ACT NOW: Stop wild burros from falling victim to the international donkey skin trade
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
We’ve got a lot to share with you in this week’s eNews, including:an opportunity to take action to protect America’s wild burros from the donkey skin trade, an introduction to Shaggy, one of the Virginia Range’s beloved mustangs, and an inside look at our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Program.
Read on to learn more and speak up for our cherished wild herds! >>
Speak Up for Burros: Stop the Ejiao Trade
Photo by Mike Lorden
Each year, millions of donkeys are brutally slaughtered for the production of ejiao (eh-gee-yow), medicinal gelatin that is made from boiling the skins of these animals. The donkey skin trade is now decimating global donkey populations as well as harming the impoverished global communities that rely on them for survival. The increasing number of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) burros in kill pens and slaughter auctions raises serious concerns about burros being put at risk of entering the donkey skin trade and the production of ejiao.
Luckily, U.S. House Representative Don Beyer (D-VA) has introduced the Ejiao Act (H.R. 5203), which would ban the knowing sale or transportation of ejiao made using donkey skin, or products containing ejiao made using donkey skin, in interstate or foreign commerce. Please take action today. >>
Meet the Mustang: Shaggy, the Shimmering Buckskin of Nevada’s Virginia Range
Photo by Deb Sutherland
Nevada’s 300,000-acre Virginia Range is home to an estimated 3,000 wild horses, including a stunning buckskin stallion affectionately known by locals as Shaggy.
American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) volunteer Deb Sutherland has been documenting Shaggy and his family since he was born in 2012, and her knowledge of the ongoings of his life is rich. As Deb puts it, “It’s not just the story of Shaggy — as telling the history of one wild horse always involves sharing the lives of the others on the range — they are all intertwined.”
ICYMI: Lifting the Veil — AWHC’s FOIA Program
One of the most important areas of our work at AWHC is our investigations program. The core of the work involves filing requests for records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to gain access to public information that the federal government may be unwilling to disclose.
Read on to learn more about this critical program that allows us to uncover important and sometimes damning information about the management of our nation’s wild horses and burros, including records that expose abuse and mistreatment during roundups, in holding, or in private care.
Thanks for reading. And thank you for continuing to stand up for our cherished wild horses and burros!
— AWHC Team
TMR Rescue needs your help this Giving Tuesday
The following is from TMR Rescue:
Support TMR Rescue this Giving Tuesday and have 100% of your donation matched!
Starting at 7:00 am cst this tuesday December 3rd Facebook’s Social Good program will match the first 7 million dollars donated dollar for dollar.These funds are generally used up in the first 15 to 20 minutes so to get your donations matched it must be done as close to 7:00 am CST as possible. The links below will direct you to the donation page and to our email if you would like a reminder by txt message or email on tuesday morning. 100% of your donations will go towards helping donkeys like baby JoJo.
Abandoned Day Old Baby Donkey Left to Die
Left: On way to the vet. Right: Jojo receiving IV for dehydration
4 Week old JoJo on the gogo
Save Your Ass Rescue Newletter
The following is from Save Your Ass Long Ear Rescue:
Emaciated Horse and Donkey Become Best Friends
As some of you may know, on the 7th of November Trevor and I went on a rescue trip to pick up a donkey and horse. (Ann was working hard for the rescue at Equine Affaire, otherwise she would have be with us!) The donkey and horse have since been given the new names Hobie and Walton. Both of these animals are completely emaciated and have been starved. Long story short, the gentleman we picked them up from today went to a farm in VT to buy horses. When looking at the horses he was going to buy he noticed a donkey and a horse in a separate pen and noticing their awful condition inquired about them to the farm owner. The owner told him in few words that they were no longer being used on his “ranch” and he was going to dispose of them in the next couple of weeks. Bless this man, he bought them on the spot.. Hobie the donkey has been used the majority of his life for donkey basketball events, which is exactly what it sounds like. People dragging donkeys onto basket ball courts, jumping on their backs for “fun and entertainment.” This is in no way enjoyable for the donkeys, and in our opinion, and many others it is 100% abuse and taking advantage of the donkeys calm and stoic nature. But more of that at a different time. Hobie and Walton bonded as a result of both of them being completely starved, bullied and beaten up by other horses.
