By Ed Vogel
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU
“I don’t understand why someone could do this…”
CARSON CITY – Advocates bought 41 stray horses at a Fallon auction this week but fear 12 domesticated horses purchased by others will be slaughtered and used for human consumption.
Carroll Abel, a board member of the Hidden Valley Wild Horse Protection Fund, said Friday she was “guardedly optimistic” that wild horse advocates in coming weeks can reach an agreement with the state Department of Agriculture and take all captured state-owned horses to prevent any more slaughters.
The horses bought by several advocate groups Wednesday were not the wild horses protected under federal law that have been rounded up on federally managed land. Instead they are among the 2,500 horses found in the Virginia Range near Virginia City on private and state land. They are not protected from slaughter under state laws and legally called “estray” or stray horses. Dozens are killed in road accidents each year.
Cat Kindsfather, a horse advocate in Carson City, said she spoke with a woman loading the 12 horses into a trailer after the auction and was told they were being transported for slaughter.
Kindsfather said those were not stray horses, and instead were being sold by their owners who cannot afford to care for them, or no longer want the horses. Most were older mares and clearly had been domestic horses, she said.
“I don’t know the reason why they want to get rid of them. I don’t understand why someone could do this,” she said.
In recent days, the Department of Agriculture has reopened negotiations with wild horse advocates on a new plan to give the horses to the advocate groups and let them care and find homes for them.
Until last summer, the department was selling them to the advocacy groups for $90 each. Abel said they paid an average $266 for each horse they bought this week and have purchased 153 horses since September.
She said Nevada horses typically are shipped to slaughterhouses in Canada or Mexico.
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Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
I can’t say enough about how wrong this is….the horses should not be going to slaughter.
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I agree
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Since this auction all kinds of scenarios have crossed my mind. One goes like this…
The wild horse herd has become the Agriculture Department’s ATM. From the beginning of my involvement Barbee (the Barbarian) has cried ‘poor’ saying there was no money to continue administering cooperative agreements with the advocate groups. We offered to allow for only one agreement to be written between the State and Hidden Valley Wild Horse Protection Fund…that wasn’t good enough. We then even offered a volunteer to do the job after all it would only require a few minutes a month dependent upon the number of horses they were tasked to pick up.
So with all the bases covered why would he still balk at the idea? Maybe the fact that the state collected twice as much money from selling at auction rather than to the advocates. We had even offered to pay a higher price to cover the State’s costs. $125.00 per horse was offered rather than the $90.00 previously paid.
Now let’s do some math. 41 + 1 = 42 X $125.00 = $5250.00. In a recent interview Barbee expounded on how pleased he was the State made $10,000.00 from the auction to help fund the programs of his department.
$266 X 153 = $40,698.00 the State has earned according to Ms Abel’s numbers. This is found money. There was no way to put these funds in the budget because of the unknown number of horses that would be picked up…or was there?
Could it be Mr. Barbee had figured his budget to include ‘X’ numbers of horses, made a deal with the auctioneer and his cronies to glean as much as possible from their sale, put a number on an average price per horse then added it to his budget?
On the other hand maybe he didn’t budget it but just knows there’s cash walking around out on the range should the Ag Dept ever need more. Their own very own ATM. Unfortunately the money doesn’t come out of a machine but the pockets of every contributor to every advocacy concerned with this herd.
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It never ceases to amaze me how many humans are given government jobs, in charge of banks or are elected that are just simply the dumbest humanity and/or evil. I say they are both.
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Very interesting analysis. Follow the money trail…..!
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Thanks for this detailed explanation, Steve.
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Yep. That about covers it..
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Yep Steve, I’ve been saying that since the first horses went to the Fallon kill sale…..the other issue is that the sale yard owner Jack Payne always shill bids so as to collect more in commission on the horses too…..the State and the sale yard owner are obviously “on the same page” regarding making money, and while advocates are kept busy spending donors money rescuing the horses, less emphasis can be put on forcing the issue of managing the wild horses primarily in the wild…..I have recommended several ideas that would bring this whole big racket to the attention of the taxpaying general public, but none of the other rescues seem to be interested in stopping this madness in its tracks…….
