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Hobbyhorse Showjumping Craze Sweeps Scandinavia
I can’t believe I’m reporting on this, but I assure you it’s not fake news. Riders, mostly girls between five and eighteen, but some boys as well, are riding, practicing, and competing in dressage and showjumping events on hobby horses. Riders can buy their mounts—stuffed heads on a stick—for about two hundred dollars; other riders breed…errr…that is, make their own hobbyhorses. The sport is said to have attracted more than 10,000 athletes in Finland alone (about equal to the entire foxhunting population in the U.S.), where, after vying in regional events throughout the year, the nation’s finest riders compete in the annual Hobbyhorse Championships near Helsinki. Points are awarded for style and posture, as in traditional equestrian events. Enthusiasts of the sport are also active in Sweden, France, and Germany. Riders train through the woods and parks, finding a sense of belonging and empowerment in the hobbyhorse community. Click for video. Posted May 12, 2017
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Breakthrough in Preserving Live Horse Sperm for AI
Researchers in Australia have developed a new scientific method they claim could boost the success of horse breeding via artificial insemination (AI) around the world. With their discovery, semen can be stored, shipped, and used at ambient temperature. Chilling or freezing, which can damage cells, would not be necessary. Scientists at the University of Newcastle developed a nutrient-rich liquid which, when added to horse semen collected after ejaculation, keeps the sperm alive for longer periods at ambient temperature. With the new liquid, the sperm could remain viable for up to two weeks, as opposed to only about three days when chilled. The research came about after a grant collaboration between stakeholders in the national and international equine industry, and included a number of universities. The concern is that horse breeding has fallen behind other animal industries. The University of Newcastle is located in New South Wales Hunter Valley, the second largest Thoroughbred breeding area in the world. While the Thoroughbred stud book does not allow the use of artificial insemination, other horse breeders are expected to benefit from the breakthrough. Cryo-preservation, according to a researcher, can damage cells and reduced their life span once thawed, thereby reducing fertility. Click for Robert Virtue’s complete article in ABC Newcastle. Posted April 22, 2017
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Flying Fox a Threatened Species
The flying fox, so called for its large eyes and pointed ears and snout, is not really a fox at all. The other common name for the mammal is fruit bat. It’s the largest of all bats in the world with a wingspan of nearly five feet. Its senses of smell and eyesight are well-developed, and it doesn’t rely on echo-location to catch flying insects for its diet. Its subsists on blossoms, nectar, pollen, and fruit and serves as an important pollination vector in the reproduction of many tropical fruits. The flying fox is threatened with extinction in much of its habitat, especially on islands in the South Pacific where it is essentially trapped because of its limited flying range. Some islands, like Mauritius, have introduced mass culls at the insistence of farmers whose harvests are reduced by the bats’ consumption. Yet the bats provide the farmers with a critical pollinating service. In the Marianas, flying fox meat is considered a delicacy, for which a large commercial trade developed. According to Science Magazine, “the dire situation of island flying foxes worldwide calls for effective, science-based conservation strategies to prevent further loss of biodiversity and function.” Posted April 16, 2017
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Headwaters Hounds’ Neighbors Say Nix to Foxhounds
Neighbors of the Headwaters Hounds (CO) have filed both civil and criminal complaints against Dr. Alison Brown, MFH of the Headwaters Hounds, objecting to the kennel noise. Brown claims that her foxhound breeding operation is protected by the local Right to Farm and Ranch ordinances. Brown kennels about thirty foxhounds, one third of which are in retirement and are “living out their days in sanctuary.” Headwaters Hounds was established in their present location in 2014; the complainants moved nearby in 2016. The area is zoned for rural use. A member of the Right to Farm and Ranch board, who helped write the ordinance said, “People move to rural areas and then expect that the manure pile next door wouldn’t smell, the farm equipment should have mufflers, that farm dogs don’t bark…. Rural zones are expected to have rural uses.” Click for Jan Wondra’s complete article in the March 28th issue of the Mountain Mail. Posted March 29,2017
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Jedforest Staff Members on Trial for Breach of Hunting Act
A video taken from nearly a half mile away purports to show a man digging out a fox, after which staff members of the Jedforest Foxhounds pursued it on horseback in contravention of Scotland’s Protection of Wild Mammals Act of 2002. Mounted hunt staff members John Clive Richardson and Johnny Riley stand trial accused of pursuing the fox with hounds after it had gone to ground, been located by terriers, dug out by the terrier man, and chased once again by hounds. The accused men deny deliberately hunting a fox with hounds. The law requires that, once dug out, the fox must be immediately dispatched or killed by waiting guns. The video was filmed by an investigator from the League Against Cruel Sports and was shown in evidence at Jedburgh sheriff court. The LACS investigator, Terence Hill, said, “There are far too many loopholes in the legislation just now. Flushing to guns is not happening. Traditional fox hunting is still going on.” The trial continues. Click for Robert Fairburn’s complete article in The Times. Posted March 19, 2017
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Popular Riding Safari Leader Murdered in Kenya
Tristan Voorspuy could identify every tree, every bird, and every creature that walked the landscape, and was a force for preservation. / Garth Thompson photo
Tristan Voorspuy, sixty, was ambushed and murdered on his Sosian ranch on March 4, 2017. We report this breaking news because Tristan was well-known and respected by so many foxhunters across North America who traveled to Kenya for his riding safaris.
