News
New Web site established to help abandoned horses
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| Horses galore: From left, Big Red, Nogales and Doc are three of about 30 horses that were abandoned, neglected or just unable to be cared for by their owners, and were turned over through law enforcement agencies to Healing Hearts sanctuary north of Willcox, said caretaker Fritzie Eaton. (Ainslee S. Wittig/photo.) |
Ainslee S. Wittig/Wick Communications
"The problem is ongoing and it's nationwide. It's different in different places, but we are one of the worst areas," said Baxter Black, DVM in Benson and Cowboy Poet nationwide. That problem, Black says, is equine abuse, abandonment and neglect, brought about primarily by the closure of horse slaughter plants in the U.S.
Black is one of the founders (which also include Jeri Dobrowski of Montana/North Dakota border and Wylie Gustafson of Washington) of a new a Web page, www.abandonedhorses.com or www.amillionhorses.com, which has been established to serve as a site to collect and document cases of equine abuse, abandonment and neglect.
Wylie Gustafson, another Web site founder, said, "Our first and foremost concern is the horse. There is a real and urgent need for change. Our intention is to reduce the horses' suffering and neglect by creating an awareness of the current problem."
"A picture is worth a thousand words. One of our primary goals is for this Web site to become a collection point and database for images that will help bring awareness to the horses' plight. The problem will continue to grow at an exponential rate," Gustafson said. "The slaughter industry, which provided an outlet for over 100,000 unwanted horses per year, no longer exists."
Black added, "With the Web site, we will have documentation of real people being forced to handle abandoned horses. Several states are now considering building a new slaughter plant. There will undoubtedly be objections to their construction, and www.abandonedhorses.com will serve as a stark visual reminder to politicians and voters of the need for a practical humane alternative to starving or dumping them."
"Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota are all looking at putting in slaughter plants," Black said, adding that the problem doesn't exist because of a federal ban.
In 2006, Congress voted to discontinue use of funds appropriated for slaughter, but it was able to continue with industry funding. In 2007, court action closed the Texas plants and a state ban closed the Illinois plant.
The last remaining horse-processing plant in the U.S. closed Sept. 21, 2007 after the passage of an Illinois State law prohibiting horse slaughter for human consumption overseas. It was signed by Governor Rod Blagojevich.
Two plants in Texas were closed before that when the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed that horse slaughter for human consumption is illegal in the state.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported 138,206 American horses were processed in 2006. Of those, 102,260 were sent to U.S. facilities, 24,866 to Canadian facilities, and 11,080 to Mexican facilities.
According to the Journal of American Veterinarian Medical Association, as of Dec. 20, 2007, 44,475 horses had been shipped to Mexico for processing for human consumption compared with 10,783 shipped at the same time in 2006 -- a 312 percent increase. And, the USDA estimates that 35,000 horses were sent to Canada for slaughter in 2007 -- about a 41 percent increase from the year before.
And now, Black said, legislation to prohibit transporting horses for slaughter (for human consumption) is being pushed by animal rights activists.
"The plan is to lock it down, where no horses can be moved for slaughter purposes," said Dobrowski. But he added there are concerns about how this would be enforced, as there are many more reasons to transport horses than for slaughter.
"Common sense is an endangered species in the U.S. They don't stop and think about consequences in the long run. No one thought about what we were going to do by closing slaughter plants and limiting transportation. We are seeing those consequences now," she said.
Dobrowski added, "Animal rights activists say there is no such thing as a horse abandonment problem. They said closing the slaughter plants would not cause abandonment; and they say the problem is all made up. I put about one report a day (on abandonment or neglect), only official news sources, on the Web site. And I don't think we're seeing full reporting, as I've heard law enforcement isn't always pressing charges because they would have to take the animal in and care for it and that is very expensive. Law enforcement is not set up for that."
However, Black said, "the day one of those states approves construction of a slaughter plant, the end of the abandoned horse problem will be on the way."
"The real tragedy here is the problem is a man-made creation. It's not the economy as many animal rights activists have said. If the economy gets better, it won't improve the problem," he said. "If you could take a horse to the sale barn, you're not going to turn that down. But, horses are worth nothing even in a good economy."
In Southeastern Arizona, the Willcox Livestock Auction and Marana's auction no longer accept horses to sell. Robertson's Horse Sales only accepts riding horses and sales are slow, Black said.
Just after ceasing to auction off horses at Willcox Livestock Auction on Oct. 30, 2008, owner Sonny Shores said he had sold seven of eight horses in about an hour on an auction day in October, and received $161 commission.
"It costs $200 to $300 an hour to run the sale barn. It (auctioning horses) is not a money-making deal, but we've done it for the people of the area. But now if we're left with horses, there is no outlet for those," Shores said.
"Animal rights groups have shot themselves in the foot. Without the slaughter plants in the U.S.," Shores said, "many people are either abandoning their horses where they starve to death, or they send them to Mexico, where the plants do not have the oversight and inspectors they did in the U.S. I don't know how they kill the horses in Mexico, but at least here, they did it humanely."
