5/15/10: Missouri Congressional session closes with all horse slaughter provisions rejected!

Missouri Rep. Jim Viebrock wanted to kill horses. So he proposed House Bill 1747 to sidestep a federal ban on U.S. horse slaughter. Kinship Circle issued a 3/21/10 letter campaign urging MO House Reps to reject legislation to legalize horse processing plants in Missouri. From there, it got weird.

Some MO Reps harassed Kinship Circle to the extent a police report was filed. And the House seemingly passed its bill as revenge against animal advocates. Then, Rep Viebrock covertly attached horse slaughter provisions to unrelated Senate Bill 795. He thought no one would notice?

But in the end YOUR VOICE, along with support from rational Missouri legislators, proved stronger than the pro-slaughter extremists. Against a backdrop of strong public protest from around the world, the Missouri Congressional session closed yesterday with language to legalize horse slaughter rejected. Thanks to all who wrote, faxed, emailed, called and mailed on behalf of horses. Brenda Shoss, Kinship Circle

5/11/10 — S.B. 795 STUCK IN COMMITTEE: S.B. 795 is in conference committee because Missouri's Senate cannot agree on the House Committee Substitute that passed the House with amendments Ñ including: pro-horse slaughter provisions.

5/7/10 — HORSE SLAUGHTER PROVISIONS STILL HIDDEN IN S.B. 795: Original horse kill bill 1747 — that was covertly attached to S.B. 795 (an unrelated bill) — is NOT REMOVED from S.B. 795, as formerly believed.

5/2/10 — SOME REPS RENEW HARASSMENT OF KINSHIP CIRCLE: MO House Reps debate the House Committee Substitute version of S.B. 795. Animal Law Coalition and R.A.G.E. ask their members to send comments opposing inclusion of horse slaughter language in S.B. 795. Although Kinship Circle itself has issued no alert on horse slaughter since 3/21/10, some Reps bounce hundreds of unread emails (from members of these other groups) to Kinship Circle's computer — from May 1 to the present!

4/30/10 — IT DOESN'T GET MUCH SLEAZIER THAN THIS: Chair of the Missouri Senate Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee, Sen. Dan Clemens, states "there will be no further legislative progress on H.B. 1747." But Rep James Viebrock has already attached provisions to legalize horse slaughter to an unrelated bill. S.B. 795, with horse slaughter attached, passes the House Agriculture Committee.

4/6/10 — HARASSMENT OF KINSHIP CIRCLE MAKES FRONT-PAGE NEWS: St. Louis Post Dispatch — the daily and largest paper in Missouri — runs a front page story about Missouri House Representatives tampering with public information and harassing Kinship Circle State Legislators Target Activist. Post also runs an editorial against killing horses and hounding activists, Squirrelly about animals in the Frog Kingdom. An Associated Press version runs in Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, CBS News, Yahoo News, and many more papers nationwide.

In an attempt to silence our opposition to horse slaughter...
— Some Reps forward 2,000+ unread emails to Kinship Circle's server. Whereas our members send comments to many individual computers, Reps who "don't care about non-constituents" barrage Kinship Circle's single computer. One Rep forwards emails entirely unrelated to horse slaughter! They even bounce emails from supporters.

— Rep. Casey Guernsey, R-Bethany memorably tells us: "It's so fun to piss you wackos off. You're lucky I even acknowledge your existence. It's so much fun to taunt people like you Ñ ha! Tell me, is it truly liberating to be so incredibly clueless?"

— In a call to Kinship Circle's line, from CALLER ID: Missouri State 573-522-0000, a male voice bleats some type of tribal war chant...nonsensical noise with the sound of men snickering in the background.

— In another call from CALLER ID: Missouri State 573-522-0000, a man sings "A Horse Is A Horse," from the movie Mr. Ed.

— In a 10:00pm call, a creepy male voice drones "Brenda, Brenda, Brenda...neigh...Brenda, Brenda...neigh..." in reference to Kinship Circle's president Brenda Shoss. This call frightens Ms. Shoss' 9-year-old son and leads her to file a police report.

— Other calls from unidentified Reps begin with a menacing "Hey Brenda..." In one call: "There aren't but three people here [the MO House] who care for you or your organization... Your group has guaranteed passage of this bill...[because of] frickin' emails from everyone in the world!"

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4/1/10: BREAKING - State Legislators Target Activists...
For Campaign To Stop Missouri Horse Slaughter Bill

READ ENTIRE FRONT PAGE STORY FROM THE ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH

4/1/10, St. Louis Post Dispatch — the daily in St. Louis, Missouri and largest spaper in the state — asked for an exclusive. They got it...and our story about Missouri House Representatives tampering with public information and harassing Kinship Circle made the FRONT PAGE today. A cliff-notes version has been picked up by the Associated Press as well. Ironically, some House Reps are still bouncing unread emails back to our server — even from writers who support them. Those Reps who harassed Kinship Circle left songs, neighs and menacing chants on our voicemail. Threats were made to "retaliate" to citizen emails by passing the bill.

