According to Habitat for Horses, a group of horses that had already been rescued once from an owner who is now facing animal cruelty charges, were sent to auction recently, where bidders at the Tulsa Stockyards tried to save them again, this time from slaughter.
Many horses - Few resources
According to Habitat for horses, a group of horses that had already been rescued once from an owner now facing animal cruelty charges, has been sent to auction, where bidders tried to save them again, this time from slaughter.
Without enough resources to purchase all the horses being auctioned, their greatest fear was that the horses would be purchased by slaughter buyers.
The horses are some of the remaining livestock rescued from a ranch where it took heavy machinery to dig graves for the 36 cows and horses previously found dead on the property.
Itâs one of the worst animal cruelty cases the Muskogee County sheriff said heâs seen, but auctioneer Rodney Payne didnât see that cruelty reflected in the remaining horses.
âThey are great horses. They really are and I donât see a lot of animal cruelty here. I really donât,â he said.
Payne said the 96 horses for sale are young, fat, in good health and the mares will have babies this spring.
In addition to the bidders, the horsesâ former owner, Dan McWilliams â now facing 20 counts of animal cruelty â was also at the stockyards, keeping watch. However, the concern for many, wasn't McWilliams. They hope that the horses go to greener pastures and not to a slaughter house.
Dawn Martin, a would-be rescuer trying to keep the horses from going to slaughter, had only $500. Her biggest fear - that no one would be there to keep the horses from going to slaughter buyers.
The auctioneer was quoted as saying, "Slaughter buyers are kind of like snakes. I don't like snakes, but we have to have them to eat our rats. And I'm not a big fan, but I don't like overpopulation either."
Some of the cattle rescued from the ranch were also to be auctioned off last Thursday.
According to Habitat for Horses, "In the US we do not have horse slaughter. Horses sent to slaughter must be shipped off to either Canada or Mexico where they meet a cruel fate. Thousands of American horses are sent to slaughter each year. The majority of horses sent to slaughter are left over from breeding farms, others who have never bothered to properly train their horses, backyard breeders, race track rejects and horses that are no longer wanted by their owners who donât want to be bothered trying to find them good homes.Auctions are the feeding ground for the slaughter industry."
"Where law enforcement does the seizure of cruelly treated or neglected equine, it is up to thejudge to determine the fate of the horses. Sadly this often means that equine once saved from death by starvation are sent to their death by being sold at auction, then transported to slaughter."
Habitat for Horses not only aids Texas law enforcement with cases of equine abuse and neglect, we also make a promise to each horse that comes in our gates: You will not be sold to slaughter. Your donations to Habitat for Horses will help save horse's lives and provide a better future for them.