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Can we PUHLEEZE come to some consensus that these are not “ESTRAY” anything?
If we can’t go to anything before that….the equines are doomed.
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Anyone get the tag and name on the truck hauling 12 horses to slaughter? Her name needs to be added to the long list of “kill buyers/transporters”! And for all the wrong being done to the horse in this miserable state, if you spend money there, you are contributing to the problem.
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Did anyone take pictures of the truck removing these horses? Is there a name on a bill of sale to trace? Ask Specific questions when you can and take pics of license plates, truck logos and trailer and truck registration numbers.
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ANd DOT numbers!!
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Those heartless people make me sick to my stomach!
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They are more then heartless they are EVIL and disgusting excuses for Humans……………….. WHY cant we stop them ???????????
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How sad is it that someone can care for horses until they are “older” & then just ship them off to an auction knowing these old horses that worked for them for most of their lives – are going to be slaughtered! Unfortunately, this is happening all over the country – not just in Nevada. I dont believe the economy is the reason for this – I think its the attitude that when anything is used – new is better. This seems to be the current feeling. Dont ever make do with something that isnt the newest or most recent or BEST – throw it in the garbade & get new! I guess at the least there are 41 horses (plus Bandit & his herd?) that are going to be able to live good lives, and be cared for. Maybe not free, but cared for.
Sorry for ranting – but do any of you remember when you were kids – nothing was thrown away unless it was completely used up & at least in my life – animals were with you for as long as they lived. Which is how it should be.
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I remember well.
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People that are taking horses….any type of horses that are headed 4 slaughter are doing it 4 the $$$!!! Everyones trying to make a buck & doing it in whatever means they can. Its terrible!! Horrific!!! How anyone can be apart of this is just sad. I hope they all burn in hell !!!
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Gosh Cat, I’m one of your “friends” on Facebook and you mean you haven’t heard that our rescue The Starlight Sanctuary (on Facebook at The Starlight Sanctuary and our website is http://www.thestarlightsanctuary.webs.com), has been doing Fallon feedlot rescues for the past 3 months beginning with 44 horses that became known as the Shasta Herd (on Facebook at Quarter Horse Rescue, and success stories at Shasta QH Herd) that went through the kill sale in Fallon on October 9th? Since October 9th when I purchased several horses from the KILL SALE (yep everyone, we have 2 weekly kill sales in Fallon, NV, but are people so dang clueless they have no idea what that means…..seriously?), and then I was allowed to go to the feedlot where the horses ship to Canada for slaughter from and begin rescuing horses from there.And that lady loading the 12 horses didn’t say they were all going to slaughter….what she said is that she has “someone” coming in from a rescue that will evaluate the horses and try to find homes for as many as possible……THAT is what she said as you were taking photos that you were not supposed to be taking as per the sale yard rules that are clearly posted. Sorry, but taking the photos in the sale ring area and posting them on the Internet, and also taking photos outside on the sale yard grounds is perhaps going to come back and bite the rescue groups in the butt.
Our rescue has been instrumental in rescuing/buying 112 horses since October 9, 2012 by driving to the feedlot several times a week, evaluating horses in the kill pens, taking hundreds of photos and a lot of videos, arranging for coggins tests and health certificates so horses can be transported to their new homes, doing brand inspections, etc, and finding mostly private party owners/buyers for all those horses one at a time.
