New York: neglect case update.

This is an update to a previously posted case.

RAID: Trading post targeted by police and animal cruelty investigators [link]
Rick Pfeiffer | Aug 14, 2008

A businessman faces 17 animal cruelty charges after State Police and Erie County SPCA investigators raided his Bedell Road stables on Tuesday afternoon. SPCA investigators seized 12 horses and five sheep from Sparks’ collection of animals. “The 12 horses had various conditions and ailments.”

As motorists driving by the property Tuesday afternoon slowed to look at the activity and the police and SPCA vehicles in the trading post parking lot, some said they were not surprised. “We live on the Island and my daughter has a horse, but we keep it up in Lewiston,” said a woman who did not give her name. “This place was just awful.” However, Tammy Eldridge, who said she has known Sparks “for 30 years” told reporters standing on the roadside what was happening was wrong. “(Sparks) buys horses, he cares for horses, he’s never hurt a horse,” Eldridge said. “He buys them, they’re skinny and he saves them... This is a shame.”

The animal cruelty investigator said the Tuesday raid was not his agency’s first visit to Sparks’ business. “We’ve been out before to advise (Sparks) on veterinary care and proper feeding and he’s pretty much complied.” Armatys said Sparks has no prior animal cruelty arrests. He said a veterinarian made the determination of which animals to seize. “The animals will be taken for further examination by the vet and treatment,” Armatys said.

XP

California: animal abandonment.

Economy, foreclosure linked to animal neglect.

Inland Empire Foreclosures Spawning Empty Nest Crimes [link]
Aug 14, 2008

In recent months, the Inland Empire has ranked second nationwide when it comes to foreclosure filings—a trend that has spawned an up tick in crimes such as drugs, arson and animal abandonment in the area... Another example of issues that have has sprung up since the foreclosure wave was an abandoned property starving horses were found. "We ... want to spread the message that pets aren't disposable," Riverside Co. Animal Control spokesman John Welsh said. "This horse was abandoned, and that's not right." Experts said they predict the market will worsen [before] it improves.

XP

USA Today editorial on horse overpopulation.

Regarding humane treatment, more.

Homeless on the range [link]
Mary Zeiss Stange | Aug 14, 2008

Horses are being abandoned by the thousands across the USA. Some are strays, others a result of overbreeding or a sour economy. How should we humanely lessen their numbers?

It's a climactic scene in the 1962 Kirk Douglas film, Lonely Are the Brave. The cowboy, Jack Burns—fugitive both from the law and the civilization overtaking the open range—confronts a choice: He can scale a steep rock face and escape to Mexico. But to do so, he must leave his palomino mare, Whiskey, to either be recovered by the posse pursuing him, or to run wild in the New Mexico desert.

It takes him but a moment to decide: Whatever the outcome, he and his horse are in this together. It is a noble sentiment and an ultimately tragic decision. In the end, the horse is literally dead and her rider at least metaphorically so.

No one who owns and loves horses, as I do, can fail to note the counterpoint the film provides to what is happening to horses in America today. There is a national epidemic of "surplus" or "unwanted" horses. Domestic horses are being abandoned as never before. Some are being released as "strays" on public lands. Others are being left to starve in pastures denuded of grass. The reasons are various and excruciatingly complex.

Overpopulation problem

There are, to begin with, too many horses in the USA: 9.2 million as recently as 2005, up from 5.3 million in 1999. Indiscriminate breeding leads not just to too many horses, but also to too many with physical or behavioral faults that render them unsuitable for domestic uses.

Then there's the economy. Horses are not cheap to keep. Factor in training, vet care, tack and feed, and the expense averages $1,800 to $2,400 per animal, per year—and rising, as grain and fuel costs increase. According to the American Horse Council, a third of horse owners have household incomes less than $50,000 a year. When it comes to feeding your horses or putting gas in the car, the choice is simple, if painful.

