Posts Tagged ‘Horses’

Our report this week comes from our extraordinary volunteer Debbie Young.  It’s a tale of 15 horses and a mule who will survive because Debbie launched and maintained our efforts for their rescue and care. And a huge thanks to Have A Heart Rescue for aiding with the treatment of some of the horses.

Debbie: “I’d been watching the news about starving horses five miles from my home. I had been told a few days earlier that the local humane society was working on either a seizure order or attempting to the get the keeper of the horses to voluntarily surrender them.

As of December 15, with at least 15 horses in various stages of malnourishment and several dead horses on the property in various stages of decomposition, the Yazoo County (Mississippi) Sheriff’s Department filed cruelty charges against Alvin Ross. Mr. Ross turned himself in and immediately posted bond. He then moved the horses to unknown locations. Now the horses wouldn’t even get the extra hay that was being thrown over the fence to them by concerned people.

On December 20, I received a call from a friend who was frantic because nothing was being done to take custody of the horses and get them the rehabilitative care they so desperately needed. It turned out the local humane society had decided NOT to proceed with seizure action, and the Sheriff’s Department was unable to take responsibility for the care of the horses.

I placed an urgent call to Doll Stanley of Hope Animal Sanctuary and her response was immediate. IDA would attempt to secure a seizure order for the horses. That afternoon, with a seizure order in hand thanks to IDA, I went to the Yazoo County Sheriff’s Department to request its assistance in processing the order. After some serious verbal wrangling, the investigator realized we weren’t going away. He instructed us to return early the next morning when the deputy who had been working the case would be on duty, and the Justice Court judge would be in court. After an extended wait, the deputy took us to Justice Court where a sympathetic clerk gave me the first ray of hope since this all began. Thanks to excellent television coverage regarding the case, she was aware of the condition of the horses and made sure the judge was shown all the accompanying photos. We had a signed seizure order that was served immediately.

Within hours, we took over the care of the first four horses. That night they were warm, with fresh hay, and a measured amount of senior horse feed to begin their long journey back to a healthy weight.

The Mississippi Board of Animal Health (MBAH) responded to a phone call regarding the dead horses on the property. The Board discovered five dead horses and four sets of skeletal remains. Mr. Ross had a “killing field” for horses. Mississippi law requires dead “livestock” be buried within 24 hours, so Mr. Ross was charged a $1,000 fine for each of the dead horses. He could not be fined for the skeletal remains since the time of death could not be accurately determined. He also faced fines for each horse he removed from the property without a verifiable Equine Infectious Anemia test. He was ordered to provide the location of the horses he had moved.

Thanks to the action of the MBAH, coupled with the issuing of the seizure order, Mr. Ross complied the next day with the remaining 11 horses. The lone mule is still on the property and being fed.

All of the horses suffer malnourishment ranging from moderate to severe. Their bodies are covered in thousands of blood-sucking ticks (the veteran rescuers agree they have never seen such infestation) and rain rot (bacteria) so bad it has gone through their skin. Two of the horses, both mares, suffer life-threatening conditions due to starvation and neglect but both are starting to show small signs of regaining their strength, and we are hopeful they will live to enjoy a life filled with love and comfort.

Have a Heart Horse Rescue graciously offered to take on some of the horses to help with their rehabilitation. Seven of the horses are in their care. All the others are in foster care at multiple locations and are doing as well as can be expected. Now that they are receiving life-saving nutrition, the ticks are being removed by brushing. The emaciated state of the horses makes it dangerous to use chemicals that will kill the ticks, so brushing is the safest remedy. The rain rot will be treated slowly with antibacterial shampoos as the weather allows.

I wish to thank Doll Stanley and In Defense of Animals for always being ready to take decisive action to help animals who have no voice. There are now fifteen horses in Mississippi who have food in their bellies and warmth from the cold. I am also so grateful to IDA supporters.”

Deborah L. Young

Stay tuned to IDA’s website and eNews for more news about the 15 horses as they fight their way back to health (and the mule), as well as the cruelty charges filed against Alvin Ross.

