Hanaeleh Horse Rescue and Advocacy

a non-profit horse rescue working with abandoned, neglected and abused horses. Stop horse slaughter NOW!

      
  • HOME
  • ADOPTING
    • Rehome Your Horse
    • Courtesy Posting – Horses Who Need Homes
    • Our Adoptable Horses
    • Happy Endings
    • Loved and Lost
  • ABOUT US
    • FAQs
    • Horse Advocacy
      • Pass the SAFE Act
      • Truth About Horse Auctions: Outdated, Terrifying and Cruel
      • End Horse Slaughter Now!
      • Horse “Soring”: Gratuitous Torture to Win a Blue Ribbon
      • Wild Mustangs: America’s Living Legends In Grave Danger
      • The Sad, Ugly Truth About Horse Racing
      • Charro Riding: Cruelty Behind The “Dancing”
      • The Plight of the Lesson Horse
    • Board Members
    • Our Supporters
    • Permanent Residents
  • HELP A HORSE
    • Sponsor a Horse
    • Donate To Hanaeleh
    • Subscribe to our Newsletter
    • Wish List
    • Volunteer
    • Tours
    • Estate Planned Giving
  • Horse Care
  • NEWS
    • BLOG
    • In The Media
  • Horse Advocacy
  • Lou Dillon
    • Lou Dillon’s Rescue
    • Lou Dillon’s Honorary Police Horse Ceremony
    • Lou Dillon’s Children’s Book
  • CONTACT US

Equine Advocacy: Hanaeleh’s Response to Criticism about Being “Political”

January 4, 2019 By ezarkos

We live in an incredibly polarized time right now, and people’s tempers get high when they feel that their personal moral beliefs are being challenged. Our goal at Hanaeleh is not to choose a political side, but to point out issues that affect animals- horses, specifically. Animal advocacy issues, however, are political in nature because of governmental institutions (Department of the Interior, BLM, etc.) or require laws (SAFE Act, PAST Act, etc.) to protect horses.

It is impossible to advocate for animals and ignore the people behind these institutions, and we would be remiss if we pretended that there are people out there who purposefully work against animal advocacy and who work against what is in the best interest of horses.  As a horse rescue, we really do not care whether they have a “D” or and “R” or an “I” after their name- what we care is how they vote for the horses. We care whether they support issues that will help horses.

This means that we are not going to pretend that the previous head of the Department of the Interior was closely tied to Protect the Harvest, which is notoriously pro-slaughter and pro-puppy mill. We are not going to pretend that the BLM is needlessly rounding up horses. We are not going to pretend that Mitch McConnell has taken over $350,000 from the Big Lick Walkers. We are not going to pretend that the previous Republican-led congress refused to even bring a vote of the SAFE Act to the floor, even though we had a majority of co-sponsors in the House AND the Senate, and the bill would have certainly passed.

It is not that all Democrats are pro-horse or pro-animal. When Congress refused to pass an amendment that would defund the USDA inspector and keep the slaughter plants closed, we made sure to call out all of those individuals- Republicans and Democrats- who voted against the bill.

As the messenger of such information, we are often the target of a number of angry e-mails, messages, phone calls, etc. from individuals who somehow blame us for the fact that we are pointing out that their representatives are not supporting equine advocacy issues. We are told we are political because we actually point out how legislators vote. We are told we are political because we point out who is taking money from groups that actively work against equine advocacy.

If you really want the world to be better for horses, however; if you honestly care about horses, and your representative is not voting as you, his or her constituent, personally want, then the only person you should be contacting is your representative.

If you’re not certain who your representatives are, please visit the following websites and enter your zip code:

www.house.gov

www.senate.gov

You can be assured that we at Hanaeleh will continue to work to educate the public about equine advocacy. We are going to continue to work toward ending horse slaughter. We are going to continue to work to stop soring. Our job as an advocacy group is to let you know how your representatives are voting, and who is- or is not- supporting equine advocacy issues, no matter what their political affiliation.

 

Donate

Volunteer

Sponsor A Horse
  • Get Our Newsletter!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Hanaeleh

Call of the Wild July 1 2025

Call of the Wild Day of Action for America’s Wild Horses and Burros (and Public Land!)

June 30, 2025 By ezarkos

This is an urgent alert for every organization and individual who cares about the protection, preservation, and survival of America’s Wild Horses and Burros and our precious Public Lands. We must all act together on One Massive National Call-In Day of Protest. We are asking you to spend just 10 … [Read More...]

Southern California: 8 yr old Thoroughbred Gelding Needs Home!

June 23, 2025 By ezarkos

We were contacted by a woman who has been trying to find a home for her beautiful 17hh, 8 yr old (4/12/17) dappled grey Thoroughbred gelding, Argento (means silver). Argento raced when he was younger, and his registered named is Little Cairo. He is a descendent of American Pharaoh, and was sold as a … [Read More...]

Help “Spirit” 9 y/o Buckskin Quarter Horse Gelding Find a New Home (Norco CA)

June 17, 2025 By ezarkos

We were contacted by one of our supporters who had rescued a nine year-old buckskin Quarter Horse gelding from auction. He was shut down at first, but she has done quite a bit of work with him on the ground and he is starting to come around and be more sociable. Sadly, Spirit has navicular, and … [Read More...]

Copyright © 2025 · Hanaeleh