations before, in the
mid-1800s. Unlike a lot of APA families who insist that the children follow
in the family business, Fong recalls, “He was a doctor and yet he did not
suggest I go into medical school. I think he was tired of my arguing with him about
everything!â€
“I had a wonderful experience growing up. They call Hawai‘i a melting pot
because of its multi-racial and multi-cultural society. I always felt that
everyone there had the opportunity to become anything. It didn’t matter what color,
what sex, what race, what ethnic heritage you were, if you were interested in
something you could pursue it,†she said.
An unusual route led to her toward the senior job as USDA’s Inspector
General. After studying Asian studies and finishing her law degree, she intended to
become an international lawyer specializing in trade and immigration.
But when Fong arrived in Washington, D.C., she got a job with the U.S. Civil
Rights Commission, which at the time was studying immigration policy. One
thing led to another, and a colleague who was the Inspector General at the U.S.
Small Business Administration asked her to become her special assistant
“I realized this was a good opportunity. Who can be against going after fraud
and abuse? Who can be against economy and efficiency in government?†Fong has
been in the field ever since, and oversees about 600 employees divided almost
evenly between investigators and auditors.
Name: Phyllis K. Fong
Salary: $136,900
Position: Inspector General, USDA. She’s responsible for conducting and
supervising audits and evaluations, as well as investigations and law enforcement
efforts.
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Family: Married, two daughters, ages 4 and 7
Education: BA degree in Asian Studies, Pomona College; Juris Doctorate,
Vanderbilt University School of Law
Past Experience: She was Inspector General of the U.S. Small Business
Administration from 1999-2002 after holding several positions with the SBA, including
Assistant Inspector General for Management and Legal Counsel and Assistant
Inspector General for Management and Policy. In the early 1980s, she had served
as assistant general counsel for the Legal Services Corporation and, before
that, as an attorney with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Hobbies/Interests: Needlepoint
Priorities: “To instill the message within USDA that OIG’s mission is not
just to audit and investigate. Our mission is to work in partnership with the
Department to manage programs more effectively and deal with fraud and abuse.â€
The Associated Press and USDA contributed to this report.
----
Kaufman: Officials look at complaints; lawyer cites service
11:46 PM CDT on Tuesday, July 5, 2005
By PAUL MEYER / The Dallas Morning News
KAUFMAN – The fight to close one of the country's last horse
slaughterhouses could soon spawn another court battle, even as both
sides await action on federal legislation that would effectively ban
killing horses for human consumption.
Kaufman City Council members met Tuesday to consider a
neighborhood's petition to sanction or shutter the Dallas Crown
horse-processing plant.
Even though the petition drive failed to collect enough signatures
to force action, city officials are exploring ways to remedy
persistent neighborhood complaints. But they stopped short of
calling for litigation Tuesday to close the plant, leaving some
residents frustrated.
Those neighbors could sue the city, the plant or both.
"Right now I'm very infuriated, and I shouldn't talk when I'm mad,"
said Robert Eldridge, who lives near the plant. "We're just tired."
Dallas Crown attorney Mark Calabria said Tuesday that he hadn't seen
the petition. But he defended the plant as a legal operation with
years of benefit to the local economy.
"I think the plant provides a pretty valuable service, and it has
been in business a long time," he said.
"Like a lot of controversial businesses, there will be folks who
don't like what you do who raise a stink from time to time."
Criticism of the nation's three remaining horse-slaughtering plants –
in Kaufman, Fort Worth and Illinois – has grown in recent years. A
legal fight in federal district court could result in the shutdown
of the Texas plants.
Advocates on both sides are awaiting action by the U.S. Senate on a
measure that would likely force the facilities to close. The measure
passed the U.S. House of Representatives in June.
Kaufman officials, meanwhile, have accused Dallas Crown of repeated
wastewater violations.
"We're not looking at a responsible good corporate citizen here,"
said Mayor Paula Bacon, a critic of the plant. "We're looking at
people who have been stringing us along for at least 10 years now."
Interim Kaufman City Manager Curtis Snow said Tuesday that officials
with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality have told him
that Dallas Crown is operating lawfully and according to best
industry practices.
But he said there might still be avenues to pursue that could
challenge whether the plant belongs in a residential area.
Some council members cautioned against acting too quickly against
Dallas Crown and added that they want more evidence of wrongdoing.
City officials plan to gather more data and log complaints as they
consider the next step to take.
