24 Baby Horses Saved From Slaughter, Malnourishment In Oregon (VIDEO)

For the first time in their young lives, 24 baby horses from Oregon will be receiving the care and nutrition they need thanks to the efforts of rescue workers who purchased them at or en route to auctions where they were likely to have been sold to slaughterhouses, ABC 10 News Sacramento reports.

According to a press release issued by the Horse Plus Humane Society, the 24 young horses were purchased by rescue workers after being transporting from a ranch in Oregon to an auction in Turlock, Calif. From there, rescue workers believe the horses would have been transported to Mexico and slaughtered for human consumption.

Tawnee Preisner of the Horse Plus Humane Society told ABC 10 that members of the California-based rescue organization traveled to an auction on Saturday and paid as little as $50 each for the horses. Additional horses were purchased on Monday from an interstate transporter.

Preisner told the station that rescue workers can easily tell which horses are destined for the slaughterhouse based on how much they are being sold for, with prices for slaughterhouse horses typically set at around 22 cents per pound.

Speaking with KHSL-TV, Preisner said the foals, ranging in age from eight months to one-year-old, were in poor condition and had likely never been properly fed or cared for by ranchers.

"That's rewarding seeing life come back into their eyes, seeing their spirits returning to them and see that life isn't all about being hard and rough," Preisner told KHSL-TV. "There's actually a good side. And they're experiencing that now."

Now recuperating at the Horse Plus Humane Society, workers are busy seeking new homes for the young horses. The organization has lowered the price of adoption to $100 for approved families, and is also looking for donations to help feed and medicate the animals as they recover.

Sadly, the case follows a number of recent incidents of reported cruelty to horses.

In October 2011, a Northern California man was arrested and charged with 30 accounts of animal cruelty after rescue workers found the remains of 28 horses and two dogs on his ranch, where they also discovered methamphetamine and marijuana.

Years earlier, a couple discovered a graveyard of skeletons surrounded by 50 starving horses eating each others' ponytails to survive. In response, the couple founded the Red Bucket Equine Rescue to help prevent such incidents in the future.

Those wishing to make donations can visit the Horse Plus Humane's Society's website.

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Comments

[LCfield90]

02:05 AM on 03/01/2012

Glad someone had the heart to rescue them!

[amaboss52]

07:26 PM on 02/28/2012

Glad the rescued them, their fate would've been horrid, painful and brutal.

[O Dannyboy]

11:56 AM on 02/27/2012

"baby horses"? Seriously? Why not "cute widdle baby horsies", if you're abandoning proper vocabulary for maximum emotional spin?

Has anyone at HP heard the terms foal and colt?

[Cat A]

07:32 AM on 03/02/2012

lol...really. My nine year old would have writtne this better .

[sdld]

11:27 AM on 02/27/2012

Animals Who Are Not Placed Into Our Adoption Program:

The following is a partial list of conditions under which an animal may not be placed for adoption:

If they have or have shown signs of aggressive or dangerous behavior to
other animals or humans.
If their advanced age is causing medical or physical problems.
If they are in poor general health or physical condition
If their temperament or behavior is such that they would not adapt well to a new home.
If they are showing signs of stress due to being placed in a shelter environment.
If they show signs of a communicable disease that could affect other animals
If there is no space available in the shelter.
If they are under 8 weeks of age.
Depending on the specifics of the animal's condition and availability of space, some animals with these conditions may be held for treatment, observation or until they are old enough to be made available for adoption.

[yeti7]

07:41 AM on 03/02/2012

what program is that?

[sdld]

09:41 AM on 03/02/2012

These are policies of Horse Plus Humane. People are arguing that they don't put healthy horses down. Some healthy horses have just been put down for space and they have a very high kill rate.

[sdld]

11:25 AM on 02/27/2012

There is a $150 surrender fee and you have to dig really hard to find their policies:


Animals Who Are Placed Into Our Adoption Program:

At Horse Plus Humane Society every effort is made to find loving homes for animals in our adoption program. Once an animal is placed into our adoption program, there is no set holding period. Animals may remain for a day, a week, a month or longer. They may also be euthanized if our shelter becomes overcrowded and we need to make room for incoming animals. Any animal who must be euthanized (humanely put to death) will be administered a painless injection of sodium pentobarbital.

[sdld]

10:43 AM on 02/27/2012

The 28 horses and two dead dogs in Northern California: That was not HPHS's rescue. That was the Grace Foundation that stepped in and seized the horses, many of which are mares who are pregnant. HPHS is not the largest rescue in the US. It's a small rescue in Oroville and it has a very high euthanasia rate--about 50 percent--unlike others that rehab and provide sanctuary until good homes are found.

[Demam0nd]

09:16 AM on 02/27/2012

Thanks to the organization who saved these colts. I just went on their website and donated to help.
Also, I agree with jardinantiques -- call your senator to tell them to support HR 2966 to save these beautiful living beings from slaughter.

