Who Can You Trust?

Our horses serve us during the best years of their lives, so most of us feel an obligation to provide for them in their waning years. Some of us are in the position to do so ourselves - and we know full well how fortunate we are to be able to do so.  

But other people cannot - and it can be for a myriad of reasons. Probably the number one reason is financial - they just cannot afford to keep a horse that they can no longer ride and whose upkeep is - well, going up. There's also the issue of space - if you can't ride them but you still want to ride, then the addition of another equine is in order. Where do you put who? Can you afford two? Can you deal with two - physically and emotionally? It's a problem. 

Stacey Hampton faced this problem with a couple of old troopers she called Lacey and Squirt. Both had been strong competitors in their day, but that day had come and gone. Now she had found a retirement home for them. She asked Summer Rose Tex, a brand inspector, if she would deliver them to their new forever home. Ms. Tex assured her that she would. 

Some time passed - then the farm called to ask when the horses would be coming. Ms. Tex could not be located. The search was on. NetPosse was brought in along with law enforcement.  

Unlike most of the states, California passed a law in 1998 to protect horses from being sold for the purpose of slaughter. To do so is a felony act. As the investigation progressed, the trail led from California to Oregon to Washington then across the border to Canada - to a slaughter house - at least for Lacey. The whereabouts of Squirt is still unknown. 

During the investigation, the photo of the brand inspector circulated widely across the western states. Consequently, it wasn't very long before Tex turned herself in to the Sheriff's office. She is being charged with grand theft and is on administrative leave from the CDFA. 

On 06/05/2014, Billy Ray Brown, Jr. was being sought in connection with the sale of Lacey for slaughter. Mr. Brown is an auctioneer at B&B Auction Barn, in Madera, CA. The significant thing about the charges for him is that it will be the first time anyone has ever been charged under the new law. This makes it a landmark case.

An undercover investigator for the Humane Society of the United States, Eric Sakach, visited the Canadien slaughterhouse to document the practices being used there. Over 140,000 horses went to slaughter in 2013 and, in spite of the law, a goodly number of them came from California. 

Madera Sheriff Anderson is confident of a conviction in this case because Brown admitted to the use of an alias and the signature used looks just like Brown's handwriting. His stated reason for doing so was that the Canadian authorities had raised questions about his bringing so many horses across the border to the facility. 

 http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/06/05/auctioneer-1st-man-charged-under-california-law-to-protect-horses-from-slaughter-horsemeat-food-slaughterhouse-billy-ray-brown-jr-summer-rose-tex-lacey-madera-b-and-b-livestock-auction/

* "One source says 40,000 to 55,000 are stolen each year." - These numbers are based on a study done in the late 90's. There are no current numbers available.