How about annexing the guys property and sell it off for the needed money

do it today

As more of the story unflolds many might want to check out the Grace Foundation. They have a 7 min. video clip that is much more telling of what happened. Beth and the folks who volunteer there are truly amazing people. There is also a link on their page that tell the WHOLE story about those poor animals. Watch for Bay, he is a beauty (now) go to http://www.thegracefoundation.com Best wishes Beth and All.

tHANKS GRACE FOUNDATION YOU ARE THE VOICVE FOR THE VOICELESS. i WILL DO WHAT i CAN..

Mrs. De Caprio you are an angel. Passed on the video; can’t watch animals in distress but will view yours so I can send help.

Do any local businesses want to step up and host a fundraiser for them? I’ll donate products for raffle prizes.

Shelly, if you can find any go for it! I would also donate items for the auction. I have met Grace a few times and can tell you she rocks! So do the other people that work there. Go to http://www.thegracefoundation.com and you can read the whole story there. The DA wasn’t even going to file any charges and that was AFTER Beth of The Grace Foundation and others from the organizations were contacted by that county to come and get the worst of the horses. The whole story is disturbing. This story doesn’t even mention the foster kids he had or that the kids were his only source of income, nor did it tell you about the fact that they found meth on site.. Also, the animal control officer up there did nothing because she had a horse stabled there and hers was one of the worst horses there! It was an ungodly horror pit there. I urge everyone to visit there website and watch the full video (about 7 min long) then read the whole story they have linked, not just the first page that shows the video.
Oh and The Grace Foundation is LOCAL right off Latrobe road in El Dorado Hills. They even offer horseback riding lessons and Birthday Parties to help raise money. The Foundation has my name and number, if you get something going call them and they will call me with your phone number. Good Luck and thank you in advance for anything you do. I hope everyone remembers even a dollar can help!

*Excuse me I have met Beth of the Grace Foundation a few times

Nice. Do you kiss your Mother with that mouth?

The guy filed bankruptcy and the land cannot be touched at this time. The bank will get it unfortunately. But good idea. The slime bag also claimed the horses as assets valued at 195k I believe, so the horses themselves are in some kind of legal limbo hell.

[...] by The Conservative Hill Billy in Uncategorized NorCal Man Arrested For Animal Cruelty; Horse Rescue Foundation In Need Of Help « CBS Sacramento. [...]

it took 6 months to arrest him???
WTH! is wrong with our legal system? The suggestion to sell off his property to care for the victims of this POS is a GREAT IDEA!
Police seize property and money all the time if it was used or obtained in a crime why not in these cases?
Again did he explain or give any kind of excuse as to why he did this?

If the US wouldn’t have banned the selling of horse meat to other countries this wouldn’t be happening.Just saying

…I’ve always wondered what WHhhlllBbbur ‘did’ w/ Mr. Ed, after he was done, doin’ what-ever-else-he-did-to, or, -with, that pretentious animal…
I alway figured a nice charcoal-lined fire pit, lots of wine, gravy, veggies & home-recepie, spices-to-taste, Chef Lasten’s presto-gustatation, and, with a few o’ the buds over…
Why, it would’ve been a regular, old, “EAT_MR._ED_COMEPLETLY” party!
…Next year, the horse from ‘Animal House’!

There’s a place in I think Oregon that takes in abused horses. It’s called the Ranch of Rescued Dreams or something like that. Try contacting them.

jjelek what you need to understand is people dont want solutions to problems that dont coeincide with there beliefs (although they are logical) animals were put on this earth for our use and our stewardship, it would make sense to be able to dispose of your animals if you no longer have the means or desire to care for them .and should be allowed to do so as you see fit.

Contact Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch in Bend, OR. That is the name of the place that takes in abused horses.

You are absolutley right. Do gooders have wiped out the market for horses, while never considering the unintended consequenses. Here in Texas ther are lot’s of places where dead horses are lying in back pastures. The horse sale requires a Coggings test, then fuel costs to ship to auction, if you’re going to lose money in the transaction, it’s cheaper to put them down yourself in the back pasture.

i beleive its is a no win situation for the police, if they were chasing someone who has neglected some animals . and from what i have read it is neglect which differs from abuse, so who determines the difference and if the police are wrong who gets sued.I hate to put it this way but on the grand scale of things they are just a bunch of horses

There’s always one idiot that needs his butt kicked.

What is wrong with you all? Saying that the government should be able to seize and sell your property instantly is like saying they should be able take the constitution and set it on fire. You are asking them to completely ignore the right of property ownership. I understand that the issue of the starving horses, but what you are asking is for the government to take complete and total control over our lives. Some things are bigger than some mistreated animals.

We need to rescind the ban on horse meat… a quick bullet to the head would be much more humane than months of suffering and starvation. Then the meat could be recycled and put to good use. Imagine all the OWC protesters one horse carcass could feed!

i am a second generation horseman, my fathermade a living with horses as i do. noone loveshorses more the i. bones on the ground do not prove abuse or neglect, this man is convicted without a trial. horses are property, and if we allow the government to step in and dictate how a horse should be handled, then we all lose. people with with good intentions do not make good stewards of animals, some real knowledge is needed.

