Contact your local representative to have the fines changed for animal cruelty. Many times animal abuse is just a $100 fine.

There is an old Amazon Indian belief that when you invite an animal into your house it is considered a member of your family.

the owners could face charges of animal cruelty in the second degree, a gross misdemeanor in the state of Washington.

a misdemeanor, which by definition is less than a year in jail. and there are those, i.e. micheal vick dooshbags, who actually claim that abusing animals gets one in more trouble than abusing a person. terrible people who did this...

You are right. It is election season, albeit a bit late. This is a good time to put your lawmakers' feet to the fire. Make sure you know everyone on your ballot, from the Pres to the local judge, and what the candidate stands for. Even more, what walk has the candidate walked, not just talked. Because of doing underdog work (human and animals), I learned one person, one vote at a time, DOES make a big difference. Even if something starts in your county, it still helps all those in that county and it may spread. Out here, things passed in Suffolk County (Long Island) often spread to other areas. The big underdog advocate in the Suffolk County Legislature, who worked like crazy all his 12 years and esp in his last year before reaching term limits, operated that way. On the other hand, someone else I won't mention won't even return constituents' calls, for the most part, where the staff for the candidate for the same office in a nearbvy jurisd gets back to you right away and gets things done, such as when someone calls and states "I'm doing an animal law seminar, can you speak, or, "we finally have the first perp to post on the SC Animal Abuser Registry (first Animal Abuser Registry in the U.S.), can you help..."I have a veteran being denied benefits"..."The VA just announced funding is being cut for PTSD and therapy Dogs a/o Oct 5-need help"...Whether you believe that may be a heart, and it may be smart politics to help service memers, veterans, critters, etc. or both, but at this point, who cares. That is how it is done (that and getting the press to come and film).

Everyone, please note that it is this type of irresponsible over-breeding that is fueling the slaughter industry. Animal abusers, neglect is abuse, should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and breeding restrictions should be tightened.

Carol Ryder said:

That is how it is done (that and getting the press to come and film).

People keep saying that, and that is not the answer in all situations Yes, you can have press come and film, but they have to be honest and thorough in what they are filming. There's a post down toward the bottom of this page at 20.4 from a poster named Bo who says that since he didn't see any emaciated horses in the video, he does not believe its as bad as the article sounds.

Now, speaking from the viewpoint of someone who is a longtime animal shelter volunteer, animal control dispatcher and VDHB case recorder, i can tell you that the media doesn't show everything. As i stated in my post below at 2.9:

We've had a handful of high-profile animal cruelty cases in our jurisdiction in the last couple of years, and after one story ran the news channel got calls from complaining parents who said they were watching news with their kids, their kids saw pictures of these abused animals and got upset, and the parents were angry with the channel for airing such 'graphic and disturbing' pictures.

So when we had one case where a fighting pit lost a dogfight and the owner poured battery acid on the dog and dumped him out in the middle of the highway. Someone picked the dog up out of the road and brought it into the shelter, but by that time the acid had eaten through fur, skin, muscle and tendon and when he was brought in you could see internal organs exposed. We wanted the press to come down and film so we could get community assistance in finding the person who did it, but the reporters decided not to photograph the dog because the photos would be too graphic and disturbing for the viewers. They instead asked us to pick out another dog from the shelter kennels who looked similar to the injured one to parade in front of the camera.

Getting the press to come down and film is one step. The next step is getting them to be truthful and honest about it...and unfortunately that's a bit harder because of the need to balance viewer requirements versus the truth. No TV station wants to be sued by a litigious parent of a child who is having nightmares after seeing a dog with internal organs hanging out, but without that picture, how do you impress on people how serious a problem is?

I agree that the conditions are really bad at this site, but what I dont understand is why they say these horses are emaciated. Every single horse in the video is in carrying excellent physical weight.

The films of abused animals should still be shown, with notification prior to the showing stating that there are graphic images. Hell, there are reality shows that currently do the same notification.

People should have to look this type of activity in the eye. How many times to people look away and let the abuse of farm animals, pets, children, the elderly and victims of domestic abuse go on?

Please, please alert the authorities when you see something wrong. You can do it anonymously in most municipalities in this country.