*UPDATE*

January 13, 2012 – IDA has been granted permanent custody of 15 starving horses and a mule seized after Yazoo County resident Alvin Ross was found guilty today in Yazoo County Justice Court, of nine counts of cruelty to animals. Charges were filed by the Sheriff’s Department on December 15, 2011, following the discovery of nine dead horses in varying stages of decomposition on the property. Ross was found guilty of confining the horses without sufficient quantity of wholesome food, a misdemeanor under Mississippi animal cruelty laws.  The remaining horses were seized under a court order issued by Justice Court Judge Pam May on December 21, 2011, and are now at various locations receiving much-needed rehabilitative foster care and veterinary treatment.  Judge May, who presided over the hearing today, offered to suspend the fines if Ross would surrender all rights to the seized horses.

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This week BJ Martin joined our staff at Hope Animal Sanctuary.  BJ is a vet tech with 15 years experience who has worked with a wide variety of species, including emus.  She will be an invaluable asset to our team. She’s already proven her worth. On Thursday, BJ, Sarah, and I dedicated our day to caring for our animals and then set out for Macon, Mississippi, to Heartworm Test 33 of approximately 100 dogs needing medical care and guardianship. We didn’t arrive until 10:30 p.m. and didn’t wrap up until after midnight, finally returning at 2:30 a.m. With cases involving so many animals, every opportunity to provide help must be seized. We brought Ella, who is among the 145 dogs when the rescue began, home as her male companions were sparring over her.

Doll Stanley with Ella

I’ve been in contact with “Animal Planet’s” hoarding program over a period of months believing it would be aiding in the Macon case. After the production department passed and rescheduled several interviews I was told the case wasn’t chosen because family members weren’t in conflict over the issues related to the case. What a shame.

But thanks to local activists and members of at least one grassroots group, an effort to help the animals was launched. The activists began documenting the dogs, Dr. Bushby (Mississippi State University Marcia Lane Endowed Professor of Humane Ethics and Animal Welfare Department of Clinical Sciences) and his student surgery team provided 22 surgeries, Friday the 15^th, (we were there to aid with pre- & post-surgery needs), Homeward Bound (the group founded by MSU veterinary students) arranged for the transport of some of the dogs, and we will be taking some of the dogs to Colorado on our next transport. There’s much more to be done, but it will have to be in steps if every option to place the dogs will be accomplished.

The six pups Lisa and I removed from beneath the trailer of a local man are faring well as are the seven adults we wrenched from him.  Apathy, drink, and ignorance have contributed to his years of neglect of animals. This time we will put an end to his contribution to suffering.

Bonnie & Breezle

Two wonderful young women raced three pups to us whom they found bound in a shirt on an unpaved county road. Sadly one of the pups passed the next morning, but his sisters, Beezle and Bonnie, who are absolutely adorable, are thriving.

Friday I had a zillion things to do that just couldn’t be put off, including heading to Starkville, Mississippi, for this year’s Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue class at MSU. It’s a given that the more we have to do the more certain priorities will change with the next phone call. Sure enough, a local Duck Hill police officer called to ask for assistance for the pups of a mother dog who was killed on the road in front of the house she’d chosen for her den.

The elder couple that owned the house volunteered their grandson to assist with rescuing the pups, who were huddled beneath the center of the house against the center junctions of the wooden foundation.  As the house was so low and the pups were so far in, even the slender frame of a young man couldn’t fit beyond a few feet of the outside wall. We bound my pole net and a segment of wooden molding and the young man went to work. He was exhausted after retrieving the first two pups. The police officer’s family had come for the vigil and his smaller son took up the effort. All five of the babies came out safely and in good condition. They are now flourishing.

On my way back from the rescue class this evening I rendezvoused with a man who rescued a dog from a rest stop in our region. The dog may have been abandoned, or he wandered there in search of food. Either way, he has endured deprivation, is very thin, and appears to have suffered injuries from a brush with a vehicle. We’ll have him checked out tomorrow.

Last Sunday, Glory went to her new home. A family that pampers their horses and has multiple pastures in which to do so has adopted our beautiful and good-natured mare. We couldn’t be happier.  Glory was emaciated when we rescued her from a barren parcel unfit for pasture. Her companions had died and she would have, too.  We are so grateful for our sanctuary and the support of friends who partner with us to carry out the hope we promise the animals with whom we are entrusted.