• Brenda Shoss and members of her advocacy group, Kinship Circle, unleashed a deluge urging legislators to vote against a bill that would open the door for a horse slaughterhouse to come to the Show-Me State...


• Shoss received calls at her home from offices in the Capitol, taunting her and making "neighing" voices into the phone. One caller sang a version of the theme song from "Mr. Ed." A number of the calls came late at night.


• Some legislators programmed their e-mail systems to forward any message containing the word "horse" to Shoss. And some told the activist that they would consider passing the bill out of spite.


• The response of elected officials has left the experienced activist dumbfounded. Even when her organization got involved in the high-profile animal abuse case of NFL quarterback Michael Vick, she had never seen such a vitriolic reaction.


• The late-night, anonymous phone calls led Shoss to file a harassment complaint with the University City Police Department. The calls stopped, she said, after the Post-Dispatch started asking lawmakers about them...

HORSE KILL BILL PASSED 91 TO 61 IN THE HOUSE. WHAT DO WE DO NOW?
MISSOURIANS ONLY: Email, call or write your state Senators. NO AUTO LETTERS. Please take a few extra steps to write a personal email and hit send...or print out a note to fax or postal mail. SEE MISSOURI ALERT BELOW. FORWARD IT TO MISSOURI LISTS, INDIVIDUALS.

SLEAZY, UNCONSTITUTIONAL LAWMAKING
Missouri Republican Rep. Jim Veibrock had a dream to revive the "ailing equine industry." He didn't want pesky opponents to keep his H.B. 1747 bill from passage. So when Veilbrock's bill went to Missouri's Agriculture Policy Committee, members gave it a Teflonstrength shield. As reported in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, "The committee embellished [Veilbrock's] legislation, adding a provision to block citizen initiatives that would 'criminalize or regulate crops or the welfare of animals.'

"Even if citizens gathered signatures and placed such a restriction (tough new rules aimed at restricting puppy mills, for example) on the state ballot — even if it were supported by an overwhelming majority of Missouri voters — the committee's amendment would prevent it from taking effect. The slap in voters' faces probably is unconstitutional. It certainly is insulting."

OUR STORY IS GAINING TRACTION & APPEARS IN...
• Washington Post
• KansasCity.com
• CBS NEWS
• Yahoo News
• The Missourian
...And many more smaller papers nationwide. Just Google "Activist floods lawmakers' inboxes; they retaliate"

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4/1/10: MISSOURIANS - Stop The Horse Kill Bill In Your State
Not a Missourian? Forward this to a list or person who is.

THE MISSOURI HOUSE HAS PASSED H.B. 1747 — the bill to permit horse processing for human consumption in MO. Some Reps — in response to your emails — misused public information and harassed a benevolent, nonprofit organization. They bounced over 2000 (and counting) unread emails from their servers back to Kinship Circle. Some left childish and menacing messages on Kinship Circle's voicemail: singing "A Horse Is A Horse," chanting "Brenda, Brenda, Brenda...neigh..." in reference to KC president Brenda Shoss. One just bleated some type of tribal war call.

Most alarming? Use of the word "retaliate" -- as in, the House will pass this horse kill bill to get back at Kinship Circle members for sending comments. In fact, words such as "everyone here is against your organization and doesn't like you..." or "you've guaranteed passage of this bill...” formed the basis for how some elected officials voted.

THERE IS NO AUTOMATED LETTER FOR YOU TO CLICK & SEND FROM OUR WEBSITE.
A personal constituent approach is vital to keep this bill from passage in the Senate.

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Activist targeted by state legislators
By Tony Messenger / POST-DISPATCH JEFFERSON CITY BUREAU
04/01/2010

JEFFERSON CITY — Animal activist Brenda Shoss and the Missouri lawmakers who loathe her agree on this: Having your inbox fill up with hundreds of unwanted e-mails is infuriating.

That's what happened to Missouri House members a week ago, when Shoss and members of her advocacy group, Kinship Circle, unleashed a deluge urging legislators to vote against a bill that would open the door for a horse slaughterhouse to come to the Show- Me State.

Lawmakers — both Democrats and Republicans — objected to the tactic. They said they had never before received hundreds of emails from all over the nation, and even the world, on a bill.

So they struck back.