Collegejoe,

As a horse owner, the horses look to be carrying weight, but it is the other problems that sparked the outcry. They were standing in stalls filled with waste, the stalls and the barn's are dark. The horses no longer could stand the light of day, literally. I hope that none of these special creatures need to be put down, but I hope that the owner is charged and found guilty to the fullest extent of the law.

Colleejoe said;

I agree that the conditions are really bad at this site, but what I don't understand is why they say these horses are emaciated. Every single horse in the video is in carrying excellent physical weight.

You said it--'every horse in the video.' The video does not show you all 39. The media will filter out and reuse to tape the ones in the worst condition so as not to offend their viewers or open themselves to lawsuits. See my post right above yours; I've seen it first hand.

If they had taken pictures and shown the worst of the 39, there would be people on here complaining the pictures are too graphic and 'not necessary'.

People worried about their kids viewing abused animals? In one set of cases, that is hypocritical because those parents do not care about anything else that their kids view. In another set of cases, maybe the parents restrict what their kids view. But if they are religious, why don't their churches take action?

fgh-1038628 how do you know that those parents don't care what their children view. Don't make statements as such, when my children were young I censored everything they watched. Sex is as real as animal abuse, but I didn't go rent porn for them or even let them watch shows that portrayed such acts. Ok I jumped the gun, but lost you on the church and for them to take action. Take action against what?

I have learned not to be so quick to judge based on what I have seen in Colorado. Bogus charges have been levied at many animal owners to gain fines(revenue) for the government coffers. The local media is always contacted by animal control to initiate a smear campaign against the owner(s) and brainwash the unsuspecting public into believing tabloid trash. They will even use an animal that has been sick, yet under vet care, to show to the public. Some people have had horses turn ill in a matter of days because of blister beedle that has gotten into the hay and then have animal cruelty charges levied against them. That is the equivalent of stating that West Nile virus is deliberate animal cruelty. After they gain the publics support via opinion and monetarily (because they always ask for donations), then the accused has to post large bonds(well over $20,000), get an attorney and before you know it, the owner is bankrupt. In Colorado, they are doing it through the Ag Dept., and the Ag Dept is placing Ag liens on farmers/ranchers property, which is the objective all along. They get warrants to seize all of your financial records and access whatever is left. I have seen this happen to innocent people(victims). It is a good way for the Ad Dept to recover major budget cuts. Many of these ranches/farms are worth millions of dollars, esp with water rights. Forgot to mention, in El Paso County, CO there are now 13 "Wholesale horse dealers" (kill buyers). There were only 3 in 2008. Can you say HORSE SLAUGHTER? The federal ban is off and the latest horse slaughter plant is proposed for Roswell, NM. Please take some time to search "horse slaughter" articles. Also, search Dennis Rader and read his bio. It will shed a lot of light on what is hiding in plain sight. I hope this person, the owner in this article, is not an abuser; but, there are some. However, animal control considers this job security and they are always interested in a revenue stream even when they pretend to be anti puppy mills. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

...an attorney for the owner said his client "loves these animals" and did not believe the conditions reached a criminal level.

Maybe the attorney and owner should spend a night in one of the stalls, up to their knees in deep yogurt.

The horses are at a public park/county fairgrounds. I looked at them. They do not look ill or emaciated at all. They were happy and healthy. Although I am not a friedn or relative of the owners, I live in the area and know they had alfalfa, feed, water, a farrier, a vet. These horses were cared for. This whole thing is trumped up because of a failed DEA raid the day before on this Dr. The county could have served notice on the owner and monitored this instead of putting the taxpayers to the expense of the seizure, the care & feeding and manpower. Now there's going to be a lawsuit and the court costs. The darn county didn't even take "before photos" of the animals as they were seized. This was mishandled in my opinion and unfortunately as a local tax payer, it'll cost us. There are many more disturbing animal care issues, this man's farm was not one of them. This hit the news bigtime and was trumped up (It appears) as a DEA retaliation... those Feds are prickly when they don't get what they want. The hose they keep usign as a photo is 37 years old... anyone horse would look bad at that age. Amazing it lived that long. Bad care huh?

I am really wondering where the root of this is. My thought is that it could have something to do with the landfill, and some wanting to build a power plant using the methane. It seems like it is hard to motivate any agencies, and condition wise, these horses don't look anything like pictures I have seen of neglected animals.

