Equine Protection Network
P.O. Box 232
Friedensburg, PA, 17933
570-345-6440
Contact: Christine Berry

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Permission to Crosspost


ARRESTS MADE UNDER PA HORSE TRANSPORT LAW

Plymouth Meeting, PA –On Sunday September 18, 2005 the Whitemarsh
Police Department, WPD, stopped two double deck cattle trailers
belonging to Three Hills Rodeo, Bernard, Iowa for violating the PA
Horse Transport Law, Title 18, 5511(e.1). The first double deck
cattle trailer had 17 horses and an undetermined number of bulls and
the second double deck trailer had four horses in the nose deck,
eleven on the top deck, and four more horses in the rear of the
trailer, known as the `doghouse'. The bulls were on the bottom deck
of the trailer.

David Morehead, 50, and Matthew Delarm, 26, both of Bernard, Iowa
were issued one citation each that carries a minimum fine of $50.00
and a maximum fine of $750.00, ninety days in jail, and or
forfeiture of the horses involved. A second conviction under this
section is a misdemeanor which would result in a permanent criminal
record for anyone convicted of violating the PA Horse Transport Law
a second time.

The Equine Protection Network, EPN, received a call from an alert
horse owner who knowing that double deck trailers were illegal in
Pennsylvania to transport horses did exactly what we are asking
people to do. She looked inside the double deck trailers that were
headed eastbound on the PA Turnpike. "This citizen knew to obtain
the license plate and the name on the trucks. Without her
information this violation would have gone unpunished", stated
Christine Berry of the EPN. The EPN was able to determine who owned
the double deck trailers and their likely destination. The EPN
provided the information to the PA State Police and the Whitemarsh
Police Department, Lafayette Hills, PA made the arrests on September
18, 2005.

The EPN has since been advised by a citizen who filed a complaint in
2004 that horses were being loaded onto double deck trailers at this
very same location a year ago with no action being taken against the
violator(s) to the best of their knowledge.

In February the EPN, and the Large Animal Protection Society, LAPS,
partnered to distribute PA Horse Transport Law cards to the public.
The EPN is expanding our program of transport law cards to include,
New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and Virginia in an
effort to increase awareness and enforcement of these states' laws
prohibiting the use of double deck trailers to transport any horse,
no matter what its final destination.
Organizations and individuals interested can participate in the
Horse Transport Law Card distribution by simply creating a link to
the cards on the EPN's website:

www.equineprotectionnetwork.com/legislation/EPNtransportcard.pdf

"The first step was passing the law, now we need to make sure the
law is enforced ", stated Christine Berry of the Equine Protection
Network."Law enforcement depends on citizen complaints of criminal
activity. By providing the public with these cards to be carried in
their cars we are providing people with a copy of the law and what
to do if they see a double decker in Pennsylvania carrying horses.
For 20 years double deck trailers rolled out of the New Holland and
Middleburg, PA horse auctions headed into New York on their way to
Canada. Untold thousands of horses were forced with electric cattle
prods and whips into the bowels of possum belly double deck trailers
in full view of people at these sales and nothing was done to inform
the New York State Police, NYSP, of the weekly violations. "When I
saw those double deck trailers at New Holland I refused to stand by
and allow the law to be violated", stated Christine Berry, "I
contacted the NYSP and provided the information on when these trucks
were coming into New York and the violators were arrested and
successfully prosecuted. We can successfully enforce our Horse
Transport Laws, we just need the public to keep their eyes open and
call the police when they see a violation."

"I don't ever want to hear another double being loaded. In the
darkness you may not be able to see what is happening, but you can
sure hear it. The sounds of terrified horses being forced into the
black interior of the trailer are not easily forgotten. You can hear
them crashing, falling, and scrambling up or down the steep interior
ramps and then the sounds of horses fighting for position and
balance in a trailer with metal floors and ceiling heights so low
that when the panicked horses raise their heads they are slammed
into the 3" metal I beams supporting the top deck. You can hear
their frightened whinnies."

"I loaded enough horses when I worked for a leading commercial horse
transportation company to know when a horse is in trouble. What I
don't understand is why so many people for 20 years never did
anything to enforce the laws that were, and still are on the books
making these trailers illegal."

Every year horse publications have a trailer issue with articles on
horse trailers, their selection, maintenance, use and methods to
safely transport your horse. Trailer manufacturers are heavily
advertised in these special trailer issues. In the thirty-five plus
years I have been in the horse industry I have never seen a double
deck trailer described or advertised to transport horses in horse
publications or at any horse industry trade shows.

What the Public Can Do

In states where double deck trailers are illegal, the EPN is urging
people to be alert for double deck trailers and to download a copy
of the PA Horse Transport Law card from our website and carry it in
your car and keep another one in your wallet. The cards provide a
copy of the law and instructions on what to do if you observe a
double deck trailer. If you see a double deck trailer, look inside
for horse's ears or tails. It is vital to obtain the license plate
of the trailer and then call police to report the violation. The
location of the truck and direction it is traveling are important to
provide to law enforcement. Carry a disposable camera in your car so
you can photograph the truck and the trailer. The EPN is maintaining
a record of sightings of double deck trailers in addition to
maintaining arrests and convictions involving this illegal transport
of horses.

PA Transport Cards are available for download on the EPN website,

www.equineprotectionnetwork.com

People can express their appreciation for law enforcement's efforts
& urging continued enforcement by sending letters to the following
police departments:

Chief Eileen Behr
Whitemarsh Police Department
616 Germantown Pike
Lafayette Hill, PA 19444

Commissioner Jeffrey B. Miller
Pennsylvania State Police
1800 Elmerton Avenue
Harrisburg, PA, 17110

Background

PA's Horse Transport Law, Title 18, 5511(e1) signed into law by
Governor Tom Ridge in June of 2001and went into effect in August
2001. It is the strongest law in the United States prohibiting the
transport of any horse in a vehicle with more than one level stacked
on top of each other. It is often mistakenly reported that PA law is
a transportation of horses to slaughter law, or is related to horse
slaughter. "Not so," says Berry of the EPN. "PA law applies to all
horses, no matter what their final destination." The EPN refused to
allow legislation referring to 'slaughter' to pass because as Berry
puts it, "there was no way the EPN was going to legitimize horse
slaughter by putting legislation on the books that referred to the
transport of horses to slaughter." This law is non-discriminatory -
it applies to all horses. The language is simple and straightforward
making it easy for law enforcement, even those unfamiliar with
horses, to enforce the law. We refused to concede and allow vague
and unenforceable language such as, "hold their head in a normal
upright manner above their withers". Vague language requires expert
testimony and invites dueling experts in court resulting in
difficulty prosecuting offenders.

Shortly after the law was passed in 2001 Sugarcreek Livestock and
New Holland Sales Stables were both convicted on 31 counts under the
PA Horse Transport Law.

The EPN sponsored the Horse Transport Bill and provided testimony,
video and photographic evidence demonstrating the continued use of
inhumane double deck cattle trailers to transport horses from PA
horse auctions to slaughter for human consumption. The EPN also
provided written support from PA and national horse organizations
for our efforts to pass this legislation. Thousands of individuals
also sent written support of the EPN's efforts to the PA
legislature. The EPN pressed for a law that applied to ALL horses,
not just slaughter bound, ensuring the successful prosecution of
offenders. The EPN supported language that was engineering based,
(specific) instead of performance based langue, (vague).

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, USDA,
horses frequently sustain injuries due to the steep inclines of
double deck loading ramps and the USDA does not believe that equines
can be safely and humanely transported in trailers with two levels
stacked on top of each other.

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