Shoss received calls at her home from offices in the Capitol, taunting her and making "neighing" voices into the phone. One caller sang a version of the theme song from "Mr. Ed." A number of the calls came late at night.

Some legislators programmed their e-mail systems to forward any message containing the word "horse" to Shoss. And some told the activist that they would consider passing the bill out of spite.

"I would think that some people who voted against it previously might change their vote," said Rep. Michael Frame, D-Eureka.

The response of elected officials has left the experienced activist dumbfounded. Even when her organization got involved in the highprofile animal abuse case of NFL quarterback Michael Vick, she had never seen such a vitriolic reaction.

The late-night, anonymous phone calls led Shoss to file a harassment complaint last week with the University City Police Department. The calls stopped, she said, after the Post-Dispatch started asking lawmakers about them.

So they struck back.

Shoss received calls at her home from offices in the Capitol, taunting her and making "neighing" voices into the phone. One caller sang a version of the theme song from "Mr. Ed." A number of the calls came late at night.

Some legislators programmed their e-mail systems to forward any message containing the word "horse" to Shoss. And some told the activist that they would consider passing the bill out of spite.

"I would think that some people who voted against it previously might change their vote," said Rep. Michael Frame, D-Eureka.

The response of elected officials has left the experienced activist dumbfounded. Even when her organization got involved in the highprofile animal abuse case of NFL quarterback Michael Vick, she had never seen such a vitriolic reaction.

The late-night, anonymous phone calls led Shoss to file a harassment complaint last week with the University City Police Department. The calls stopped, she said, after the Post-Dispatch started asking lawmakers about them.

Proponents argue the bill would create a market for horses that are otherwise abused or neglected. Shoss and other opponents argue that Americans don't want to eat horse meat and that the slaughter process is inhumane.

Frame is against the bill, but he said he understands the seething anger felt by some of his colleagues who faced the onslaught of emails from as far away as Spain and Australia. "I spent two hours before even getting to the office doing nothing but deleting those emails," Frame said. "Almost none of them were from Missouri. I was as mad as I can be." Frame was mad enough to call Shoss and give her a piece of his mind. He was one of the few lawmakers to reveal his name, Shoss said.

Other lawmakers chose to respond to Shoss and her fellow activists via e-mail."It's so fun to piss you wackos off," wrote Rep. Casey Guernsey, R-Bethany, to one activist from his private e-mail account. "You're lucky I even acknowledge your existence. It's so much fun to taunt people like you — ha! Tell me, is it truly liberating to be so incredibly clueless?"

Guernsey said he heard about some of the phone calls made to Shoss but said he didn't make any of them. "I e-mailed her and asked her to stop," he said.

Several lawmakers chuckled when asked by the Post-Dispatch about the calls made to Shoss, and some said they thought they knew who made them, but none said they were involved.

The way Guernsey and some of his colleagues see it, they shouldn't have to respond to lobbying on issues from people outside their district. And having to wade through all the e-mails to see whether any are from constituents is a waste of time, he said. "If they're from Missouri and they have some dog in the fight, that's one thing," Guernsey said.

Shoss said she thinks that attitude is shortsighted. If horse slaughterhouses were to open in Missouri — which is unlikely, even if Viebrock's bill were to pass — that would affect horses everywhere, she argued.

Shoss is a freelance graphic designer who also does work in advertising. Her e-mail pleas are generally fact-based and not particularly emotional. She directs Kinship Circle, which she founded, as a volunteer.

The group also has a volunteer board. Shoss is a former officer of the St. Louis Animal Rights Team who has also advocated against puppy mills, cockfighting and the poisoning of urban pigeons. By their nature, animal activists are persistent, Shoss said. She concedes that flooding someone's e-mail box with messages is "inconvenient," but says legislators overreacted.

"Maybe Missouri lawmakers just didn't know how organized and passionate we are," Shoss said.

Shoss' current group has coordinated pig rescues during flooding in Iowa and most recently has been involved in animal rescue following devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Chile.

Other animal activists say that what Kinship Circle does is no different than other political groups that flood lawmakers with e-mail. "This is the first time I've ever heard of any state legislature reacting so negatively. It's kind of shocking" said Susan Trout of Born Free USA, a national wildlife advocacy organization.

Trout was recently asked to serve on Kinship Circle's board, and she said the group has a good reputation. Trout also said that most animal activist groups, like many political advocacy groups, participate in similar e-mail campaigns all the time.

The House passed Viebrock's bill in a voice vote Monday. It needs one more House vote to go to the Senate.

Shoss said she was shocked by the suggestion that some lawmakers might vote for a bill simply because they didn't like the way her group opposed it. "They're going to pass a bill to get back at me?" she said. "That's just scary."

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