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The plight of horses is worsening. Some blame the economy; others say banning horse slaughter in the U.S. meant “owners” who couldn’t sell their horses let them starve. I say it’s both selfishness and ignorance. Horses are being overbred just like other companion animals. Those who think they can make a buck breed and then find out there are no buyers, at least at the prices they want, and they don’t want to feed what they can’t make money off of and certainly don’t want to give away what they might someday sell. The glut of horses means you can buy a horse for $50, or get one from someone who wants to “unload.”  It’s cool to have a horse and to tell folks you have a horse. Horses are like “trophy brides”: they express status, and, of course, there are some who actually think they’ll ride. The question is how many of these people are caught up in a whim with no thought of how to actually care for horses.

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By the amazing Dan Piraro

Of all the useless arguments I’ve heard to defend the carriage horse industry, none is more maddening than the argument of “tradition.” How can anyone think that honoring a tradition can be more important than basic compassion?

Don’t get me wrong. Traditions are important. They give us a feeling of security and connect us to our heritage. But blind adherence to tradition is a dangerous thing, and there are too many examples of traditions that perpetrated great suffering and oppression. These practices continued in the face of much criticism, shielded only by the argument of “tradition.”

For centuries girls in China endured a foot-binding ritual that literally broke their toes and crippled their bodies, but the practice was so ingrained that it continued. It was said that a woman with bound feet was more civilized, disciplined, and dutiful. This abomination continued for 1,000 years, affecting a billion women, before being banned in the 1900s.

In Europe, for over three centuries, hundreds of boys were castrated, many of them by the Catholic Church, so they could sing soprano as adults.  Efforts to ban this practice took 150 years because of concern by the Church that it would seriously harm attendance if there were no castrati in the choir.

Such examples are not just historical. In 2004, the British government banned the cruel practice of fox-hunting, even with loud opposition that it was an essential icon of British culture and must continue.

One only need look at those poor horses who are forced to pull carriages day-in, day-out, to see the deep despair in their eyes. What kind of existence is it for a horse to spend his days on the clogged streets of NYC pulling a carriage, followed by nights in a dark stall in a warehouse? Where is the chance to frolic, roll in the grass, or nuzzle another fellow horse?

The truth is, while traditions can be quaint, or comforting, or links to bygone era, there are probably many of them that belong in the dustbin of history. And that’s certainly where horse drawn carriages belong.

We apologize for the no-news span – there was plenty going on here in Mississippi. A quick recap does little justice to the events of the past 6 weeks, but I’ll fill you in a bit and then get into this week’s news.

So much has happened. Horses Eric and Roscoe were adopted into a wonderful family with lots of animal smarts and compassion. Eric and his 3 companion horses were rescued from a Yalobusha County man who claimed to feed them well with his lawn trimmings. Eric’s companions were adopted soon after their recovery. Eric required a home with greater understanding for his mistrust of humans. Roscoe too was rescued from neglect and indifference, thin with overgrown hoofs and a dull, unhealthy coat.

Six of our emus were adopted by a wonderful man and his family who love to care for and watch over animals. Over the years this man has reported multiple cruelty cases to us and we’ve had the opportunity to know him and become acquainted with his care for his animals.

Theresa, the hoarder who we’ve seized animals from twice before, was back at it. The blessing was there were only 7 dogs with her this time. We seized 28 dogs from her previously in Yalobusha County. We’re confident that this will be our last dealings with Theresa as a hoarder.  Tallahatchie County Deputy Patrick Tribble, who aided us with this seizure, is well-respected and people in the area have vowed to inform him if Theresa gets even one more dog. He is The Man when it comes to animal issues. In December, we placed for adoption nine puppies he rescued and Maury, the Chihuahua.

An Enid, Mississippi family began feeding 6 dogs who wandered to their neighborhood. The dogs took up on the family’s porch furniture for warmth. Nervous neighbors talked of shooting the dogs, fearing posed a danger. We got a call and rescued them. Five were already transported for adoption and Sugar Bear will be heartworm treated next week. Gay and Larry Evaldi, our treasured friends who moved from here to Florida, have paid for her treatment. They fostered or adopted 4 of our dogs, and she aided with animal care and cruelty cases while he babysat and rushed to our aid when needed.

