Vicky's Sharebook 

A man who owned a horse for 6 years only gets probation for starving him to death!!  Where's the justice?

By Andrew Helton 

Target: Sonoma County Judge Robert LaForge

Goal: Give man who starved horse to death a stronger sentence

A man in Windsor, California was recently found guilty of starving a retired racehorse to death. His sentence was a mere 3 years probation and community service. Penalties this weak are the reason animal cruelty continues and it needs to stop being tolerated now.  Read full story here & sign petition.

Mark Ross was originally charged with felony animal cruelty after he starved his 6-year-old horse to death in December 2010, but recently pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge and was sentenced immediately by Judge Robert LaForge. The reason for the discrepancy in the charges is because Ross agreed to plead no contest to the lesser charge because of the cost of an estimated 5-7 day trial. So rather than receive the sentence he deserved, which would have resulted in a prison term and a large fine, he was given community service so that the court could save money on the trial.

The deceased horse was brought to Ross by his niece who neglected it as well. She also received probation and community service. Siobham Duff, a representative from In Defense of Animals, said the outcome of the case was “horrible and atrocious.” Animal rights activists around the country have been speaking out vehemently because Ross had other horses on the property, which he fed properly. There was simply no excuse for it, although his lawyer claims the horse refused to eat.

This case is a perfect example of what is wrong with animal cruelty laws throughout the country and why these horrible acts continue. Mark Ross starved a horse to death, and rather than receive the felony charge he deserved, he received informal probation because the court didn’t want the trial to last longer than it had to. It shows a complete lack of respect for the lives of animals.

Please sign the petition below (click link) to demand Mark Ross receive a stronger sentence and also show that this complete lack of compassion for animals in the judicial system will not be tolerated.

http://forcechange.com/64866/send-man-who-starved-a-retired-horse-to-prison/#gf_1

Chris Buehler,  administrator and founder of Oreo’s Kitty Rescue, a small home based kitty rescue, working to help save homeless kitties with food vet care, including TNR, and finding good furever homes for them,  was recently diagnosed with (3) Stage 4 cancers, bone, liver and pancreas.  She had to have  surgery bypass so that it could help her eat and hold food down and allow a different way out of the tummy.  The surgery did not take away any cancer and it is spreading fast.  A few months ago her husband’s salary was downsized to ½ of what it was and Chris, due to her illness, has been unemployed for 2 months.    Her bills are mounting and she’s facing foreclosure; her Social Security checks will not begin until September, although she has been allotted $37.00/month until then, which won’t pay for much of  anything.   She is on home hospice and needs help with her cancer meds,  paying her utilities and mortgage payments until then.   She is frantic and doesn’t need this added stress.   Time is of the essence.   Thank you so much.

Any donation big or small would be so appreciated.  Her PayPal account is buehler740@aol.com or go here....http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/fundraiser-for-fellow-kitty-rescuer-christine-buehler/58064

Chris Buehler,  administrator and founder of Oreo’s Kitty Rescue, a small home based kitty rescue, working to help save homeless kitties with food vet care, including TNR, and finding good furever homes for them,  was recently diagnosed with (3) Stage 4 cancers, bone, liver and pancreas.  She had to have  surgery bypass so that it could help her eat and hold food down and allow a different way out of the tummy.  The surgery did not take away any cancer and it is spreading fast.  A few months ago her husband’s salary was downsized to ½ of what it was and Chris, due to her illness, has been unemployed for 2 months.    Her bills are mounting and she’s facing foreclosure; her Social Security checks will not begin until September, although she has been allotted $37.00/month until then, which won’t pay for much of  anything.   She is on home hospice and needs help with her cancer meds,  paying her utilities and mortgage payments until then.   She is frantic and doesn’t need this added stress.   Time is of the essence.   Thank you so much.

Any donation big or small would be so appreciated.  Her PayPal account is buehler740@aol.com or go here....http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/fundraiser-for-fellow-kitty-rescuer-christine-buehler/58064

Image credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images

What was killing all those honeybees in recent years? New research shows a link between an increase in the death of bees and insecticides, specifically the chemicals used to coat corn seeds.

