ATTENTION: Izak HofmeyerFrom: Kathy Wiles
SA Horseman MagazineAHSequi-link
Wilderness (044) 877 1825
URGENT PLEASEe-mail:
2 October 2009
Dear Izak,
REGARDING THE ADVERTISING FOR ‘IMMUNITY 101 AND 105’
IN YOUR SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF SA HORSEMAN
Apparently you have been made aware (by Dr Louis Gouws) that the above mentioned product is definitely not registered – not even as a ‘Complimentary Medicine’ – as Mr Badenhorst claims (letter from the MCC attached as proof).
What I find so unbelievable, is that you published a full page advert as well as a promotional letter from Mr Badenhorst – giving him maximum exposure – without checking that the product is actually registered, especially when you know the history of this issue. You could have very easily asked him for a copy of the Registration Certificate, or made other enquiries to confirm the safety of his so-called ‘treatment’. I realize that most of us would not expect a person to make such bold claims if it was not the truth, but you knew about the strong reaction to the previous advert he placed, when he was still calling his product the ‘African Horse Sickness Solution’. It was explained in detail what the chemical concoction actually is – namely Chlorine Dioxide when mixed. You were told about the dangers of this and that Mr Badenhorst is not only selling the product illegally, but that he also has absolutely no evidence that it works as a ‘treatment’ or as an ‘immunity booster’.
As you must know, Dr Louie Gouws is the PRO for the South African Equine Veterinary Association and you had published an excellent article written by him in a previous issue, on ‘Alternative Medicine – Therapy or Quackery’. This article was to explain his support of good homeopathic remedies, but also to warn horse owners about the dangers of misleading information when it comes to ‘alternative medicines’. He specifically explained what we can expect Chlorine Dioxide to do to our horses! What I would like to know is whether you actually read any of these articles and letters regarding the chemicals which Mr Badenhorst is selling? Surely if you had, you would have been very amazed that he actually managed to get it ‘registered’ at all, never mind in record time? Surely you would have done your own homework on this before allowing your magazine to be ‘hood-winked’ into publishing dangerous and misleading information.
Cont /2….
2
You should be fully aware of the ‘powerful’ position you hold when it comes to giving horse owners the best information. Your magazine is being read by thousands and you are putting us in danger by ‘condoning’ the illegal actions and false claims made by Mr Badenhorst. Besides anything else, the two bottles of chemicals are costing him a few rand to produce and he’s selling them for around R 450.00 – so we are also being ‘ripped off’. This is a money making scam, where desperate horse owners are being preyed upon and I think it’s absolutely disgusting that
Mr Badenhorst can be so blatantly dishonest – as to claim that the product is ‘now registered’. Making this claim in a magazine such as yours, will make most horse owners believe it – because they have no clue of the facts.
All Mr Badenhorst did, through his ‘consultants’, was to put in an application to have the ‘treatment’ registered as an ‘Alternative Medicine’ – nothing more. These type of applications are currently not being processed, so they thought they’d found a ‘loop-hole’ in the system, whereby Mr Badenhorst could continue his scam!
We have now confirmed, with the Medical Control Council, that Mr Badenhorst’s product is not registered and that he is still acting illegally. Even though he has submitted information for application, nothing is happening with it and due to the fact that it is Chlorine Dioxide and classified as ‘a poison’, there is no chance of it ever being registered. He’s just playing with time, the law and you!
Due to the fact that African Horse Sickness is the most feared horse disease in South Africa, any news of a possible ‘new treatment’ will spread like wildfire amongst horse owners. He has changed the name to ‘Immunity 101 and 105’ and removed the ‘claims of cure’, but it is exactly the same product, exactly the same look and logo as his previous advert, his website address is still ahssolution.co.za and so is his e-mail address. In the letter you published, again you referred to ‘The African Horse Sickness Solution’. He has been on a major advertising spree over the last few months - in which you have played a significant role - so a lot of damage has already been done.
On behalf of many horse owners who are very concerned about this, I would like to know what you intend to do about the role you have played and how you are going to rectify the damage done by your magazine? What I would like to suggest, is that you not only publish a very big article in your next issue (written by experts – which I can arrange) and your website, but that you immediately print a notice on an A4 page and send it out all your subscribers – warning them about this whole issue. .
We would appreciate an urgent response as we see this as a very serious matter.
Sincerely,
Kathy Wiles
AHS equi-link
African Horse Sickness Research Assistance and Surveillance Project