Shores said Monday that now horses are worth even less than they were in October. "There is not a lot of market for horses," he said.
Horse owners are now facing a costly burden; and unfortunate horses are facing less-than-humane treatment. It is difficult, if not impossible, for people to sell animals they no longer want, need, or can afford.
Demand for services at horse rescue centers and sanctuaries is up. However, they are able to provide but a fraction of the care needed to address the current population, let alone the numbers of horses that will be added each year.
One area sanctuary, Healing Hearts, located on Fort Grant Road north of Willcox, is currently caring for 30 horses that were either abandoned, neglected or just not able to be cared for and were turned over through law enforcement agencies, said president and founder Betty Welton of Gilbert.
"On any given day, I receive 10 to 12 emails from people trying to place a horse or find a place for an abandoned horse. It's a real national and regional issue," Welton said last Wednesday.
However, when asked about a slaughter plant in the U.S., she said she would "prefer to work as humanely as possible, euthanizing by a veterinarian at a discounted price. Slaughter plants are a very stressful, painful death for animals. Horses are a wonderful companion, and they deserve a better fate."
"I would prefer to work with horse rescue facilities, finding more animals placement and more humane euthanasia," Welton added.
According to American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), several excellent equine rescue and retirement facilities operate in the U.S. and play a vital role in providing lifelong care or finding new owners for unwanted horses. Some of these groups are registered as nonprofits and others are privately run by individuals or families. There is no national body that provides oversight or accreditation for these facilities, however.
But, AAEP adds, "the key issue is the total number of unwanted horses that can be cared for permanently or placed with a new owner by existing facilities. Care capacities typically range from five horses per facility to, in a few cases, a maximum of 1,000 horses. The capacity of most facilities, however, is 30 horses or less. Despite the efforts of these groups to care for unwanted horses, the number of horses exceeds the resources currently available."
Gustafson said, "We have not begun to see the dramatic consequences of the equine population explosion. A perfect storm is brewing: a bad economy, high feed prices, indiscriminate horse breeding and no way for the unwanted horse to be efficiently removed from our hungry world. Hopefully our site will help expose this catastrophe. Change is needed immediately."
Dobrowski warned change won't happen overnight, even if the slaughter plants are approved. Construction time is slow.
"It'll still get worse before it gets better," she said.
Photographs of affected horses along with city and state of origin and person submitting can be e-mailed to: sendphotos@amillionhorses.com.
"When objections to the proposed slaughter plants come up, we'll say, "Look up www.abandonedhorses.com. You can't say it's not a problem," Black said. "And, the day the first new plant in the United States is finished, this man-made abandoned horse tragedy will begin to disappear."
Ainslee S. Wittig is managing editor of the Arizona Range News in Willcox.
"The problem is ongoing and it's nationwide. It's different in different places, but we are one of the worst areas," said Baxter Black, DVM in Benson and Cowboy Poet nationwide. That problem, Black says, is equine abuse, abandonment and neglect, brought about primarily by the closure of horse slaughter plants in the U.S.
Black is one of the founders (which also include Jeri Dobrowski of Montana/North Dakota border and Wylie Gustafson of Washington) of a new a Web page, www.abandonedhorses.com or www.amillionhorses.com, which has been established to serve as a site to collect and document cases of equine abuse, abandonment and neglect.
Wylie Gustafson, another Web site founder, said, "Our first and foremost concern is the horse. There is a real and urgent need for change. Our intention is to reduce the horses' suffering and neglect by creating an awareness of the current problem."
"A picture is worth a thousand words. One of our primary goals is for this Web site to become a collection point and database for images that will help bring awareness to the horses' plight. The problem will continue to grow at an exponential rate," Gustafson said. "The slaughter industry, which provided an outlet for over 100,000 unwanted horses per year, no longer exists."
Black added, "With the Web site, we will have documentation of real people being forced to handle abandoned horses. Several states are now considering building a new slaughter plant. There will undoubtedly be objections to their construction, and www.abandonedhorses.com will serve as a stark visual reminder to politicians and voters of the need for a practical humane alternative to starving or dumping them."
"Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota are all looking at putting in slaughter plants," Black said, adding that the problem doesn't exist because of a federal ban.
In 2006, Congress voted to discontinue use of funds appropriated for slaughter, but it was able to continue with industry funding. In 2007, court action closed the Texas plants and a state ban closed the Illinois plant.
The last remaining horse-processing plant in the U.S. closed Sept. 21, 2007 after the passage of an Illinois State law prohibiting horse slaughter for human consumption overseas. It was signed by Governor Rod Blagojevich.
Two plants in Texas were closed before that when the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed that horse slaughter for human consumption is illegal in the state.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported 138,206 American horses were processed in 2006. Of those, 102,260 were sent to U.S. facilities, 24,866 to Canadian facilities, and 11,080 to Mexican facilities.
According to the Journal of American Veterinarian Medical Association, as of Dec. 20, 2007, 44,475 horses had been shipped to Mexico for processing for human consumption compared with 10,783 shipped at the same time in 2006 -- a 312 percent increase. And, the USDA estimates that 35,000 horses were sent to Canada for slaughter in 2007 -- about a 41 percent increase from the year before.