This is what happens when you don’t allow the humane killing of unwanted horses. If they reopened the slaughter houses you wouldn’t see these terrible situations. The HUMANE SOCIETY is a BOGUS OPERATION that spends a pittance on actual animal welfare and the rest on administrative (salary) costs and advertising.

“There’s a price to pay when we forget about the innocent and the voiceless,” said DeCaprio.
Nice sentiments. Does she feel the same about aborted babies?

Agreed…here again we have the uninformed demanding action without any understanding of the situation.

I have horses here in Texas, and I also fly a helicopter over much of north central Texas. I see some sad sights. It’s not only horses lying at the back of the ranches. There aren’t enough rescue organizations to place the animals, and in this economy, it’s going to be difficult to get reliable help to establish rescue facilities. My heart goes out to those horses in California, but the transportation cost to bring them to Texas would be too great, and there are much closer animals that need rescued, anyway. I have the land and the desire to do it myself, but again it’s the overhead. It would be great to get some of Obama’s stimulus stash, but since the horses aren’t union, it’s unlikely that would ever happen.

Pray tell: What is the difference between using horses for meat or using cows pigs, sheep, goats etc.? Some 35,000 culled wild horses are fed at government expense in the Midwest. Horses should be process for their meat hides and bones. This would provide much needed jobs and foreign exchange, and provide fodder for more beef. It is insane not to use horses as food. My fondest memories are of riding horses on the plains. But after the horses got too old, dog food they became.

Alien experiments.

In our new world order animals/nature are considered above humans.

Illegals and their animals, yet another violation of our rights. Add it to the list of gov’t violations of our rights:
They violate the 1st Amendment by placing protesters in cages, banning books like “America Deceived II” and censoring the internet.
They violate the 2nd Amendment by confiscating guns.
They violate the 4th and 5th Amendment by molesting airline passengers.
They violate the entire Constitution by starting undeclared wars for foreign countries.
Impeach Obama, vote for Ron Paul.
(Last link of Banned Book):
http://www.amazon.com/America-Deceived-II-Possession-interrogation/dp/1450257437

No seas pendéjo, Juan.

It has recently become illegal to slaughter horses in California. It’s also illegal to trasport horses to Canada or Mexico for slaughter. Okay, so what becomes of horses who have outgrown their usefulness, whether due to age, injury, or simply that their owners can no longer afford to feed and keep them (hay and feed have become extremely expensive), and can’t sell or even give them away? Hence the growth of horse rescue operations, who unfortunately soon find themselves innundated with unwanted and abused horses and the attendant costs far above what charitable donations offset. It used to be that horses could be slaughtered and converted to pet food and fertilizer. There even was a market where buyers bid for unwanted horses. Take your pick liberals … but you can’t have it both ways. Any adults out there?

Untrue..in this case..Mr. Bennett is a sadistic piece of human filth..and had no problem throwing ANYTHING to the wayside..

He needs to STAY in jail THIS time!

It appears that those who claim to promote “animal rights” would prefer neglected horses to humane slaughter. Horses are NOT pets – they are LIVESTOCK. Where did they expect all of the old, sick, diseased, and unwanted horses to go? There aren’t puppies, kittens, and bunnies. They require an incredible expense to maintain. With distressed city, county, and state budgets shelters will struggle to keep up with the care of abandoned and neglected pets, let alone 1,000+ pound LIVESTOCK. There was an efficient system in place to prevent this sort of problem but it was sytematically shut down through misguided legistlation. Being part of a multi-generational farm family and having OWNED, USED, and CARED for horses most of my life I understand the realities and economics of owning LIVESTOCK. Let the activists spend their own money dealing with the cruel results of pursuing of their Disney dream world.

This IS NOT THE PROBLEM…Most of the dead were YOUNG, and STARVED..He spent money on illegal drugs instead of hay!!

NOT THE ISSUE HERE…THIS GUY WAS BUYING METH AND OTHER SUBSTANCES INSTEAD OF HAY…HE NEVER CLEANED STALLS THAT THE ANIMALS WERE FORCED TO STAY IN…THEY WOULD DROP DEAD AND HE’D DRAG THEM WITH A TRACTOR TO A PIT..THEY WOULD COLIC…NO ATTENTION…HE HAS PLENTY OF MONEY..NO VET EVER CALLED AND HE HAS NUMEROUS CHARGES FILED AGAINST HIM…PLEASE DON”T CLOUD THE ISSUE HERE!!!

You are absolutely correct. You can’t save them all, and some aren’t worth saving. People used to go to a sale, and take a chance on buying a horse they might be able to rehabilitate because they knew they could get some of their money back at slaughter, if things didn’t work out. Now no one will touch a questionable horse because they know they will be stuck with them. What is worse, horses dying a slow death from starvation or going to slaughter? Just look at it as recycling.

I have PERSONAL knowledge about this case. EVERYONE in town does too!! This guy is a HORRIBLE person..and has had the law called on him for everything from Domestic Abuse..Animal Cruelty..Illegal substances..and recently he was GIVEN CUSTODY OF FOSTER CHILDREN!!!
WAKE UP PEOPLE…Horse disposal is NOT THE ISSUE HERE!!!! These animals were forced to stand in small stalls with FEET of manure..no shelter from the snow..and he NEVER fed them…He has money..he JUST DOESN’T CARE!!