But the single overriding cause of "surplus" horses is the movement to ban the sale of horses or their meat for human consumption. Activism forced the last three horse slaughter plants in the U.S. to close last year. They had hitherto processed about 100,000 horses annually, mostly for meat sales to France and Japan, where horse meat is considered a delicacy.

On its face, the closings would seem to be a victory for horse lovers. Former New York representative John Sweeney, who sponsored a bill in 2006 to curtail horse slaughter, told Fox News that slaughter is a "brutal, shady practice" because horses such as Mr. Ed, Secretariat and Silver are American icons. Julie Caramante of Habitat for Horses, a rescue operation in Houston, told USA TODAY in March that horses are pets, and that "we wouldn't even dream of selling our pets" for food.

Supporters of the horse slaughter ban include the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, as well as such major animal rights groups as the Humane Society of the United States and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. But most major veterinary medical groups oppose it, as does the American Quarter Horse Association.

Why would advocates of horse health and welfare oppose a ban on the slaughter? Mostly because humane slaughter is preferable to neglect or abuse. But there is an additional irony: Horses bound for auction, even if that means eventual slaughter, are better cared for than those that have little economic value. Auction prices have plummeted since the slaughter ban went into effect. And so, too often, has the level of care afforded many unwanted horses.

Bought for slaughter

An increasing number of these horses are now bought to be shipped to slaughtering facilities in Canada or, more likely, Mexico. In the latter case, their treatment is liable to be nothing short of barbaric, compared with the methods employed by the now-shuttered U.S. slaughterhouses, which had conformed to the standards of the Humane Slaughter Act. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) reports that horse slaughter exports to Mexico have in a single year increased by 312%, to more than 44,000 horses in 2007.

In response, animal rights activists are pushing the extension of the ban to include the transport of horses to other countries for slaughter. Federal legislation to this effect—the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008—was introduced in the House just ahead of Congress' summer recess. The AVMA calls the situation a horse welfare crisis. It attributes the cause primarily to the coalition of slaughter-ban activists spearheaded by the Humane Society, and its failure to suggest viable alternatives.

The way to the current crisis was, of course, paved with good intentions. But the options available, for dealing with 100,000 unwanted steeds, are unfortunately limited, and largely unfeasible:

• Euthanasia is a possibility. But it is costly, $100 to $600 per horse. The cost of burial or cremation could add several hundred dollars.
• Rescue facilities are an option; many already exist. But their capacity is about 6,000 horses, and we are looking at a surplus of roughly 100,000 horses every year. At $1,800 to $2,400 to keep each animal, that comes to $180 million to $240 million annually. Because many of these horses will live several years until their natural deaths, the cost could balloon exponentially. Who will bear it?
• A limited number of suitable horses can be donated to schools and therapeutic facilities, and for veterinary research.

In the longer range, the breeding of horses must be sharply curtailed. In the meantime, the resumption of humane slaughter in this country should be seriously considered.

The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, should it eventually become law, does not mandate funding for the support of surplus horses. And opponents have failed to raise the funding for rescue facilities, adoption programs and so forth.

Meanwhile, ever-increasing numbers of unwanted horses are languishing in grassless pastures, dazedly roaming desiccated public lands, and living with disease and chronic pain. Whatever you might think about the relative merits of horse meat, this is a hell of a way to treat an "American icon." The cowboy Jack Burns wouldn't have stood for it.

Overpopulated, emaciated, overwhelmed

Most states do not record exact numbers on abandoned horses. In 2007, the Unwanted Horse Coalition estimated that 170,000 abandoned horses lived in the U.S. Abandonment takes various forms, as recent news reports illustrate:

• It is estimated that 200 of 1,200 wild horses overpopulating the Virginia Range near Reno, are actually "strays." Many won't survive in the wild, and the mustangs could be at risk of disease from domestic horses.
• In January, 48 emaciated thoroughbred horses—some believed to be descendants of Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew—were rescued from a farm in Loudoun County, Va.
• In March, 70 Tennessee Walking horses were removed from a farm in Jessamine County, Ky. Officials said that on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst condition, most of the horses rated a 1.5.
• In May, 120 starving horses were rescued from a ranch in Central Florida when, according to reports, their owner "had become overwhelmed by the demand of caring" for them.

