Equine Protection Network
www.equineprotectionnetwork.com
Christine Berry
January 31, 2006

To Whom it May Concern,

The CORRECT article that appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer is
posted below. Regarding the inappropriate actions of
Irv Lichtenstein the one time Legislative Chair for the PA Equine
Council who rewrote Bonnie Cook's story without her permision or the
Philadelphia Inquirer and then distributed it via the World Wide Web.

Please post & cross post the ACTUAL article as it appeared in the
Philadelphia Inquirer.

The previous fabricated article was posted to our newsletter by Debi
Metcalfe of SHI who mistakenly believed the article was the actual
Philadelphia Inquire article. SHI received the article and posted
it. The EPN & SHI apologize for the confusion this caused.

The EPN will post our response to Irv's inappropriate & untrue
statements regarding the PA Horse Transport Law, the federal regs &
this case in particular.

Christine Berry
EPN

Cowboys admit improper transport of rodeo horses

Jan 26, 2006

By Bonnie L. Cook INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Two rodeo cowboys from Iowa have pleaded guilty to 36 counts of
violating
Pennsylvania's equine cruelty act, which makes it unlawful to
transport
horses in double-decker animal carriers.

The conviction marked the first time the statute, enacted in 2001,
was used
against a rodeo operator. A previous conviction in September 2001
had roped
in a transporter of 31 horses going to slaughter.

Equine advocates hailed the conviction as a win for those who
believe that
no horse - regardless of its destination - should be transported in
trailers
without adequate headroom.

"We are thrilled," said Christine Berry, founder of the Equine
Protection
Network, which lobbied for the law. "We couldn't be happier. The law
worked.
"

Despite his guilty plea, David Morehead, said he defied anyone "to
observe
our animals and how we transport them, and find anyone in the United
States
that keeps their animals in better condition. "

As part of Tuesday's guilty plea, Morehead, 50, and Matthew Delarm,
26, both
of Three Hills Rodeo in Bernard, Iowa, must pay a total of $4,497 in
fines
and costs incurred by District Court in Lafayette Hill.

Morehead and Delarm had just left the Shriners LuLu Temple Shrine on
Butler
Pike in Plymouth Meeting on Sept. 18, where they had staged a
rodeo , when
they were pulled over by Whitemarsh Township police.

Morehead was driving a tractor trailer bearing 19 horses, Delarm 17.
The
trucks had two tiers, although Morehead has said that the trucks
were safe
for horses.

Each man was given one citation - the equivalent of a traffic
ticket. That
number was raised to 36 - one for each horse carried - after equine
advocates complained that the letter of the law wasn't being
followed.

Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Aliena Gerhard
said: "The law
is clear. The prohibitions are clear. People do not get to choose
which laws
should apply to them. "

The legislation makes it a crime to carry horses in any conveyance
with "two
or more levels stacked on top of one another. "

Equine advocates said that double deckers do not allow horses enough
head
room to stay balanced, putting the animals at risk for falls and
injury.

"No horse belongs in these trailers," said Berry, of the equine
network.
"They are not designed or manufactured for horses. "

Morehead said yesterday he was singled out for prosecution.

"If that's cruelty to an animal in Pennsylvania, New York and
Massachusetts,
how come it's not cruelty to animals in the other 47 states?" he
asked.

Morehead said that despite that view, he would comply with the law
next
September when the cowboys put on their annual rodeo at the LuLu
Temple.

Proceeds go to maintain the Shriners temple. Last year, the event
made
$40,000.

Contact staff writer Bonnie L. Cook at 610-313-8232 or
bcook@....