USDA Fines Sugarcreek Auction House of Cruelty $162,800!!

Complaint Filed March, 2008 by the USDA;

Good news but USDA should have by all rights shut this place down.
down. This is in no way the first time they have been cited. In previous complaints, thislivestock auction house of cruelty actually lost his dealers licence
for a year. Wouldnt you say its time to close this house of horrors
down permanently? Write to the Judicial Officer in charge of this
case and tell him what you think;

Finally some justice, although after reading through the document
there is so much more that this man has done and we, as well have
others, have witnessed these acts of cruelty. Anyone who has been to
Sugarcreek knows this just
skims the surface. This is such a horrific kill auction.
Eyewitnesses, rescues and individuals have been using their voice for
years to try and convey the horrific conditions that the horses,
yearlings and foals that have been sent to slaughter endure from the
time they enter the auction to the
time they arrive at the slaughterhouses. This is even before they are
inhumanely slaughtered. THEY DO send pregnant mares, THEY DO send
cripple horses, THEY DO mix Stallions with mares and young babies,
THEY DO send underage horses,
THEY DO switch tags. For years the killbuyers have not abided by the
laws that this country has put in place, they do not abide by the
laws that all of us must follow. Finally this has come to light and
action has been taken. This could not be a better example of why the
Bill H.R. 6598 MUST be passed! Here is an article from Animals9
Angels who have been doing investigative work to put an end to this
cruel and inhumane treatment. This article is
very graphic and one aspect to remember is that this is BEFORE they
are slaughtered this is how they arrived.

The horrors of transport:

http://www.kaufmanzoning.net/nov24/pressrelease.pdf
http://www.kaufmanzoning.net/nov24/pressrelease.pdf

Leroy Baker d/b/a Sugarcreek Livestock Auction has been fined
$162,800 for failure to comply with the Commercial Transportation of
Equines for Slaughter Act.

Click title above to see USDA Complaint;

http://www.kaufmanzoning.net/nov24/Baker081001_AQ_08-0074_dd.pdf
http://www.kaufmanzoning.net/nov24/Baker081001_AQ_08-
0074_dd.pdf

According to witnesses, Baker has been sending cripple and hurt
horses to slaughter. He has lied to many people including me
regarding horses that he stated would be put down and instead he
would wait for all to be gone and then load the horses
and ship them to slaughter. Here is the story of Sham.

This is just one example of the inhumane treatment that goes on
at kill auctions. We named this horse Sham. He had no business being
at this auction or traveling to Mexico/Canada. He was lying down in
the pen and being stepped on by the other horses and cows, lying in
manure. We spoke to Leroy Baker, the auction house owner, who said
that the horse would be put down at
the end of the day. Mr. Baker thought we had left for the day, but we
came back, only to find him moving this horse with a Backhoe around
the cow's pen .
THE HORSE WAS STILL ALIVE. At that time we asked Mr. Baker if we
could please take ownership of this horse. It was obvious their
intentions were not to kill him but to put
him on the truck to Mexico. We paid him and immediately took
action. Sham was not only hurt but he was also dehydrated and
colicing. We worked on Sham for two days, enough to get him stable
enough to transfer to the hospital where he was humanely euthanized,
Sham had a fractured pelvis, can you imagine this
horse traveling 10009s of miles to slaughter. There are not State
vets that attend this auction, there are not qualified DVM9s that
attend this auction and there are not any humane officers that attend
this auction that are insuring the laws are followed. Equines that
have horrible injuries such as a broken pelvis, fractured bones,
broken back and broken legs travel thousands
of miles to Canada and Mexico. This is an illegal practice.
For years we have been arguing that the horses that go to
slaughter are not old & infirm they are good quality horses.
Less that 5% of the horses that go to slaughter are old & infirm. It
is ILLEGAL to ship horses that are crippled and unable to travel. It
is also illegal to violently hurt mutilate horses, such as Stallions
who should be segregated into submission so that they will travel in
crammed tractor-trailers.
This act MUSTcome to an end once and for all. It is time that
everyone stands up in support of H.R. 6598 and we no longer allow
this cruel and inhumane treatment. While horse slaughter plants were
active in our country they were not following the
legal humane guidelines and this is evident in the closing of
these plants.
Now horses are being shipped to Canada or Mexico and still suffer
cruel and inhumane treatment not only at the slaughterhouses but also
at the kill auctions and during the transportation. The Triumph
Project ­Victoria McCullough of the
Davis-McCullough Foundation founded the Triumph Project as an
awareness campaign to enlighten the world through unified efforts,
both in the United States as well as abroad, of the betrayal of our
equine ally.
Throughout history, horses have served us by escorting us to battle,
tilling our fields, drawing our carriages, and enriching our lives as
our companions and friends.

Pure Thoughts Inc. - is an all-volunteer 501c3 non-profit
organization dedicated to saving the lives of horses, yearlings and
foals that were intended to go to slaughter for human consumption.
These horses would have been brutally tortured and slaughtered. Pure
Thoughts Inc. Horse & Foal Rescue
also rescues horses from starvation, abuse and neglect, any horse in
need. To date, over 1400 innocent equines have been saved and we will
continue to fight for the horses. We cannot do this alone...we need
your help!!
Please help us and others save these beautiful animals and please
remember in your thoughts the ones we were unable to reach.
Author
Jennifer Swanson
561-254-0415
|
.