Mary Zeiss Stange, a professor at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., is a member of USA TODAY's board of contributors. She rides a Peruvian named Amante.

XP

Texas: vet suspected of animal cruelty.

Horses do sometimes die of natural causes. While sometimes charges are necessary, other times people are needlessly railroaded.

One horse found dead, two horses possibly malnourished [link]
Lauren Williamson | Aug 14, 2008

A Corpus Christi veterinarian might be charged with animal cruelty after the disturbing discovery of a dead horse and two others malnourished in her backyard pasture. The dead horse was found at veterinarian Sally Bywaters' house. Neighbors said it had been lying outside for about a week and was swarming with flies. The two malnourished horses were taken to a rescue agency by emergency court order. County officials said the two horses' bones were prominent, as if they had been underfed for awhile.

Bywaters has worked for the Gulf Coast Humane Society for 10 years. She said she euthanized the horse herself. "He had numerous problems, like liver disease and cancer," Bywaters said. "...The other two horses are young thoroughbreds and are naturally thin... These allegations are crazy," she added.

Neighbors said they have not seen any abuse. "It's a retirement place for old horses. They let them roam and put them in a pasture and feed them and take care of them," Bywaters' neighbor, John Gravell, said. "I'd hate to see them bring animal cruelty charges against her because they died of old age." Bywaters is working toward getting her other two horses back. County officials will decide later this week whether or not to press charges against Bywaters.

XP

Florida: neglect case update.

Update on neglect case from May.

County holds horses [link]
Suevon Lee | Aug 14, 2008

Custody is transferred as former owner gets bill for care

AA judge on Wednesday gave Marion County permanent custody of 123 horses and miniature ponies that were seized from their owner in late May following an extended period of neglect and maltreatment. Wednesday afternoon's hearing at the Marion County Courthouse came nearly three months after the county filed an emergency petition for protective custody of the horses, which witnesses described in court as once severely malnourished, crawling with parasites and suffering from overgrown hoofs. Not all of the animals made it; five horses have since been euthanized, while two have died from malnutrition. They are currently being in housed in fields around Marion and Citrus counties, according to Animal Center Director Jill Lancon. The horses will undergo medical tests and be put up for adoption. "I've got a running list of people who are interested," Lancon said.

In June, Derby, 44, said in an interview that she was feeling overwhelmed by the number of horses left in her care and that she had entered into agreements to transfer ownership to other individuals. But several animal experts said in court that they were especially startled by the sight of protruding bones and deformities on the animals, since miniature ponies are fairly easy to keep. "It was disturbing. It really takes effort to starve miniature horses," said Marilyn Maler, a veterinarian who examined the horses.

Kim Thompson, an acquaintance of Derby's who was at the hearing, said the county has exaggerated the horses' condition and that she is entitled to have custody of them. "They took advantage of this woman," she said after the hearing. Thompson rose from her seat during the hearing in efforts to be heard but was ordered by the judge to immediately sit back down.

Morgan Silver, executive director of the Horse Protection Association of Florida, testified that she first noticed the neglected horses in April 2003, when she happened to pass by Derby's Fort McCoy farm. She observed curled-up hoofs, "like elf shoes," and six to seven horses to a feeding pan. "They would be fighting each other off," she said. "This is probably one of the worst cases I've ever seen with horses that are neglected and suffering," Lancon said. "I was just horrified that someone could allow this to happen to their horses."

Another article.

123 malnourished horses seized from Ocala owner [link]
Associated Press | Aug 14, 2008

A judge has given Marion County permanent custody of 123 horses and miniature ponies which were seized from their owner. County Judge Steven G. Rogers on Wednesday also ordered that the owner, Francine Derby, be held responsible for $15,000 of the nearly $25,000 the county spent taking the horses from four properties, feeding them and bringing them back to health. Five horses have been euthanized and two have died from malnutrition. The horses will now have medical tests and be put up for adoption.

