Michigan Horse Council

American Horse Council Congressional Cavalry Program "See Below"

START (state animal response team), through the generous funding of the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association and Pet Smart Charities. (More)

The Equine Species Working Group has released the second edition of an informational booklet titled: NAIS and Horses:
The Facts Surrounding the National Animal Identification System and the Horse Industry in the U.S. See Below PDF

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In December 2009, the Michigan Supreme Court invited the Michigan Horse Council to submit an amicus curiae brief in the case of Beattie v Mickalich, an appellate court case important to the horse industry because of its interpretation of the negligence exception in the Michigan Equine Activity Liability Act (MEALA). The Court asked the Horse Council to address three specific issues relevant to the Court's consideration of whether it should hear the appeal. MHC's Amicus brief supported the lower court's interpretation and urged it either be allowed to stand without further review or be upheld on appeal. In either instance, it would be harder for a plaintiff to maintain its case and obtain relief in equine liability cases.

The matter of whether to hear the appeal has now been set for oral argument before the Michigan Supreme Court on May 11, 2010. The argument is limited to 15 minutes for each party, Plaintiff and Defendant. The MHC will not participate in oral argument. If the Court decides not hear the appeal, the appellate court's interpretation of the negligence exception under the Act will stand. If the Court hears the appeal, it will write its own opinion in the case. That opinion could uphold the lower court, it could reverse it, or it could interpret the case quite differently and even send it back to the lower court (called "remand") to reconsider in light of the Supreme Court's opinion and direction.

Oral argument is open to the public. It may also be seen after-the-fact on the web. To view a video of the oral argument online, follow the link from the Michigan State Bar's website (www.michbar.org/courts/virtualcourt.cfm) and look for Beattie v Mickalich, the case name, under Oral Argument.

The American Horse Council’s grassroots lobbying effort, called the Congressional Cavalry program, continues to grow. At our national issues forum, we invited the state horse councils and their members to participate. Now is the time to build the program as we get ready for the next Congress.

We believe this exciting program will help us better serve the horse community and improve our grassroots efforts. We hope to have as many state horse councils as possible play a role. We do not anticipate this will involve a great deal of time, only an interest by your members in participating.

If you have any questions about the program, please contact the AHC.
1616 H Street NW 7th Floor . Washington DC 20006 . 202-296-4031 . Fax 202-296-1970
Email: AHC@horsecouncil.org . Web Address: www.horsecouncil.org

In an effort to better represent and serve the horse industry in Washington DC, the American Horse Council and Michigan Horse Council have organized a new grassroots effort entitled, “The Congressional Cavalry program.” Michigan Horse Council members can participate and help to make a difference in federal legislation and regulations that affect the horse industry.

A new Congress will begin in January of 2009. If you care about the national issues that impact you and the horse community now is the time to get involved. All Michigan Horse Council members, including owners, breeders, veterinarians, trainers, competitors, recreational riders, service providers, and others who wish to be involved in grassroots efforts in Washington are encouraged to join the Congressional Cavalry program.

The purpose of the program is to enlist individuals from all segments of the horse industry and in every Congressional district who will agree to contact their Representative/Senator or federal official when asked. Calvary members will be mobilized when there is a need for grassroots contacts, such as letters and phone calls. Members of the program will be put on an email or fax list so they can be contacted and activated quickly. The AHC will provide participants with whatever information is necessary. Participants will be free to do as much as they feel comfortable doing.

If you want to sign up or have any additional questions about the Congressional Cavalry program, please contact the American Horse Council at 202-296-4031 or ahc@horsecouncil.org

The NAIS is a voluntary program intended to identify premises and livestock, and to record certain livestock movements for the purpose of disease management and control. The program’s ultimate goal is to protect the health of U.S. livestock, as well as our ability to move and market animals, through a State-Federal-Industry partnership.

The NAIS and Horses booklet contains much useful information on the NAIS, and includes the following sections:

The booklet has been updated to reflect recent changes to the program, including USDA’s position that it is a voluntary program. It also includes the latest ESWG recommendations submitted to USDA in August 2006.

One of the key recommendations made by the ESWG is that no equine movements should be reported. The group proposed that horses which move to a premises where a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI), Brand Inspection, VS-127 permit or International CVI are required should be officially identified and that the records maintained through those currently existing and utilized movement permits capture the high risk movements that pose the largest threat of spreading disease. Animal health officials would be able to query the state databases in the event of a disease emergency to obtain the necessary records.