"The mayor of Kaufman has made this her personal crusade," said Jim
Bradshaw, a lobbyist representing the plant. "They're faithfully
just trying to abide by all the laws."
Mr. Bradshaw said the facility operates just like any other animal-
slaughtering business. But he understands that emotions run deep
when it comes to the killing of horses.
"We wouldn't have bacon on the table or fried chicken or steaks or
anything," he said. "It's a fact of life that slaughter takes
place."
Whitfield-Jockeys
Washington (AP) When U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield took the reins of an investigations subcommittee in the House this year, he turned his sights to a key issue of his home state, horse racing.
Before the year is out, the Republican from Hopkinsville said he plans to hold a hearing that will shed light on practices of The Jockeys' Guild, potentially helping jockeys secure better health insurance and resolving an issue that has affected tracks in the past year.
Whitfield began looking into the Guild after reading reports that it had not renewed an accident insurance policy for riders in 2002, leaving some jockeys without coverage.
Guild spokesman Eric Banks said the group notified members after allowing the pricey policy to lapse, and believes race tracks should be responsible for developing a solution.
Jockeys, like boxers, are usually contract workers who don't receive the type of benefits that many athletes get through teams or unions, Banks said.
After riders argued the $100,000 coverage that race tracks provided wasn't enough to cover catastrophic falls, Kentucky's thoroughbred tracks agreed earlier this year to increase on-track coverage temporarily to $1 million.
Five states offer workers' compensation for jockeys, and some private organizations have chipped in. But Whitfield said federal regulation may be the only way to standardize a hodgepodge of efforts.
"It's kind of nebulous who's really responsible for the coverage and what benefits are being administered," he said. "It's sort of a Byzantine, archaic type of system from my perspective."
Whitfield calls jockeys' coverage a health care issue, but his affinity for horses is clear. He has three small tracks in his district, and his wife, Connie, is on the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority.
A framed photo of 1986 Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand sits on a table in his congressional office, mid-stride in a blitz across the finish line. The horse is believed to have been slaughtered in Japan in 2002.
Whitfield even has a connection to Ferdinand, he owns one mare sired by Ferdinand and co-owns a second. The congressman has been a dogged proponent of banning horse slaughter in the U.S. for human consumption.
On the jockeys' coverage issue, Whitfield said he has "not received total cooperation" from The Jockeys' Guild president Wayne Gertmenian.
Banks, however, said the Guild "supplied all the relevant information and documents that we could as quickly as possible," and "is in the process of complying with everything he requested."
The congressman has also asked for input from race tracks, and organizations such as the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.
Whitfield is not the only one interested in the issue. A panel assembled by the NTRA came out with a series of recommendations, which includes asking jockeys to chip in to bring coverage back up to 2002 levels _ after riders' injuries "brought these issues bubbling to the surface," said Keith Chamblin, an NTRA marketing executive.
In Kentucky, Gov. Ernie Fletcher appointed an 11-person panel to developing recommendations on jockeys' coverage by September, in time to propose legislation for the 2006 session of the state General Assembly.
The group is considering issues including how the industry should pay for coverage and how to include track workers, who are often overlooked, said Jim Gallagher, executive director of the state horse racing authority.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be broadcast, published, rewritten, or redistributed.
Story Filed, Saturday, July 2, 2005
----
The Boston Globe Op-Ed
Wild and free
By Deanne Stillman | July 4, 2005
AS WE GATHER today on town squares and parade down Main Street to proclaim our 229th birthday, let us pause to consider the wild horse -- the great American icon, the fleet-footed wind-drinker that our country rode in on. Pressed into service by the thousands, the wild horse blazed our trails, fought our wars, spilled rivers of blood. Often our cavalry horses were known by number only. Sometimes they had names. I speak of Comanche, a mustang that fought with Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. It was 1876, the year of our centennial, on June 25, that Custer made his famous last stand.
Two days later, General Terry's command arrived and saw the horror -- no survivors, to a man, and all except Custer himself horribly mutilated. Many horses lay dead or dying; some had been killed by their own men to serve as breastworks. But amid the carnage, there appeared a miracle: a badly wounded horse, bleeding from seven bullet holes, still standing with his head low, in the cottonwoods along the banks of the Little Big Horn River. Should he be shot? One man said no, perhaps longing for a survivor on this field of death, and sensing that the horse could endure.