XP

Montana: more horse neglect cases.

Animal cruelty investigator, sheriff speak out on increasingly common issue.

Cruelty investigator: Economy affects animal care [link]
Irina Cates | Aug 13, 2008

The majority of the cases Sanders County Animal Cruelty Investigator Dave Hedley deals with involve animal neglect, not abuse. He is also seeing more cases involving horses. "A horse market, as far as selling your horses at the auction is bottomed out, it's costing people money to get rid of their horses with the hay prices running anywhere from $1.50 to $2.00 a ton, people aren't either willing to pay those prices to feed their horses or are unable to field those prices for hay," Hedley said. "And what we're afraid of, of course, is with this type of economy pressure going on people dealing with the high prices of fuel, double the price in hay who can't cope with it. They can't afford it, and they can't get rid of them. So unfortunately they're going to be neglected," Sheriff Gene Arnold added.

Hedley said people who want to buy horses need to make sure they are educated enough about these animals to make sure they know what they're getting themselves into. "To be a true Montanan, they buy their horses and they're over their head because they've never had a horse before. They don't understand the requirements upkeep that horse and a horse will eat off five acres in a heartbeat and then suddenly they're faced with having to buy feed," Hedley said. Just because there is a lot of green feed, it does not mean the feed is good, according to Hedley. "When that greenery is actually nap weed or a noxious weed, which is poisonous for a horse if it's ingested in any quantity," he said. Hedley adds when winter rolls around, he expects a traumatic increase in horse neglect cases. Hedley recommends that anyone who needs help or has questions about raising animals, contact the Sanders County Sheriff's Department or a local humane society.

XP

New Jersey: malnourished horse case.

Retired thoroughbreds are allegedly neglected.

Farm owners face cruelty charges [link]
Stephanie Prokop | Aug 13, 2008

Two North Jersey men are facing charges of animal cruelty in Jobstown after allegedly maintaining poor conditions for horses on their farm on Arney’s Mount Road. Dennis Cameron, of Piscataway, and Patrick Nelson, of Lake Hiawatha, are each facing 24 counts of failure to provide a living creature with proper food, said Springfield Township Municipal Court Administrator Ruth Ann Bice on Tuesday. The two men were scheduled to appear Judge Richard Andronici in Municipal Court Tuesday, but Ms. Bice said the hearing was delayed so that the defendant could obtain a lawyer. The new hearing date has not been set.

Retired thoroughbreds are boarded at the property, DMS Farm, said neighbor Maggie Payne. According to Ms. Payne, the horses appear to be very skinny and have noticeable blisters and open wounds on them. This has been a source of outrage for the neighbors, said Ms. Payne, who said she had approached the farm’s owners about a dilapidated fence. Ms. Payne said that because the fence was broken, the horses would escape out onto Arney’s Mount Road and she was fearful that they would get hit by a car at night. “We just didn’t want to see any of these horses getting killed out on the road,” she said.

According to the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals spokesperson Matt Stanton, charges were originally filed in February. The ASPCA would normally allow only a 24 or, at most, a 48-hour window before they would write a ticket, but the state Department of Agriculture granted a three-month grace period to let the owners take care of the horses’ conditions. “We were back there in May, and in June, and wrote a total of eight tickets,” said Stanton. He said that the horses remain at the farm while the legal process continues. Stanton said that during the NJSPCA’s last visit in June, the horses’ hips, shoulders, and ribs were still visible. In the meantime, Ms. Payne said that she has made consistent effort to bring the inhumane treatment that the animals are receiving to light. “We’re just trying to do the right thing, and see these horses being treated fairly,” she added.

