By
CALEB HALE, THE SOUTHERN ILLINOISAN - March 25, 2006
|
Jonesboro Police Chief John Garner scratches the nose of one of 19 horses that will be auctioned
off today at 1p.m. at Anna Community Park. The horses were confiscated in
December from a Dongola farm. Garner and his son Justin have housed, fed and
attended to the horses since then. "I hope they all get good homes," the
chief said.
(CEASAR MARAGNI/THE
SOUTHERN) |
ANNA - Today's auction
of horses rescued last year from a Union County farm is drawing fire nationally
from humane society representatives.
The Humane Society of
the United States has asked the county government to cancel the auction of the
19 horses, fearing some of the buyers will sell the animals to slaughterhouses.
Meanwhile, HSUS has reportedly pledged $3,000 to animal welfare group "Pets Are
Worth Saving," Inc. in Anna to help with the purchase and turnover of as many
horses as possible to the Hooved Animal Humane Society in Woodstock.
The HSUS also has sent
a letter to both State's Attorney Allen James and county board Chairman Bill
Jackson alleging the auction is a violation of the Illinois Humane Care for
Animals Act, 510 ILCS 70/16(i), which says animals in the care of officials
should either be adopted or humanely euthanized, not sold.
James has countered HSUS's argument with word
he's gotten the OK from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals' legal counsel to go ahead with the auction, after the organization
initially threatened to have the attorney general prosecute the county due to a
miscommunication.
James also said bidders at the auction will be buying
the rights to an adoption contract for each horse they purchase. The contracts
have been written, he said, to prohibit buyers from selling the animals for
slaughter. ASPCA understands the terms on which the county is working, James
said, but HSUS is another matter.
"It's their assumption that every horse sold at auction
goes to slaughter, and no matter what I told them I couldn't get them off of
that," he said.
HSUS has specifically pinpointed Cavel International, a
Belgian-owned slaughterhouse located in DeKalb, as being a potential destination
for some of the 19 horses.
James Tucker, general manager of Cavel International,
said the company doesn't send buyers to specific auctions; instead, he said they
often accept unsolicited sellers to their plant.
Tucker said some of the buyers at Union County's
auction may be there with the intention of selling their purchases for
slaughter, but they would be bidders at the event just like everybody else.
County Commissioner John Garner, who has been
caring for the horses at his son's farm in Anna, said with all the publicity the
auction has been getting, he doesn't think there will be a shortage of people
wanting to give each of the horses a good home.
Garner will be helping auctioneers determine the
starting bid of each horse once the auction gets under way. He said he hopes all
of them find good owners and for the horses that can't get bidders, Garner will
buy each one at the lowest bid and put them among the 13 horses he already owns.
"I'm going to make sure they all get a good home,"
Garner said.
The auction begins at 1 p.m. in Anna City Park
Return to Horse Slaughter/Animal Cruelty
Fair Use Notice: This document may contain copyrighted
material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owners.
We believe that this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes a
fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US
Copyright Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of
your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright
owner.