We were so busy during our blog absence that the summary seems trite, but I hit on some important things. Tune in tomorrow for details on our first adoption transport of the year.

Wild horses gallop in the Rocky Hills HMA, southeast of Battle Mountain, Nevada. PHOTO CREDIT : USAToday

Despite tremendous public opposition and legal actions the Department of Interior is moving forward with the ill-conceived plan to remove more than 6,000 wild horses and burros from our public lands by October 2010. The Obama Administration’s policy has proven to be both deadly and devastating for wild horses. The Calico Complex roundup, which IDA fought in federal court, has to date taken the lives of 186 horses including 30 foals who have died and 40 spontaneous abortions as reported by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
On July 10, 2010 the BLM began this horrific roundup of wild horses in the summer desert heat in northeast Nevada – the Tuscarora Complex roundup. (See USA Today article.) The BLM reports, given the lack of public access to observe there is no way to verify any BLM-provided information, that 22 wild horses have been killed at the trap site and three have died at the holding facilities. After a lawsuit was filed by Nevada horse advocate Laura Leigh, the BLM began to claim the first part of the Tuscarora roundup (in the Owyhee herd management area) was a “rescue” operation – claiming there was not enough water on the range and that horses were dehydrating. Just last week, IDA had a representative on the ground in Owyhee and observed water, cows and plenty of fencing in and around the Owyhee area.

If dry conditions were so severe one would expect wildlife and cows to be suffering from the same dehydration – yet this was not the case. Rather only wild horses were in need of “rescue.” As one local rancher told IDA – antelope and other wildlife can get under and over fencing, but wild horses cannot. If a need to “rescue” horses occurred – it was clearly a BLM-created problem.

Indeed, in mid-May, the BLM conducted an on-the-ground observation at Owyhee; the promotional video resulting from it, actually titled “Extreme Terrain Requires Extreme Diligence,” stated among other things that “There is little water available to sustain more than 800 horses.” (Also see transcript.) Meanwhile, the BLM warned in its own Environmental Assessment that “Given the dry conditions and the expanding wild horse numbers, along with the limited perennial water sources in the Owyhee HMA, the BLM has a very strong concern that wild horses could suffer from dehydration and possible death in the Owyhee HMA this summer” to justify the disastrous July 10 roundup.

Clearly, the BLM should have taken actions (i.e. fence removal, water delivery, etc.) to mitigate any possible problems. The Tuscarora situation is a classic case whereby the BLM refuses to conduct on-the-range management and reverts to the roundup-removal practice which has already been acknowledged by the Interior Secretary to be an unsustainable practice.  In the case of the horses at Owhyee, just like the horses at Calico, the result is needless suffering and death. Thanks to this broken system, we have more wild horses in government holding facilities (36,000) than free on the range (33,000).

In addition to the BLM-created problem in Tuscarora, the BLM proceeded with using helicopters to roundup these horses in summer-desert temperatures while foals continue to be born. This means newborns and weeks-old foals and still-pregnant mares were run up to eight miles in desert heat. IDA has called for a moratorium on summer roundups and filed an administrative appeal to stop the Tuscarora roundup. We recently received the denial on the appeal and are reviewing our legal options.

We knew fighting the deeply-entrenched BLM would not be easy. We pledge to all the wild horses and burros who have lost their lives, families and freedom that we will continue to fight until these magnificent beings are truly protected and finally given their fair share of our public lands.

Stay tuned for our next action alert – another step in this long fight to bring about the change these animals deserve and need.

On May 24, 2010, In Defense of Animals (IDA) announced that U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman dismissed our lawsuit to stop the Calico Mountain Complex wild horse roundup on a legal technicality. As you may recall, IDA, joined by renowned ecologist Craig Downer and noted children’s author Terri Farley, filed a lawsuit against Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to stop the largest roundup of wild horses in years — the Calico Mountain Complex roundup in Nevada.