The horse was Comanche, named, according to legend, for the courage he exhibited when a farrier removed an arrowhead from his flank after he was wounded by Indians during a previous battle. Comanche was taken by steamer to Fort Lincoln, nursed back to health, transferred to Fort Riley and retired with honors. ''. . . His kind treatment and comfort should be a matter of special pride," stated General Order No. 7. ''. . . Though wounded and scarred, his very silence speaks more eloquently than words of the desperate struggle in which all went down that day."
On July 4, 1876, as word of the Custer massacre reverberated across the land, our traditional birthday parties became assemblies of grief. But there was hope -- Comanche had lived, and through him so had the country's dream of the frontier.
Poems about the great equine warrior were penned, in honor of ''the lone survivor of the Battle of the Little Big Horn" -- a label that of course was not true, given that there were many Native American survivors and, as it would turn out, cavalry horses that had escaped and run off with Indian ponies, back to the range where they came from. Never to run free again, Comanche -- ''the great silent witness" -- could enter and leave his stall at will. Like many soldiers, he developed a taste for beer. In 1891, soon after the death of his long-time caretaker, he died at the age of 29.
At the time, 2 million wild horses roamed the West. By 1950, there were 50,000. Today, there are perhaps 28,000. What happened? World War I, the pet food industry, and cattle ranchers, who contend that wild horses steal food from cows, and just may, under the Bush administration, finally realize their dream of seeing wild horses permanently wiped from public lands.
In the old days they hired contractors to gun down wild horses and bring them the ears. Today, Big Beef influences senators and representatives in both parties, as well as the Bureau of Land Management, the agency that is supposed to protect the wild horse. During the Bush administration, the mustang has been hit with an onslaught of vicious legislation and voracious round-ups whose aim is to extirpate the wild horse -- federally protected since 1971 -- even if it means sending them to the slaughterhouse.
This year, 10,000 wild horses are scheduled for removal; 5,000 are already gone. Many wild horse advocates fear such a reduction will take herds to the brink of extinction. Recently, the Bureau of Land Management announced that grazing restrictions had been lifted. This is another death knell for mustangs, often fenced off from water by public lands ranchers who claim they must have it for their 3 million cows, which study after study -- including the government's own -- show are destroying the wilderness.
Two scientists have come forward and stated that the Bush administration rewrote their findings in order to lift the restrictions. When asked about the new policy, Kathleen Clarke, director of at the Bureau of Land Management, offered this: ''Grazing is a proud heritage of the West."
Alas, those who wrap themselves in Old Glory while at the same time obliterating our heritage are about to prevail. Their policies defile the four-leggeds who carried us on their backs to our home on the range. When we watch the sparks in the sky tonight, let us never forget that America was born in the fireworks of hoof to stone as the message of revolution thundered across the land. A mustang isn't just a car -- on June 25, 1876, it was the only thing standing -- and it gave us a reason to continue. Let freedom for the wild horse ring. Stop the round-ups and end the stampede. And let's all have a beer for Comanche.
Deanne Stillman, author of ''Twentynine Palms," is writing a book ''Horse Latitudes: Last Stand for the Wild Horse in the American West."
© Copyright 2005 Globe Newspaper Company.
----
Please submit replies to _jkelleher@pulitzer.net_
(mailto:jkelleher@pulitzer.net)
It is very important that Illinoisan's in particular respond to this!!!!
Please take a few minutes to write a reply and send it in!
Thanks!
Gail
ps...dont forget to mention that over 200 equine and humane organizations
are in favor of HR 503, and that most groups opposed to the bill are food
animal groups such as the author who is himself a factory turkey farmer! Here is
his website _http://www.hokaturkeys.com_ (http://www.hokaturkeys.com)
_http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2005/07/05/opinions/letters/letters01
.txt_ (http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2005/07/05/opinions/lett
ers/letters01.txt)
Updated Sunday, July 3, 2005 12:58 AM CDT
Bill for prevention of horse slaughter is flawed
ROBERT KAUFFMAN
Editor:
Gail Vacca's June 22 letter in favor of the American Horse Slaughter
Prevention Act (HR 503) made me look up background information on this bill. I found
more than 40 equine and veterinary organizations opposed to this bill.
Objecting organizations included the American Quarter Horse Association, the
American Association of Equine Practitioners and the American Veterinary
Medical Association. All believe this bill will increase the suffering of horses
due to neglect or abandonment of now worthless horses by owners who will
have no way to recover anything from the horses' sale.
The organizations also are concerned about horses being shipped out of the
United States to countries with no humane-slaughter act.
