No justice for starved horses at WV equine rescue

Cross-posted from Equine Advocacy Examiner

Written by MAUREEN HARMONAY

The report starts with:

One of the horses found dead at Hidden Meadows Equine Rescue. Photo: Diana Baker

Mary O’Brien had portrayed herself as a friend to horses in need. Raising considerable sums of money through online forums such as Alex Brown Racing, she brought retired thoroughbreds and horses bound for the slaughter pipeline to her Hidden Meadows Equine Rescue near Martinsburg, West Virginia, seemingly to provide a safe haven where horses could live and thrive without fear.

What no one knew until September 10th, however, when authorities responded to reports of possible abuse at Ms. O’Brien’s place, was that something terrible was happening to the horses after they arrived at Hidden Meadows, a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit rescue. They weren’t being fed, and they had little access to water. Ms. O’Brien wasn’t providing even rudimentary care to the 56 horses living on her farm. Within a matter of just a few months after their arrival at Hidden Meadows, once-healthy horses had become walking skeletons. Some lay dead, others lay dying, beyond hope of revival.

O’Brien was taken to Court on 56 counts of animal cruelty, but she walked away free.

The report continues with:

ADA (Asst Districty Attorney) Crockett never bothered to study the voluminous case file. She never reviewed the photographs of the suffering horses, and astonishingly, she never bothered to interview veterinarian Dr. Christine Bridges, or the local Animal Control officer, or Deputy Scott Myers from the Sheriff’s office, who have been painstakingly working this case to ensure that Ms. O’Brien would receive punishment commensurate with her crimes. Instead, ADA Crockett deemed that the misery of the 56 horses who were ruined at the hands of Mary O’Brien was worth nothing more than a $1000 fine and a slap on the wrist.

If you live in the area, you can help.

The report concludes:

Dr. Bridges will conduct a press conference at 11am, Friday, October 22nd on the steps of the Berkeley County Circuit Courthouse at 400 West Stephen St., Martinsburg, WV to demand answers from the Chief Prosecutor’s office. She asks for the support of everyone who believes that the person responsible for the suffering of 56 horses should be held accountable for the misery she has wrought.

Read full report and view video here >>

Horses lose a champion on the Hill. Senator Robert Byrd dies age 92.

America’s horses have lost a true champion with the passing today of West Virginia’s Senator Robert Byrd who fought in the nation’s capital to protect wild horses and burros from their destructive removal from public lands, and all equines from death by slaughter.

Sen Robert Byrd (D-WV), a champion of animal rights in the nation's capital, died today, Monday, June 28, 2010, at 3 a.m. RIP.

The New York Times reports:

Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, a fiery orator versed in the classics and a hard-charging power broker who steered billions of federal dollars to the state of his Depression-era upbringing, died Monday. He was 92.

A spokesman for the family, Jesse Jacobs, said Byrd died peacefully at about 3 a.m. at Inova Hospital in Fairfax, Va. He had been in the hospital since late last week.

Sen. Byrd has a long record of fighting for the rights of animals. Here are a few recent examples of his involvement in the protection of horses.

In 2005, Sen. Byrd co-authored the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, which prohibits the transport, purchase, and sale of horses for human consumption.

In the same year, Sen. Byrd introduced a bill that would prohibit the commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses and burros. He summed up the feelings of many when, in his speech to overturn the Burns amendment, he criticized the BLM’s management of wild horses.

“Surely there are actions that can be taken by the BLM to ensure the proper operation of the wild horse and burro program without resorting to the slaughter of these animals,” stated Byrd.

Sen. Byrd also quoted British Poet Ronald Duncan’s Ode To The Horse in the same address:

“Where in this wide world can a man find nobility without pride, friendship without envy or beauty without vanity? Here: where grace is laced with muscle and strength by gentleness confined. He serves without servility; he has fought without enmity. There is nothing so powerful, nothing less violent; there is nothing so quick, nothing less patient. England’s past has been bourne on his back. All our history is his industry. We are his heirs; he our inheritance. The Horse.”

It was Sen. Byrd’s participation in the successful Ensign-Byrd amendment prohibiting the USDA from using tax money to inspect horse meat that forced the closures of the only three horse slaughterhouses remaining in the US to shut down in 2007.

In 2008, Sen. Byrd was named PETA’s Person of the Year for 2007.

“Sen. Byrd is never shy about making his strong belief in the importance of animal protection heard,” said PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. “Much animal suffering has been alleviated thanks to Sen. Byrd, and this year we are proud to honour him for giving a voice to the voiceless.”

Last year, Sen. Byrd introduced the ROAM Act (S. 1579) in the Senate to help address the management of wild horse and burro populations by preserving an ecological balance between the herds and the dwindling acreage available to them to roam freely and find adequate vegetation and water sources.

Authorities probe bullying link to horse death

Cross-posted from TheHorse.com

Written by PAT RAIA

Law enforcement and authorities in Monongalia County, W.V., are investigating the death of a horse that could be linked to high school bullying.

In a written statement, Monongalia County Sheriff Kenneth “Al” Kisner said the horse’s owner, Allen Hixenbaugh, found the horse injured in its his pasture on May 24. The animal later died. A necropsy later revealed that the 6-year-old Quarter Horse died from a gunshot to the buttocks that pierced its his lung.

Hixenbaugh said his 17-year-old daughter had been harassed by a group of students at her school and on the Internet for months prior to the incident. The horse was shot shortly after the girl received Internet messages threatening to kill the animal.

“He had to be targeted because there were nine horses in that pasture and he was the only one shot,” Hixenbaugh said.

The Monongalia County Board of Education is conducting its own investigation, said spokesperson Becky Mattern.

“We know this is a serious issue, and we are taking it seriously,” Matten said. “We are working with the sheriff’s department and other local authorities to make sure we get to the truth.”

Read this article and more here >>