If that is not the case, I feel like some well meaning people may have gotten in over their heads. Now that it appears that the owner is going to fight, I don't see any winners here. It's too bad that the horse community along with other volunteers (construction, maintenance) couldn't roll up their sleeves and unravel this mess to everyone's satisfaction...

Savvy; I kinda figured it might be something like that when they mentioned the sheer number of horses involved. I live in Tx and have seen my share of animal cruelty, but my mother raises horses on her farm in Ark. and I know what a decently healthy horse looks like and those horses weren't as "emaciated" as they portray. The fact is, these agencies use other agencies (like the SPCA,DEA,Local Law Enforcement) to get their point across, and like you said, wield it as their personal sword against whomever they are out to get. These government backed entities have WAY too much power in this country, it's a crying shame when normal, decent citizens have to live in fear in their own homes, wary at any moment that someone will bust into their home and seize everything they hold dear, including their freedom!!

As I said in another post, THERE IS MORE TO THIS STORY SOMEONE'S NOT TELLING, IT SOUNDS LIKE A DEA SET UP, the story does NOT fit the condition of the Horses, YES ONE BARN IS A MESS, having said that, I see three barns on that property.... I see two Horses in the Vid, that are in stalls with bars on them, the barn that is a mess don't have BARS on them stalls its an OLDER BARN, probably left to rot away, WHO knows ?? I sure don't buy the story at all, The auditor said its obvious the horses had not been handled the were VERY skittish ?...well HELLO Miss Auditor, when you have a bunch of STRANGE yahoos rounding up horses, I'm guessing 9 out of 10 horses will act skittish... I'll say it again, Bet the Ranch....this is a set up because of drugs, and the DEA....

Would be ideal to save these creatures from being euthanized. But, it would take a lot of money to raise and TLC to bring these horses back to good, viable health, especially the bigger breeds.. Hopefully someone will step up in Washington to take care of these rescued animals on long term basis. The SPCA in Miami-Dade has incredible abilities in bringing rescued horses back to health, and beauty. Hopefully, the rescuers are funded and have the experts in place to handle the tragic conditions of these innocent victims of neglect.

Most of them will probably end up at horse rescues, or being adopted directly from animal control. The ones who need to be euthanized probably have bad hoof problems that cant' be cured.

The conditions were awful in the barn...but..... I didn't see any horse that was "emaciated".... they were moving well....a little skittish but that is not uncommon considering there was a helicopter overhead and a bunch of strange people milling around. I would question whether the head of animal control and the county auditor were the best people to be in charge of these animals. "Seriously, that woman is grasping.... "they have their night eyes on"? Those horses looked in pretty good shape and if there are hoof problems from the stalls being so filthy a good Vet and farrier can likely fix them...... I do speak from experience....my family has owned and operated a horse ranch for over 60 years and we take in rescues quite a lot....we work with several local animal controls and with rescue groups. I wish the horses we were getting in looked as good as those...... Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending the deplorable conditions in that barn or the owner. I am questioning the wisdom of considering euthanasia since they didn't show anything nearly bad enough to warrant that. I have seen first hand people with little experience with horses making decisions on their care and welfare based on emotion and what they think they know...the euthanasia decision should only come from an experienced equine Vet.

Agree!!

DrRiverSong I agree. After watching the video I didn't seen any starving, emaciated horses. Yes they're grooming was neglected and their barn/stalls were deplorable but the horses looked pretty healthy. The one that they were taking off the carrier looked pretty feisty. I'm sure if they were in the condition that was reported they wouldn't have the energy to behave like that.

I would question this headline, as the horses did not look emaciated at all. They were definitely hungry, if they're eating parts of their stalls and the lack of hygiene was absolutely deplorable. Maybe they didn't show the emaciated horses or the really sick ones on the tape. These horses were neglected, but looked healthy.

Even so, I hope none of them are euthanized simply because there aren't enough resources to take proper care of them and work with them. The people in charge of them should definitely go to jail and pay a hefty fine and be banned from owning horses. Very sad that many people don't take their caretaker duties seriously when it comes to animals. The human race is very disappointing sometimes.

Souless Godless people

I think there is a bit of government sensationalism in play here. Typical tactic to distract from the failure of the original warrants being born out. Apparently the DEA found nothing, the local police then went wandering around the farm. Search warrant are not cart blanc, they have specific things they are looking for and where they expect to find them.