Actually it is the issue, because if the rescues were’t so full of horses that should go to slaughter, they would be able to care for these horses and find them good homes.

Dwight Bennett doesn’t sound illegal to me. I’m as anti-illegal as the next person but don’t make us sound like idiots.

related to the Sculptor Bennett’s from that area?

I’m a liberal and believe in the humane treatment of animals, but I also believe in putting animals down who have served their usefullness and the culling of animals. As a liberal, sometimes I’m embarrassed by some of these stupid policies passed by voters who know nothing of farm or ranch living. Not all liberals are crazy and hypocrites. I for one, as a liberal, won’t be having children. There are practical liberals and idealistic liberals. I’m the former.

A horse has more protection than an unborn human…

$2/bullet x 70 horses = $140. Where do I send the check?

Perhaps the horses on the range should be eliminated PERMANENTLY. They are an introduced species and should eradicated to save the environment.

It has recently become illegal to slaughter (old people) in California. It’s also illegal to trasport (old people) to Canada or Mexico for slaughter. Okay, so what becomes of (old people) who have outgrown their usefulness, whether due to age, injury, or simply that their owners can no longer afford to feed and keep them ((prunes) and (tapioca) have become extremely expensive), and can’t sell or even give them away? Hence the growth of (retirement homes), who unfortunately soon find themselves innundated with unwanted and abused (old people) and the attendant costs far above what charitable donations offset. It used to be that (old people) could be slaughtered and converted to pet food and fertilizer. There even was a market where buyers bid for unwanted (old people). Take your pick (meat eaters) … but you can’t have it both ways. Any adults out there?

horses aren’t people.

Sadly true.

All you who wish to open a slaughterhouse, eradicate wild horses so that pot smoking unwashed sandle wearing escapees from the 60′s can go out and “enjoy nature” and save the environment, get real jobs and stop living off the public dole.

AS for what to do with an unwanted horse that you can’t make any money on or who carried you and you fat butt mate around faithfuly and is now too tired to lug you about, why not “kindly” invest in a vet visit give it the final shot and release from it’s wasted life with you. And for the guy who says horse meat taste better than beef, get yourself a can of ALPO.

This moron just mindlessly spams every single comment board linked by Drudge promoting some conspiracy book.

Honestly, I implore you cease using “Ron Paul” in all your comments. You’re doing him a great disservice.

Some pretty hostile people here. Clearly horse slaughter has nothing to do with this specific situation. It is neglect pure and simple. I don’t understand why people are so open to the killing of animals they deem useless. BTW, there’s nothing HUMANE about slaughter. Either you value life and have respect for all the creatures of the planet or you don’t. We are supposed to be stewards of this planet. Try a little compassion and kindness for a change.

The article stated– incorrectly– that some horses were forced to feed off the dead. Is this author a dunce or just an ignorant stooge? Horses DON’T/CAN’T eat meat. Their digestive system is perfectly tuned to taking the protein from alfalfa and turning it into muscle.
That said, I have to say that this person who derelected his duty to care for and nurture these beautiful animals should be jailed for negligent homicide– FOR LIFE.

So you buy a horse and rehabilitate it, making it believe it actually has a home after already living through hell, then you send it to slaughter? That is really sick. Animals are not aluminum cans. If the poor thing can’t be saved, there is such a thing as euthanasia. The reason we read stories such as this is because of people like you – completely without feeling for an animal.

Amen.

Kill Mr. Bennett; problem solved.

Honestly, how could you allow this f’ing dirtball to live?!? What is it?

This guy should be thrown in jail and the horses should be sent to slaughter.
Nobody wants half starved livestock.

Rancher is arrested. Abortion doctors walk free.

you clearly don’t understand what the term homicide means.

I seldom comment on things such as this but this article, and some of its comments, strike close to home. Disregarding the unnecessary remarks about drugs, illegals, etc ad naseum, i’m going to comment on the realties of horses for the benefit of those who don’t have a clue. First off, they are expensve, very expensive, to keep and maintain. At today’s prices here where i live, you can easily spend $15-20 per day per horse just for hay and feed. Vet costs just for wormings, vacinations, and the minimum required health tests can esily run several more hundred/year- if a horse gets seriously injured or sick, vet costs can run into the thousands. Those figues do not include the time and labor invested n a horse, nor do they include the associated costs of land, facilities, barns, stables, corrals, taxes, utilities, water, saddles, equipment, travel /trailering/transport expenses, etc ad naseum. Balanced against these costs are depressed sales values that are, for most horses, extremely low. In these parts, a horse sold at public auction frequently will not bring enough to cover the cost of transporting him to the auction nor cover the auction fees. usually, here, a horse will not selll at alll at public auction, no matter how low the price. The result is that a lot of good and well-meaning people wind up caught in a trap where they can’t afford to keep and feed a horse, can’t sell him, can’t give him away, and they can’t legally and humanely kill him nor turn him loose.

This situation is directly due to the glut of horses, which in turn is the result of good intentions run amok among people and politicans who simply don’t know what the hades they’re doing. Those people who banned the slaughter of horses probably had good intentions but, in banning humane slaughter, they just created a worse problem where some horses live in inhumane conditions, and other horses are trucked to mexico for inhumane slaughter.

