11-7 IAN Texas Drought

 More than 1,000 people have joined a popular campaign on urging Texas Governor Rick Perry to use state funds to alleviate the drought’s negative impact on small ranchers and farm animals.Bob Williams is a founder of the Texas-based animal rescue organization Ranch Hand Rescue. Williams has received a record number of requests to care for horses, cattle, and other farm animals as a result of the Texas drought, which has caused a major hay scarcity in the state.“We desperately need to raise awareness about this issue,” said Williams. We know Governor Perry is a good man, and we want to work with his team to develop a plan to make sure we help our ranchers and farm animals.”

The drought has caused the price of hay to nearly quadruple in recent months, leading small ranchers and farmers, already struggling in a down economy, to sell off large portions of their herds or give them to farm rescue organizations like Williams’. Some horses and cattle have starved to death because of the lack of hay, and conditions are expected to worsen. Williams is asking Governor Rick Perry to use state funds to truck in hay from other states into Texas.

“Bob Williams is standing up and taking action for what he believes in,” said Change.org Sarah Parsons who is Senior Organizer of a group called Change.org and said this about Gov. Perry’s response. “Has Gov. Perry responded? He has not responded yet. Bob Williams is hoping to get a meeting with him or one of the members of his staff to talk about this.

State Climatologist John Nielson-Gammon recently declared Texas’ ongoing drought to be the state’s worst one-year drought on record. Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicates that the drought will likely persist through the winter.