Day: October 23, 2010

Equine distemper outbreak linked to deaths of wild horses in Utah

HERRIMAN — An outbreak of equine distemper has been linked to the deaths of 11 wild horses at the BLM’s primary holding facility in Utah. As a result of the deaths over the past two weeks, officials at the Salt Lake Regional Wild Horse & Burro Facility are limiting public access during periods when veterinary care is being administered to the horses. Gus Warr, the state’s wild horse and burro manager for the BLM, said six of the fatalities happened within the last 48 hours, with the bulk of the horses impacted being younger animals with weakened

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Ohio board creates penalties to enforce livestock care standards

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — The Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board should soon have a set of penalties to enforce its standards. During a meeting Oct. 19, the board voted 7-1 in favor of creating civil penalties that address major and minor violations, and appropriate fines for each. The opposing vote was cast by board member Jeff Wuebker, a swine farmer from Darke County. He said as a livestock producer, he still had concerns some of the language could be interpreted too broadly. Read more…

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Arizona group to start registry for equine rescue facilities

Horses throughout Arizona will get a second chance at life thanks to a program from the Arizona Department of Agriculture. The department announced late last week that it started processing the first application for a certified equine rescue facility. Certification and listing on the registry allows the public to easily find equine rescue facilities that meet veterinarian-approved standards of care. “The equestrian community came together when it saw a need for certification rescues,” said Dr. John Hunt, associate director of Animal Services at the Department of Agriculture. “Now, people can be sure that if they ever need

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Study finds gray horses are prone to skin cancer

Recent studies have revealed something that has mystified the horse world since man first domesticated his equine friends some 5,000 plus years ago. Occasionally, a new born foal that has normal coloured markings such as black, or bay, or brown, may start to turn grey at an early age and then eventually turn almost white. This process resembles how peoples’ hair turns grey as they become older, but can happen relatively quickly in the grey horse and usually by the time they are only six to eight years of age. In history, early societies thought this strange

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N.J. agriculture agency takes steps to control horse diseases

TRENTON — State agriculture officials on Thursday said they’re cracking down on shady horse traders after reports of animals being brought to New Jersey and sold without required medical testing. Failure to follow regulations designed to control equine infectious diseases can lead to dealer license suspensions and fines of up to $500, officials said. The state is home to 42,500 horses housed at 7,200 farms and other facilities. Horses entering New Jersey must have a negative Coggins test and a valid interstate health certificate signed by a licensed veterinarian from the state of origin. Agriculture Department officials

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