Jane Velez-Mitchell to Open Equine Advocates 2014 American Equine Summit

CHATHAM, N.Y., March 18, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The 2014 American Equine Summit, which will feature presentations from some of the most prominent equine experts in the nation, will take place on Saturday, April 26^th and Sunday, April 27^th at Equine Advocates Rescue & Sanctuary in Chatham, NY. Veteran television news journalist Jane Velez-Mitchell will make a personal appearance to deliver the Keynote Address. 

"The 2012 Summit became the catalyst for a series of life-altering developments for America's horses which would not have happened otherwise," said Equine Advocates President Susan Wagner.  "I invited a group of experts to present new ideas for how to stop the slaughter of America's equines. Speaker Victoria McCullough announced that she would use information from the studies presented at that Summit to build a case against horse slaughter - ultimately leading to a ban."

In less than two years, McCullough, an international equestrian, philanthropist and owner of Chesapeake Petroleum, had met with the Vice President, the Secretary of Agriculture and other members of the executive branch. The end result was the insertion of language to the 2014 Omnibus Bill by Vice President Biden to defund horse slaughter in the United States. President Obama signed it into law on January 17^th.

"For the first time since the historic California State Initiative banning horse slaughter passed in 1998, I feel that the will of the vast majority of Americans to permanently end the slaughter of our wild and domestic equines is within reach. I am so proud that our Summit played a small role in this.  We look forward to a future where equines from the U.S. are also prohibited from being shipped across our borders into Canada or Mexico for the purpose of slaughter."

The full roster of speakers for the 2014 American Equine Summit includes:

• Jane Velez Mitchell – Keynote Address

(In alphabetical order)

• Senator Joseph Abruzzo, Palm Beach County, FL (via video)
• Frank Biden, Former White House Legislative Director for the Clinton Administration, President of Mavericks Schools and brother of Vice President Joe Biden (via video)
• Debbie Coffey, Director of Wild Horse Affairs, Wild Horse Freedom Federation
• Vickery Eckhoff, Writer, Forbes Magazine
• John Holland, President, Equine Welfare Alliance
• Ginger Kathrens, Executive Director, The Cloud Foundation
• Dr. Ray Kellosalmi, Retired physician and Board Member, The Canadian Horse Defence Coalition (sic)
• Dr. Kraig Kulikowski, Equine Sports Medicine, Saratoga Springs, NY and Wellington, FL
• Victoria McCullough, International equestrian, philanthropist and owner of Chesapeake Petroleum
• Allen Rutberg Ph.D., Director, The Tufts Center for Animals and Public Policy
• George Strawbridge, Jr., International horseman and owner, Augustin Stables
• Susan Wagner, President and Founder of Equine Advocates

Founded in 1996, Equine Advocates is a nonprofit equine protection organization based in Chatham, NY. Its mission is to rescue, protect and prevent the abuse of equines through education, investigation, rescue operations, the dissemination of information to the public and through the operation of a horse sanctuary for slaughter-bound, abused and neglected equines. For more information on the American Equine Summit contact [email protected] or call 518-245-1599.

PRESS:    
Susan Bang/Emily Collins
Bang + Collins PR
Ph: 917-991-9714 / 518-771-3003
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SOURCE Equine Advocates