FOOD SAFETY BASED ON THE HONOUR SYSTEM
Whistleblowers are invited to contact MOHM regarding violations occurring during horse slaughter or transport to slaughter.
Are you an ex-slaughterhouse employee, a transport driver or a feedlot operator with knowledge of animal abuse, or other violations?
Are you a track veterinarian who has evidence of horses “run” on phenylbutazone or other drugs, and then being shipped to slaughter?
Do you have pictures/video of horses in transit to slaughter?
Anonymity guaranteed!
WE WONDER IF THOSE EATING HORSEMEAT KNOW THIS?
The Horse Vendor Declaration (HVD) is a critical piece of paperwork required for any horse in Australia destined for human consumption.
While Australian horses are not bred for food production, the HVD seeks to document their treatment history, specifically regarding the use of over 100 drugs and treatments labeled as unsuitable for animals intended for human consumption.
Vendors are asked to disclose treatments administered within the past six months.
Across Australia, horse auctions operate under varying practices when it comes to HVDs.
Some auctions distribute these forms to meat buyers, while others do not.
Alarmingly, horses purchased at auctions without valid HVDs have reportedly arrived at Meramist, a horse slaughter facility, accompanied by completed declarations.
Eyewitness accounts suggest that auction staff sometimes fill out HVDs on behalf of vendors, who may unknowingly sign off, making their horses eligible for human consumption slaughter.
This practice directly contravenes the Meat Notice MN15-03, which clearly states that vendors must personally complete the HVD to ensure accurate traceability and compliance with European Union standards.
Such inconsistencies – including a case where a Horse Vendor Declaration was NOT filled out by the vendor detailed in the following Statutory Declaration – highlight the urgent need for stricter enforcement and transparency within the horse meat supply chain.
If you have something you’d like to share – again we will guarantee your anonymity. OR you may like to go on the record with a…
STATUTORY DECLARATION
A statutory declaration (also known as a stat dec) is a type of legal document that sets out facts that you declare to be true and accurate.
Statutory declarations can be used for many purposes and can be requested by a person, organisation or government agency.
Some common uses for statutory declarations include:
visa applications
insurance claims
superannuation claims
employment and leave applications
legal evidence.
The following statements are taken from a 2 page Statutory Declaration based on events in April of 2019 and dated in 2021. Although the actions described are specific to the named individuals we know these types of wrongdoings are not unique to the described situation.
QUESTIONABLE PROCEEDURES AT ECHUCA HORSE SALES
1. My statement concerns my attendance at the Echuca Horse sales in Victoria on April 26, 2019 with a friend…
2. We arrived together at the auction at approximately 11.45.
3. This was about an hour before the auction began and many horses were still arriving.
4. I observed the auction staff booking the horses into pens.
5. The staff member had a clipboard with the Horse Vendor Declarations book on it.
6. She was speaking to a couple that I now know as Rebecca and Tim O’Brien from O’Brien’s Racing.
7. The staff member and the O’Briens were standing in front of 2 pens with their horses in them.
8. One was a grey Warmblood mare and the other was a bay Standardbred mare.
9. I was standing about 2 metres away and I could hear the staff member asking them questions.
10. I could see the staff member ticking the boxes on the HVD.
11. She asked them to sign the form.
12. The staff member was a middle-aged woman. This interaction lasted a few minutes and then she walked away.
13. I approached the people and asked them what she had asked about their horses.
14. Rebecca replied that she asked if the horse had been wormed or had any treatments in the past 6 months.
16. I told her the purpose of the form was for slaughter for human consumption and she was visibly upset.
17. I told her I was intending to buy a couple of horses and she spent a lot of time convincing me that I should buy her STB mare.
18. The staff filling in the form for the vendor appears to contravene MN15-03 revised horse traceability verification requirements for access to the European Union.
19. It is explicit that only the vendor can fill in the Horse Vendor Declaration.
20. I communicated my concerns to the Meat Exports Branch of the Department of Agriculture on January 23, 2020.
21. They have not acknowledged my complaint about this incident.
#MOHM NEEDS YOUR HELP!
We’ve been threatened by those in the horse racing industry and those who benefit from horse slaughter more times than we can count.
But we are not going away.
We are going to persist until horse slaughter no longer exists for any purpose within Australia -- and until the horse racing industry makes drastic changes.
We are going to continue our hands-on work to offer lifelong sanctuary to as many horses as possible. We generally have 20 at just one of our locations - at any given time.
We have the acreage to take on more horses as financial support allows.
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WHISTLEBLOWER
ANONYMITY GUARANTEEDWhistleblowers are invited to contact MOHM regarding violations occurring during horse slaughter or transport to slaughter. Are you an ex-slaughterhouse employee, a transport driver or a feedlot operator with knowledge of animal abuse, or other...
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