Equine Protection Network
www.equineprotectionnetwork.com
March 6, 2005
For Immediate Release
Permission to Crosspost

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PA Horse Transport Law Cards Available for Download

The Equine Protection Network, EPN, and the Large Animal Protection
Society, LAPS, have partnered together to distribute PA Horse
Transport Law cards to the public. The cards are available for
download at:

(Make sure and copy the entire URL)

http://www.equineprotectionnetwork.com/legislation/EPNtransportcard.p
df

(Make sure and copy the entire URL)

PA's Horse Transport Law passed in 2001 is the strongest law in the
United States prohibiting the transport of ANY horse in a double
deck trailer, no matter what its final destination.

"Passing the strongest law in the country was the first step,"
states Christine Berry of the Equine Protection Network, "making the
public aware of the law and enforcing it is the next step". Police
depend on citizen complaints of crimes being committed. "Our goal is
to make as many people aware of the law as possible and provide them
with the means to take action when they see a suspected violation."

The EPN has received several reports of eyewitness accounts from
horse people who have observed double deck trailers in northeast and
south central PA with horses on since the law went into effect in
2001. Unfortunately the witnesses were unable to provide a
description of the truck to law enforcement. The EPN and LAPS hope
to change that with the distribution of the cards.

The EPN advises people to look for horse's ears and tails when they
see a double decker. Double deck trailers are common in PA, and are
legal to transport other animals. The EPN likes to refer to this law
as, "enforcement friendly". "The beauty of the PA law is its
simplicity," according to Berry, "Any law enforcement officer,
whether they are familiar with horses or not, can enforce this law.
There is no need for expert witnesses and there are no judgment
calls." The PA Horse Transport Law applies to all horses, it does
not matter where the horses are headed; if there are horses anywhere
in that double deck trailer, it is a violation of PA law.

The EPN distributed over 500 PA Horse Transport Law cards at the
Horse World Expo in Harrisburg last month and hundreds more have
been downloaded off of the EPN website since being posted last week.
The effort received a boost when Harrisburg, PA television news
stations aired the story after visiting the EPN's booth at the Horse
World Expo.

The EPN points to New York as a perfect example of the need for the
public's involvement in the effort to rid PA of double deck trailers
carrying horses. New York passed the strongest law on the books
banning doubles for any horse no matter what its final destination
in 1980, yet it was rarely enforced. Starting in 1998 the EPN
provided information to the New York State Police reporting double
deck trailers traveling into New York in violation of the law
resulting in numerous convictions and thousands of dollars in fines.
More information:
http://www.equineprotectionnetwork.com/press/pindex.htm

In September 2001 only a few days after the PA Horse Transport Law
went into effect, New Holland Sales Stables, New Holland, PA, and
Sugarcreek Livestock Trucking, Sugarcreek, OH, were both cited and
later convicted on 31 counts each for violating the PA Horse
Transport Law of 2001.

Low-end horse dealers, rodeo stock contractors and "killer buyers"
are the known users of double deck trailers to transport horses.
Double deck trailers are not designed nor manufactured to meet
equine industry standards to transport horses.

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********************
Shop online at IGive.com with close to 600 great stores you know &
love! Join today – the EPN gets $5 extra the first time you shop!
The EPN joinlink is listed below & is also on our website:
http://www.igive.com/EPN
Remember, shop At IGive.com! Your purchases support the EPN!

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