Nebraska: horse rescues full.

No room at the ranch.

Horse rescue operations stretched to limit [link]
NANCY HICKS | Jul 22, 2008

Kathy Anderson remembers the call she got from a Nebraska woman who needed to reduce the number of horses on her ranch. She couldn’t break even by taking them to auction because of the depressed horse market. Vets charge for euthanizing the animals, and horse rescue operations are full. “What am I supposed to do? Shoot them and leave them with the dead cattle?” The rising cost of feeding horses—coupled with the closing of the last horse slaughter operations in the United States—have led to an increase in the number of unwanted horses nationally and in Nebraska. There are stories of horses being released in state parks, left to wander highways or tied to trees and abandoned. But there is evidence of the growing number of unwanted horses in this region. “We’ve gotten a few calls from people who can’t afford to feed them anymore and are hoping to donate.” The most colorful regional story comes from Lenz about a friend of his who took cattle to a sale barn, stayed for a while—and found three abandoned horses in his trailer. And there appears to be an increase in neglect cases in Nebraska. “In the past year, we have had more horses come through our doors than any year I can remember,” said Kristi Biodrowski, lead cruelty investigator for the Nebraska Humane Society. Jeff Wild of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture noticed more calls than normal last winter about horse abuse and neglect across the state. Nebraska’s horse rescue operations are seeing an increase in calls as well. “I’ve been inundated. I’ve probably turned away 80 since the first of the year,” said Lin Beaune, who operates EPONA horse rescue and sanctuary north of Kearney. “I had a call today from a man who wanted to get rid of three or four horses because he can’t afford them,” she said. “It’s terrible. It’s a crisis.” Opinions differ on the effect of closing U.S. slaughterhouses, the result of pressure from animal rights advocates. One side blames closing the slaughterhouses for pushing down prices of horses and hopes to undo the ban on slaughtering in the United States. Many equine vets, breeders and others blame at least part of the increase in unwanted horses on the loss of the slaughterhouses, the last of which closed in 2007. Horses still are bought at auction for slaughter in Canada and Mexico, but the price for low-end animals has dropped. “You can buy a horse for $10 at a horse auction.” Most owners who take a horse to an auction wouldn’t tolerate abuse. But sending a horse to auction is convenient. Perry and rescue operation owners said death at a Mexican slaughterhouse is worse than at the former U.S. operations. “I’d shoot my horses before I’d let them go to a death like that,” she said.

Check out the related article; same date, same author.