It is not illegal to own fighting chickens, it’s just illegal to fight them FYI 
Just like it’s not illegal (in most places) to own Pit Bulls, but it is illegal to fight them.
[QUOTE=bayou_bengal;6328521]
One man, who was trying to end the soring by “taking over” the TWHBEA from within by getting anti-soring people elected to its board of directors in a board of directors election in the 1970s, was found murdered at his middle Tennessee farm. The election that year became a ''proxy fight" with the anti-soring side and the “status quo” side battling to gather the most proxies form members to use in casting votes for members of their 'tickets." Much of the voting is done by proxy because many members did not travel to Lewisburg to personally cast their votes.
The incident was mentioned in Echo of Hoofbeats by Dr. Bob Womack. This along with Biograohy of the Tennnessee Walking Horse by a man named Ben Greene are considered the most complete “histories” of the breed to date. Greene’s book was published before Womacks- Womack’s has been re-preinted in a second edition that has more photos than the first.
I believe both editions mention the murder. It is unsolved and the actual motive has not been discovered either. Some think it was a robbery or burglary attempt gone wrong. Some people think it is related to the soring controversy. And there some who think it was related to the man’s other non-horse-relaed business interests, and may have even been a “hit” ordered by the “Dixie Maffia.”[/QUOTE]
Thanks
The hearing is before the Hon. William Carter TOMORROW (Tues.) morning at 10:00.
Case Number is 4:12-CR-9, USA v. McConnell et al.
Hon. William B. Mitchell Carter
900 Georgia Avenue, Room 102
Chattanooga TN 37402
Phone: (423)752-5365
ETA: Don’t say you got this here, this isn’t supposed to be public information, but his office EM addy is carter_chambers@tned.uscourts.gov 
^^ Shhhh…
[QUOTE=War Admiral;6328720]
Looks like he copped a guilty plea to ONE COUNT OF TRANSPORTING. :mad::mad::mad:
If the judge accepts the plea agreement, that’s it… :sigh:[/QUOTE]
52 counts become one… what kind of math is that?
Will e-mail, thanks WA.
I don’t think Ford Motor Company Supports Cruelty to Horses is a moniker or association they want. However, I did contact them about sponsorship and they said it wasn’t them, but the local Ford Dealer. Really??
What a comfort to know they are not benefiting from product sales or advertising at the Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration (or whatever it’s called), and how sad that they have absolutely no say in what is associated with their name.
More people need to contact them…
FYI on Ford–I just posted this to the Pepsi Sponsorship thread:
Very interesting that the Ford logo has been removed from the Celebration web page in the past few days. When the video came out and I came to the forum, I immediately began searching for corporate sponsors of the Celebration, and the Ford trademark was clearly on their home page on the left side.
I, like others, began messaging the Ford website and FB page, but Ford responded to one COTH person as follows:
>>I emailed Ford earlier today. They responded, and told me that Ford Motor Company is not a sponsor of the Celebration…it is a group of local Ford dealers that sponsor it, and they do so independantly of the main corpration. Ford has no control over this…so complaints should be made to the actual sponsors…the Mid-South Ford Dealers.<<
I responded:
>>>Ford’s just being “corporate” and doesn’t want to be involved, but the Ford trademark/logo is being used by Mid-South and so is the copyright notice on their web page. If Mid-South is so independent, they would have their own logo/trademark. You can bet if Mid-South were doing something illegal or embarrassing to affect sales or Ford’s reputation, Ford would come down on them in a hot minute.<<<
Clearly either Ford has told them to remove the trademark/logo to minimize the flak, or the TWHBEA/Celebration is now protecting their sponsors.
[QUOTE=Angela Freda;6328802]
52 counts become one… what kind of math is that?
Will e-mail, thanks WA.[/QUOTE]
The kind that gets the sorry SOB off the street. At least for a while.
Remember that these are NOT easy cases to win. The Feds have never won one until this prosecution. A guilty plea that ends one abuser’s career is better than an aquittal or hung jury that permits it to continue.
Take what you can get and build on it.
G.
Well, we need to contact the US attorney prosecuting the case and remind him/ her that McConnell needs to be made an example of because he has gotten away with this kind of thing for too long. Anyone know who the county attorney and sheriff is for the county where this took place?
Someone needs to ask if this is being invesitgated,a nd if they will charge McConnell with animal cruelty under state law.
Will there be state cruelty charges as well?
[QUOTE=Guilherme;6328852]
The kind that gets the sorry SOB off the street. At least for a while.
Remember that these are NOT easy cases to win. The Feds have never won one until this prosecution. A guilty plea that ends one abuser’s career is better than an aquittal or hung jury that permits it to continue.
Take what you can get and build on it.
G.[/QUOTE]
What I know about laws/the judicial system I learned on SVU. It was a Masters Degree Marathon one weekend, so…
What kinda time will he serve for one count? And yes, can state cruelty charges or others charges along those lines also be filed and would they be easier to win or not effected by this plea?
Thanks
It is my understanding the pleas will be accepted tomorrow and that Judge Carter presides, but when it goes further, another judge at a future date will doing the sentencing. I got this from someone who talked to the judge today.
Good questions asked. I have to go load my horse. He is going to be the demo horse at a presentation by an equine masseuse. It is my conservancy’s fundraiser for a local hay bank. Will check back in later.
