Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
May 1, 2008 issue
Money Raised Will Pay for Transport of Abused Horses to Sanctuary
Story by Celeste von Mangan
The dark side of the horse industry has been spotlighted in the news recently as foreign-owned equine slaughterhouses located in the United States were exposed for their inhumane practices and have since been closed. However, America’s horses are still being sold on the hoof for meat to foreign markets. Canada and Mexico operate slaughterhouses that kill horses and process their meat for human consumption overseas.
A local Congressional District Program and organization, Amnesty For Animals, is holding a raffle fundraiser to benefit horses rescued from our nation’s auction kill pens. On Saturday, May 3, the community is invited to the Center Court at the Boone Mall to buy a raffle ticket or make a donation to the nonprofit organization, from 12:00 until 6:00 p.m. Amnesty will use all of the proceeds from the fundraiser to transport horses who were rescued in Indiana—on their way to Canadian slaughterhouses—to sanctuaries in the High Country. The horses have been bought by Amnesty For Animals and a volunteer is transporting them to safety.
The high cost of gasoline keeps many horses from being rescued after they are purchased and adopted. The last slaughterhouse for equines—Cavel International—closed in 2007, where it had been in operation in DeKalb Illinois. Cavel has since reopened in Canada. No laws exist banning the shipping of American horses across borders for slaughter, and Mexican slaughterhouses have experienced a 383 percent increase in the number of horses slaughtered annually since the closing of America’s slaughtering facilities.
Amnesty For Animals’ goal is to raise $2,500 on Saturday—$850 for transport and $1,650 for a corral for rescued horses. Raffle prizes include dog toy gift sets; a handmade hardanger embroidery piece by local fiber artist Twila Tuttle; a signed, limited edition print by artist Richard Tumbleston; and $20 Dale and Thomas gift certificates for gourmet popcorn and nuts. The Dale and Thomas gift certificates will be raffled every hour and all participants purchasing raffle tickets are automatically entered in the hourly raffle plus the raffle of your choice. If the signed Tumbleston print is something you want to try for, or the dog toy gift set, your ticket will be placed in that drawing. Heaven, a former death row dog, will help with the fundraiser. Pet Heaven--who is now a therapy dog--for a $1 donation and lower your blood pressure—plus help save the horses.
“This past February we held a raffle fundraiser for the animals and we raised about $100 per hour,” said Twila Tuttle, Amnesty volunteer. “We’re hoping to at least triple that hourly amount this Saturday.”
Raffle tickets cost $2 each or $5 for three tickets.
To make a tax-deductible donation, send check or money order to Amnesty For Animals,
207 Dale Adams Road, Sugar Grove NC 28679 or bring your donation to the Boone Mall on Saturday.