We’d like to clarify the outcome of this litigation, further explain why the judge dismissed the lawsuit, and describe why we believe that this groundbreaking case bodes very well for any future litigation.

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We urge you to watch a Vanity Fair video news story that outlines the plight and opportunities now facing the Bureau of Land Management’s wild horse program. This piece puts into perspective theBLM’s position on the wild horse program, IDA’s litigation to stop the roundup of the 1,922 Calico wild horses, and an overview of a recently announced private-public partnership proposal to return the Calico horses to the range.  The Soldier Meadows Ranch – Return To Freedom proposal for the Calico horses is a first-of-a-kind proposal made by a rancher and sanctuary to return wild horses to the range. It’s a great opportunity to break the BLM’s broken cycle of roundup, removal and stockpiling tens of thousands of wild horses. This proposal creates an eco-tourism opportunity, prevents the Calico horses from going to long-term holding and implements a pilot/model for managing wild horses on the range as Congress intended.

While this proposal awaits a response and approval from the BLM, the agency is sadly moving forward with plans to disperse the Calico horses around the country and sending the remainder to long-term holding – thus permanently separating family members for life.  We urge the BLM to stop these plans and to instead focus their time and energy into making this proposal a reality – a first step to reforming the broken and unsustainable program.

Last Thursday was the last public viewing of the Calico horses being held at the publicly-funded, short-term facility in Fallon, Nevada. IDA is opposed to the ending of public viewing of horses at this facility and urges the BLM to re-institute public access to this BLM-managed facility which holds more than 2,220 wild horses who belong to the American people.  It is ironic that the BLM uses tax dollars to fund this facility and prohibits tax payers from seeing their wild horses at this taxpayer-funded facility.

In the meantime, please be sure to voice your opposition to the unnecessary and inhumane proposed roundups of 2,000 horses and burros in the Reveille roundup of 200 horses (public comments due by June 25).

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Last weekend the CBS Sunday Morning news program aired breathtaking video of “Wild Horses of Nevada” at the end of the program. Filmmaker and burro and wild horse advocate Carl Mrozek recently took this video of the beautiful, healthy mustangs in the wild. You can watch the video by clicking here.

Please take a few minutes to post a brief comment to urge CBS News to do a news segment on the wild horse issue.  We hope that if CBS gets a huge response it may trigger broader coverage of the mustang/ burro story. The response over the next several days will be key. This is a prime & rare opportunity for advocates to make their case directly to CBS producers, via the CBS website so please take full advantage of it.

To post a comment after the video:

1) Go to the link, find the mustang video right there, and watch the piece — it’s only about one minute.  It was mostly rough/tough macho mustang stuff, but it definitely shows the healthy, beautiful horses, and Charles Osgood says these are the “… vanishing mustangs…”

2) Directly under the video – click on “[number] Comments” or click on this webpage to add a comment.

3) Next, click on “Add a Comment” and then click on “Log in or Create An Account.”

Below are some ideas to that you may consider when writing your comments. Please write original comments as they will likely be more compelling to producers who read them.

• Great video on wild horses – would be interested why Charles Osgood said the wild horses are vanishing.
• I would like to learn more about these wild horses – could you please do a news story on what is happening to them?
• More information please.

Thank you.

There is a high cost for our government’s wild horses and burro program, it starts with the waste of tens of millions of tax dollars each year but ends with the devastation to wild horses who have their freedom, family and homes stolen from them.

This tragedy has befallen hundreds of thousands of wild horses over the years.

The latest victims are the Calico horses. Their tragedy continues today at the short-term holding facility in Fallon, Nevada. We wanted to share with you the American Wild Horse Preservation Coalition’s (AWHPC’s) report BLM Calico Complex Roundup: A Case Study of a Broken System for Horses and Taxpayers which outlines the high costs of death, injury and suffering for wild horses rounded up at the expense of every tax payer. Supporting this report is “Wild Horses — The Stress of Captivity” a paper written by Dr. Bruce Knock, Associate Professor at the Washington University School of Medicine and expert on the physiological effects of stress on animals. For a summary on the report check out AWHPC’s blog.

In Defense of Animals is proud to be a member of the American Wild Horses Preservation Coalition.