The barns were in terrible condition, perhaps the owner is old and has a hard time keeping up with them. The horses however, were not emaciated and appeared in good health. I've seen horses that have been neglected and they LOOK neglected, skin and bones, and barely able to stand. These horses were a little light, but not emaciated.

If any of these horses are put down it will only be because the animal control people want to prove a false claim. I've had and worked with horses my whole life, foster the horses out to the horse folks in the area and they will be fine. Their eyes were clear and bright, they walked with a normal gait, they seem a little skiddish, but not be handled does that.

Debbie said;

After watching the video I didn't seen any starving, emaciated horses.

Kris said:

Maybe they didn't show the emaciated horses or the really sick ones on the tape.

Speaking from the viewpoint of a longtime animal shelter volunteer, former Animal Control dispatcher and VDHB (Vicious Dog Hearing Board) case recorder, mainstream media is skittish about putting photos/videos of abused animals on the Nightly News.

We've had a handful of high-profile animal cruelty cases in our jurisdiction in the last couple of years, and after one story ran the news channel got calls from complaining parents who said they were watching news with their kids, their kids saw pictures of these abused animals and got upset, and the parents were angry with the channel for airing such 'graphic and disturbing' pictures.

So when we had one case where a fighting pit lost a dogfight and the owner poured battery acid on the dog and dumped him out in the middle of the highway. Someone picked the dog up out of the road and brought it into the shelter, but by that time the acid had eaten through fur, skin, muscle and tendon and when he was brought in you could see internal organs exposed. We wanted the press to come down and film so we could get community assistance in finding the person who did it, but the reporters decided not to photograph the dog because the photos would be too graphic and disturbing for the viewers. They instead asked us to pick out another dog from the shelter kennels who looked similar to the injured one to parade in front of the camera.

I expect that's why this case was never solved because people saw the dog on the news, didn't see any major cruelty issues and thought exactly like Debbie thought above, and never realized just how important a part the media plays in situations like his.

(BTW--the dog was euthanized on scene because his wounds were too extensive. At the time he came in the acid had eaten through the muscles in his front legs and he was no longer able to even stand. Three of our newest volunteers went home that day and never came back because they just couldn't handle it--volunteering at an animal shelter helping homeless animals sounds good on paper, but some people just can't stomach the blood and broken hearts that comes along with it.

We understand that, and we don't blame them for leaving--the Humane Society and the SPCA have more funding to rescue and deal with abused animals like that and volunteers rarely come into contact with the worst cases. Our shelter is an inner-city municipality that takes in 12,000-15,000 animals a year and we only get $700,000 from the city to run both Animal Control (director, admin staff, dispatcher, 9 AEOs plus vehicles and equipment, 5 judges for the VDHB, electric and water and power for the shelter, six animal car attendants for quarantined bite cases, and three vet techs for medical. We can't afford many paid personnel so our volunteers do a LOT more than volunteers with the SPCA/ASPCA or Humane Society--we get a lot dirtier and we see more.)

P.S.

If the county is strapped, I'll send two semi's to collect the horses and bring all 39 to my 880 acre horse farm in southern Missouri. I have plenty of room, pasture, and hay for all of them. I won't even charge to transport or board them, just sign them over and my son's and I will come get them.

Amanda said : We've had a handful of high-profile animal cruelty cases in our jurisdiction in the last couple of years, and after one story ran the news channel got calls from complaining parents who said they were watching news with their kids, their kids saw pictures of these abused animals and got upset, and the parents were angry with the channel for airing such 'graphic and disturbing' pictures.

What ever happened to talking with your children about what they see as opposed to keeping them in a bubble ? There's a way to document something to exemplify just how bad something is without it being the worst of the worst. If they can block out boobies and butts they can make it presentable enough if they wanted to do so.

You have a very difficult job you choose to do. My deepest respect to you.

the Humane Society and the SPCA have more funding to rescue and deal with abused animals

just wanted to clarify- the Humane Society of the US (HSUS) DOES NOT help animals directly, outside of a single small facility that they run for show (and which has a kill rate of 90%). money raised by the HSUS is used to fund lobbyists and political efforts- they give less than 1% of their money to local animal shelters every year. and they are notorious for their well-funded employee pension plan. the local rescue groups called 'Humane Societies' are independently run and funded- they are not funded or supported by HSUS. if you donate money and want it to actually go toward helping animals, please be sure to give it directly to your local rescue groups/ shelters and NOT to the HSUS

Allie: thank you for that, it's a fact that many people don't know and are unaware of.