If horse owners choose to utilize microchips for the purpose of official identification, the ESWG recommends use of the ISO/ANSI compatible RFID chip (11784/85, 134.2 kHz) and that RFID reader and scanner manufacturers and suppliers should make an immediate effort to provide readers and scanners that can read ISO/ANSI 11784/11785 microchips, and read or at least detect all 125 kHz frequency companion animal microchips. USDA has recently announced its endorsement of the ISO standards if an owner decides to utilize RFID technology for NAIS participation.

The NAIS and Horses booklet is available on the ESWG website www.equinespeciesworkinggroup.com, along with other important and useful information regarding the ESWG and the NAIS, including the latest ESWG recommendations.

The idea behind the National Animal Identification System ("NAIS") is to contain disease outbreaks that could threaten the safety of our food supply and infect tens of thousands of our animals if not contained. When introduced, it was of particular concern to horsemen, so the American Horse Council formed a task force to represent equine interests to federal officials as they developed the NAIS regulations, and it is at least partly because of its efforts that equine identification is to be a voluntary program.

On the state level, MHC Vice President Jean Ligon has represented equine on a stakeholders' advisory committee formed a few years ago by the Michigan Department of Agriculture regarding the implementation of NAIS in Michigan. While equine have not yet been addressed specifically, it appears that Michigan intends to follow the feds' lead and make identification of equine voluntary in Michigan. While premises identification may be required on some basis, tracking every movement of every horse serves no useful purpose, would be very costly and is not necessary to achieve NAIS' purpose. The MDA has not even hinted at such invasive regulations for equine in Michigan.

"There is no reason for undue concern at this time," Ligon says. "The intent, as I understand it, is to end up with a state program that maintains only information absolutely necessary to protect our horses in case of a contagious disease outbreak."

The MHC website will post periodic updates from the MDA stakeholder meetings, as well as all information received from the American Horse Council on the federal NAIS program. Monitor the AHC and MHC website's for the most accurate and timely information on this subject

Michigan is developing a SART (state animal response team), through the generous funding of the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association and PetSmart Charities. This is a nonprofit team that trains for and responds to any animal related emergency, be it an overturned trailer of livestock on a major highway, or a catastrophic weather event like Hurricane Katrina. Veterinarians, technicians, and animal caretakers will now have the opportunity to network and train with local police, fire and first responders in their community, state and across the nation.

Michigan joins 22 other states that have already established or are developing SARTs. For more information about the national SART structure, please visit www.ncsart.org. Michigan will hold a two-day SART Summit in spring 2007 and then plans to have at least two relevant training's per year. Ideas for "hands on" training sessions include large animal and wildlife handling and restraint, swift water rescue, and resourceful appropriations of equipment in disaster. These topics will be handled by experts from VMAT, HSUS, US Army, and others.
This is going to be a fun, dynamic way to become involved, give something back, and prepare yourself to respond during the next "big one." As many of you discovered during Hurricane Katrina, without credentials and security clearance you are not always welcome on national disaster sites. Because of the high profile recognition and reputation of a SART, our team is likely to be invited to respond to other disasters across the nation, thereby giving our team valuable experience we can bring back to others in Michigan.
In addition to SART team members, we need:
A deputy team commander (second in command)
A logistics officer (how to obtain necessary items and equipment)
An operations officer (how things will get accomplished)
A communications officer (radio/field communications)
An administrative officer (forms, releases, details)
A webmaster (computer guru who can help set up our website)
A training officer (seeks out opportunities for the team)
Construction and handy person types ("can do" people)
Certified Public Accountant (accounting and financial issues)
A fundraising officer (solicits funding to ensure the SART is ongoing)
A safety officer (ensures safety)
This is a total grass roots effort. As Executive Director, I have a fancy title but no pay and you can expect the same! You will experience hard, fun work that will have you participating in scenarios you NEVER thought you'd be involved in. On a SART, there is no prejudice against non-veterinarians. Technicians, animal care workers, humane advocates, computer whizzes, construction workers and others are all team members seeking to alleviate or prevent animal suffering in times of crisis.
Would you like to be a part of the team? Send an email to the address below. Would you like to join in the leadership of the team? Send an email with resume or details of relevant experience and the position you are most interested in to Dr. Cathy Theisen at outfresh@aol.com