Horse lovers and animal rightists can not have their cake and eat it too. Either some horses are going to die humane deaths or they are going to live iinhumanely and die inhumanely.

The only other alternative is for the general public to step up and start paying the expenses to maintain a lot of unwanted horses. But it’s been mny experience that animal lovers generally don’t love animals enough to pay those costs.

So many sociopaths in one comment thread. The United States deserves its fast track to decline. I look forward to the day when most of you will be in similar shape to these horses.

Actually the California anti-slaughter law has been in effect for awhile now.
If someone cannot care for their horses and they cannot be sold or given to a good home, a vet can put them down.

Denise, I’m in your camp. Thanks for trying to keep everyone focused and tell people what really happened.

Most, SANE, people don’t believe that being starved to death is very good “protection”. You have obviously been reduced to spouting propaganda instead of using your humanity for things like thinking and compassion.

[...] more here: NorCal Man Arrested For Animal Cruelty; Horse Rescue Foundation … ← Probation, possible jail in McHenry horse abuse [...]

Ann… so what would you do with the $1200 lb (tasty & protein-filled) carcass after you euthanized it? Would you just bury it like yesterday’s garbage?

And because of that the value of good horses has taken a dive. Put on top of that the tens of thousand “wild” horses the goverment has to remove from ranges every year to prevent overgrazing and starvation and you have a real mess. When libs get any agenda passed you know things are going to he77 in a hand basket fast.

If they can’t afford to feed it do you really think they have the money to take it to the vet and have the carcass disposed of?

“What becomes of horses who have outgrown their usefulness…..”? Must say this question took my breath away. Look into an animal’s eyes and can you HONESTLY say, “You’re useless”? They are loving, forgiving creatures that deserve so much more than THIS. This whole story sickens me. I am a very conservative Republican, so I believe this has more to do with the state of our hearts and souls than it does with our politics. (And if the above was actually written by Brett’s dad, ugh… sorry, Mr. Franklin, but my feelings are STRONG on this!)

And they aren’t pets why? For MANY people they are fantastic “pets”, even though this word evokes thoughts of only dogs and cats. Disagree completely that the “activists” should be spending elsewhere. I’ve watched Grace Foundation in action (they are just down the road from me) and they were NOT going to allow this to happen to these animals… these lives. Bless that foundation and Beth Di Caprio for all that has been done to save the animals (be it chihuahuas or cows).

Isn’t this more about caring for lives? You mention the word “liberal” so many times throughout, but it shouldn’t really matter. As I mentioned above, I am a staunch conservative, BUT I love animals because they are living, breathing, needy beings that also have no voices of their own. No idea whether this guy was a liberal or a conservative, but it doesn’t matter. His politics shouldn’t determine his HEART for his animals. They deserved at the VERY LEAST food, water, and basic equine care… and then there were the dogs on his ranch — dead. What in the world?

One horse at a time. Thankfully Grace is willing to take on more. The option is to kill horses that are no longer useful and expensive to maintain. But to do nothing? I guess the suggestion from you is to simply euthanize all the horses from this ranch — the horses that have been through so incredibly much. No way.

Kristin, Your strong emotions are commendable, but what realistic solution can you offer? And why are you damn republicans always so against recycling?

i sincerley doubt you care at all about saving the environment with that comment. So myopic and jaded, so hateful.

I would love to help and I would love to have one of the horse and take care of it. Please let me know.

one track mind, everything, every issue, boils down to abortion. if you care so much for life, why do you want to kill stuff so badly?

I’ve taken, ‘rescued,’ abused horses in the past. Some (few) could be salvaged and live useful, relatively happy lives. Most, sadly, had what few functional brain cells that they started with so messed up that you couldn’t even clean their feet, much less ride them safely. Very, very few of the ‘animal activists’ have ever had first-hand experience caring for such animals, much less the heartbreak of having to make the final decision for them. All you soft-headed, soft-hearted souls that think that animals are equal to humans, or that every human that has to make the ‘final decision’ for a noble creature is an unfeeling beast have a lot to learn about life and humanity. It is the human’s burden to ‘do the right thing,’ especially when it comes to ending an animal’s life.

I used to support the slaughter of horses, for pet food, fertilizer, and even human food. Still do. They, the horses, are cattle, just as cows and bison are. Yes, horses are noble creatures. I’ve owned many. My Morgan Horses were more human, more intelligent and more caring that people that I have worked with or for. And I preferred their company to ‘humans.’ But, push comes to shove, a horse has more useful meat than a human, fewer parasites, and is lower in fat. I have celebrated the lives and memories of a number of domesticated animals with the ritual burning of their flesh at an open-air banquet. And, no, I would not do that with homo-sapiens.

Kind of like Desi Arnez in Corona, California, right? Look it up or talk to locals. Mr. “I Love Lucy” let 40 horses die from his neglect, if one is to believe his neighbors in Corona.

