"The Co-Op, a feed and farm store system serving
"Brad Davis has two violations, in 2008 and in 2005, for
unilateral soring and equipment violation and a scar rule violation."
And the best part?
"When contacted for their position, Alison Morgan of the
Tennessee Co-Op stated that 'While you may not agree with the training
methods illustrated by Brad Davis - and I realize that many people do not agree
with them - they are common and accepted practices for those who show walking
horses.'
"So, common means ok, even if it's illegal and cruel?"
Couldn't have said it better myself. Thank you, Ms. Morgan, for confirming that the cruel training methods are, as you said, "common and accepted practices."
In one of the captions to a photo in the article, it says: "Tennessee Farmers Cooperative equine specialist Kim Smith
visits with Brad and one of his horses. Kim calls Brad a 'shining example of
the high caliber of people in the walking horse industry.' "
Yes, he's a shining example, all right. A shining example that soring still exists and why it needs to stop.
Davis' violations are two in 2005--one for Foreign Substance and the other for Scar Rule Violation and Equipment Violation--and one in 2008 for Unilateral Sore.
Sadly, as far as I understand it, the Co-Op does a lot of community work and helps people in times of need. But obviously they are not worried about any of them obeying the law.
The blog has a nice letter you can copy and paste and send to the Co-Op, as follows. Let's let them know how we feel about their support of a known animal abuser.
Here is a sample letter, see below for contact information:
****
Hello,
It has come to my attention that the Co-op supports not only
the padded performance division of the TWHBEA, but actively encourages and
promotes individuals that have received Horse Protection Act violations, such
as the individual Brad Davis (who received violations in 2005 and 2008). In
addition, you have actively defended these illegal activities by promoting
someone who received multiple violations.
For that reason, myself and my family will no longer support
the Co-op in any manner. We will actively discourage others from supporting you
as well. As you would know if you had done the research, the TWHBEA is being
actively boycotted and disowned by the large majority of horse owners, most of
whom have migrated to other registry organizations, and as such, the TWHBEA has
faced severe monetary and public difficulties over the past several years due
to their refusal to clean up their act, and ongoing, persistent violations of
the HPA by its topmost officers on down. It was even refused a spot at the
World Equestrian Games due to its extremely poor compliance with the Horse
Protection Act.
Please do not spend the time to send me a form letter as you
have others. Just be aware that support of this illegal activity and those who
perpetrate it will affect your business. And, a web campaign is being developed
as we speak to showcase not only your response to the concerned citizens, but
your highlighting, promoting, and defending a known repeat violator of the law.
Regards,
******
You can reach Ms Morgan directly at:
Alison Morgan
Communications Dept. Manager and Editor
Tennessee Farmers Cooperative Communications Department
Phone: 615-793-8418
Fax: 615-287-8859
E-Mail: amorgan@ourcoop.com
Web site: http://www.ourcoop.com/
2 comments:
You have completely twisted Ms. Morgans statements and it's despicable that you would use past violations of one trainer to hurt the Co-op. Furthermore, You do not know under what circumstances Mr. Davis's violations occured. A foreign substance violation can be given for anything other than petroleum jelly. This includes, dirt, baby oil, shampoo, hair dye, baby powder, hair spray, etc etc. Additionally, the inspection process is extremely subjective and does not accurately or effectively determine whether or not a horse is sore...and furthermore, the majority of horses written up on scar rule over the past few years are not in violation of the Horse Protection Act but may be in violation of regulations adopted by the industry to proactively keep anything but sound, compliant horses from entering the ring. People like you are nothing more than terrorists who abuse the internet and media to spread your propaganda and you should be ashamed.
Dirt? You've got to be kidding me. No VMO is going to write a ticket if a horse has dirt on its legs. If there is anything on the horse's legs besides any of the three legal substances per the HPA--mineral oil, glycerin, or petrolatum--then the owner is the one at fault for putting something on there that shouldn't be there.
Also, I think you need to look up the meaning of the word "terrorist" before you start using it to describe someone like me.
Overall, until there are a reasonable number of violations (such as 10 or so) rather than the 581 violations found in 2011, then I will continue to fight for the horse.
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