Manes and Tails Organization Horse Rescue ~ Newsletter 4-20-2009

A Nasty Pony Tail

By now, practically everyone on the planet is aware of Elle's and Amanda Sorvino's investigation of Bravo Packing. Amanda did the most dangerous part, meeting Monty J. Merola and fighting off his 'amorous' advances. It is tough to have any positive feeling for a functionally literate being that brutalizes horses and takes his false teeth out of his mouth at the dinner table. Amanda has tremendous strength and determination.

The investigation began on January 18, 2008. A written statement made by Elle can be read here. We recorded hours of telephone conversations over the months and Amanda shot hours of video with a hidden camera. A very short version of Amanda's video can be viewed here. There was a Standardbred that Elle wanted to buy from Monty, however, the horse dropped dead two days after she saw him. The horse in the meat locker is that Standardbred. He had a horrible case of rain rot and instead of calling him 'Rain Rot Boy' Elle decided on 'Rob Roy.' Amanda actually rescued ten horses from Merola and he commented that "those horses are the only horses ever to leave my lot alive."

There is much more to be said and we want to make it clear that we are not opposed to the Humane Society of the United States; simply their attorney who works in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Sherri Ramsey threatened to 'redline' our rescues if we did not give the Salem County Prosecutor more evidence. Merola could have been arrested and incarcerated with the short videoAmanda made. Beyond getting Merola incarcerated for a while, the New Jersey 'Cruelty to Livestock' statute carries a fine of $250.00. That fine will be paid and Merola's father will carry on slaughtering the horses and ponies. A Municipal Court in New Jersey is not the proper venue for this case, and we are extremely angry that this useless case even exists. We have an attorney in California and she is able to litigate in Circuit Court, and there are other defendants in addition to Monty J. Merola.

Of course, Governor Corzine has been contacted for an Executive Order. People who claim to know him never seem to respond to requests for help in getting the Governor's attention. An Executive Order is the only mechanism that will abolish horse slaughter in New Jersey. If he is even aware of the request, he will definitely issue the order as he supported all horse legislation when he was the Jr. Senator from New Jersey.

Why are we speaking up now? We spent the time, we paid for most of the investigation ( Paul Sorvino spent thousands of dollars rehabbing the horses) and we both took the risk. Amanda's cover was blown by Robert Mazella of Rescue Ink. Elle's cover was blown much later, however, it was blown most likely by another member of Rescue Ink. This group added absolutely nothing of value beyond giving Elle a ride to Bravo Packing on September 4, 2008. This saga is going to be covered in the local NJ papers first, and we will see who picks it up from there.

To change the subject, this week on Howling Ridge Radio we have author R.T. Fitch who has penned several books. His latest 'Straight from the Horse's Heart - A Spiritual Ride through Love, Loss and Hope' is a wonderful read and a truly 'must have' for any horse lover.

Howling Ridge Radio airs at 10pm EST. We hope you will join us. The Manes and Tails Organization web site has not been updated due to a dying computer. If I owe you an email, that is the reason why.

Until next time,

be well,

Elle