I also was alarmed at the high cost of this bill, which calls for increased
funding for enforcement to the tune of several million dollars.
There are 7.2 million horses in the United States. Last year a mere 50,000
(0.7 percent) were harvested for human consumption.
The three horse slaughter facilities in the United States bring jobs and
taxes to offset the small amount it costs us for federal inspection. That
federal inspection brings with it the enforcement of the humane-slaughter act,
which negates all claims of inhumane treatment.
I am most alarmed by the precedent of removing one species of livestock from
its consumptive-use status and changing its status to that of being a pet.
Horse owners will soon find they are not owners but guardians, with few
rights of ownership.
This is the animal rights activists' first step toward the elimination of
animals for use as food.
ROBERT KAUFFMAN
Waterman
----
News Report, AsianWeek Staff Report,
Asian Week, Jul 06, 2005
Newly appointed Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns appears to be headed for a
showdown with veteran Inspector General Phyllis K. Fong for ordering new
tests for mad cow disease in the nation’s beef supply.
Since the tests Fong ordered have returned positive, several countries have
once again stopped buying U.S. beef, provoking uproar in the cattle industry.
Reacting to industry pressure, Johanns now claims Fong requested the tests
without his knowledge or approval and added: “It caught me by surprise, to be
very honest with you. I believe the secretary should be involved in all
decisions of this significance.â€
Fong, the senior officer of the Inspector General’s office of the USDA was
sworn in on December 2, 2002 after serving as Inspector General for the Small
Business Administration. Like Johanns, she is appointed by the president and
confirmed by the Senate. The Inspector General’s office is an independent arm of
the department that performs audits and investigations.
When she ordered the re-testing of the latest case, she issued a statement
saying she was also probing “the performance of [laboratories] in complying with
procedures for conducting tests.†With the cow that was suspected of having
the disease, she reported: “Auditors noted an unusual pattern of conflicting
test results on one sample.â€
The Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Weybridge, England, an outside testing
agency, confirmed that a sample from an animal in November 2004 tested
positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease.
Yet Johanns, who took the reins of the Agriculture Department early this year
in a Bush cabinet shake-up, insists that Fong has overstepped her bounds. “I
was asked by the Senate and the president to operate the department,†Johanns
said. “She could recommend; she could strongly urge. But then the question is
whether it’s an operational decision.â€
He reportedly learned of Fong’s order from his chief of staff after the new
testing was already under way. He charges that it’s up for debate whether Fong
had the authority to order the new tests, and asserts: “It’s my domain.â€
This is not the first time Fong has found herself in the eye of the storm.
After allegations of misconduct arose in the handling of the first cow with
mad cow disease, Fong launched a criminal investigation.
“Currently we are investigating allegations surrounding the actual state of
the diseased cow before it went to slaughter,†Fong testified last year before
the House subcommittee on agriculture appropriations. “So that’s a criminal
investigation that’s open, ongoing, active and it’s focused on that issue.â€
Fong’s investigation concluded that there was no criminal negligence, but in
July she released an audit of the USDA’s testing program and concluded it had
serious flaws that could undermine its credibility and lead to questionable
estimates of how widespread the disease is in America.
Fong recently re-opened investigations started during the administration of
Johanns’ predecessor, Ann Veneman. Veneman began a reform push on testing U.S.
beef, but her efforts eventually ran aground amid battles between competing
interests, including the beef industry, scientists and consumer activists.
The two behind-the-scenes audits follow complaints by several cow-state
senators over policies and procedures in testing for mad cow disease.
Fong said in a statement that “our field work is ongoing†with results
expected “late this summer.â€
USDA’s Top Cop
As a young girl, Phyllis Fong had a hankering for the law. Those interests
began in her childhood, kindled by her father.
“When I was growing up, I remember searching, as all kids do, for a career
path that matched my talents,†she said in an article for the USDA. “And my
father said to me, at one point in high school, that he really thought law school
would be right for me, that I would be a tremendous lawyer. I had never
thought about that as an option.â€
Fong’s family had emigrated from Hawai‘i to China generations before, in the
mid-1800s. Unlike a lot of APA families who insist that the children follow
in the family business, Fong recalls, “He was a doctor and yet he did not
suggest I go into medical school. I think he was tired of my arguing with him about
everything!â€
“I had a wonderful experience growing up. They call Hawai‘i a melting pot
because of its multi-racial and multi-cultural society. I always felt that
everyone there had the opportunity to become anything. It didn’t matter what color,
what sex, what race, what ethnic heritage you were, if you were interested in
something you could pursue it,†she said.
