From danger of slaughter
posted in Mission, Rescue | Friday, February 11th, 2011
Every month, thousands of horses in the U.S. are shipped for slaughter after being run through livestock auctions. Economic hardships drive many people to use the livestock auction as an easy way to get a little money out of horses they no longer want or can no longer take care of, whether or not they understand or care what fate may await their horse. Dealers who ship horses for slaughter visit local livestock auctions every week.
The horses at these auctions have number tags glued to their rumps, and are sold by the pound. When mares with foals go to these dealers, the mares are shipped, and the foals are often left abandoned in “feed lots.”
To rescue horses from this danger, rescue operators have a couple of options. One is going to the auction, choosing individuals to save, and bidding against the dealers when those individuals come into the auction ring. The other is to directly purchase horses from the dealer before they are shipped, or purchase the foals so they will have a future. About thirty-one percent of Fresh Start’s total rescues have been from danger of slaughter by one of these two routes.
A third route that has worked for us is to step in with people who are planning to take their horse to auction, who may or may not know what fate could await their horse, and educate them about the risks of a livestock auction and the alternatives available to them. Then it is their decision whether to find another home for their horse, sell or surrender it to FSHR, or go ahead and take it to auction. Some people call us because they feel they have no other options; it’s the auction or the rescue.
In more populated areas, there are organizations, some stretching nationwide, with people who do nothing but “crosspost” hundreds of horses at various auctions and feed lots around the country, and find immediate foster homes through the Internet and telephone.
In 2008, after the recent closure of the Texas and Illinois horse processing plants, the owner of one of our local livestock auctions threw FSHR’s founder off his premises, because he blamed Fresh Start (being an animal welfare organization) for what he understandably feared would be the ruin of his horse business. This development has made it more difficult for FSHR to rescue horses directly from danger of slaughter, and when we have room for new admits, we depend on others to go in and help us bid on potential rescues. With the help of a kind friend, and others ready with foster homes, we were able to save Luna, Astro, Tawa, and Sweets from slaughter in 2010.
Horses that have gone through the trauma of the livestock auction usually have serious problems with trust, and often have lingering health issues that make challenging projects of their rehabilitation.