Another article on this case:

Judge gives defendants in animal abuse case time to hire lawyer [link]
MARK ZIMMARO | Aug 13, 2008

A court hearing for two North Jersey men facing animal cruelty charges at a township horse farm was postponed yesterday to give the defendants time to obtain a lawyer. Patrick Nelson, 60, of Lake Hiawatha and Dennis Cameron, 48, of Piscataway were granted three weeks by Municipal Court Judge Richard Andronici to hire a lawyer after originally indicating they would defend themselves. The New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals filed 24 charges against the two men in May alleging the thoroughbreds kept at the DMS Farm on Arney's Mount Road were not being properly fed. A new trial date has not been announced. “It's disappointing because we were ready to go,” SPCA officer Theresa Cooper said after the hearing. “Everything was prepared and we wanted to get started. But the judge granted them extra time and that's the law.”

Nelson, who owns more than 20 horses at the farm in Springfield as well as a dozen others at another farm in the county, denied the animals were being underfed. “These people don't know anything about thoroughbreds,” Cameron said outside the court. “We raise these horses to make money off them. Why would we want to hurt them? These horses are fed three times what the government recommends.” Neighbors who live near the DMS Farm have complained about how skinny and sick the horses appear to be. Cameron, who helps manage the horses, blames their appearance on an outbreak of salmonella at the farm. “If a horse isn't treated after getting salmonella, it can lose over 300 pounds in three days,” Cameron said. “We feed these horses plenty. When the (state) Department of Agriculture came out to see a horse that died at DMS, they split (the horse) open right in the middle of the farm. The other horses probably got sick from the salmonella spreading.” Cooper said Nelson and Cameron didn't do enough to keep the horses healthy. “You can feed them all you want but they need to find the underlying problem,” she said. “For some reason, these breeders don't think they have to meet the standards and they need to be held responsible.”

XP

Texas: malnourished horse cases on the rise.

Texas news stories: neglected horses a problem with no easy solution.

Emaciated Horses in the Panhandle [link]
Aug 13, 2008

Horses that look like they haven't eaten in weeks... It's a continuing problem in the Panhandle. It falls under animal cruelty in the law books... Not properly feeding your horses and making sure they are taken care of. A viewer sent in pictures of horses she saw on I-40 in Gray County. The American Quarter Horse Association gets calls about horses like this all the time. Tom Persechino says " the AQHA isn't a shelter, so we have to rely on local law enforcement. Hopefully law enforcement can help the horses and or the owner." We called the Gray County Sheriff this morning about the horses the viewer snapped photos of. Lt. Hoard says a crew went out there to take some more pictures earlier today and, thanks to our phone call, they are now conducting an investigation. The only other option besides getting law enforcement involved is to send the horse to a humane shelter, but Persechino says those are hard to come by. "We did a study and only 3 out of the top 100 major cities have shelters that are equipped to take care of horses and taking horses in."

MORE

Neglected Horses: A Continuing Problem [link]
Aug 13, 2008

Sick and neglected horses are becoming a problem in the Panhandle. A few weeks ago we told you about horses that are being neglected and left to their own devices by owners who just didn't want them anymore or couldn't afford them. Today we're looking at the challenges owners face if they choose to keep their horses. One of the main challenges... Keeping the horses well fed. As the economy continues to worsen, it's getting more and more expensive to make sure the horses eat. Tom Persechino at the American Quarter Horse Association says "the increasing price of corn, the increasing fuel prices... They all affect the horses. We used to see one call every few years about malnourished horses. Now there's not a week or a day that goes by without us getting a phone call about it." Another reason why so many horses are malnourished.... The owners don't know what else to do with them. There are only a handful of humane societies around the nation that are equipped to handle horses... And none in our area.

XP

New Mexico: abandoned, emaciated horse.

Heartbreaking, disturbing video screencaps ahead.

Hiker discovers starving horse [link]
KOB.com | Aug 13, 2008

Jacob Romero was hiking on a road from Los Lunas to the Manzano Mountains Tuesday when he came upon something that broke his heart: A horse so emaciated that each of its ribs could be counted. Romero stayed with the horse for a couple of hours giving it water and then tried to get it some assistance.

"We called the state police, we called a livestock inspector, we called the sheriff – nobody showed," said Romero. Eyewitness News 4 notified Animal Protection of New Mexico which, in turn, contacted the livestock board. A representative of the board is supposed to look at the horse Wednesday.