Our local Humane Society and SPCA will come and take adoptable animals from our shelter when they need to fill cages, and their volunteers work in clean, brightly-lit, sanitized facilities.

Our shelter is Animal Control on one side and a nonprofit on the other, and when you volunteer with us you have to be prepared to WORK. Walking dogs and socializing cats is the least of what our volunteers do; they escort potential adopters to see adoptable animals, provide basic adoption counseling advice, clean cages, wash dog and cat dishes, sterilize instruments, do laundry, contact rescues for animals we can possibly say are 'purebreds' foster dogs and cats, even help to feed the wildlife that we get in (raccoons, possums, birds with broken/missing wings, the kid who finds a baby bird on the sidewalk and brings it in, and rather more recently, the upswing in exotic pets that are illegal in a city; alligators, giant snakes, sheep, we've even had emu, guinea fowl and a kangaroo.

We don't have a licensed veterinarian on staff, vets from the area take time out of their own practice to see some of our animals but if one comes in needing more attention than our volunteer students and vet techs can handle, and no vet is available to come out, that animal will be euthanized because we don't have a veterinarian to care for it.

For those who say that an equine specialist is needed to make the determination that an animal is too sick to save, think about the fact that the Animal Control may not be able to find one who will volunteer their services and may not be able to afford to pay for one, and that could be the reason why the animal is not saved--lack of money and expertise.

Luci said;

What ever happened to talking with your children about what they see as opposed to keeping them in a bubble ?

That's what we said!

There's a way to document something to exemplify just how bad something is without it being the worst of the worst. If they can block out boobies and butts they can make it presentable enough if they wanted to do so.

Absolutely. The thing is that these animal cruelty stories tend to pop up on slow news days as filler and they don't want something they'll have to spend hours editing.

I've been reading the comments and decided to put my 2 cents in here.

No, these horses did not look "emaciated", yes the shoes walking in what is said to be urine is...GROSS! If those horses were standing in THAT for weeks if not months- I assume there would be much more hoof issues than the few "prancing" horses shown. I really can't say, wasen't there, don't KNOW.

What I DO KNOW is that animal owners get sick and old. "Natural Disasters" also happen. From this article the police were there for a different reason and I also can't speak to that.

However!! In my local community there was a person that was the victim of a "natural disaster" due to heavy rains, flooding, most of a riverbank under the horse barn washed away- she and a number of us called (repeatedly) for assistance, volunteers, ANYTHING to help her few horses! NO HELP.

Until, of course, the county came in about these horses having no shelter, they were taken away to the fairgrounds and volunteers came out of the woodwork!

So tell me now- WHAT does "volunteer" mean? If one is working for a NAMED GROUP so one gets "brownie points" for their time?

If YOU are so concerned about "abused and neglected" animals, why not give your name and number to the groups that could let you know if someone in your community needs some temporary help? Are YOU part of the solution?

Amanda - Thank you for the work that you do. I think what you and others do for animals is absolutely unselfish and caring. Unfortunately, I would turn into a blubbering fool if I had to deal with an abused animal, especially in the case of the pit bull, having had one myself. I admire people who are strong enough to look through the abuse in order to help these animals.

The news media in my city usually gives a "warning, graphic pictures.." blurb before showing animal abuse. If you think it's too graphic for your kids to see, then turn the TV off. I feel that it's a valuable lesson for your kids, depending on their ages, sensitivities, etc., to let them see how mean people can be. If you discuss the topic with your kids, you may help them see this as a lesson on how to be better and maybe instill empathy and perhaps, action by them to help prevent such atrocities. Kids are smarter and stronger than you think they are and don't need to be "protected" all the time.

When I saw the video, I felt like the media was not showing the emaciated and sick horses for exactly that reason...because they were "disturbing". Sorry, but sometimes, people need to be disturbed.

KM said;

So tell me now- WHAT does "volunteer" mean? If one is working for a NAMED GROUP so one gets "brownie points" for their time?

If YOU are so concerned about "abused and neglected" animals, why not give your name and number to the groups that could let you know if someone in your community needs some temporary help? Are YOU part of the solution?

Every extra hand helps, no matter whose hand it is, or why they are doing it. It's what you do that matters, not the reasons you're doing it.

