Central Park carriage horse dies on Manhatten Street

doctor evil

I don't know if anyone heard of this story.

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/397/310256.html

It doesn't state if the fractured tooth from pre or post mortem. Healthy horses or people can drop dead from time to time. Ulcers are unfortunately becoming more common but I wouldn't call them a sign of deliberate neglect.

I did a small bit of digging and apparently there is more to the story. I heard about it first from another persons blog.

http://susannaforrest.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/neglect-and-the-manhattan-carriage-horse/

However, there is a sinister layer to all of this that the public is unaware of, and one which greatly impacts the information which makes it into the media.

In a nutshell: the ASPCA is a behemoth, NYC-based 501(c)3 with $140 mil annual budget, which runs its own private police force, the Humane Enforcement Division. These uniformed officers have summons books, handcuffs, and guns, and enjoy the status of peace officers. They operate at the behest of the ASPCA hierarchy and their donors, as does their overseeing veterinarian. In a classic and stunning conflict of interests, the ASPCA has a stated mission of putting the carriage industry out of business; yes, they are in charge of investigating and monitoring an industry they have sworn to close down.

But it doesn’t stop there.

3 years ago, a mega-wealthy real estate developer who has his eye on the properties our stables sit on, created a front group which ostensibly is concerned with the welfare of our horses, NYCLASS, a 501(c)4.

http://mgross.com/gripebox/its-parkingtown-jake/

http://www.facebook.com/carriagehorsefacts

It appears a developer has eyes on the site that the carriage horses stables are located. I really hope they don't win.

doctor evil

Up date.

Vet suspended for whitstle blowing.

But a few days later, the society’s head equine veterinarian took it upon herself to issue a “correction” stating that in fact there was no evidence that the horse, Charlie, was experiencing any pain, that the ulcers he had were common in all breeds of working horses, and that any implication that Charlie was being abused was misleading.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/07/vet-who-spoke-about-carriage-horses-death-is-suspended/

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=327860

doctor evil

Video detailing stalls and care provided

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXPiZYl3a_o

Ave Sodalis

The ulcers he had were common? Wait, what?! :eek: It doesn't take a vet to know that ulcers are not a good sign, common or not...

I don't know how the animal was treated and we can't really know unless you're there and see the condition of the animal. Just that sentence stuck out for me.

doctor evil

It is thought that most ulcers are undiagnosed. This could be due to the way horses are kept or the modern way of feeding. Ulcers are becoming more common. I suppose there are different grades of ulcers.

doctor evil

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=328281

To: the Editor - The Horse magazine
cc: AAEP President : Dr Bill Moyer
cc: New York City Department of Health - Norma Torres
cc: New York City Mayor's Office - Mayor Michael Bloomberg
cc: City Council Speaker Christine Quinn
cc: Dr Elizabeth Buckles, Cornell University Veterinary medicine pathology deptartment
cc: Eva Hughes & Steve Malone - NYC Carriage Horse industry representatives
cc: Emily Hager, writer for the NY Times
cc: Stacy Wolf , ASPCA
cc: Matt Bershadker, ASPCA

TO: EDITOR, THE HORSE MAGAZINE


RE: http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=19114


Sir/Mme,


Please note that your online article showing the ASPCA's dismissive interpretation of my wife's suspension is not countered by the pertinent facts. Neither is the ASPCA's statement balanced by a counter-statement from the Carriage horse industry. The most important factual omission of your article is regarding Dr Corey's statements that she was under pressure by the ASPCA to "spin" news about any incident involving the NYC carriage horses. The ASPCA has a stated mission to ban the carriage horse industry.


It is important to note here that the ASPCA has an inherent conflict of interest regarding the carriage horses since they are chartered by New York State with Humane Law Enforcement (HLE) over the carriage horses, and, the ASPCA has a stated campaign objective of banning the NYC carriage horses on the basis of their belief that the industry is inherently cruel to horses.


Dr Corey has been placed in the untenable position of being in charge of equine law enforcement - an objective non-political task , and yet, her communications on carriage horse issues are funneled through the ASPCA media department who have the objective of painting the carriage horse industry in the worst manner. The ASPCA is campaigning to ban the industry as an "animal rights" campaign, yet is charged by New York State to carry out law enforcement over the industry they wish to destroy !


