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NEWS &VIEWS You Can Use


2 Convicted in Death of Assateague Pony Mare


On February 10, U.S. Magistrate Victor Laws sentenced Justin B. Eason of Easton, MD to pay $5,000 in fi nes and restitution costs, banned him from hunting on federal lands and placed him on 18 months of probation for the January 2011 shooting death of a 28-year-old bay mare, I.D.# N2BH, on the Maryland side of Assateague Island National Seashore. His father, John A. Eason, was likewise ordered to pay a fi ne of $1,000 and to serve 12 months of probation. Each must also complete a hunter education and safety course.


New Pasture Fencing Vandalized Local police are investigating how and why


new pasture fencing, installed by Kelly Re- iter, owner of Flying Duck Farm in Hernwood (Carroll Country), was ripped out. Reiter and her family installed the fencing on pasture she is leasing from Lafarge, which owns and oper- ates the nearby quarry. A $500 reward is being off ered for information leading to a conviction.


Senate Bill 108: Stable Licensing


T is is really a “housekeeping bill,” cleaning up ambiguities in the current stable licensing law and stipulating that only facilities that pro- vide services to the public must be inspected and licensed by MDA’s Maryland Horse In- dustry Board (MHIB), regardless of how many horses that operation has onsite. T ese services include boarding, riding,


training


and renting hors- es. Private opera- tors who do not off er services to the public are exempt. T e law under which the Stable Inspectors


the scope of potential facilities that should be licensed. MDA worked with a focus group of equine professionals in crafting this bill. T e Equiery supports this SB 108.


Troubling Bill To Turn “Owners” into “Guardians”


We’ve seen it happen in other states, so animal


welfare proponents have been keeping a watch- ful eye out for attempts by animal right’s activ- ists to do something similar in Maryland, and with the introduc- tion of House Bill 912, that watchfulness was warranted.


Delegates


“Guardian” is a legal term that has signifi - cant legal implications and repercussions, including giving animals legal standing as “wards” rather than property.


Wade Kach and John Olszewski have intro- duced a very troubling bill that would require Maryland to change variations of the term “own” to variations of the term “guardian” in specifi ed provisions of law relating to dogs; and require the publishers of the Annotated Code of Mary- land, in consultation with the Department of Legislative Services, to replace specifi ed refer- ences in the Code to the term “own” with the term “guardian” in relationship with the speci- fi ed domestic animal. We all feel as though our dogs and horses are


SB 108 actually narrows the scope of potential facilities that should be licensed.


part of our families, and it is understandable that some folks might think that “guardian” is a friendlier-sounding term than “owner,” but the legal ramifi cations of “just swapping out words” is tremendous. As noted by attorney Jane Seigler in her Maryland Horse Council legislative blog: “‘Guardian’ is a legal term that has signifi cant legal implications and repercussions,


including giving animals


are currently operating has various organiza- tions, individual and agencies interpreting its requirements diff erently. For example, there are sections of the current laws that could be interpreted to mean that breeding farms need to be licensed under this law. While there may be some folks that feel that breeders ought to be licensed, that is neither the practice nor the original intent of the current Stable Licensing program, which is focused on consumer protec- tion. Any attempt to regulate breeding stables would have to be done under new legislation, not within this law. SB 108 actually narrows


legal standing as ‘wards’ rather than property.” T e replacement of the word “owner” with “guardian” is of- ten the fi rst step in an eff ort to legally endow all animals with the same rights as humans. Once the language is


changed pertaining to dogs and some other domesticat- ed animals, it is only a short time before the language is changed for horses as well. T is is part of a coordinated national eff ort to declas- sify horses as livestock and


- Jane Seigler, Maryland Horse Council Vice President


reclassify them as pets or companion animals. T is would have devastating consequences on our national and international veterinary medi- cal system as well as our legal system. Both the Maryland Veterinary Medical As- sociation and the American Veterinary Medi- cal Association are opposing this bill; the two organizations have authored a joint statement on HB 912 listing the adverse aff ects of “guard- ianship” on animal owners, service providers, society and animals and will testify against the bill at its March 1 hearing in the House Environmental Mat- ters Committee. T e Equiery opposes HB 912 and encour-


ages all our readers to do the same.


New Penalties for Animal Cruelty? T ere are four bills (SB 203/HB 484 and SB 445/HB 336) that would allow judges to order people convicted of cruelty to pay the costs of caring for the animals during the trial. Maryland House Bill 336, crossfi led as Sen- ate Bill 445, would also require a court to order a defendant convicted of a certain charges of animal cruelty, as a condition of sentencing, to assign ownership of the animal(s) to the agency or organization that confi scated the animal(s), for disposal at the discretion of that agency or organization, and to pay in addition any other fi nes and all reasonable costs incurred in remov- ing, feeding, housing, treating, or euthanizing an animal confi scated from the defendant. T ese bills would allow the rescue and animal welfare agencies who have custody of confi s- continued...


Canterbury Arabian Farm Criminal Neglect Trial


The trial against Eastern Shore horse owner Marsha Parkinson is scheduled to be held Feb. 27 - March 2, 2012 in Queen Anne’s County. Parkinson is facing 133 counts of criminal ne- glect after 146 horses were either seized or euthanized in late spring of 2011. (For background, please see equiery.com).


This print edition of The Equiery will already be at press when the trial starts, but equiery.com will be attending the trial and will post blog updates on a regular basis during the trial. To receive e-mail updates, go to equiery.com and select “sub- scribe via e-mail.” It’s free!


IF YOU HAVE NEWS, VIEWS OR UPDATES TO CONTRIBUTE, PLEASE SEND THEM TO Editor at The Equiery, P.O. Box 610, Lisbon, MD 21765 • FAX: 410-489-7828 • email editor@equiery.com.


Be sure to include your full name, phone number and address. All submissions become the property of The Equiery. www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580 MARCH 2012 | THE EQUIERY | 9


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