Surviving Belgians to be Adopted

November 2, 2007

Amidst speculation that the 59 Belgians involved in a highway accident in Illinois were actually bound for slaughter in Canada, official reports still claim that the driver says they were headed for Minnesota. Maybe they’ll never prove it, but there’s lots of evidence to the contrary. One major point is that they’re keeping the name of the owner anonymous. I’d imagine that if we knew his name, he’d get more than a few messages giving him the what for. At the same time, I don’t think he deserves to be protected. Even if the horses weren’t bound for slaughter (which anybody with half a brain knows they were), it was horribly cruel to transport them the way that he did. It was dangerous (obviously) and inhumane. If he really cared about the horses … or was hoping to make a profit at auction … I doubt he’d allow them to be handled so poorly or to be adopted at only $50 or $100 a head. As it is, I think allowing them to be adopted is the only way he can possibly save any face in this incident — not that it really helps.

A second major point was brought up by some of my visitors who have some inside knowledge. The horses were not traveling with the Coggins or health certificates that would have been required to be sold at auction. Another said that the horses would not have been in good selling condition for an auction after traveling in those cramped conditions, even barring the accident. These are great points.

Unfortunately, it appears that the authorities are only investigating the method of transport and if it violates any animal treatment laws. You’ve got to love laws riddled with loopholes: it’s illegal in the U.S. to transport horses to slaughter in double decker trailers — which means it’s not illegal if they’re going somewhere else. It’s high time we fix this and make a blanket law that says it’s illegal to transport horses in double deckers. Period. Even more importantly, America needs to take a stand against sending our horses to slaughter. Period. (See last post for links to legislation currently in Congress). I guess since selling or transporting horses for slaughter in other countries isn’t illegal (yet!), there isn’t any reason for authorities to investigate the actual destination over the supposedly intended one. I sure hope that there’s a way for the horse broker owner to lose a license or something so that he can’t ever deal in horse flesh again.

As it currently stands, the driver of the semi has received several reckless driving charges, and the owner has authorized the horses’ adoption.

Adoptions are being handled by the Hooved Animal Rescue and Protection Society, which was involved in the rescue effort on Saturday night. HARPS routinely rescues horses and finds loving homes for them. Donna, the director, is working with the owner’s insurance company on putting the horses up for adoption. Volunteers who assisted in the rescue effort have first dibs, assuming they pass inspection. Harps has an application form posted on their site for all potential owners-to-be that requires them to give their horse experience, access to proper stabling, and veterinarian. They are going for $50 or $100 each to be paid to the owner’s insurance company, which says they want to find loving homes for the horses and ensure they don’t end up at slaughter.

Once the horses have been given a clean bill of health, the adoption process can start. Pictures of the available horses will be posted soon. HARPS has already received more applications than they can handle, but you can probably still try if you are interested. It sounds like not one of these Belgian babies needs to worry about meeting their demise in a Canadian slaughterhouse.

Posted in Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Jackie's Thoughts