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Posted by Antoinette When rescues or the people they serve have a complaint or disagreement, neither has anywhere to turn. This often results in nasty websites being made up about the rescue or in the rescue bad-mouthing individuals on the Internet. Nobody on either side is going to be happy all the time, that's just the way life is, but a good rescue will at least desire some sort of attempt at resolution, as will any decent private individual who has a complaint against a rescue. I'm not alone in recognizing this need & having this desire. However, in the 7+ years I've recognized the need for an ethics committee, none are ever forthcoming. We have so many new rescues forming these days, & with that comes many more people who are new to rescue & getting their first taste of it. No doubt, there are 'bad apples' on both sides, & we all need more protection than what the states & the federal government is willing to give us. I realize that because of my reputation of causing trouble, which I did indeed earn by asking questions, pointing out probably breaches of ethics & by giving legitimate complaints a safe haven on my Act_Now Yahoo! Groups list, I am not qualified to sit on such a committee. That is not going to stop me from calling for its formation, though. I hope that as you read this, you will agree & join me in making the call. I envision a commitee composed of 7 people: 2 people currently serving on the board of directors in an animal rescue (not necessarily horse) 2 people who are not members of any rescue, but have at least somewhat of an interest in equine rescue 2 people who are not involved in rescue at all & are professional horse persons (breeders, show, race, competition, trainer, farrier, etc.) and 1 person who is an expert in ethics, perhaps somone who teaches the subject at a college or University, who should chair the committee. All committee members should be voted in by the general public/persons having an interest in equine rescue. None can have been negatively implicated in a rescue scam previously- in other words, a clean background. Committee members should serve terms of 1 year, be elidgible for re-election for up to 3 consecutive terms & not eligible to sit on the committee for 2 years after serving on the committee if not seeking re-election after the first term. This will keep the same people from running the show, year after year. When anyone has a complaint, that person should contact the committe and present their complaint to the committee, who will then contact the person or rescue being complained about to see if they wish to participate in mediation. The complaint shall be reduced to specific points for the sake of space and posted on the committee's website, which I will allow the USESR website to have space dedicated to that, or someone else can host it for free. If the person or rescue being complained about does not choose to participate in mediation, that should be posted on the website & people can make up their mind whether or not to do business with that person or rescue by that fact. If the rescue or individual does wish to participate in mediation, the other side of the story shall be posted, also. Whether or not the 2 could come to an agreement shall also be posted, in the form of a simple 'yes' or 'no'. The committee should also have a ratings system for rescues, posted on its website. A rescue that has never had a complaint should have, for example, 5 stars. Complaints which the committee finds are invalid shall not be discussed or reported on, nor counted against anyone. This will act as a deterrent to anyone arbitrarily trashing anyone else. The committee's site will also act as a definitive place where anyone can go to check out the record of a rescue or potential adopter, volunteer, member, etc. The committee would meet via a private e-mail list, where they can all discuss the moderation in private. Expected volunteer hours per month: 2, not consecutive. If you would like to volunteer to serve on the committee or you know someone who might be qualified & might agree to do it, please let me know by posting your real first & last name here ( http://www.usesr.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=220 ), along with your contact information, or send me a private e-mail message & I will contact that person, via e-mail, cc'd (copied to) you, so that you know I contacted them & exactly what I said. Antoinette Smith United States Equine Sanctuary & Rescue www.usesr.org broknbel@earthlink.net PLEASE CROSS-POST THIS MESSAGE TO EVERY EQUINE RESCUE E-MAIL GROUP YOU ARE ON. THIS COMMITTEE IS BEING FORMED FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, WHO HAVE ANY INTEREST IN EQUINE RESCUE. IT IS FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL OF US. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT ME AT THE 'EARTHLINK' OR 'USESR' ADDRESS CONTAINED IN THE BODY OF THIS MESSAGE.
on 11/2/2005, 1:37 pm
The reason I added the topic, "Rescue Scams" to the United States Equine Sanctuary & Rescue message board, is because I want to call attention to the fact that the horse rescue industry is almost entirely unregulated. The state offices & the IRS are too busy to bother with attending to complaints that are smaller than thousands of dollars being embezzled or numerous reports of false advertising resulting in defrauding consumers out of thousands of dollars.
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