When we first arrived to pick them up, both Hobie and Walton were standing separate from the other horses in the herd. Hobie was the first to say hello when we called to him. He was facing away from us, his ears were limp and didn’t move or twitch when we called. Instead he turned his whole body around slowly and stiffly to greet us, nibbling at our pockets and hands through the gate. We melted into a puddle. While petting him I looked around the farm to find a chestnut horse standing in the middle of the paddock, not with Hobie and not with the horses. He was standing alone and looking forlorn. Walton, noticing that we had started to talk about him, came over, ears pricked forward, glossy eyes, and dragging feet to say his greetings. Instant tears. Instant boiling rage. How someone can intentionally starve two sweet animals to this point is just unimaginable, and there is a special place you know where for people who do such things in our opinion.
Trevor with Hobie in hand, and I with Walton hopped right onto the trailer. As we told them we are going to take care of them from here on out, this is a new beginning. The gentleman who saved them and took care of them for a month said his goodbyes and gave some treats to both of them.
We headed for our two hour ride back to the rescue. Poor Trevor had to listen to my ranting through (mostly) choked back tears of how horrible people can be to living creatures. The whole drive back I was antsy thinking about all I was going to do to, treat his infected wounds, heal the rain rot covering his back, keep him warm tonight, get rid of the lice, configuring his meal plans in my head, what to pick up at the grain store in the morning etc.
Once we got home (or to the rescue I call home) we haltered and blanketed Hobie and Walton before they stepped out of the trailer and into the rain to keep them as dry as possible. Last night it was freezing, a low of 20 degrees and snow flurries. Not the most welcoming weather, but thank goodness we have so many mismatched old blankets! We found two that some-what fit and got them cozy. We unloaded them. Hobie the brave shaky little donkey stepped off the trailer first almost falling down. Onward to their new pen across the street, where we quarantine animals for 30 days. Even thought they have current health certificates and negative coggins, we like to take every precaution to protect the other animals on the farm.
Hobie and Walton are getting small frequent meals throughout the day; five meals to be exact of warm mashes with all the supplements to help them get healthy.
To address the elephant in the room, no this is not a donkey, mule or hinny. Yes we are a donkey and mule rescue. As with everything there is the exception to every rule, and Walton is an exception right now. We would have said yes to taking him into the rescue if this sad equine friend had long ears, medium ears, short ears or even no ears! We are sure that all of our supporters stand behind us on this decision. We could not have seen any animal in that condition, and left them behind.
We will keep everyone updated as we help these two brave friends recover. If you are able to donate to the care these two are going to need we sure would appreciate it. To donate please click the link below.
Thank you to all who have given and continue to support Save Your Ass Long Ear Rescue and the work we do!
Sincerely,
Hannah & Ann
Donate
What Short Ears You Have!!
The following is from Save Your Ass Long Ear Rescue:
December 21, 2018
Generosity of spirit in the Season of Giving
I learned pretty early on in this rescue game there are certain words to avoid at all costs… Always and Never… as soon as the words “this donkey has never” come out of my mouth the donkey makes a liar out of me! Another phrase that has become indelibly marked in my brain is to “expect the unexpected.” This phrase came to mind about two weeks ago when a midnight call from the state police awakened Jeff and me. There was a stray horse in the yard of a woman in town! She took the horse into her barn for safe keeping and called the state police who called the rescue asking for our help.
Of course I said we would take this animal in. A few minutes later I get a call from the trooper asking if we have a truck and trailer to get the horse here! We do, but I am not mobile due to having a broken leg and messed up ankle and wearing a cast. I called one of our amazing volunteers shortly after midnight. He said he would be over ASAP and would go with Jeff to pick up the horse.
Fortunately the horse was very agreeable to walking right on to the trailer with only a lead rope around his neck. He was too weak to protest!! This poor horse was a walking skeleton. He has rain rot all over his body, an abscess on his face and hooves so long that they are affecting his posture. Due to our willingness to take him in we were now legally bound to hold on to him until his owner goes to court to face cruelty charges!
He has been seen by the State Veterinarian, who gave him a body condition score of 1.08. One being emaciated. Due to the legality of things we were unable to have our vet treat him other than doing what would keep him comfortable until we got the go ahead.
I know that Save Your Ass Long Ear Rescue is for donkeys and mules in need, but there is no way I could say no to a short ear in need, especially at this time of year when generosity of spirit is in the forefront. I do realize that by taking this animal in and getting it started on a good nutrition program and having his medical issues addressed I have added more of a burden to the rescue’s financial status. Expect the unexpected.
We so appreciate the kindness and generosity of our loyal supporters and hope the fact that this animal is not a donkey or a mule does not upset anyone.
