NEWS and ARTICLE - Blackburn Gets Away With a Slap on the Hand UPDATED

Paul Blackburn gets away with soring with a slap on the hand.  This horrible man who uses bolts to sore horses and who just happened to get caught not having removed a bolt at a show is only going to get one year probation and has to WRITE AN ARTICLE about what he did!

Here's the article--click here for the online link.

UPDATE: click here for another article that's more comprehensive.  See * below for more.

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Sentence in Tennessee horse soring case includes defendant writing newspaper story
Jan. 23, 2012
Written by The Associated Press

CHATTANOOGA — A Tennessee man who pleaded guilty in a rare federal horse soring case has been sentenced to write a newspaper article about the illegal practice that involves placing bolts on the animals’ hooves or using painful irritants to accentuate their gait for horse shows.

U.S. District Judge Harry S. Mattice sentenced Paul Blackburn of Shelbyville to one year of probation and ordered him to write the horse soring article to be published in his community newspaper.

Blackburn pleaded guilty along with three other defendants whose sentencings in Chattanooga have been reset to Feb. 27.

Records show Blackburn was part of a horse boarding and training operation that involved the cruelty violations.

Blackburn declined comment afterward other than saying he was “just at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

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This is OUTRAGEOUS.  WRITE AN ARTICLE????  That's a GREAT idea--let's educate others how to sore!  And that he was "just at the wrong place at the wrong time"...well, In my opinion, that certainly says that first of all, he's been soring horses for a long time and has no problem with it, and second that he's just going to continue soring horses once his probation is over.  He obviously does not care about what he's done.  It's just business as usual.

*And the bit in the second article about his family being hurt by him going to prison for six months...PLEEEEEEAAAASE.  As stated in the article, Davis was making $12,000 per month abusing horses (30 horses x $400 per horse per month).  I'm sure Blackburn was raking in the same kind of dough.  Don't tell me that his family would suffer. In fact, I would hope that this would teach a lesson to his six kids: sore horses and you go to jail, simple as that!

Get your letters in to the USDA!  They need to hear our complaints loud and clear.  This has gone beyond far enough--these men and women will continue to abuse their horses and abuse the system!

Contact information for the USDA:

You can file a complaint with the USDA/Office of the Inspector General at the following email addresses:
Gil Harden - gil.harden@oig.usda.gov
Kim Miller - kim.miller@oig.usda.gov
Kristan Shields - kristan.shields@oig.usda.gov

Send copies of ALL correspondence, regarding this matter, to the following people:
Robin Lohnes - American Horse Protection - AMHRSEPROT@aol.com
Gail Golab - American Veterinary Medical Assoc. - ggolab@avma.org
Chris Heyde - Animal Welfare Institute - chris@awionline.org
Dr. Harry Werner - American Association of Equine Practitioners - hwwvmd@wernerequine.com

Russell Gaspar - Past attorney for Horse Protection Coalition - RGaspar@cohenmohr.com

APHIS Contacts:
Gil Harden - Office of the Inspector General/USDA - gil.harden@oig.usda.gov
Gregory L. Parham - Administrator/USDA/APHIS - Gregory.L.Parham@aphis.usda.gov
Kevin Shea - USDA/APHIS - kevin.a.shea@usda.gov
Dr. Chester Gipson, USDA/APHIS/HPA - Chester.A.Gipson@aphis.usda.gov
Dr. Rachel Cezar, USDA/APHIS/HPA - Rachel.Cezar@aphis.usda.gov