Is there anyway that we can help with our contribution towards this.
Onderstepoort Biological horse abuse...please help!
Posted by: Alcaponee (IP Logged)
Date: June 12, 2008 08:14AM
Hi Everyone,
PLEASE could I ask you to support this cause by sending a quick email to
3rddegree@etv.co.za
and cc: lara@saharasolutions.co.za
You can even copy and paste the below message:
"I support your exposure of Onderstepoort Biological horrific treatment of horses".
3rd degree need to gather 2000 petitions before Carte Blanche will run the story. Please read below for details, BUT please do not look at the pictures if you are sensitive.
To whom it concerns at 3rd Degree:
Please help us expose Onderstepoort Biological's horrific treatment of the horses they use for testing purposes. I gave a home to one of these horses from last year's auction, who turned out to be pregnant, far too young. She was very frightened of humans and it has taken months of patience and
kindness to get her to trust me. I don't want to imagine what she went through in her short life that made her that afraid of people. And then, when she wasn't needed anymore, she was thrown out to be butchered. Surely after giving up the first years of their lives for science, they should be assured of a decent home, as a thank you. There are thousands of animal lovers around the country who would be only too happy to buy these ponies, but we are not given the chance. It appears that the organisers of the
slaughter auction are being given priority, perhaps in return for something?
Regards
Kathy Thersby
Please take 2 minutes and send an e-mail as requested below :
PLEASE ANIMAL LOVERS, WE NEED YOUR HELP. BELOW IS A LETTER I SENT TO 3RD
DEGREE. PLEASE READ IT FIRST.
THE NEXT SLAUGHTER IS COMING UP. PLEASE FOLLOW UP TO 3RD DEGREE ON THIS E
MAIL ON YOUR OPINION, THEY MUST BE INUNDATED WITH COMMENTS TO DO THIS STORY . PASS THIS ON TO EVERYBODY YOU ALL KNOW AND TELL THEM TO SEND MAIL OF COMMENT TO 3RD DEGREE AND CC ME (3rddegree@etv.co.za, please cc
lara@saharasolutions.co.za). WE NEED AS MANY PEOPLE AS WE CAN GET.
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WERE AT THE LAST AUCTION WITH WITH ME AND WITNESSED THIS HORRIFIC EVENT, PLEASE MAIL 3RD DEGREE AND TELL THEM WHAT YOU SAW. WE NEED 2 000 E-MAILS TO COMMENT ON THIS REGARD BEFORE CARTE BLANCHE WILL DO THE STORY. LETS STOP THIS THING.
THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT. JOAN, CONTACT THAT LADY AT THE CITIZEN THAT
DID THE HORSE BEATING ABUSE STORY, SEE IF SHE CAN ALSO PICK UP ON THIS!!!!
ITS TIME TO FIGHT THIS THING WITH EVERYTHING WE HAVE!!! CAN YOU GET A
PETITION GOING TO SEND TO THE WHOLE HORSE COMMUNITY AS WELL? I WILL SEND A COPY TO PASTE ON HORSE JUNCTION, EQUINE SA AND WE MUST CONTACT THOSE PEOPLE FROM THE DP WHO WERE GOING TO HELP US LAST TIME.
THIS YEAR WE ARE FINANCIALLY PREPARED, BUT ITS NOT THE SOLUTION!!!! LETS
FINISH THIS!!! IF NEED BE WE WILL DO A MASS DEMONSTRATION ON THE DAY AND
STOP THE AUCTION FROM HAPPENING. IF NOTHING ELSE, IT WILL ATTRACT EVERY
MEDIA SOURCE IN THE COUNTRY!!!
Being a part of the horse community we were all horribly shocked to see your footage on the horse beating a few weeks ago, and in my personal opinion I think in certain cases Debra Patta is as hard as she needs to be and I don¹t know how she controls herself because in many cases I would have to hold myself back from physical violence!
The reason for this letter is that we have been trying for 3 years now to expose Onderstepoort Biological division for their treatment of young and pregnant horses after they are finished with them! Carte Blanche did a programme on African Horse Sickness two weeks ago and the professors at this same division were interviewed about the vaccination given to horses
no longer working.