This is the second time in the history of the rescue that we have taken in a horse.
ChEARS,
Ann
P.S. — We were happily surprised yesterday to have the soon to be new state vet, his assistant, another wonderful state trooper, and a representative from a well-known horse rescue in the state come to pick up the little horse yesterday. We wish you well Sweet Sisu!
Breaking News!!
The following is from Save Your Ass Long Ear Rescue:
NEWS FLASH !!
We are very happy and grateful to once again be the recipients of a matching donation challenge. This could not have come at a better time for us. I think due to the fact that winter will not be far away, we have started to get a lot of calls about animals needing to be surrendered. This means we will need more resources to ensure having enough hay on hand. We have every animal that comes in seen by a veterinarian which can and does quickly turn in to a large bill. We will need all the help we can get!
Every donation made between now and November 1, 2018 will be matched dollar for dollar up to $5,000.00!
By taking advantage of this incredibly generous offer you can double the impact of your donation. Doing so will help every donkey, mule, and hinny we care for.
We are so blown away by this act of incredible generosity by donors who wish to remain anonymous.
Please do what you can!
SYALER eNewsletter
The following is from Save Your Ass Long Ear Rescue:
August 14, 2018
Ears the news…
These two donkeys are simply adorable and at first glance they look very happy and well cared for. They came from a hoarding situation. SYA has been able to help their owner by taking in donkeys from her as she was emotionally able to part with them over the last five years or so. There is no doubt that she loved them all dearly. The woman is in her eighties and in poor health. I am not sure of how long it’s been since she has been able to go outside as she is wheelchair bound, let alone to do anything with or for the donkeys. These two beautiful cousins had been living in a filthy barn/stall/paddock area. Their manure had not been cleaned in years. The only water they had available to them was about six inches of green, thick scummy soup, and full of rotting leaves. Their hooves look ok in this picture, but several have major flares, and one has part of a hoof wall missing. In fairness to their owner, she did have someone in to “care” for the donkeys but was obviously unable to check and see how the donkeys were faring.
As is often the case with donkeys it seems, rather than being too thin, they are very overweight. They both have fat pones on their necks and flanks. Obesity in donkeys is something we see more often than underweight animals, and is in my opinion, a form of neglect. Donkeys are NOT little horses with big ears. They are a species that has evolved very successfully over a very long period of history getting by on very little forage, of often fairly poor nutritional value, that they had to walk over miles of stony, rocky, hard ground to reach. We plop them down in rich, grassy pastures and are then surprised when they develop hoof and other health issues.
I would rather take in animals that are too thin as it is so much easier to put fat on to a donkey than to take it off. A fat donkey is not a healthy donkey. I recommend a dry lot for all donkeys for at least part of a 24 hour period. They do need to graze for their behavioral needs to be properly met, but their grazing time needs to be supervised. Please be aware that allowing a donkey to become obese is shortening their overall life span and can, and often does lead to a myriad of other health related issues.
I am very happy that we are able to take in animals like these and get them on a regulated feeding program and an exercise plan that will help them slowly lose some excess pounds. A great way to help us do this is to join our Take a Long Ear to Lunch program. This enables you to make an on-going monthly donation to SYALER. All of our money to run the rescue comes via adoption fees, merchandise sales, and donations. The grants available for donkey rescue are very specific and we do not qualify for many. Any grant writers out there who want to donate their time and expertise would be more than welcome! Your monthly gift of any amount goes right into our operating cost fund and helps with everything from buying hay, supplements, equipment, to veterinary and farrier costs. Knowing we can count on a certain amount each month is a very comforting. To become a member of the program use the following link for complete details. Take a Long Ear to Lunch!
Summer will be winding down soon and I am looking forward to crisp, fall days already. We have a lot of fun things coming up. Our annual Benefit show will be held at Millot Green, Alstead, NH on Saturday, October 13th. A week after that I will be heading out to U.C. Davis Vet School for yet another Donkey Welfare Symposium. I am looking forward to that as it is always a wonderful chance to meet up with donkey friends I only see once a year at this event, and to learn more about how to give the best care possible to the animals we take in to the rescue. November brings Equine Affaire which is always a fun, if not exhausting gig. We are working on a couple of ideas for seminars/workshops at the rescue. We’ll keep you posted on those.
I hope to see you out and about at our upcoming events.
ChEARS,
Ann
President & Shelter Manager
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