You take what horses are good enough to be saved and you put the rest down. There’ a point where ideology/feeling/whatever takes second place to common sense. The foundation named in the article is doing good ..but it’s taking its idealism too far.

please watch this video. This is actual footage of the rescue and will give you an idea of what the incredible volunteers at Grace had to witness. This short video also shows the bond that these magnificent animals have with each other. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ0jZbkVgdM

Your comment made me laugh out loud (with you, Vicki… I mean that!)! We recycle everything! So we’re not all like that I guess . All this is more about helping and saving, rather than about what party we affiliate ourselves with (which I only identified above because the person to whom I was responding was talking about. Truthfully? I have no solution. There isn’t a good one. Same with the shelters and SPCAs…. they’re always in dire straits as well. But they are living beings and deserve so much more. So, not to oversimplify, we can just do our little part. These horses were left to breed and breed and breed… and for what purpose? So many dead horses and others incredibly malnourished AND pregnant. FIX your animals…. but take care of them. Yes, SAVE when you can and even help monetarily. Small steps.

Unbelievable and horrifying. But we all need to open our eyes and REACT or this will continue. Beautiful animals that deserve so much more. Thank you, Beth.

But “good enough” is so relative, Brian. I don’t believe it’s enough until you’re tried your hardest. If at that point, taking ALL things into consideration, euthanasia should be done… I agree. But I’m all for idealism, because people can make amazing things happen — big things… like this — by going “too far”.

degraonai: You are absolutely right! They’re better than people.

“There’s a price to pay when we forget about the innocent and the voiceless,”
Western Civilization is already paying the price for it’s inability to protect the unborn. What a sick society we live in, plants and animals are precious but babies in the womb are expendable.

It’s kind of ironic that the banker controlled government is trying to starve us out and people are asking to save horses.
What a shame.

Horses are treated terrible in the Havasupai India reservation near Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon. Ribs are showing on some, many are forced to haul heavy loads thousands of feet in elevation with no water or food most of the trip in bad weather conditions. Someone needs to monitor this. I also saw homeless dogs on the trail. Dump your policitical correctness & keep Indians accountable as well.

I’ll bet you’re thankful that my kids will be working to provide your Social Security payments.

The price of government intervention, when they outlawed the culling of excess horses they left them with no value. Now you can’t give one away.

Notice they dont name the Rqanch owner.

The loss of slaughter facilities in the US has led to this. We slaughter cattle to eat & they are just as smart as a horse. But yet, we cannot slaughter a horse? Ridiculous. I raise both of these animals. As a rancher, I would never treat my animals this way. I would shoot them myself. But most people who own horses think they are pets.
Horses are NOT pets. They are LIVESTOCK. People just have no clue what they’re getting into.
Bring back horse slaughter. It can be humane & horses can provide food for people, like COWS do.

Rosemary, you are very correct. I am a rancher is North Dakota. Starvation of horses here has also increased, due to owners not knowing what to do with them. Some have been abandoned, which is quite cruel, I assure you.
You might as well put a bullet in that horse.
People, horses are NOT PETS. They are LIVESTOCK. I live everyday with these animals. And yes, I love my saddle horse. But he works with me. He is not my pet. I am dominant over him. I am the boss. And I treat him as if I were the dominant horse. This is how it works in nature, real life. Bring back horse slaughter & you will see a lot of this disappear.

horses are not people. Equating an animal to a person is what is wrong with all of this. Jubal is correct.
Dogs are also animals. The same thing happens to cats & dogs all the time bcs people do not understand you cannot anthropromorphize an animal.
We are omnivores & there is nothing wrong with the slaughter of horses.
I sell calves every fall & they are going to be on someone’s table someday. That’s what they are for.
As a rancher, it is my job to take care of those critters. And I love my cows & calves every bit as much as I do my horses, dogs & cats.
But they are animals. And they are not people & I do not treat them as such.

nooneuknow’s comment is dead on. Animal numbers need to be managed through lethal methods, period.

There are equine rescue facilities all over the country, and most of them are filled to overflowing. The reality is that without slaughter as an option for horse owners who have old and injured animals that need to be put down…they are left with onlyl 2 options. Kill them and dig a hole themselves (which most of your run of the mill backyard horse owners are incapable of) or leave them to die a long and suffering death if not in their own back yards then in the hands of unscrupulous “rescue” groups. I love my horses, I would never even consider a slaughter house for them but lets face facts here….where are all the old, infermed and destitute supposed to go exactly??

The real story, Congress banned the horse slaughter. Now the price of new horses has gone through the floor destroying two industries, depriving people in japan and france a valuable source of cheap protine, and creating this animal cruelty crisis. Now instead of selling an old horse to the slaughter for food, the shoot them on the back 40 or put them out to pasture.

The real story, Congress banned the horse slaughter. Now the price of new horses has gone through the floor destroying two industries, depriving people in japan and france a valuable source of cheap protine, and creating this animal cruelty crisis. Now instead of selling an old horse to the slaughter for food, the shoot them on the back 40 or put them out to pasture.

Ask congress about5 the horse slaughter they ended.

These kind of situations are all over the US. After you blame the person in controll of the ‘RESCUE”(HAHA) BLAME PITA AND THE ASPCA. People ate horses for a very long time(other countrys still do). But the wackos decided they were pets. There are 100s of thousands of horses at these ‘rescues’. My horses were my best friends and I loved them. Would I eat they, yes today with the economy the way it is, only if the horses were not useful anymore or if the needed to be put down. Same the HORSES, STOP THE DUMMIES.

