School groups help rescue horses

Jennie Rundlett

April 11, 2007 06:00 am

— Students at Pentucket High School are raising money for an organization that fights the abuse and slaughter of horses, and a Groveland teen is taking a leadership role in the campaign.
Mary Martin is an organizer with New England Equine Rescues, a group focused on protecting horses. She recently approached Pentucket High School groups to recruit volunteers. SAVE | the school's vegetarian group | and the German Club immediately showed interest and have been making efforts to raise awareness and money to prevent the slaughter of horses.
"Horses do not choose their fate and many end up in the wrong hands, which is not their fault," said Caitlyn Donovan of Groveland, a member of the German Club at Pentucket and an owner of a rescued horse. "It is so easy to save a horse's life. We already have homes ready, we just need the money to get them there."
While horse meat is rarely consumed in this country, it is eaten in some European and Asian countries. There are three foreign-owned horse slaughterhouses in the U.S., Martin said | two in Texas and one in Illinois. All three are currently shut down, she said, but horses are being transported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter.
Martin and her organization, along with other humane groups, are pressing for federal legislation to outlaw horse slaughter and transportation out of the country.
According to U.S. Department of Agriculture figures cited by an organization called the Animal Welfare Insitute, 108,000 horses were slaughtered in the U.S. in 2006, an increase from 90,277 in 2005.
The Pentucket High School groups have put out a large jar in the cafeteria for students to donate any spare change and lunch money to the cause. Caitlyn and other students who are passionate about the issue will tend the jar at lunch and hold a petition sheet for students against horse slaughtering to sign. Raina D'Orazio, a ninth-grader at Pentucket, said she believes the petition will get many signatures.
"All it takes is a signature and it helps so much," Raina said. "If people can sign, it can end up making a really big difference."
Martin and the volunteers from Pentucket decorated cans which were placed in several stores around town to collect donations for the cause. So far, the group estimates that they have made about $200 since they put the cans in stores about a week and a half ago.
The average cost to save a horse is about $300, Martin said.
The high school volunteers have also hung posters along the walls of the school to raise awareness of the issue.
"Everything depends on awareness," D'Orazio said. "The more people that are aware, the faster things will get done to prevent it."
The money that is raised with the school's efforts and the cans around town will go to NEER to spend the money rescuing horses and getting the animals treatment, equipment, and other necessities.
"We never make a profit," Martin said. "Money can always be used for shots and other things to take care of the horses."
This year, NEER has rented a booth at the Equine Exposition in Topsfield on April 21. They are selling raffle tickets to give people the opportunity to win a Pelham Saddlery saddle with an estimated worth of over $1,000.
"Our goal is to really just raise awareness and get money to save horses," she said. "You don't have to own or love horses to help out. Cruelty is cruelty and it should be stopped."