Equine Rescue Ethics: Death by Bullets at CBER

[cherie]

Okay folks, Today I learned of the shooting of CBER rescue mares Lavender and Meadow.

Lavender days before she was shot

Meadow days before her death

I am still absolutely stunned. While this may be "old news" to some, I think it bears careful consideration as a representative action reflecting the ethics of the organization.


Please read the "explanation" provided by the President of the CBER BOD. Then compare the action to two recommended ethical euthanasia protocals. Please share your opionion in the poll and by posting your thoughts in this thread.

Thank you in the memory of these two horses.


(In the following statement, the choice to underline a key phrase is mine.)


First, consider this:

Rationale for the shooting of CBER rescue mares Meadow and Lavender Provided on the Alex Brown Wiki
by Samantha Milbredt Panayotopulos, President of Columbia Basin Equine Rescue

=Questions from FOBs

Hi All -

I am going to respond once and will not monitor this thread so do not complain that I do not respond I am pressed for time as it is. Also this is going to be to the point and not my flowery bubby response as I am frustrated that this issue is still present.

I have been trying to save you all from these graphic details but you will not let this issue rest. So here we go.

Yes, Lavendar and Meadow were put down by a bullet to the head with the support from most of the CBER BOD. There were not shot in front of one another. They were both tranquilized because they would freak out if they were separated. Meadow was taken first as she would react more violent when separated, so it was decieded to put her down first before the drugs wore off. She was hauled out to a grassy field on a friend's 350 acre ranch and was put down while drousily eating grain. Lavendar was taken to another part of his property and put down in the same manner.

Why a bullet? I prefer this method for my own horses. I take all the horses in my care seriously. While death is not a fun topic it is part of life and what is importatnt to me is that the horse has no fear, does not suffer and rests in a digified place.

An unsuspecting bullet to the head of a tranquilized horse or a horse eating grain is the quickest, there is no fear and the horse is dead before it hits the ground or the noise of the bullet registers in your brain. The horses are laid to rest back in nature to be recycled naturally. To me a dignified end.

While Euthasol is a very effective drug, the process for CBER has its short comings. We do not have a renderer in this area so we are forced to put horses down in a trailer and dispose of them at a dump. First, what horse do you know that does not get nervous in a trailer? Second, what horse do you know that likes shots and vets? Third, once the drug is administered the horse colapses often violetly smacking his head on the trailer wall. While the horse is technically dead it is tramatic for the person holding the horse. Forth, transporting the horse to the dump. I will do just about anything for CBER but I WILL NOT HAVE DEAD HORSES IN MY TRAILER period. Fifth, disposing of the body at the dump. I have not taken a horse to the dump as no equine friend of mine is going to rot with yesterdays trash, but that is just my opinion.

Last time I witnessed a horse put down by Euthanol the horse did not die with the usual dosage and the horse was flopping around in the trailer. I REFUSE TO WITNESS THAT AGAIN.

This is my opinion and I stick by it as do most CBER volunteers do, because our options are not ideal. If someone wants their horse put down in another way I am happy to supply the vet, haulers and the dumps information but I will not assist in any other way.

Thanks for your time and eyes,

Sam

www.alexbrownracing.com/wiki/index.php/Columbia_Basin_Equine_Rescue

What are Equine Rescue Ethics?

Please consider the following:


Care Guidelines for Equine Rescue and Retirement Facilities
by the AAEP

VII. Euthanasia
The term euthanasia is derived from the Greek terms eu meaning good and thanatos meaning death. A good death would be one that occurs with minimal pain and at the appropriate time in the horse’s life to prevent unnecessary pain and suffering.
Justification for euthanization of a horse for humane reasons should be based on both medical considerations as well as current and future quality of life issues for the horse.
The following criteria (not all criteria need to be met for every case) should be considered in evaluating the necessity for euthanization of a horse1:
• Is the horse’s condition chronic, incurable and resulting in
unnecessary pain and suffering?
• Does the horse’s condition present a hopeless prognosis for life?
• Is the horse a hazard to itself, other horses or humans?
• Will the horse require continuous medication for the relief of pain and
suffering for the remainder of its life?
• If the horse is suffering but treatable, is proper and recommended
care of the horse within the means of the rescue/retirement
facility, such that the health and safety of the other horses are not
compromised?
• Is the horse constantly and in the foreseeable future unable to move unassisted, interact with other horses, or is exhibiting behaviors which may be considered essential for a decent quality of life?
Acceptable methods of euthanasia for horses include2:
• Overdose of a barbiturate anesthetic, given intravenously be a veterinarian or a euthanasia technician, trained, certified and experienced in the humane euthanasia of horses.
• Gunshot to the head of a calm, sedated or humanely restrained horse by a professional trained in this method.
• Penetrating captive bolt to the head of a calm, sedated or humanely restrained horse by a professional trained in this method.
1 “The Veterinary Role in Equine Insurance,” AAEP 2000, pg. 6.
2 Report of the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia, JAVMA 2001; 218: 669-695.23
www.aaep.org/press_room.php?id=176&term=2003


The Basic Guidelines for Operating an Equine Rescue or Retirement Facility
by the Doris Day Animal League and the Animal Welfare Institute.

HUMANE EUTHANASIA
Humane euthanasia shall be employed:
• When an equine is not mobile and a veterinarian is of the opinion that mobility
will not return;
• When the equine’s quality of life is deemed, with veterinary guidance, so
poor that euthanasia is the most humane option within the means of the organization;
• When an equine is experiencing continual pain for which there is no medical
relief or the relief is not within the financial capability of the facility;
• When an equine is affected by a degenerative medical condition for which
there is no cure; or
• When an equine is dangerous to him/herself or other animals or humans.
Euthanasia shall only be administered by a licensed veterinarian, except in emergency
circumstances where the equine is injured beyond recovery and is suffering
irreversibly. Carcass shall be disposed of in compliance with all relevant laws.

www.ddal.org/pdf/horseguidelines.pdf



After taking the time to read the above material, ask yourself - was the bullet to the brain of these sweet mares the act of an ethical rescue organization?



I'm modifying this thread on 4-7-08 because over the last two weeks much has come to light about the rescue that betrayed these two horses. It has been suggested that they were not shot, but returned to the slaughter pipeline - shipped through a feedlot different from the one where CBER operates.

This is not "factual" info. I hope it is not true. Please visit this BB to follow up on current info.
cberanswers.proboards56.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1207613917

If you haven't already read the 4-8-08 Fugly Blog - there is much more to learn
www.blogger.com/profile/14748297520774828265

[Synthia]

TO THE PEOPLE SAYING WE SHOULD IGNORE ANIMAL SUFFERING SINCE HUMANS SUFFERING USUALLY ARE DOING NOTHING TO END OR STOP HUMAN SUFFERING.

MANY OF OUR WORLD'S GREATEST MINDS HAVE KNOWN THIS:

I am in favour of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being.
Abraham Lincoln

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
Mohandas Gandhi

Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.
Thomas A. Edison

Until he extends the circle of compassion to all living things, Man will not himself find peace.
Dr. Albert Schweitzer

To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being. I should be unwilling to take the life of a lamb for the sake of the human body.
--Mohandas Gandhi

Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.
Albert Einstein

For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love.
--Pythagoras

But for the sake of some little mouthful of flesh we deprive a soul of the sun and light, and of that proportion of life and time it had been born into the world to enjoy.
--Plutarch

I have from an early age abjured the use of meat, and the time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men.
--Leonardo Da Vinci


Humans are the only hunters who kill when not hungry.
Steven Spielberg


The squirrel that you kill in jest, dies in earnest.
--Henry David Thoreau

Thou shalt not kill.
--Exodus 20:13

He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man...
--Isaiah 66:3

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb-bearing seed which is upon the face of the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed: to you it shall be as meat....
--Genesis 1:29

If you have men who will exclude any of god's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.
--St. Francis of Assisi


The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for whites or women for men.
--Alice Walker


If a man aspires towards a righteous life, his first act of abstinence is from injury to animals.
-Albert Einstein

[summerhorse]

While I have no problem with putting down animals if space or finances or health makes it necessary I am not for convenience killing and gunshot should be the last resort since euthanasia is readily available there.