The study, titled "Assessment of the Environmental Exposure of Honeybees to Particulate Matter Containing Neonicotinoid Insecticides Coming from Corn Coated Seeds," was published in the American Chemical Society's Environmental Science & Technology journal, and provides insight into colony collapse disorder.

Colony collapse disorder, or the mass die-off of honeybees, has stumped researchers up to now. This new research may provide information that could lead to even more answers.

According to the new study, neonicotinoid insecticides "are among the most widely used in the world, popular because they kill insects by paralyzing nerves but have lower toxicity for other animals."

Beekeepers immediately observed an increase in die-offs right around the time of corn planting using this particular kind of insecticide.

Pneumatic drilling machines suck the seeds in and spray them with the insecticide to create a coating before they are planted in the ground. Researchers suspected the mass die-offs could have been caused by the particles of insecticide that were released into the air by the machines when the chemicals are sprayed.

The researchers tested several methods to make the drilling machines safer for bees. However, they found that all variations that used the neonicotinoid insecticides continued to cause mass die-offs of bees.

Honeybees are critical for pollinating food crops. Scientists say the disruption of pollination could dramatically affect entire ecosystems. In addition, as the researchers wrote in the study, "In view of the currently increasing crop production, and also of corn as a renewable energy source, the correct use of these insecticides within sustainable agriculture is a cause of concern."

These are just 3 solutions to oil cleaning. These products are 100% organic, EPA approved, the oil skimmed out of the Gulf is ready to be refined and there are millions of pounds of these products. My question is WHY is BP and our government WITHHOLDING or IGNORING them!!! Wildlife would be saved, livelihoods would be saved, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YV_pSuxbGQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFNOnI3M_1M&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4iny1yS5yQ&feature=related

Purchase of tee shirts will aid in the saving & recovery of Louisiana's pelicans. This is a relief effort and needs everyone's support. This idea was started by 2 kids who want to raise money through their lemonade stand to help the pelicans and it's a wonderful idea.  MISSION: Our mission is to spread LemonAid all over the state of Louisiana and then rest of our great country. We can all do our part to help relief efforts. Have a LemonAid stand and support our gulf!!

Because of the BP Oil Spill, critical turtle habitat needs urgent protection! More than 300 Kemp's Ridley Turtles have died from oil contamination. The turtles have been around 3-4 million years are heading to extinction! Please sign the letter to the Federal Government asking protection BEFORE JUNE 27th!

These are 2 causes very dear to me.  

For the Oil Spill you can donate any amount 
      and
for the Adopt an Acre (to buy lands for the bison and other wildlife) you can adopt one acre for $7.50.  For EVERY dollar you donate it will be matched by the NWF.

Please give what you can and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.   If you know anyone who would like to help please forward this to them, too.

God bless you.

Vicky

(OIL SPILL)
https://online.nwf.org/site/Donation2?df_id=16662&16662.donation=form1&f={270FF1B0-412B-407C-B0C2-8DA7F1E19786}&c={E2F1ADDC-AF52-4FBD-ABC0-6BC16D4E9107}&p={663D8F4E-3738-4E6E-A4CD-FB5983CB0719}&a=Oil+spill+-+donate+now

(ADOPT AN ACRE)
http://www.nwf.org/wildlife/wildlife-acre.aspx

Buffalo have been forced to travel for many many miles - upwards of 20 - nonstop, without rest.  Perhaps a quarter of these buffalo are newborn calves, and scores of them pregnant mothers who have yet to give birth, or who are in labor at the time of the haze.  As I write, patrols are reporting that they've spotted a mama buffalo with a wet calf, brand new to the world and about to experience the dark side of the human race.  They are being forced to travel at unnatural distances and speeds that a mother buffalo would never ask her baby to cover under natural circumstances.  Inexorable government forces push them over terrain and swollen waterways difficult to negotiate under fear, as they are pursued by federally-funded cowfolks on horseback, federal, state and county law enforcement, and the Montana Department of Livestock's helicopter.   It is heart-wrenching to see these buffalo tormented so, little babies doing everything they can to keep up with mom, no matter how far or how fast; moms trying to shelter their babies from harm, entire family groups trying to escape the yelling predators in cowboy hats and the metal bird that threatens to land upon their backs and devour them.   And this, so say the grinning agents, is the "kinder alternative" to slaughter that bison advocates are supposed to be thankful for.