The so-called system of horse slaughter you refer to was beyond disgusting and cruel. You people who support these acts make me sick. Slaughtering a horse is not like putting it to sleep- they are savagely killed, so don’t paint it as something it is not. If people would just take responsibility for whatever livestock or pets they own, then rescue groups and individuals like myself would not have to keep trying t o come to the rescue of so many animals. No animal deserves to be killed or starved to death because of irresponsible owners. Take care of your animals, period and quit finding excuses for not.

When is YOUR usefullness up? Who gets to decide these things? Give me a break.

Why don’t you actually explain this “humane” slaughter? It is impossible to call it humane because the horses are brutally killed. At least be honest about how they are killed. Just like in the dog and cat world, quit breeding them to start- that in and of itself will help. Slaughter is not and should never be the “answer”- that is the lazy, greedy way out.

Notice you can’t read or spell.

the slaughter house dont want the old they want the young and fat and japan can buy cows ,beef will bring more money in then horse meet

They did

“Dwight Bennett was arrested and charged”

i hate to break this to some of you people ,there was hording ,starving and cruity to horse way before the end of slaughter

Dont they have abortion services for horses?

I can’t believe so many people commenting do not know that horse slaugher for humane consumption never ended. The same number of horses needed to fill the orders are still being slaughtered. A few days ago the NY Times did a story about it. The story is the greatest article however if you read the comments and follow some of the links it will open your eyes about this subject. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/us/Horse-Slaughter-Stopped-in-United-States-Moves-Across-Borders.html?pagewanted=all

And then what? Do you have any idea how much it costs to dispose of a horse carcass? Not to mention that rendering plants are few and far between, Can’t donate carcass to wild cats because of the drugs used for euthanasia. Not allowed to bury carcass in back yard either. Don’t get caught dumping it in the creek. There are no easy answers to this situation. I believe in horse slaughter as a way to manage horse populations, increase the food supply (even if it is for France), and ease the burden on the horse rescues.

This is a horrible crime and everyone responsible should be put behind bars for a long time.. http://www.largeanimalremoval.com

[...] atrocities committed after animals were released from a “wild animal park” in Ohio, a new outrage has been uncovered in northern [...]

Idiot.

Nothing to do with cruelty to horses. Why don’t you go eat a salad and unstop your colon?

IN TEXAS WE DON’T EAT HORSE

Why doesn’t The Grace foundation place a lien on this man’s ranch to recoup the costs involved to re-locate the horses and the daily care and if he does not pay then foreclouse on his ranch.

Duh– it ended in the US and now there is the added expense of transporting horses to Mexico or Canada. Furthermore, if you think the slaughter houses in Mexico are regulated in the same manner they used to be in the United States you are sadly mistaken. Many people who have posted about this article have it right. Prohibiting the sale of horses for slaughter has essentially killed the market for horses in the USA. Some livestock markets now require photo ID from people who bring in horses to sell because many times the horse doesn’t receive a bid and the auction house is left with a horse they can’t sell.

Meanwhile, back at the Planned Parenthood abortion chambers………..

Does the blood of aborted babies cry up to God from the dumpsters and landfills of America? According to the Bible it does.

Stop the cruelty to plants, eat a vegetarian!

Don,
Your “facts” are not accurate. Do you really think that horses in California aren’t going to slaughter? Do you believe horse actions with kill buyers are a thing of the past? Horses are shipped from California to slaughter every day of the week…the kill buyers are attending auctions all over the state and transporting them to other states to their holding pens befores shipping them to Canada and Mexico.
Also, horses have not been used for dog food in the US for the last 20-30 years. Americans refuse to feed their pets horse meat tainted with Bute, Bantamine, wormer, and antibiotics. Too bad those European folks don’t have a clue the American horse meat they are eating is filled with carcinogens…

Ken,
There is no such thing as “humane slaughter” in ANY slaughter house whether it be here in the US or Canada or Mexico!! If you had the facts, you would know that.
Have you ever witnessed a horse being killed by the puntilla knife or captive bolt methods? I have.
Puntilla knife slaughter involves repeatedly stabbing the horse between the shoulder blades into the spinal cord until the horse is rendered paralyzed. And then it is slaughtered alive. The captive bolt method involves hitting the horse in the head in a very specific location to render the horse unconscious or stunned. However, since it was designed for cattle whose brains sit much closer to the front of the skull, a panicked horse usually has to be hit several times to knock it down. Often, they are slaughtered conscious. Now tell me, what is humane about either method??
And please don’t suggest that animal lovers don’t care to pay the costs. I have personally donated to, worked for, and adopted from horse rescues alongside many thousands of other caring people.

This save the horses fraud is a perfect example of environmentalist ignorance expressed through the Congress of the United States. Environmentalist don’t have a clue about real life. They make occasional forays away from their compost cluttered lives to gather information via e-reality. Naturalist on the other hand spend the majority of their lives away from the protected comforts of urban life. Naturalist have a much better understanding of nature’s life and death balance.

Thank you.