For many people who 'volunteer' yes, it is, like the number of people who 'volunteer' at homeless shelters and soup kitchens. They do serve a function, even if it is to get 'brownie points'--or as is common in our municipality, youth are required to do a specified number of volunteer hours with a nonprofit in order to graduate.

One also has to take into consideration that sometimes going to the aid of someone who put out call for volunteers NOT through a reputable or known agency has bad results. Sometimes the person isn't honest about the conditions; rather more often these days is finding out that the person who asked for volunteers is criminal looking for easy prey--we had one case where a guy emailed one of our volunteers and said that he had a couple of trees mulched on his property, and could we get some volunteers together to come load them in pickups and take to the shelter as a donation. It was short notice so we just took a handful of younger neighbor kids with us to this house in this other community--and a neighbor came out and told us the guy was a registered child sexual predator.

Anything NOT coming from a reputable agency or someone you know is automatically suspect.

If there actually was a god, humans would be the only endangered species - especially the ones who do things like this to other creatures.

Annie, absolutely.....It is very troublesome that every single day I read more and more cases of animal abuse which leads to the question, how many instances are out there where the abusers never get caught?

We need tougher laws nationwide for animal abuse. Serious penalties including extremely high fines and jail time. None of this probation crap, real jail time!

camille: So glad to hear you are willing to stand up. I too wish there were stronger laws in more states. Hope they are able to get the strongest evidence possible and heaviest charges that apply. I also hope the horses are doing as best as can be expected.

If I lived closer I would certainly offer to help more regarding these horses. Maybe when the survivors become adoptable they will reach out further and we CAN help. In the mean time we will be watching for where to send donations to help. I think everyone on the net who is concerned should go to the Tacoma News Tribune and follow up on that regarding these horses and this case.

Unfortunately, so many states and municipalities make horrific animal abuse(s) a misdemeanor. Until it is a felony with the consequence of federal prison, these lowlife humans will continue getting away with it.

Absolutely Camille, coming from a rescue background, I have seen my share of owners get little or no punishment for the most horrific abuse and neglect cases. It's time to give animals the respect they deserve and institute laws that have actual teeth or these people will continue to abuse animals.

Ohio has some of the most laughable penalties for animal cruelty. Pretty much just someone shaking their finger at you saying "you were bad, now don't do this again".

I have been making my voice heard for tougher penalties in Ohio. Contacting government officials, signing petitions, etc.......If everyone makes enough noise, maybe we will be heard!!

Sheelf, you implore, Use your eyes, animals tell you when they are sick or hurt. You are correct, but this despicable owner (I could use MUCH stronger descriptors that are unprintable) is obviously uncaring. He (I'm betting he is a man) started this operation as a money-making venture and found that caring for the horses was too demanding and began ignoring them. The article quotes his attorney stating he "loves these animals." What a crock of s***! I consider him unfeeling human scum. In my opinion, the human race would be better off if he were "put down," as will be humanely done with some of sickest of these poor neglected animals.

National law should prevent such types from ever owning animals of any kind.

Let's ride partner...

I am sick to say this is true. Many people are working on whatever we can. Getting to your lawmakers (and the press) is needed just to start but everyone has to get out and do what he/she can.

NYS DOES have felony animal cruelty but max sentence is 2 years, "companion animals" only (horses are "farm animals" and have few rights) AND there is an intent element. So, as the head of the first Animal Abuse Unit in NY, one of few first in U.S., stated, the f**in state laws tie his hands. So, for example, when someone adopts a dog or cat for slaughter, he gets them on fraud charges for filling out the adoption appl. that they were to be pets. They can argue they had no "intent" to cause undue suffering...just hungry (sickening). So, many hands are tied until we get BOTH the state criminal laws changed AND resources at the DA's offices (they often have to do the animal abuse cases nights and weekends on their own time).

It does not help that 'someone' about one year ago, signed a law allowing the consumption of horse meat in the U.S.

I know how you feel. I get so sick reading stories of abuse on children and animals it makes me just wish it all, and I do mean all, would just go away and be done. I don't know how people do this

You need to seek mental help before you hurt yourself, or anyone else!.