An unusual route led to her toward the senior job as USDA’s Inspector
General. After studying Asian studies and finishing her law degree, she intended to
become an international lawyer specializing in trade and immigration.
But when Fong arrived in Washington, D.C., she got a job with the U.S. Civil
Rights Commission, which at the time was studying immigration policy. One
thing led to another, and a colleague who was the Inspector General at the U.S.
Small Business Administration asked her to become her special assistant
“I realized this was a good opportunity. Who can be against going after fraud
and abuse? Who can be against economy and efficiency in government?†Fong has
been in the field ever since, and oversees about 600 employees divided almost
evenly between investigators and auditors.
Name: Phyllis K. Fong
Salary: $136,900
Position: Inspector General, USDA. She’s responsible for conducting and
supervising audits and evaluations, as well as investigations and law enforcement
efforts.
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Family: Married, two daughters, ages 4 and 7
Education: BA degree in Asian Studies, Pomona College; Juris Doctorate,
Vanderbilt University School of Law
Past Experience: She was Inspector General of the U.S. Small Business
Administration from 1999-2002 after holding several positions with the SBA, including
Assistant Inspector General for Management and Legal Counsel and Assistant
Inspector General for Management and Policy. In the early 1980s, she had served
as assistant general counsel for the Legal Services Corporation and, before
that, as an attorney with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Hobbies/Interests: Needlepoint
Priorities: “To instill the message within USDA that OIG’s mission is not
just to audit and investigate. Our mission is to work in partnership with the
Department to manage programs more effectively and deal with fraud and abuse.â€
The Associated Press and USDA contributed to this report.
----
Kaufman: Officials look at complaints; lawyer cites service
11:46 PM CDT on Tuesday, July 5, 2005
By PAUL MEYER / The Dallas Morning News
KAUFMAN – The fight to close one of the country's last horse
slaughterhouses could soon spawn another court battle, even as both
sides await action on federal legislation that would effectively ban
killing horses for human consumption.
Kaufman City Council members met Tuesday to consider a
neighborhood's petition to sanction or shutter the Dallas Crown
horse-processing plant.
Even though the petition drive failed to collect enough signatures
to force action, city officials are exploring ways to remedy
persistent neighborhood complaints. But they stopped short of
calling for litigation Tuesday to close the plant, leaving some
residents frustrated.
Those neighbors could sue the city, the plant or both.
"Right now I'm very infuriated, and I shouldn't talk when I'm mad,"
said Robert Eldridge, who lives near the plant. "We're just tired."
Dallas Crown attorney Mark Calabria said Tuesday that he hadn't seen
the petition. But he defended the plant as a legal operation with
years of benefit to the local economy.
"I think the plant provides a pretty valuable service, and it has
been in business a long time," he said.
"Like a lot of controversial businesses, there will be folks who
don't like what you do who raise a stink from time to time."
Criticism of the nation's three remaining horse-slaughtering plants –
in Kaufman, Fort Worth and Illinois – has grown in recent years. A
legal fight in federal district court could result in the shutdown
of the Texas plants.
Advocates on both sides are awaiting action by the U.S. Senate on a
measure that would likely force the facilities to close. The measure
passed the U.S. House of Representatives in June.
Kaufman officials, meanwhile, have accused Dallas Crown of repeated
wastewater violations.
"We're not looking at a responsible good corporate citizen here,"
said Mayor Paula Bacon, a critic of the plant. "We're looking at
people who have been stringing us along for at least 10 years now."
Interim Kaufman City Manager Curtis Snow said Tuesday that officials
with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality have told him
that Dallas Crown is operating lawfully and according to best
industry practices.
But he said there might still be avenues to pursue that could
challenge whether the plant belongs in a residential area.
Some council members cautioned against acting too quickly against
Dallas Crown and added that they want more evidence of wrongdoing.
City officials plan to gather more data and log complaints as they
consider the next step to take.
"The mayor of Kaufman has made this her personal crusade," said Jim
Bradshaw, a lobbyist representing the plant. "They're faithfully
just trying to abide by all the laws."
Mr. Bradshaw said the facility operates just like any other animal-
slaughtering business. But he understands that emotions run deep
when it comes to the killing of horses.
"We wouldn't have bacon on the table or fried chicken or steaks or
anything," he said. "It's a fact of life that slaughter takes
place."
