April - 2025

​WAGGIN TAILS                    APRIL 2025
HAPPY PASSOVER
HAPPY EASTER
PREVENTION OF ANIMAL CRUELTY MONTH
 
Dear Friends and Members:
 
          HAPPY PASSOVER, and HAPPY EASTER.  The holidays are back to back this year.  It is a time to reflect on what has happened in our lives this past year.  Have we achieved our “New Year’s” goal?  Or do we regroup our goals.  A goal for Save Our Strays is to  be here for the strays, and help as many as we can.
 
          The world needs to change.  I have said this before, but until it does, we all have to keep working to help the change happen.  Sign petitions to help animals.  Support rescue workers in their effort to help the animals.  Become a rescuer.  We are certainly in need of more rescuers.  To rescue or help one animal means a great deal to that one animal.  It is not too small a start.
 
          Save Our Strays starts its 57th year this April.  We received our 501(c)(3) on April 9th, so that is the official start of this organization.  So, Happy Birthday to us.  We formed in 1968, but it took us 5 years in 1973 to achieve our goal of 501(c)(3).  We worked from the first day in 1968 to help animals.  We are still here, and with your help, we see a 57 and 58 etc birthdays.  Whatever happens, let’s just keep helping one animal at a time until the job gets done.
 
          Enjoy your holidays, but remember the strays have none.  Their joy comes when we can feed them or take them to the veterinarian to take away their pain.
 
          You bring them joy with your donations.  That is their holiday.  Take care, and please help at least one stray at a time.                           

​LEGISLATION                          REPRINTED]

The U.S. could finally outlaw these persistent cruelties to horses
 
Two bills reintroduced to the U.S. Congress this week could prevent the protracted suffering of so many horses: One would outlaw the painful soring techniques some trainers still inflict on horses to force them into the “Big Lick,” an exaggerated gait for horse shows, and the other would ban horse slaughter in the U.S. as a matter of federal law and end the export of American horses for slaughter in other countries. You can act now to show your support for ending these cruelties.
 
The Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act would protect horses from “soring.”  
Horse soring—a cruelty that has persisted for more than a half a century in the show horse industry—is perpetrated by a faction of those who show Tennessee Walking Horses and related breeds. They deliberately inflict severe pain on the horses’ legs and hooves to create the artificially high-stepping “Big Lick” gait to gain an unfair competitive advantage.
 
In soring, caustic chemicals—blistering agents such as mustard oil, diesel fuel and kerosene—are applied to the horse's front legs and wrapped tightly to “cook” into the skin for days; heavy chains are attached to strike against the sore legs; hooves are cut down to the quick; and hard objects are jammed into the tender flesh. All these practices are designed to cause excruciating pain every time the horse steps down, so the leg will be flung high as the horse tries to avoid the pain.
 
This is a cruelty with roots in the training barn, where soring occurs. The horses suffer not just in the show ring but every day, in their stalls, where they lay moaning and are unable to engage in natural habits such as grazing or walking outside. The PAST Act would prohibit the use of devices that are integral to this cruelty, eliminate the failed system of industry self-policing and increase penalties for violators. 
 
Led by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., and Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., this vital legislation has garnered impressive bipartisan support, as demonstrated by 178 original co-sponsors. Moreover, it is endorsed by hundreds of veterinary, horse industry and animal protection groups and key individuals.
 
An undercover investigation released last October by Humane World for Animals provided damning evidence of ongoing soring and tactics to evade getting caught among those who win top prizes and get honored as leaders in the Tennessee Walking Horse show world. By enacting the PAST Act, we can consign this callous and shameful cruelty to the past, where it belongs.
 
The Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act would end U.S. involvement in horse slaughter.
Horse slaughter plants have not operated in the U.S. since 2007, thanks to state laws and annual federal appropriations provisions barring taxpayer funding to oversee such operations. However, horses across the U.S. are still being sold and sent to slaughter abroad. Many horses enter the pipeline at horse auctions where “kill buyers” contracted by slaughterhouses outbid legitimate horse owners and rescues, robbing horses of a second chance at life. After purchase, horses are crowded into trailers, often without food or water, and endure hours of transport to either Mexico or Canada, where slaughtering them is still legal. This grueling and merciless process results in injuries or death for many horses before they even reach the slaughterhouse.
 