Horses are a high dollar sport: Dressage, Hunter Jumpers, Eventing, Vaulting, Reining, Driving, Cutting, and on and on. In Dressage, it takes about 10 years to train the horse to FEI levels. Do you have any idea how much money is put into the economy because of equestrians? Do you call it livestock when one rides a horse and pays 300.00 dollars for a 30 minute lesson?
Your horse is your partner! Horse’s are NOT livestock in this country.

How brilliant of yoo to have notised. Smart ass.

The increased distance is from Texas to Mexico or Illonois to Canada. The Europeans are the ones that are requiring paperwork stating the horses are safe to eat. http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/meavia/man/ch17/annexee.shtml

As of Oct. 7th. horses can’t be transported in double decker trailer. That’s going to decrease the profits for people shipping the horses to slaughter.

Mintgreen is the IDIOT and Anne is living in an isolated world. MOST horses are not Dressage, Hunter Jumpers etc. They are working animals and they ARE livestock. If you don’t think so get out of you cozy city dwelling and come out to the country. They are not pets although I for one enjoy my horses more than the dogs (which are working dogs, not pets). Badger40 is absoulutly correct. The closing of the slaughter houses wrecked the horse industry. Now if you want to raise saddle horses, don’t bother you won’t get enough money to pay for the breeding, feeding, and training. Now what do you do with an old horse? Shoot it? Leave it out in a field? Field is needed for cattle. People like you have no idea what it means to actually work a ranch. As for horses for food some people (French/Japanese/etc) actually like horse meat.

What a nation of useless wussies we have become… Horses? Who Kares??????????????????????????

Yes indeed useless wussies, we all know that it takes a strong steel backboned MAN to let his horse starve to death or get slaughtered for some foreign specialty market. I willing to bet you can also beat up any girl under 5’3” in the country.

Correct goatley. Put out to pasture means starved. Old horses can be fat if taken care of and that is the point. When an animal is worth something dead, it will be taken care of alive. Horses are not just large pets.
Dog Owners of America Unite for high quality protein for our beloved pets.

[...] described as the "worst cases of animal cruelty they've witnessed." According to CBS Sacramento, Dwight Bennett, the owner of Whispering Pines Ranch in Lassen County, was charged with 30 counts of animal [...]

[...] described as the "worst cases of animal cruelty they've witnessed." According to CBS Sacramento, Dwight Bennett, the owner of Whispering Pines Ranch in Lassen County, was charged with 30 counts of animal cruelty.Authorities searched his 54-acre [...]

[...] described as the "worst cases of animal cruelty they've witnessed." According to CBS Sacramento, Dwight Bennett, the owner of Whispering Pines Ranch in Lassen County, was charged with 30 counts of animal cruelty.Authorities searched his 54-acre [...]

[...] seu rancho de 54 acres esta semana e encontraram os restos de 28 cavalos e c?es e dois . The Sacramento Bee relata que a pol?cia tamb?m apreendeu cinco armas de fogo e “uma [...]

I lived in Japan and was quite aware of the animal welfare atrocities there that included horses. Horse meat is NOT a necessary source of protein for ANYONE in japan or France (or Iceland, where horse meat is a main staple). Horse meat sushi is on every menu. Beautiful, healthy horses are imported – clearly visible as being for slaughter – and selected daily by sushi chefs for a price SO high, we could not outbid the chefs – even in the thousands of dollars (to try to rescue a beautiful, trained, healthy horse). There is NO need for horse meat on anyone’s menu when cattle, sheep, goat, fish, and poultry are plentiful. End of story.

people are letting their horses starve to death because there is no outlet when people run out of money. The only slaughter places for horses now is Canada or Mexico. What does a person do if they llive in a condo, apartment, or house on a lot and they cannot sell or give away their horse, especially old ones or pasture ornaments that no-one has bothered to ride for years and if they were ever trained, they have forgotten their training. Small wonder that they ae just letting them die. We need a humane place to send unwanted horses. Slaughter is better than dying of starvation. Sad, but true. That goes for the surplus of Wild Mustangs too.

Did you all know that when the horses from the USA are shipped to Japan, they are wired together, 3, put in a crate and cannot move and are not fed or watered

You said it Big, there is a sick sadistic streak in some folks, who want to eat a more exotic animal just because they can!

Carleen if you can’t sell it, how about investing a few dollars to euthanize it. There are plenty of rescues around that will either help find a horse in that situation a new home, provide hay for someone who is on temporary hard times, or a vet to euthanize the animal. No lame excuses okay?

Someone said if you want to know a persons character, observe the way they treat a waitress (or a service provider in general). I think you can get the same information on how a person treats a faithful pet, that carried their dead butt all over the back trails for the morons amusement, and what disregard they have for that pet when they no longer want it. Dirt bags!

American still slaughters as many of its horses as ever, they are just exported to Canada or the US to die, so if having slaughter is supposed to save horses from this sort of fate, why does this still happen? Slaughter is just an excuse to allow overbreeding and not having to take responsibility for the animals life and end of life. It’s big business that drives the slaughter industry, not care or concern for the horses’ welfare.

Dear Kathy I have two resue horses in my back yard. I have a backhoe, tractor, and 100 acres when they need to go to the Happy Hunting ground. A lot of people do not have that option. Wild horses are over populating the West also. It has gotten out of hand. There are 1,000 retired race horses in New York right now that will be running out of $$$ for care. Over the last 40 years I have had several resue horses and I don’t even look for them. Never had to slaughter one yet. I am very lucky. Carleen Lane, Astoria Oregon.