I read a long time ago - humans are capable of the most lofty of actions - kindness, generosity, compassion; but sadly, we are also capable of the most horrible of actions - abuse to humans and all other animals, total disregard for this earth we're living on - hey, there's money to be made by cutting down the rainforest to raise palms for oil...too bad about the elephants and baboons, etc who will starve - don't worry about the plastics that every blinking thing comes in these days...just throw away the containers, they'll 'go away' - but but especially heartbreaking (for some) are the stories like this, or the man who kills his wife and kids and himself because of what???

What can we do? Try to be the best person you can - be kind, do the right thing, and help where/when you can in dealing with the repercussions of those at the other end of the spectrum. Sigh....

Because Washington State enforces it's animal cruelty laws.

Yes, it does, but they are not felonies (yet). A lot of people want to fix that. That is why I was concerned with the DEA warrant.

Would you expect anything else from the cop killing state.

Would you expect anything else from the cop killing state.

You're a troll, now an ignored troll btw.

WOW REALLY ???!!! Great now you wont be responding to anymore of my posts being you wont see them!.

Put the attorney in there with him.

BO? are you still asleep? I read enough. I was laid off 4 years ago and you are right when money is tight it's hard. You know what I did? I called around until I found Vets that would take my animals from me instead of starving them because I couldn't feed them. There is ALWAYS a choice..always..these fools made the wrong one. I can't believe you are even attempting to justify this at ANY level. Pathetic!

A person who truly loved his animals would put their welfare first. If this was a case of financial hardship or health issues, then the animals should have been sold to owners who could care for them properly.

Bo, you can see by the video that it was the living conditions that were the problem, the horses shown in the video looked like they had been fed. I don't care how broke you are, you can pick up a damn shovel and keep the animals environment clean, if someone is unable to do that or pay someone to do it, they need to find their animals homes with people who can. Also, there are options for horse-owners who "fall on hard times". Horse people are a special breed and will network to help owners/horses in need, most horse people really appreciate those who ask for assistance before things get bad and horses become neglected. I love my horses, but if I get into a situation where I am unable to provide for them, I will do what is necessary to make sure they never miss a meal or a day of basic care.

I agree that the owner or owners should spend a week or whatever locked in one of these stalls to see how it feels. Fines don't do anything if they don't have any money. Long prison sentence and have to clean stalls.

Kanderson: You make some very good points. But there were 39 horses removed and only a few shown on the video we saw. I would guess that some horses MAY have been in worse condition. I hope you are right in that they aren't in too bad of shape.

Arabians are very skittish, but that is part of the beauty of Arabians. Some of them thankfully looked fairly good. I will be following this in Tacoma News Tribune. Thanks for your input.

Sidecar5....I love the Arabian horse too...I have 3.. Flash, my 13 year old gelding was given up on by the two previous owners because he was "unbreakable" After spending 6 months walking him like one walks their dog and building back trust I gentled him in less than one week...I am not a horse expert but read a ton of wha tturned out to be nothing but DUH, common sense....If you want to see his movie trailer on youtube swill1020 and file name flash works film. It's a 2 minute fictional movie trailer that gets a chuckle.

You're spot on with your post too.

Bo 15108, the owners must really love animals because they wanted so many of them? And what do hard times have to do with only being too lazy to grab a shovel and clean a stall out?

fgh-1038628

Please tell me.............. how many horses you have owned in your lifetime ???

YOU DON'T CLEAN STALLS WITH A SHOVEL SON

yeah.............like our prisons are not over flowing now ?

How about a 1,000 hours of community service? Picking up litter, things like that.

The only meaningful punishment outside of jail time would be an enforceable order to never be in possession of another animal of any kind for life. But no one would want to pay for the enforcement.

The difference here is that you did the right thing and gave up your horses. Hard times do not excuse the owner's negligence, and since they were being served on drug charges directly by the DEA, I doubt times were that hard. The article is full of quotes from authorities and rescue personnel, not reporters. And emaciated or not, "foot high waste, no light, no ventilation, and a general lack of proper handling" is cruel and uneccessary treatment of any animal, especially domesticated horses. And by the way, you do not have to "love" animals to have that many ON A BREEDING FARM. People have been breeding animals for profit for centuries, whether they love them or not, and unfortunatley alot of them are no better at treating their animals properly than these people.

Nope..still not convinced Bo but nice try

He was not giving the horses up he was letting them starve and letting them sit in a dark stall in their own feces, we all understand hard times, so yes you are justfieng what these owners did is right.