[jardinantiques]

01:18 AM on 02/27/2012

If this upsets you that horses are going to slaughter call your Senator and tell them to vote to support HR 2966, known as the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011, that would prohibit horse slaughter in the United States and make illegal the shipping of horses to other countries for slaughter. Horses today are sent to Canada and Mexico, where they can be legally slaughtered. Take action, we must let the government know that we do not want horse slaughter in the US

[yeti7]

07:44 AM on 03/02/2012

will you help pay for all the orphaned/abandoned horse?

[jardinantiques]

01:27 PM on 03/02/2012

I acgtually work very hard at rescuing horses and spend a lot of time and money to do so! What charities do you donate and word at?

[jztherapist]

06:18 PM on 02/26/2012

I wish on anyone who eats one of these magnificent animals a chronic, painful, fatal, wasting disease.

[Caroleeena]

06:52 PM on 02/26/2012

Do you wish that on people who eat cows also?
They are also magnificent, gentle, beautiful animals. I love them. I grew up with them. One would meet me coming home from school each day and walk with me across the pasture. I think the reason people find it so easy to eat cows is because they've never known one.

[mollymac]

09:13 PM on 02/26/2012

I adore cows. I think they are beautiful, gentle and gorgeous to look at. I would never eat beef; it disgusts me to look at it in the grocery store. I haven't eaten pork in years and veal? No way!

[yeti7]

07:45 AM on 03/02/2012

they live in Europe mostly France.

[UVA1983]

04:33 PM on 02/26/2012

What a non-story. Use the right term next time. Try to be intelligent - foals - not baby horses.

[sunsetter]

11:17 PM on 02/25/2012

Anybody see this on PETA - very interesting.
http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/24/documents-peta-kills-more-than-95-percent-of-pets-in-its-care/#ixzz1nP1mXYuv

[Caroleeena]

06:54 PM on 02/26/2012

That is a balderdash made up story planted by Rick Berman in a right-wing rag. PETA does not run shelters. Never has. They do advocacy work. That is all. In 2005, two people, saying they were with PETA, began taking in animals, quickly became overwhelmed and ended up euthanizing them but it was NOT PETA and PETA didn't have anything to do with it. They do not run shelters. This story is a lie.

Daily Caller, spreading lies that right wing conservatives believe since their inception.

[mollymac]

09:15 PM on 02/26/2012

No they do not run shelters. They advocate killing constantly! I have quit supporting them since Ingrid Newkirk took over. If they ever want to get public support again, I would recommend getting rid of her.

[yeti7]

07:51 AM on 03/02/2012

I agree with peta in these cases.
http://www.peta.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/2009/03/30/why-we-euthanize.aspx

[PermanentVacancy]

04:35 PM on 02/25/2012

Well if I lived on the west coast instead of the east coast I would give one of these babies a home. I already have saved one old mare from the auction and she needs a companion. but I will come a across a needy one eventually on my side. I hope after the media exposure that all these horses get adopted into good homes.

[WhippetGood]

11:45 PM on 02/24/2012

If anyone is even considering acquiring a horse, PLEASE google "kill pen" then look for a local rescue organization that rescues horses from kill pens. You will be disheartened and dismayed by what you learn, BUT the beautiful thing is that you can find your wonderful, dear, perfectly sound forever horse in a kill pen, just waiting for you to bring him or her home.

I am not in a position yet to have a horse, but when I am, my horse is coming from a kill pen.

[rosemaree124]

11:26 PM on 02/24/2012

It's bad enough that these horses were destined for slaughter, but think of this: they're sick, malnourished, and they were headed for Mexico for human consumption?

[pm411]

10:35 AM on 02/25/2012

the laws in the US for slaughtering cows and pigs do not say that sick, or "downed" as they call them, animals cannot be killed for human consumption. some state laws say the animals cannot be transported to slaughterhouses if they are already "downed" - if they get sick on the way there or at the slaughterhouse, meat for all.

eat vegan

[mollymac]

09:18 PM on 02/26/2012

OMG! It is the most disgusting and vile thing in the world! If anyone ever witnessed what went on in Mexican horse slaughter houses, you'd never go there again. And the meat goes to the "connoisseurs" in Japan and Europe. Esp, France and Italy.

[caty306933]

12:39 AM on 02/27/2012

I agree. And the whole transport and slaughter routine for horses is truly one of the most horrendous acts committed. Most suffer pain & are hung upside down to drain their blood, they don't care whether they are alive or dead. There is nothing humane that goes on at horse slaughter houses in Mexico. It is a painful and long death.

[sdld]

08:49 PM on 02/24/2012

A great horse rescue is TBFriends in Woodland, California. The genteman writes a daily blog, M-F, that will enlighten you, inspire you, make you sad and make you glad. This is a rescue.

[caty306933]

12:46 AM on 02/27/2012

There are great horse rescues in every state! I live in Colorado and there are numerous horse rescues who save horses from abusive owners, hoarders, and also from the slaughterhouse sales. So many horse owners have had a hard time feeding horses because of the shortage of hay, due to Texas droughts. I don't have the ability or land to save a horse, but I sponsor horses and donate and volunteer at the rescues. The horses are then rehabilitated and forever homes are found for them. So many rescues are on Facebook, so that keeps me updated to. I also love donkeys and there are rescues for them as well. Everyone can do something if they love horses.