[QUOTE=Fairfax;6328430]
I am not condoning abuse or soring. I am just asking for us to pause and think very carefully before we demand legislature bodies change laws. Yes…change them…but make them very specific. Nets in the sea, trying to catch cod also catch the porpoise…[/QUOTE]
OR…the public needs to push BL’ers out of business through exposure instead. Make it impossible for them to get sponsorship and make BL’ers have to hide to do business so they are limited in their business and they will eventually have to give up. Make the Shelbyville community HATE them for their terrible image so that they will not support the image. In others words, make life for BL’ers inhospitable so they fall off the radar and that there isn’t any money to be made with their freak show.
Society has evolved and the TWH image needs to change with it.
[QUOTE=hundredacres;6328968]
Make the Shelbyville community HATE them for their terrible image so that they will not support the image. In others words, make life for BL’ers inhospitable so they fall off the radar and that there isn’t any money to be made with their freak show.
Society has evolved and the TWH image needs to change with it.[/QUOTE]
The Celebration alone brings an estimated $41 million in direct spending to the town. Harder to quantify are the millions more walking horse owners and their employees contribute indirectly. Still, but the industry is Bedford County’s No. 1 sales tax generator, County Mayor Eugene Ray said.
[QUOTE=bayou_bengal;6328202]
If you haven’t been to Middle Tennessee, you really can’t imagine the influence the Big Lick part of the TWHBEA has on that area. …Their only other BIG industry was the Saturn plant at Spring Hill, but I believe that plant is now closed down. Really, other than the Big Lick training and breeding 'industry" what other industry does Shelbyville and Lewisburg have.[/QUOTE]
bayou_bengal you are much more effective when you talk about things you might know about. Obviously you have no clue about Middle TN and I would appreciate it if you would stop bashing it with your ignorance.
Shelbyville is less than 1 hour from metro Nashville–a little place you might have heard of? It’s like saying Connecticut doesn’t have any industry because all the residents commute to NYC. Shelybville is less than 30 minutes from the largest university in Tennessee–Middle Tennessee State Univ. in Murfreesboro.
While yes, the Saturn plant in Spring Hill has been off line for the last 2 years it is currently being retooled to make the Chevy Equinox. There is however that little car company called Nissan where they’ve made their best selling car the Altima for the last 20 years. (A mid sized car you might have heard of since 4.4 million of them were made in the county next to Shelbyville?) They also have their powertrain assembly plant in Decherd TN, again about 30 miles SE of Shelbyville. Nissan has even moved their US corporate headquarters to Franklin, less than an hour from Shelbyville.
Last but not least let’s not forget that little town 15 miles down the road South of Shelbyville where some guy started making and where they continue to produce whiskey that is now sold in every country in the world called Jack Daniels Old No. 7. The little town of Lynchburg is a world wide tourist destination as well!
And to add I frequent at least 5 different tack and horse supply places in Middle Tennessee and I can guarantee you without a shadow of a doubt that none of them deal in anything in any shape of form that would be used to train TWHs.
Yes, there are small pockets of the state that have a real vested interested in the TWH industry, but it is by no means the economic behemoth for the whole region that bayou_bengal seems to think it is.
Carry on.
[QUOTE=bayou_bengal;6328873]
Well, we need to contact the US attorney prosecuting the case and remind him/ her that McConnell needs to be made an example of because he has gotten away with this kind of thing for too long. Anyone know who the county attorney and sheriff is for the county where this took place?
Someone needs to ask if this is being invesitgated,a nd if they will charge McConnell with animal cruelty under state law.[/QUOTE]
No, you really don’t. The plea agreement has already been signed between McConnell’s counsel and the federal prosecutor. All that remains is for the judge to accept the plea agreement tomorrow or not accept it. Sentencing will be done later, not necessarily by Judge Carter.
This is a federal case, not a state or county case. The county attorney cannot do anything here.
Tennessee did just recently enact an animal cruelty law, but it was pretty toothless, and IF memory serves, I think it even contained a specific exception for “training practices”. :rolleyes:
I’d offer to go tomorrow and live-tweet but I don’t think they allow electronic devices in the courtroom unless one is accredited media, which of course I am not. I’ll ask around if any of the Chattanooga media are planning to attend, and report back.
[QUOTE=katarine;6328985]
The Celebration alone brings an estimated $41 million in direct spending to the town. Harder to quantify are the millions more walking horse owners and their employees contribute indirectly. Still, but the industry is Bedford County’s No. 1 sales tax generator, County Mayor Eugene Ray said.[/QUOTE]
I understand that, but I guess what I mean is make the current supporters embarrassed to support the BIG LICK TWH, not Celebration. There is more to Celebration than BL, right? I saw an article that mentioned the community of Shelbyville is being bombarded by the press now and how disgusted people are…I hope that it has some sort of impact, in that people look down on those BL’ers. It could be a fantasy, but is it possible with enough relentless pressure from the media and the public?
And for what it’s worth, my niece lives in Bedford County and hasn’t got a clue what a TWH is, and she could care less. It’s not the only thing on residents minds but they may get sick of BL if their community becomes the symbol for horse abusers.
Yeah, but how much MORE money could they make if they announced that starting in 2012, they’re going all flat-shod, all natural, NO more BL? Nobody hates TWH; they’re great horses. People just hate what is DONE to them.
So if McConnel pleads guilty to charges that include soring at the Celebration last year does anybody make him and his owners cough up the money he won? Are there any industry sanctions against the owners and riders of the 12 horses named in the indictment?
Why isn’t anybody publically outing who these owners are?