Slaughter is never a humane end for horses. Equipment and practices are proven unsuitable for render-ing horses unconscious due to their physiology and instinctive flight response, resulting in prolonged pain and suffering. The fear and distress horses experience in the slaughterhouse environment often leads to panic, increasing the risk of serious injury before they are slaughtered.  The reintroduction of the SAFE Act in the
U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Buchanan and Schakowsky, and in the U.S. Senate by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., gives the U.S. a new chance to permanently ban the domestic slaughter of American horses and their export for that purpose.  
 
                       FYI                    [REPRINTED]

Historic news that South Korea announces plan to ban dog meat industry by 2027 is welcomed as ‘dream come true’ by animal group HSI/Korea
 
SEOUL—In an historic announcement, the South Korean government has stated that before the end of this year it will introduce a bill to ban the dog meat industry, which sees up to 1 million dogs a year farmed and killed for human consumption. At a meeting in Seoul today between the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, representatives of the ruling Peoples Power Party and Korean animal groups including Humane Society International/Korea, a government bill was confirmed with a three-year phase out period once legislation is passed, meaning the ban would come into effect in 2027.
 
Compensation will be offered to help legally registered dog meat farmers, traders, slaughterers and restaurant owners transition or close their businesses, similar to the Models for Change program run by HSI/Korea, which has worked with 18 dog farmers across the country since 2015 to switch to growing chili plants or parsley delivering water and other livelihoods.
 
This news follows considerable public and political momentum for a ban, including the introduction of five legislative bills by National Assembly Members. The news is welcomed by HSI/Korea, one of the leading animal groups campaigning for an end to dog meat nationwide.
 
Jung Ah Chae, executive director of Humane Society International/Korea, who attended the meeting with MAFRA, says: “News that the South Korean government is at last poised to ban the dog meat industry is like a dream come true for all of us who have campaigned so hard to end this cruelty. Korean society has reached a tipping point where most people now reject eating dogs and want to see this suffering consigned to the history books. With so many dogs needlessly suffering for a meat that hardly anyone eats, the government’s bill delivers a bold plan that must now urgently be passed by the Assembly so that a legislative ban can be agreed as soon as possible to help South Korea close this miserable chapter in our history and embrace a dog friendly future.”
 
With growing concern for animal welfare, and over 6 million pet dogs now living in Korean homes, demand for dog meat has dwindled. Latest opinion polls by Nielsen Korea commissioned by HSI/Korea show that 86% of South Koreans won’t eat dog meat in the future and 57% support a ban.
 
HSI recognizes that a short phase out period is an inevitable consequence of dismantling the trade and helping farmers and traders transition to other livelihoods. However, HSI urges the government to use the phase out period to work with animal welfare groups like HSI/Korea to rescue as many dogs as possible in a state-sponsored, co-ordinated effort.
 
HSI/Korea’s Models for Change program has rescued more than 2,700 dogs from dog farms across South Korea who have found adoptive homes in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, with a small number rehomed in South Korea. Most of the farmers with whom HSI/Korea has worked experience mounting societal, family and financial pressure to get out of farming dogs.
Kitty Block and Jeff Flocken, respectively CEO and president of HSI globally, issue a joint statement, saying: “This is a momentous day for HSI’s campaign to end the horrors of the dog meat industry in South Korea, and one we have been hoping to see for a very long time. Having been to dog meat farms and seen HSI/Korea’s Models for Change program in action, we know only too well the suffering and deprivation these desperate animals endure in the name of an industry for whom history has now thankfully called time. This is the beginning of the end of dog meat farming in South Korea, and HSI stands ready to contribute our expertise until every cage is empty.”

                            LINDA’S LINE
 
          Hi.
 
          I would like to start off this month by wishing all of our friends, and members a Happy Passover, and a Happy Easter.  By the time you read this newsletter, spring will be in full swing (we hope).  Thank G-d for April.  The warmer weather will soon be upon us, and this is a welcome break for us, and the strays.  We are all looking forward to it.
 
