WCAX Report: VT farm that sells horses for slaughter spurs controversy (continued)
Middlebury, Vermont - January 5, 2010
Businesses like this one do well in tough economic times. People
can't afford horses and thousands quickly become unwanted.
"It really is a bigger problem," said Gina Brown, who runs
Spring Hill Horse Rescue in Clarendon. "In fact, it's a national
epidemic right now."
Brown has seen an explosion in the number of unwanted horses.
She says many view slaughter as a way out-- a way to make a
buck-- instead of paying for a horse to be put down.
"So you're looking at probably a minimum of $300-to-$500 to put
a horse down and a lot of people don't have that money," Brown
explained.
Horse slaughter was made illegal in the U.S. a few years ago,
but it is still legal in Canada, which is why the Quesnel's
truck their horses across the border. But now this business HAS
been shut down. The Quesnel's license was suspended by the
state-- not because the farm is trucking horses to slaughter--
but because it sold seven horses to Alex Coyle and others in the
area who were trying to rescue them. Horses sold for exclusively
for slaughter don't need to be tested for infectious equine
anemia but all other horses do and that's something the
Quesnel's didn't do. The farm is now facing a $4,000 fine and
can't operate any business involving horses for at least two
years.
"I think the laws need to be changed," Coyle said.
Gina Brown and Alex Coyle see this as a short-term fix to the much larger problem of unwanted horses.
"That is an issue and that's an issue we will be raising in the community, what should we do with these unwanted animals then,"
Brown said.
The Quesnel's declined to comment about this situation, but
theirs isn't the only business of its kind. An estimated 100,000
American horses are shipped across the border to Mexico or
Canada each year for slaughter.
Keagan Harsha - WCAX News
A Rescue Horse that needs your help!
Hi, my name is Sketch and I am one of the
few lucky horses that were rescued from the Quesnel Farm in
Middlebury, Vermont. If you don't know the story, my other
horse friends and I were destined for slaughter, but we were
rescued before that could happen. I am about eight years old
and therefore have a lot of potential.
I can't even begin to tell you how amazing
it feels to have been rescued and to know that I am in good
hands now. I have a pretty terrible past. Others can see it,
because it is hard for me to trust. But I am trying, and I am
beginning to trust my new human friend, who is very kind and
dedicated to me. I am grateful to have a safe place to live
now.
I need your help because my left eye has an
ulcer, and it's in bad shape. It is milky white and I can't see
a thing out of it. And it's painful. My new human friend has
been doing what he can to treat it but he needs more funds to
continue to help me; it is costing him a lot of money. Since I
have been mistreated and neglected throughout my life, I can't
seem to bring myself to have my face touched. And to boot, the
pain is not helping, so all in all it's really hard for him to
get the medicine into my eye. So treatment is a bit more
complex, and that means more vet bills. We are in need of your
help in order for me to live a happy life and to keep my eye. I
really, really don't want to lose my eye.
Please, can you help? Anything you can
donate to help my medical care would be fantastic! And your
donations are tax-deductible! Please make your check out to
Spring Hill Horse
Rescue, 175 Middle Rd, Clarendon, VT 05759. It
is VERY important that you put my name in the Memo line to
ensure the money goes to me.
Thank you for helping me save my eye and live the happy life I have always wished for.