It is these same people that every year, when they are finished testing the horses blood, send the horses down the road to a slaughter auction to be butchered. We have an insider who informs us of this every year and we gather as many people as we can to outbid the butchers and try and rescue these poor frightened animals. Basically the horses are put on a scale and sold only for there value per kilo of meat. The animals, as clearly showed on a video we took last year are so petrified and traumatized that some of them collapse from trembling and fear. Many people do not realize that a horse is not a domestic animal. It is an animal of prey like an impala buck and a zebra. So to be thrown into an environment where they smell death and fear as well as being amongst cattle they are traumatized to the point of severe shaking, trembling and sweating. It is heartbreaking to see the white of their eyes because they are open and frozen so wide in fear!! Personally when my big stallion is on a walk and he sees a little cow calf he freaks! Its something he has never seen before. At least I am there to assure him that he is not going to be eaten by something that small. Obviously being an animal of prey they think all strange things are out to eat them. Making matters worse, the Onderstepoort horses are mainly wild and most of them are scared of humans as well. Which makes me wonder how they are treated while in the facility! It takes us months to be able to just walk up to them and touch them and start to love them.
When I approached the woman from Onderstepoort (Professor Zyanda¹s assistant) who was busy hitting a horse in the face with a stick because it was to scared to walk into the arena and asked her why the horses are being sent to slaughter she denied any knowledge that it was a slaughter auction! When I asked her to explain to me in that case why the horses were being sold per kilo of meat she just walked away! They are inundated with phone calls every year for people begging for these young horses, including the owner of a legitimate horse auction yard in Pretoria where many people go to buy horses and give them loving homes. Nearly every young mare we have rescued from these slaughter auctions are pregnant, and far to young to be pregnant. We had a case where a young mother nearly lost her foal because she was to young to give birth and when the foal came out she was standing and it dropped on its head! We have the phone slammed down in our ears every time we phone and query why these animals are sent to the slaughter auction and the very rude professor Zyanda whose assistant is always at the auctions, continues to deny this practice. They make lots of money at the slaughter auctions because they are well aware that the horse community goes there to outbid the butchers and save these poor animals. Last year we saved 36 horses and the year before 30 horses and two donkeys. Highveld horse care also arrives at the scene and monitors the situation but their hands are tied to prevent this horrible practice.
The time is coming soon for the next auction. This is inhumane and cruel. I am with the foundation World Animal Watch which is against inhumane slaughter and when we phone Onderstepoort, and the lady directly involved in this practice its always the same, denial! The last time we spoke to her, a professor named Zyanda she said she does not give a damn what we think and put the phone down in our ear.
It would be so nice if somebody like Debra could sit face to face with all the evidence and statements from people and confront her directly about this. Onderstepoort University are horrified at this practice but because it¹s a separate government division and they have no power to stop this from happening. I am sure it would be very embarrassing for them if the truth was exposed. When the lady professor was interviewed on Carte blanche, and asked why the horse sickness vaccination was not working because horses were still dying that had been vaccinated, her attitude and answer was exactly the same ³there is no proof of this²! So from this response and from what I have just told you, do they really care about the welfare of horses or is it just another job for them?! But that¹s a whole different story.
If you are interested in doing this story please contact me on the details below. 3rd degree is our last hope to stop this from happening again in a few months. You cant understand the heartbreak and the tears when you run out of money and although you managed to rescue 36 horses you lose that one to the butcher! Its that one you have sleepless nights over for months. Because a small advert is placed in the farmers weekly that the horses are for sale they seem to think this justifies what they are doing. It is really upsetting to see one of these auctions. Can you please help us in this regard?
Frankly if they don¹t want these horses and insist on sending them to slaughter, then it would be better to support a place like the Lion Park who come out, shoot the animal and the body is fed to the lions. This is much more humane and supports a good cause. Yet so many people phone every year and offer to buy these horses and give them good homes but they insist on sending them to their horrible fate!! Is it actually amusing to them or is it a money making thing. Zyandas last comment to me when I phoned a day before the auction was that she had already made a commitment to the organizers of the slaughter auction and that I should mind my own business and go to hell!!! First denial and then that. Slight contradiction I would think.
Oh and I must add, the horses we rescue are delivered to us in an old rusty truck, not tied down, all crammed in, big ones, babies and pregnant ones, falling over each other and some injured from the journey. I would hate to think what happens to those that we lose to the butchers. Highveld horse care told me that illegal horse slaughter is a very big problem in this country and have some horrific photos of back street butchering going on. This is another story but if we can expose the above one, although I am well aware we can't save them all, the public will be made aware and it will be a good start. Everybody I speak to about this practice is horrified and some of our very big sponsors like Mitsubishi are disgusted and contacted the SPCA for comment, but they can do nothing to stop it as it is not an illegal practice.
Regards
Lara Borland"
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