Unlike many of the local wild horse rescues, our rescue does not have the funds/donations to go in and rescue large numbers of horses, take them back to our facility, and adopt them from there because we don’t have the massive funding that has been attained for the Virginia Range horses…..however, we would welcome donations (and we are a 501c3 animal rescue) to continue to rescue horses that have either gone through the kill sale, or have been sold to the feedlot, because to date since October 9th, my husband and I have spent $10,000 of our own money to help private party rescuers rescue as many domestic, and yes, also Titled BLM Mustangs, as we can so they are not shipped to slaughter. A lot of our money is spent on horses I don’t expect other people to rescue because they are old, they are lame, they have severe training issues that make them dangerous to ride, etc, so we purchase them ourselves, take them home, and they will live the rest of their lives with us so that when the time comes, they will get a dignified death through humane euthanasia by a veterinarian. However, we also spend our own money on the huge feedlot feed bill I end up with because by paying the feed bill, the horses don’t go on the truck to Canada for slaughter and it buys me time to find people to rescue/buy them instead. I don’t think we will be able to sustain doing the Fallon feedlot rescues much longer if we do not get donations coming in, because when I’m doing the rescues and not working in our business, a lot of money goes out instead of coming in. We will keep going for as long as we can, because there are a lot of horses that deserve good homes instead of the horror of slaughter.
I’m quite frankly astonished that people are so clueless that live in Northern Nevada that they don’t realize that domestic and Titled BLM Mustangs that are either bought by the numerous kill buyers at the kill sales in Fallon once a week and/or that are sold to the feedlot, ship to slaughter usually once a week…..we’ve been struggling along not pleading for donations, but still managing to get horses into great homes in Southern, Central and Northern California, Wyoming, South Carolina, and Ohio, that began their journey’s into a second chance at life instead of going to slaughter after they were dumped at the kill sale or sold to the feedlot.
I guess more than anything else, I’m just really disappointed that wild horse rescue people don’t seem to realize, or even care I’m afraid, that every week like clockwork, horses ship to Canada for slaughter that originated in Fallon, Nevada, and that could have perhaps been rescued from that horror if we had some help…..no wonder we never get any donations from the wild horse groups/rescues, or individuals who are “into” wild horse rescue (and we have been rescuing wild and domestic horses for over 20 years, in addition to ponies, burros and mules too); I guess they are so wrapped up in their own little world and are so busy celebrating their successes, they don’t know that domestic horses, as well as Titled BLM Mustangs go to slaughter every week…..that is really SAD…..
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Thank you for whatever you are able to do and have done. My only wish is that all of the rescues would band together and become one network. That would be awesome. I’ve been rescuing privately horses that need fit a few years. The feed bill on my income is higher than it has been because of the cost of hay. It is sad that there isn’t more help to you but allot of people don’t know of you. I’ve had conversations with you. I’m glad that you sort of cleared the horse status up. A mIsquote from what i see. Keep doing what you can. It’s better that doing nothing at all.
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Plenty of people locally do know me Teri, and do know what we’re doing at the feedlot rescuing horses……many people simply choose to not acknowledge it unless it is their idea and/or are uninterested because it requires someone like me to spend a lot of my own personal money because these rescues don’t generate “crisis donations” because they are on-going every week.,
And I see it as a problem for our local rescues ever getting together on what should happen with the wild horses because different rescues focus on different things…..never lose sight of the fact that all of the wild horses need to be primarily managed in the wild in my opinion, but the rescues are kept busy rescuing horses to keep anyone from forcing the issue with the State….there were cooperative agreements with many of our local rescues whereby they only had to pay $1-$150 per Virginia Range wild horse (and it was often the lower number to secure the horses), however, the State also required that ALL of the horses be accounted for for an entire year and that quarterly reports be filed with ames, addresses and phone numbers of where the horses were at.
Finally, the rescues in the coopertive agreement were unable to “rescue” the horses because apparentely keeping them for a year and/or accounting for them was a problem, so going forward, I’m not sure what kind of agreement the rescues can enter into with the State unless the state just sells the horses to the rescues outright and has no conditions on their whereabouts (which I think would be irresponsible). I have a lot of good ideas which would expose the State for what they are doing eradicating the horses and would rein them in quickly and make them manage them primarily in the wild…..it does require the support of most of our local rescues, so maybe that’s why it never happens…..
