Horse Abuse And Neglect

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:16:53 GMT

clipped by: MorganLvr
clipper's remarks: How much of the current surge in horse abuse/neglect is really due to the closing of the slaughter plants?

Clip Source: www.rrstar.com

Colleen O’Keefe, who runs the animal welfare division for the Illinois Department of Agriculture, isn’t certain an operating slaughterhouse would change the situation much.

The DeKalb-based facility did not close until September 2007. Yet 681 horse abuse and neglect cases were reported to O’Keefe’s department, 38 percent of the department’s caseload that year — up from 461 cases, or 25 percent, in 2006.

“It’s cliché, but it’s also possible that we just hit the perfect storm,” O’Keefe said. “The slaughterhouses closed, grain prices are at an all-time high, hay is very difficult to get; now with this winter weather ... (it’s) crushing. Even without the slaughterhouses closed, we would be in trouble because of everything else.”

Tags: economy, abuse, hay, horses, slaughter

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Horse Abuse And Neglect