Tristan led most of the safaris. He could identify every tree, every bird, and every creature that walked the landscape, and had stories to tell about each. His death at the hands of renegade tribal warriors comes as a painful shock to those who remember him as a gifted horseman, pilot, former foxhunter, bold and rugged friend, naturalist, and a force for conservation in Africa. He truly cared about and and worked for the preservation of his natural world.
In fact, in a bizarre way, Tristan’s murder can be directly related to his conservation success. In 2005, Tristan and six investors purchased Sosian, a 24,000-acre ranch that was badly degraded. Tristan turned it into a highly successful wildlife conservation project, one of a number of large ranches that double as wildlife conservancies. Tribal warriors, members of Kenya’s Samburu and Pokot ethnic groups who live in an area denuded by drought and livestock, have recently seized several of these ranches so they may now graze their goats and cows.
Georgia Declares War on Coyote
In an effort to reduce the high population of resident coyotes, the state of Georgia has introduced new incentives for hunters and trappers to target the predator. The Coyote Challenge is a program sponsored by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division to reward those who kill coyotes. Monthly drawings for lifetime hunting licenses or credits toward the purchase of licenses are held for those who participate. The DNR suggests that the best time of year to remove coyotes and reduce their impact on native wildlife is during the spring or summer. The season on coyotes is open year-round because the species is non-native to the state, yet found in every county. While there is no legal limit on coyotes, hunters and trappers may bring up to five carcasses a month to DNR offices, each carcass earning one entry in the monthly drawing. Click for Tom Spigolon’s complete article in West Georgia Neighbor. Posted February 27, 2017
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Scotland’s SNP Would Alter Hunting Ban; Trample Ancient Codes of Law
Scottish National Party (SNP) Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham proposes to tighten the screws on foxhunters in that country. Scotland was the first nation in the UK to pass a hunting act affecting foxhunting. Now the SNP wants to tighten the act with measures that border on the oppressive, if not the actual contravention of basic human rights. Cunningham proposes two measures that, if passed, could spell the demise in Scotland of any sporting activity that even remotely resembles foxhunting: (1) Make the landowner criminally liable for any offences that may occur on his/her property, and (2) reverse the burden of proof to the defendant rather than the prosecutor, so that the accused hunt club would have the burden to prove that it complied with the law. A reversal of the burden of proof not only contravenes Article 11 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, it flies in the face of legal principles followed since the sixth century’s Justinian Code, and the twelfth century’s English Common Law. Notwithstanding these recommended breaches of basic human rights, pro-hunting organizations and animal rights organizations alike have welcomed the opportunity to clarify the present Hunting Act. The Scottish Countryside Alliance welcomed the chance to work with the Scottish Government and Police Scotland on the new code; and the League Against Cruel Sports Scotland also welcomed the chance to make the law “clearer and more suited to its intended purpose.” Apparently both sides believe they have something to gain by negotiating the proposals. As this writer sees it, the downside is considerably more terminal for foxhunters in light of national polls. For more details, click for Simon Johnson’s complete article in The Telegraph. Posted February 6, 2017
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MFHA Elects Tony Leahy President; Promises Season of Celebration
MFHA President Tony LeahyTony Leahy, MFH of the Fox River Valley Hunt (IL), was elected to a three-year term as President of the Masters of Foxhounds Association at the Annual Meeting held on Friday, January 27, 2017 in New York. Leslie Rhett Crosby, MFH, Mooreland Hunt (AL) was elected First Vice President and Penny Denegre, MFH, Middleburg Hunt (VA) was elected Second Vice President. Also, David Twiggs was officially confirmed as the MFHA’s new Executive Director.
Retiring Executive Director Dennis Foster will remain at the office for another two months to complete David’s training. Upon his official retirement, Dennis will continue to assist the MFHA in animal rights and other areas, on a consulting basis.
I had the distinct honor of addressing the Annual Meeting crowd, the largest crowd I have ever seen, to relate how special David and his family are, and to explain President Leahy’s vision for an upcoming season of celebration. It was literally standing room only.
NYC Carriage Drivers Take the Offensive
Mayor de Blasio, have you no romance? (c.1960 original vintage poster by Stan Galli and other antique horse-related posters are availabe from Chisholm Gallery.)Just three weeks after embattled New York City horse carriage drivers filed a lawsuit against NYCLASS, three leaders of that animal rights group—the Executive Director and two organizers—have resigned.
During his 2013 mayoral campaign, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged to remove the iconic horse-drawn carriages from the city’s streets. The FBI has been investigating that campaign pledge as it relates to donations made to NYCLASS by top de Blasio supporters; donations from NYCLASS to deBlasio’s mayoral campaign; how those donations related to de Blasio’s pledge to wipe out the horse carriage industry; and threats made by NYCLASS in 2013 to de Blasio’s chief rival in the mayoral race, Christine Quinn.