          A reminder, that this month is also Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month, which should be celebrated all year long.  So please be alert, and if you see an incidence of abuse toward an animal, or any indication that an animal needs help, please don’t ignore it.
 
          Also, please remember that puppy, and kitten season is also in full swing.  So, whether it be here at home or if you are traveling, let’s try to remember to carry pet food, and bottled
 water with us in case we come across any strays that need our help.
 
          I would like to tell you about a rescue that I, and Save Our Strays was involved in this past month.  I received a call a couple of weeks ago from a man who lives in Brooklyn, telling me that he, and his wife had been feeding a mother cat in their yard and that the cat had very recently given birth to 2 kittens.  He told me that at first, they thought that one of the kittens
had died, but his wife performed CPR on the kitten and brought it back – wonderful news.  He asked if we knew of anyone who could foster these babies.  Realizing the urgency of the situation, since it was a very cold day, I contacted one of the rescuers that we help to ask if she knew of anyone who could help these kittens.  She said that she would see what she could do.  A half hour later, she called me to say that there was a woman in the Brighton Beach area, who worked with young kittens, and gave me her phone number.  I called the woman, and explained the situation.  She agreed to take the kittens, but asked if Save Our Strays could help with any food, and medical care that they would need.  I called Shirley, and Carol and they agreed to take care of these things.  I informed the man who had called me about the kittens and told him that we had found a foster home for the kittens, and he was very grateful.  He said that he would feed them some mother’s milk, and then take them to the foster.  I told him to keep them very warm, and he said that he would do so.  The kitten’s were brought to the foster that night.  Unfortunately, the one that was revived did not survive, but the other kitten is doing well, and when it is ready, it will be put up for adoption. 
 
Also, as I have said  before, please try to avoid giving gifts of bunnies for Easter, as too often these poor animals wind up being abandoned in someone’s front yard or in a park.  This is not a good life for the animal.  If you are given a gift like this and you don’t want the animal, please bring it to a shelter, or a petting zoo in your area, i.e.: Central Park.  If you don’t know where the shelters are, please feel free to call me (718-332-3956), and I will help you to find one.
 
          Easter is also the time that children are given baskets containing different kinds of candy, including chocolate.  Please remember never to give any of these treats to a pet, especially chocolate, as it can be very dangerous to them.
 
Once again, a reminder that I am on the phones Monday to Friday from 11;30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  I will be happy to try to help with any animal related questions or concerns that you may have.  All messages left on our answering machine, will be returned within 24 hours.

                       CLOSING THOUGHT
 
                I dread spring.  It is kitten season.  So many animal are born to die or live a terrible life.  That is why it is so very  important to spay, and neuter your pet.  Animals get lost, and they reproduce while living in the streets.  We all have to work on this.  Have your pet microchipped also, in case it gets lost.  At least the
weather is improving.
 
          Please pass our newsletter around.  We need more Adam, Eve and Sponsor-A-Stray members.  These programs keep us going.
 
          This month with Easter, and Passover together it is a time to help wherever you can.  A homeless person with or without a pet, but especially with a pet, which is his or her family.  Give them clothes, water, something.  Please don’t pass them by.  We are all G-d’s children, 2-legged or 4-pawed.
 
                   Remember to visit our website, saveourstraysbrooklyn.com.  You will see samples of some of the animals that we have helped.  Unfortunately, we can’t put all of them on the website, as there so many more that we have helped in your name.
 
          We also have PayPal, and Go Fund Me, as a way to make a donation.  We need new donors also.  Food is expensive, and the veterinarian’s prices have really gone up.
 
Enjoy the Holiday, and the better weather.
 
Help us celebrate our birthday with a birthday gift for the strays.
 
Please Remember Our Troops
 
 “We salute you for all you have done.
Your courage has kept us safe.
Your sacrifice has kept us free.
All of America owes you more than we can repay.
Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you.
We are behind you all the way –
From the battlefield. . .to recovery!”
 
                                     
 
                                                          Till next time.
 
                                                                   Waggin’ Off