Besides the fact they were shot these mares or at least one of them could have been placed had anyone been notified. Instead repeated inquiries were ignored and they were listed as "adopted" on the website. All they had to do was answer the inquiries or make one post on ABR saying these mares had to go NOW and someone might have stepped up.

They say that the older one was failing but in pictures both looked fine. No vet was called to see if there was something wrong with the older one that was treatable. The chestnut was killed merely because she was attached to the other mare. She was never given a chance to "get over it" like most of the animals and humans do when they lose someone close.

With that place's admitted past performance of putting horses back on the truck or lot I still have to wonder if they actually WERE shot. Why shoot a horse when you can sell it to another dealer and these mares were in perfectly good weight for that?

[eighthoundz]

I, too, have no particular problem with a bullet, providing it is done by someone who is competent. It certainly beats starvation, neglect or slaughter. My problem with this whole fiasco is that CBER and its representatives were deceitful regarding this. The horses were "allegedly" hauled "somewhere", shot, and left to be eaten. That being said, there is no physical proof. Much as it disturbs me to think it, I would not be surprised if these two horses were resold and shipped. I believe NOTHING that CBER says. Not one word.

[ponytales1976]

My problem with this mess was:

1) The mare who was supposedly failing was never even seen by a vet, how in god's name do you shoot a horse that has not been seen by a vet to determine what was wrong with it?
2)The other mare was shot simply because she was attached to mare #1...why didn't Sam shoot her dear friend Wayne (the man who shot Lavender and Meadow) when he lost his son recently? Surely he needed to be shot in order to deal with the loss.
3)They lied about the whole thing, if they would have been honest from the start I have every belief that these 2 mares would still be alive and well today.

[lorsadoon]

ponytales1976 said:

My problem with this mess was:

1) The mare who was supposedly failing was never even seen by a vet, how in god's name do you shoot a horse that has not been seen by a vet to determine what was wrong with it?
2)The other mare was shot simply because she was attached to mare #1...why didn't Sam shoot her dear friend Wayne (the man who shot Lavender and Meadow) when he lost his son recently? Surely he needed to be shot in order to deal with the loss.
3)They lied about the whole thing, if they would have been honest from the start I have every belief that these 2 mares would still be alive and well today.

As much as I disagree with the way CBER handled Lavender and Meadow, you can not possiblly compare the loss of a horse to another horse, to the loss a parent feels when their child has died. There is absolutly NO comparison. You only make yourself look bad when you use an analogy like this. In my opinion anyway.

[Synthia]

If we believe that horses don't feel emotions at the depth that humans feel (and I am not sure they don't) why would an animal need to be put down because it lost its long time friend? I think ponytales analogy is met to point out the fact that there was NO need to put a horse down for that reason. After all humans survive grief and loss...animals do also. It was a poor excuse for this organization's bad behavior and should not be overlooked. JMHO

[ponytales1976]

I agree with you 100% there is NO comparison, but thats my point. Parents can lose their children and still go on with life, so why did the horse have to be shot because she was going to lose her friend?

[shellyr]

Welcome to all the people coming over from the FUGLY blog. Please feel free to join our board and vote in this poll. We welcome your participation!

[fenfox]

Apr 8, 2008 7:10:15 GMT -8 shellyr said:

Welcome to all the people coming over from the FUGLY blog. Please feel free to join our board and vote in this poll. We welcome your participation!

LOL! I was wondering where I landed!