And now, Black said, legislation to prohibit transporting horses for slaughter (for human consumption) is being pushed by animal rights activists.
"The plan is to lock it down, where no horses can be moved for slaughter purposes," said Dobrowski. But he added there are concerns about how this would be enforced, as there are many more reasons to transport horses than for slaughter.
"Common sense is an endangered species in the U.S. They don't stop and think about consequences in the long run. No one thought about what we were going to do by closing slaughter plants and limiting transportation. We are seeing those consequences now," she said.
Dobrowski added, "Animal rights activists say there is no such thing as a horse abandonment problem. They said closing the slaughter plants would not cause abandonment; and they say the problem is all made up. I put about one report a day (on abandonment or neglect), only official news sources, on the Web site. And I don't think we're seeing full reporting, as I've heard law enforcement isn't always pressing charges because they would have to take the animal in and care for it and that is very expensive. Law enforcement is not set up for that."
However, Black said, "the day one of those states approves construction of a slaughter plant, the end of the abandoned horse problem will be on the way."
"The real tragedy here is the problem is a man-made creation. It's not the economy as many animal rights activists have said. If the economy gets better, it won't improve the problem," he said. "If you could take a horse to the sale barn, you're not going to turn that down. But, horses are worth nothing even in a good economy."
In Southeastern Arizona, the Willcox Livestock Auction and Marana's auction no longer accept horses to sell. Robertson's Horse Sales only accepts riding horses and sales are slow, Black said.
Just after ceasing to auction off horses at Willcox Livestock Auction on Oct. 30, 2008, owner Sonny Shores said he had sold seven of eight horses in about an hour on an auction day in October, and received $161 commission.
"It costs $200 to $300 an hour to run the sale barn. It (auctioning horses) is not a money-making deal, but we've done it for the people of the area. But now if we're left with horses, there is no outlet for those," Shores said.
"Animal rights groups have shot themselves in the foot. Without the slaughter plants in the U.S.," Shores said, "many people are either abandoning their horses where they starve to death, or they send them to Mexico, where the plants do not have the oversight and inspectors they did in the U.S. I don't know how they kill the horses in Mexico, but at least here, they did it humanely."
Shores said Monday that now horses are worth even less than they were in October. "There is not a lot of market for horses," he said.
Horse owners are now facing a costly burden; and unfortunate horses are facing less-than-humane treatment. It is difficult, if not impossible, for people to sell animals they no longer want, need, or can afford.
Demand for services at horse rescue centers and sanctuaries is up. However, they are able to provide but a fraction of the care needed to address the current population, let alone the numbers of horses that will be added each year.
One area sanctuary, Healing Hearts, located on Fort Grant Road north of Willcox, is currently caring for 30 horses that were either abandoned, neglected or just not able to be cared for and were turned over through law enforcement agencies, said president and founder Betty Welton of Gilbert.
"On any given day, I receive 10 to 12 emails from people trying to place a horse or find a place for an abandoned horse. It's a real national and regional issue," Welton said last Wednesday.
However, when asked about a slaughter plant in the U.S., she said she would "prefer to work as humanely as possible, euthanizing by a veterinarian at a discounted price. Slaughter plants are a very stressful, painful death for animals. Horses are a wonderful companion, and they deserve a better fate."
"I would prefer to work with horse rescue facilities, finding more animals placement and more humane euthanasia," Welton added.
According to American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), several excellent equine rescue and retirement facilities operate in the U.S. and play a vital role in providing lifelong care or finding new owners for unwanted horses. Some of these groups are registered as nonprofits and others are privately run by individuals or families. There is no national body that provides oversight or accreditation for these facilities, however.
But, AAEP adds, "the key issue is the total number of unwanted horses that can be cared for permanently or placed with a new owner by existing facilities. Care capacities typically range from five horses per facility to, in a few cases, a maximum of 1,000 horses. The capacity of most facilities, however, is 30 horses or less. Despite the efforts of these groups to care for unwanted horses, the number of horses exceeds the resources currently available."
Gustafson said, "We have not begun to see the dramatic consequences of the equine population explosion. A perfect storm is brewing: a bad economy, high feed prices, indiscriminate horse breeding and no way for the unwanted horse to be efficiently removed from our hungry world. Hopefully our site will help expose this catastrophe. Change is needed immediately."
Dobrowski warned change won't happen overnight, even if the slaughter plants are approved. Construction time is slow.
"It'll still get worse before it gets better," she said.
Photographs of affected horses along with city and state of origin and person submitting can be e-mailed to: sendphotos@amillionhorses.com.
"When objections to the proposed slaughter plants come up, we'll say, "Look up www.abandonedhorses.com. You can't say it's not a problem," Black said. "And, the day the first new plant in the United States is finished, this man-made abandoned horse tragedy will begin to disappear."
Ainslee S. Wittig is managing editor of the Arizona Range News in Willcox.
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