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There are photos reaching back to September’s auction. Not being there in person, I appreciated the photography and also your videography from various sources. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=414469331945425&set=a.240625045996522.58710.233633560029004&type=1&theater¬if_t=photo_comment_tagged
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Of course the kill buyers got some. Easy money to be made by those who could care less about the horses. Make a quick buck for minimal work and expense. That’s modern humans for you.
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To the kill buyers Terri, it is simply a business…..it’s the owners who are selling them at the kill sale and/or selling them to the feedlot who are the culprits so they don’t have to spend the $$$ to humanely euthanize the horses they don’t want anymore…….I’m already trying to rescue as many of the 12 horses that went through the Fallon kill sale that this article is referring to, so any donations for our on-going (over the past 3 months) Fallon feedlot rescues would be much appreciated. Check out what we’re doing on Facebook at The Starlight Sanctuary if anyone really wants to help those horses instead of just talking about it because they don’t ship to Canada until this Wednesday, January 16th.
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OMG–I heard they were ALL safe! I just feel sick. Why is this happening? Will our American horses ever be safe?
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It wasn’t the wild horses but domestic horses that went to slaughter. They do every week. (See Laura Bell’s comment above).
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The 12 haven’t gone to slaughter yet and I am going over to the feedlot where they’re at this afternoon…..bunches of photos and videos will be posted on our Facebook page The Starlight Sanctuary this evening……we gladly accept donations to bail these horses (to PayPal at thestarlightsanctuary@gmail.com and we ARE a 501c3 animal rescue and issue receipts for doations) and will do the best we can in terms of rescuing as many horses as possible with donation money and also our own personal money……so these horses still CAN be rescued, but we will have to work fast, otherwise, they ship to Canada this week.
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No Kimberly, you heard that ALL of the Virginia Range wild horses were safe, NOT the domestic horses that go through the Fallon kill sale every week……….I’ve been at all of the kill sales where the Virginia Range wild horses go through and have watched at every, single sale, the wild horse advocates never lift a finger to help any of the domestics and only rescue the wild horses…..perhaps thats because the donation money they use to buy the wild horses is ear-marked for only that purpose and they don’t want to spend their own money on the domestics that need help.
That is why our sanctuary, The Starlight Sanctuary, has been doing on-going kill sale and feedlot rescues beginning with what became known as the Shasta Horse rescue on October 9, 2012 (please visit that Facebook page at “Quarter Horse Rescue” and “Shasta Herd” for info about the rescue and the success stories afterward) which continue to the present, and that’s why I will be at the feedlot tomorrow evaluating those 12 horses the rescues wouldn’t rescue and seeing if I can pair them up with new owners so they won’t be shipped to slaughter in Canada next week.
If anyone really cares to help us with the rescue of domestic AND wild horses that go through the two weekly kill sales in Fallon, Nevada, (and that includes the 12 horses everyone is upset about even though they could have been rescued directly from the kill sale by anyone that was there), please visit us on Facebook at The Starlight Sanctuary, and of course, any donations are appreciated so we can continue to help people rescue/buy horses every week and keep them from the horrific trip to slaughter.
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Laura Bell, I have read many of your comments and now I am glad to understand better what you do. This is a forum for wild and Domestic horses and those getting sold at auction all, together, are at risk. Thanks for your work.
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I do not believe that the number of horses being sent to slaughter are due to the poor economy . Horses have always been sent to slaughter. Its the mind set of people who use these horses for profit then at the end of the horses life, when it can no longer make money . The owners want to get the last bit of money from their flesh. Also the cost of putting a horse down in my area is almost $500. Some owners balance, pay $500. or get maybe $100. and take them to auction and sell to a Kill Buyers. Poor horses , not enough people care.
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