Dr Corey freely admitted to signing off on the original press statement about the carriage horse Charlie's death, which she now views as a personal mistake as the result of employer pressure. She later released, on her own authority as the Director of Equine Humane law Enforcement, a corrected media statement.


The corrected media statement was made to correct the original statement, which she felt was misleading. She felt, along with other stakeholders directly involved in the Charlie investigation, that the original statement misled, in an accusatory manner, the public to indict the carriage horse industry in Charlie's death.


In an effort to maintain the scientific objectivity that she is charged with in her HLE position at the ASPCA, she admittedly defied internal ASPCA media policy. It is noteworthy that she was never expressly prohibited by her superiors at the ASPCA from releasing the corrected statement. In fact, her exclusive expert role at the ASPCA in equine issues was reinforced in a telephone conversation with ASPCA VP in charge of the HLE division (Stacy Wolf) immediately before the release of the corrected statement.


Before releasing the corrected statement, Dr Corey provided her superiors with a copy for them to review and approve. Dr Corey's suspicions that she was being pressured to portray ("spin") carriage horse incidents in the worst possible light were reinforced in a verbal statement by ASPCA VP Matt Bershadker. In a telephone conversation immediately prior to Dr Corey releasing the corrected statement, Mr Bershadker asserted on the telephone that Dr Corey did not have the same set of "beliefs" regarding the carriage horse issue. This statement of Mr Bershadker is obviously inappropriate and indicates ASPCA political pressure on Dr Corey, since "beliefs" have no role whatsoever in HLE which is law enforcement.


After the release of the corrected statement on thursday Nov 3rd, Dr Corey respectfully provided full disclosure to the ASPCA. She emailed her superiors the list of stakeholders who received the corrected statement. The following day she was suspended without pay for an indefinite period of time, and with no reason provided.


As part of the suspension Dr Corey was forbidden from communicating with other staff at the ASPCA. Although there was no explicit order in the suspension from communicating with the media, Dr Corey has refrained from communications with the media during the suspension. As her spouse, I have been screening all of her phone calls and informing the media that she was not making any further statements during the suspension.


My wife has been under enormous stress during a long period of time in her position at the ASPCA because of the untenable position she has been put in by her employer. She has also been under enormous stress by being the target of personal attack by the anti-carriage horse protest groups that are perennially & viciously vocal in their beliefs.


One of Dr Corey's greatest fears has been to lose an amount of credibility in the veterinary community as a result of the pressure on her by her employer. I feel that your online story in THE HORSE presents only one side of a very controversial and complicated issue, and as such it is unfair to Dr Corey.


In the aftermath of this controversy becoming public, many veterinarians have expressed support for Dr Corey and her dedication to the truth. However, many veterinarians not familiar with the highly regulated urban carriage horse industry might think she was incompetent if they only read the ASCPA's dismissive responses.




I believe it is irresponsible to print the ASPCA's version of events verbatum, and not present the other side of the story from the carriage horse industry itself. I am copying this letter to the representatives of the carriage horse industry so that you may communicate with them directly and provide all sides of the story to your readers.




I also encourage you to contact the NYC Department of health to get a balanced view of the issue, and I have copied them with this communication as well. It is important to note that the NYC Department of Public Health, who share regulatory oversight of the NYC carriage horse industry, had requested a retraction / clarification of the original ASPCA media statement on Charlie's death. The ASPCA denied them a copy of Dr Corey's corrected statement.






In case you did not see it, please view the link below to the editorial page of yesterdays New York Post which in my opinion covered the issue in a more balanced fashion than the NY Times online article. Neither my wife nor I ever talked to the NY Post journalists. They came up with this editorial through their own research:


nypost piece http://www.freezepage.com/1321051367ROCPXFXYWH




Also, please note that NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg has consistently defended the carriage horse industry against the relentless and hysterical attacks by the animal rights activists. It appears to me that the ASPCA wants to channel the protesters rage against a legitimate industry for their shared ends based on their shared beliefs that the carriage horse industry is inherently cruel. Perhaps this is the time that New York State should consider revoking ASPCA's HLE charter and give it to an agency that can act impartially without bias.




Mike Larsson
Livestock Inspector
Jericho NY

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