Bridget-1473532

PLEASE POINT OUT ANY PICTURE OF A STARVING HORSE IN THIS ARTICLE ????

Obviously you animal hugger's have no clue about the condition of the horse in this article...IT IS FAR FROM STARVING... IF DEA had some pictures to give KING5 of starved horses, I would assume they would post them, FACTS is they DID NOT.... I don't buy it sorry...like a poster stated, somethings fishy ! Bet the ranch, there is MORE to this story.

The DEA was there for what? I somehow do not think they were selling Girl Scout cookies.

Addiction takes ones life over. Those that you love go down that painful road with you.

Bo: There were 39 horses in total. The video only showed a few. The article said emaciated. Just because the few we saw on the video didn't look so bad doesn't mean they were all OK.

Bo said;

PLEASE POINT OUT ANY PICTURE OF A STARVING HORSE IN THIS ARTICLE ????

Obviously you animal hugger's have no clue about the condition of the horse in this article...IT IS FAR FROM STARVING... IF DEA had some pictures to give KING5 of starved horses, I would assume they would post them, FACTS is they DID NOT.... I don't buy it sorry...like a poster stated, somethings fishy ! Bet the ranch, there is MORE to this story.

The DEA wasn't taking that video, the news channel was. See my post above at 2.9...never mind, I'll repost the relevant section here (background; I'm a volunteer for an inner city animal shelter who also did a year as an Animal control dispatcher and VDHB case recorder.)

We've had a handful of high-profile animal cruelty cases in our jurisdiction in the last couple of years, and after one story ran the news channel got calls from complaining parents who said they were watching news with their kids, their kids saw pictures of these abused animals and got upset, and the parents were angry with the channel for airing such 'graphic and disturbing' pictures.

So we had one case where a fighting pit lost a dogfight and the owner poured battery acid on the dog and dumped him out in the middle of the highway. Someone picked the dog up out of the road and brought it into the shelter, but by that time the acid had eaten through fur, skin, muscle and tendon and when he was brought in you could see internal organs exposed. We wanted the press to come down and film so we could get community assistance in finding the person who did it, but the reporters decided not to photograph the dog because the photos would be too graphic and disturbing for the viewers. They instead asked us to pick out another dog from the shelter kennels who looked similar to the injured one to parade in front of the camera.

I expect that's why the case never got the attention we felt it deserved, and why the case is still unsolved. People saw the story on the news and pretty much said exactly the same thing Bo is saying.

Amanda, I wish I could say that your horrific story about the poor dog suprises me, but it no longer does :( I see everyday how disrespectful, compassionless, and numb the human race has become. To each other and to all things living. Thank you for being there for a being that could not speak for himself or defend himself and making his story heard. As for the horses, I hope that they are given a fighting chance. Regardless of the reason for how they got into the condition they were in, the owners had a responsiblity to care for them and they grossly failed.

Just because the horses look clean in the video does not mean that they are. Like many kinds of animals, horses need to be bathed sometimes.

terry spears-2430364

EXACTLY..... thank you for your input.

Not enough facts

Bo, we do need more facts, however do you think those stables are clean? Did you see the water (or lack thereof)? Do you really think those horses were not in deplorable conditions? I too want to know what happened to the original warrants... but I wouldn't let my dog live in those conditions.

sounds like you know the druggies?

cazz - They didn't show each and every horse that was seized. Yes, the horses shown didn't look emaciated, but they may not have shown the worst cases in the video since they may have been "disturbing" to the viewers. God forbid that they show any of the horses with ribs showing or really sick!

I agree that the whole story was not shown in the short video clip, but there must have been horses that were truly suffering. They did show the terrible conditions the horses had to live in and horses should not be eating their stalls!

Would you have said it was a "witch hunt" if they had shown the truly sick horses or would you be one of the people calling the station admonishing them about showing such disturbing videos?

"Bordering on fat"? Seriously? The rose gray horse first shown was wormy, had awful feet, and was about 80 lbs underweight, the black Percheron at the end of the film had awful feet and was underweight. I have 2 horses in my barn that, when they came to me from the rescue that rescued them from the other rescue were both at a BCS of 1! i had people try to convince me that the woman who starved them half to death was being "framed by the county". Both mares now stand in my barn at a BCS of 5 and all I had to do was feed them. Please, unless you can assess horses' weight correctly, don't embarrass yourself!