OF GREAT IMPORTANCE TO HORSE AND LIVESTOCK OWNERS!!!!! Please contact the State Vet and Secretary of Agriculture and let them know how you feel!! (Address and contact info at bottom of letter).
At the Maryland Horse Industry Board Meeting, we (not Feedscoop, another
party,) received a copy of a memo from the MDA Animal Health Laboratory
(specifically from the state veterinarian, Dr. Guy S. Hohenhause and that
Assistant State Veterinarian, Dr. Thomas Jacobs) to all of the State Lab
Directors. Effective January 5, there is a new price structure for Equine
Necropsy, Cremation and Disposal. The price increase is a result of a meeting
in which it was determined that horses were "recreation" and should
no longer be considered for necropsy, etc. as "livestock." Because
of this change, prices have increased drastically. Cows, sheep, pigs, etc.
will not increase like the horses. This concerns me greatly ecause if you
have horses on a farm
that suffer from an unknown neurological disease and/or reportable disease
and the state imposes a quarantine, then ALL horses that die of said disease
have to be processed through the state labs. I worry
that diseases may not be reported, horses may be moved to other facilities
and/or people will dispose of their animals without proper authority to
do so (can lead to problems with groundwater contamination, etc.). This
will NOT be helpful in events such as what is occuring at Pimlico now and
similar situations such as Columbia Horse Center last summer! Kathy Schwartz
of Days End Farm also pointed out that, if they receive an impounded horse
that they determine needs to be euthanized, they will have a VERY hard time
coming up with the money to do it.
Just as an interesting point, according to state code, horses are listed along with cattle, sheep and pigs as "livestock." If this change in fees worries you, PLEASE contact the State Veterinarian's office and the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture, Lewis Riley, and let them know WHY.
Service:
Necropsy - $950 (in-state), $1100 (out-of-state)
Disposal only - $600 (in state), $700 (out-of-state)
Generic Ash Return $650 (in state), $750 (out-of-state)
Specific Ash Return $700 (in state), $800 (out-of-state).
Up until now, the prices have been:
Necropsy - $125 (IS), $200 (OS)
Disposal - $100 (IS), $150 (OS)
Generic Ash Return - $250 (IS), $300 (OS)
Specific Ash Return - $425 (IS), $475 (OS)
Contact Information:
<http://www.mda.state.md.us/>
Lewis R. Riley, Secretary of Agriculture
Maryland Department of Agriculture
50 Harry S. Truman Parkway
Annapolis, MD 21401
Disclaimer:
The information and data contained in any and ALL horse ads (regardless of type of ad) have been entered by the owner of the horses or advertised item. Feedscoop.com, its owners, workers and heirs are not responsible for any content entered in the horse ads. The user of the information should have the ads verified to check the accuracy of the information and the user accepts ALL liability for its use.
Feedscoop.com, Native Trails Farm, Native Trails Equine Photography or any other business owned by Arthur and/or GIna Thomas and their heirs assumes no liability for the content or use of the information/data enter in these ads.
All Articles are Copyright Reserved, to their original author. All Rights Reserved Without limiting the rights under copyrights reserved herein, no part of this web site may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form, or by any mean (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without express written permission of the author and or owner(s).