Walking horse defender BillyGoboy never slowed down in fight against the “Big Lickers” OXFORD, Mississippi––Citizens Committee Against Big Lick Animal Cruelty founder Clant Seay, 76, remembered by fellow campaigner Marty Irby as “quite a character and in my opinion the greatest anti-soring advocate of all time,” died on March 6, 2023 in Oxford, Mississippi. […]
Four black leaders who built the humane movement––long before MLK!
Long before Martin Luther King Jr. had his enduring influence, more people recognized William Key, John W. Lemon, Richard Carroll, & F. Rivers Barnwell in their own time than would have recognized ASPCA founder Henry Bergh INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana––“I am the only colored speaker on the program, and in fact I have not seen a […]
Court returns Horseracing Integrity & Safety Act to the starting gate
Newly formed Horseracing Integrity & Safety Authority loses turf battle to state & industry agencies NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana––Horse advocates and the horse racing industry across the U.S. are somewhat belatedly beginning to realize that a November 18, 2022 unanimous decision by the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has returned the Horseracing Integrity & […]
Anti-“Big Lick” soring PAST Act passes U.S. House; goes to Senate
And California voters dump horse racing bail-out measure WASHINGTON D.C.––The U.S. House of Representatives on November 14, 2022 for the second time passed the PAST Act, short for Prevent All Soring Tactics, and sent it to the U.S. Senate, where for the second time it is likely to pull up lame. But maybe not. Before […]
The “Big Lick,” Tunica, & the smell of horse manure in the morning
“Big Lick” industry hopes to raise a defense fund at show finale brunches in center ring TUNICA, Mississippi––Tennessee walking horse “Big Lick” fanciers either love the smell of horse manure in the morning, or, when converging for shows at the Paul Battle Arena, miss the odor of Sugar Ditch Alley, the open sewer for which […]
Horse defenders ask, “Where are the Cheshire cats of equine advocacy?”
Barn-sour big groups leave the hard work to Lone Rangers Fighting the horse’s rear ends promoting the horse racing industry, rodeo, and “Big Lick” horse exhibition, Political Animals founder Sherry DeBoer, Action for Animals founder Eric Mills, Showing Animals Respect & Kindness founder Steve Hindi, and Citizens Campaign Against “Big Lick” Animal Cruelty founder Clant […]
How the ghosts of Elvis Presley & Tom Parker help to fight “Big Lick” soring
Parker made Elvis, Elvis gave Priscilla Presley a voice, & Priscilla Presley stood up for the horses MEMPHIS, Tennessee––The clock appears to have just about run out on efforts to pass the Prevent All Soring Tactics Act, or PAST Act, in the 117th Congress. Priscilla Presley, 77, retired actress and former wife of the late […]
Walking horse industry waits for the other (weighted) shoe to drop
“Big Lickers” hold out hope for a Congressional reprieve SHELBYVILLE, Tennessee––A legal showdown may be coming soon over enforcement of a new USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service rule meant to protect show horses, but not just yet. The mood midway through the 2022 Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration, supposed to climax on September […]
“Big Lick” horses win in court. Can they get a break from Congress?
Trump killed rule meant to stop soring WASHINGTON D.C.––Former U.S. President Donald Trump in January 2017 improperly blocked a new USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service rule meant to protect show horses from taking effect, ruled a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on July 22, […]
USDA-APHIS wants your 2¢ on animal-related federal law enforcement––NOW!!!
“Come on, animal advocates, let’s move fast! Your big chance has come at last! Want a chance to have your say? Tell it to the USDA!” WASHINGTON D.C.––The USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service [APHIS] is, until the end of July 2022, offering the public a unique chance to kibbitz on an “APHIS […]