[...] “There’s a price to pay when we forget about the innocent and the voiceless,” said DeCaprio. Read more… [...]

Like it or not, horses are LIVESTOCK, no less than cows and sheep. Just because they are easier to train than other animals does not necessarily give them special powers and privileges. A trained horse is certainly worth more than an untrained one, but there are far more horses than there are people with the means to properly care for them. Would you rather they starve to death in fields? Or feed hungry humans? If we shipped all of our unwanted horses to Africa, it would put a huge dent in the number of starving children. Quit humanizing animals!

There are many thousands of horses living in un-natural conditions. Some do not even have turnout. They are locked in a box stall completely dependent on their person to come resue them hopefully once a day and run them around on a lounge line if they are lucky or ride around in circles in an indoor arena. No wonder so many are neurotic and chew their stalls, weave, and kick their stalls until they become unmanageable for anyone. Their are many horse clinics around now to try to deal with these neurotic horses. My kids used to beg and beg to board their horses even though we had 100 acrea so they could hang out with the barn buddies. Most of my horse 4-H kids boarded in barns but at least they had something for their horses to do. Hopefully, the Clinicians will tell them that their horses need to go outside.

How much do you send to Africa against the epidemic starvation? You are such a noble person, offering to send horses to starving people for creating good wholesome meals.

Half of the world have been sending food stuff, money, missionaries and many professionals from different fields for more than fifty years and the only ones to get rich and fat as a result are the armies and government officials. But none of those starving people came to you with their problems.

What’s your philosophy “When in doubt kill something?”

You write very well Carleen, but you must learn to hone your reading skills. If everyone who had a horse they could no longer take care of, and could not rehome in a reliable environment, would put it down, there would be no glut. I have a number of horse and have been blessed to be able to take care of them, in the absence of that ability, I would have to take my own advice, and I truly love my horses.

actually thats not the case,people throw away horse they use for money if they cannot make them money, so it boils down to the money.period,many people who love and dedicate their lives to helping,training and riding these animals would know that nothing, no matter what stands between that bond,slaughter, in any part these days is INHUMANE!!!!! I HAVE GONE MYSELF TO A HORSE SLAUGHTER FACILITY AND IT IS SO SICK!!! they do not provide a quick death to these guys they scream and suffer and i hunt, so i get how it is to be quick in a kill, but in any case, you are what you eat, and the research and time i have given to food, meats and how the overpopulation is a huge crisis for food,go to a slaughter house before you comment on a global issue, over breeding and not euthinizing when needed is also a problem

There is another angle to the slaughter of horses who no longer are wanted. In Africa there are huge “ranches” who raise native wildlife for hunters to hunt and pay a fee. This money goes to save the habitat of the wild(not farm raised) native species. There are also many hunting, fishing clubs who invest millions to improve habitat of the species they are hunting and fishing for. Why not take the meat of the horses who no longer can make it and sell the meat for money to give to horse rescues to save the still usable horses? Sure it should be humane slaughter methods but how can we control the methods if horse slaughter is not allowed in the Continental United State? I think the people who banned horse slaughter here in the U.S. caused the problems we are seeing right now. No-one really makes a lot of money raising horses when you consider how much it takes to raise a horse to even riding age let alone keep it till it dies of natural causes at 20-30 years of age. We are not doing the horse any favors by forcing people to keep horses they don’t want anymore and no-one else does either. I think it is more important for them to feed themselves and their families. This could be a global problem but I think we in the United States take better care of all our animals than they do overseas. Everyone is knocking themselves out trying to get people knowledgable enough to train the Mustangs. Special contests like “Road to the Horse”, but it is a very dangerous activity to take a wild horse and make something of it. I have ridden all my life and I am too chicken to take on a truly wild horse even though I have trained a couple young horses myself.

The wild mustangs need to be given back their ranges. The BLM has been taking way too many horses off their herd areas in the name of managing them. However, it’s pretty obvious that the land supports more wild horses than BLM says it will. The 1971 Act gave America’s wild horses protection on approx 53.4 mil acres but the BLM has reduced that to less than 34 mil acres. Funny how land that wouldn’t support a few hundred horses ends up with either thousands of cows, a mine, or is leased by oil/gas industry. In 1971, not one member of the House or Senate voted against the Wild Free Roaming Horses & Burros Act but 40 yrs later more than half of the existing horses are in BLM holding pens. Disgraceful.

And as others have said, slaughter is not the solution. People have always abused and neglected horses, whether the slaughter plant was nearby or not. [Search SPCA 340 starving horses - this farm is less than 200 miles from the Bouvry slaughter plant.] We cannot prevent the first act of cruelty but we can be observant and report potential abuse to SPCA, IDA, and law enforcementsince animal cruelty is against the law.
Overbreeding by the Thoroughbred Racing industry, AQHA, & APHA is what has created the problem. Equine rescues would be able to handle the horses of irresponsible owners or those down on their luck if it weren’t for the glut of horses put out by the breeders. Slaughter is a free inhumane disposal service for breeders; if slaughter were not available, breeders would have to become more responsible pretty quick.