Brace yourselves... I've seen a lot of graphic photos in recent weeks, but I can't believe this mare can even blink, much less stand and walk.





Update on abandoned mare.

Emaciated horse rescued in Valencia Co. [link]
Valerie Castro, Joshua Panas | Aug 13, 2008

With help from the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department's helicopter, a starving horse can now rest easy in the care of professionals. The emaciated horse was spotted late Tuesday wandering east of Valencia County High School. And when rescue teams were organized to pick up the animal Wednesday morning, it was nowhere to be found. After driving the dirt roads and asking if anyone had seen the horse, the animal was finally spotted, covered in flies.

April Riggs of the New Mexico Livestock Board says there's no telling where the mare came from, but she says chances are she belonged to somebody. "She's in bad shape, so I don't think she's been out here that long. I think she might have been dumped off or just let out of the backyard," Riggs said. The horse is currently being treated in Valencia County. Animal Protection of New Mexico is offering up to a $5,000 reward to anyone with information about where the animal came from or how it ended up in such bad shape.

I don't think I've ever seen a horse in worse condition—alive. Generally when horses at this stage are rescued, there is so much internal damage that euthanasia is the only kind thing to do.



What a horrendous fate—being turned loose to die. At least someone could have given her the gift of a bullet a long time ago... this is incredibly sad.

XP

New York: new animal cruelty case emerging.

See stills from news video at end of first article.

SPCA raid at local animal farm [link]
Al Vaughters | Aug 12, 2008

The SPCA raid at a local animal farm has the owner coming to his own defense Tuesday night. The SPCA hauled away 12 horses and five sheep, and charged the animals' owner with animal cruelty. Michael Armatys, SPCA Chief Investigator, said, "The nature of the complaint was emaciated and malnourished horses that were alleged by the complainants." Officials only seized animals owned by Peter Sparks. The Trading Post is a riding and boarding stable, but officials said the other animals seemed to be in better shape than Sparks'. Peter Sparks said he has saved horses and brought them back to his stables, and he will clear his name. "I have a lot of people that have been riding here, families upon families for a lot of years. I am just a good hard-working man. I don't know what else to say!" Sparks now faces 17 counts of animal cruelty. He is due in Grand Island Town Court in two weeks.

first screencap

second screencap

My first thought was, the horses in this video don't look TOO bad. Underweight, some more than moderately thin, but nothing that isn't fixable. The next article was found the following day, this time with still photos.

Five sheep, 12 horses seized at Grand Island trading post [link]
Janice L. Habuda | Aug 13, 2008

Owner charged with animal cruelty

A Grand Island stable owner was charged Tuesday with 17 counts of animal cruelty when authorities seized a dozen horses and five sheep said to be in poor physical condition. Peter L. Sparks, 56, owner of Sparks Trading Post on Bedell Road, is scheduled to appear Aug. 27 in Grand Island Town Court. "That was wrongfully done," Sparks said, when asked to comment about the seizures. "There's no reason for it." The misdemeanor charges stem from complaints made to the Erie County SPCA by nearby residents and a former stable employee. "I know what called their attention to this... wasn't so much the condition of the facility as the condition of the animals." A veterinarian was present Tuesday to evaluate the animals on site. "Some horses have horrible teeth," Browning said, which resulted in their condition being rated a "2" on a scale of 1 to 8. Malnourishment, dehydration and lack of hoof maintenance also were among the problems. Sparks Trading Post has been on the radar of animal welfare authorities for some time. "We had been out there sporadically over the past decade or so... just checking on the conditions of the animals every so often," Browning said. "It doesn't look like they had any signs of equine disease," Browning said of the horses seized Tuesday. "Malnourishment is the biggest issue at this point." An employee came to his defense in the late 1990s, saying Sparks had bought sick, starving and mistreated animals at auctions in order to give them another chance at life.

thin horse

thin and very thin horses

So, it remains to be seen... are these horses in this condition due to the owner's care (or lack of it) or in spite of it?

XP