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RSPCA Targets Man Rescueing Horses

A man has been apprehended by the RSPCA in Broome WA for failing to meet animal welfare standards on his 5 horses that he was transporting across from the NT. These horses were travelling to Carnarvon where the man currently resides so that he could have them close to his residence and care for them personally. The horses have previously been agisted on stations in the NT and been run as "station workhorses" in large paddocks and a natural herd environment. One of the horses contracted an infection on her face (which could be a grass seed lodged in her mouth, a swamp cancer or an infected cut, no vet opinion is clear so far) that prior to travel (1 week ago) was being treated with Penicillian (which is difficult to get when travelling throught the outback) and the treatment stopped when the bottle was empty on the journey. She also got a daily poultice to remove pus and dead flesh, oral treatments to prevent blood poisoning and fresh green grass to improve her condition. The owner decided to take her with him so he could provide daily care for her.
The other horses which included a young stallion (separated from the rest with a custom made divider), 2 unbroken fillies and an older gelding were loaded on the truck in working or growing condition (well covered but not fat) with the mare and let off when suitable yards (Katherine, Timber Creek, Kunnunurra and Broome) were available. The horses were fed twice daily throughout the journey but due to torrential rain from cyclone laurence were not able to get off the truck every evening. As the journey progressed the horses lost a little weight and some sustained accidental cuts.
It was the owners intention to continue to Carnarvon as quickly as possible, where he lives near a vet and all animals could be put on pasture and the mare given treatment daily. As it stands she is in a yard at Broome awaiting the owners fate as much as her own while the owner stands to face 15 charges of animal cruelty.
The whole trip was a rescue mission to get the owner and mare together so he could provide the neccessary treatment. The RSPCA saw the mare at Broome and are refusing to hear the mans story dismissing this as lies and excuses. Obviously they have never struck someone else who endevours to help animals. This man has a good 40 years in animal welfare and care experience, yet is dismissed as an abuser! The horses have had the care provided to them that was available and have been looked after to the best of the mans ability while plans have been in place provide a continueing higher level of care.

Its a damn shame that the truth is so far not proving to be enough to show the RSPCA that they have made a mistake and the reason the animals are in less than mint condition is because they are on their way to specialist care and have just been collected by the owner who is trying to provide the right treatment.
This man has just recently returned from a trip away and has taken full control of his livestock and is upset at the infection on the mare and so is trying to get her home and comfortable. But the RSPCA is adamant at rescueing a rescue! Its a terrible advert for them as it seems that even caring animal owners taking action about their animals health and wellbeing are likely to be labelled liars and abusers.

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Permalink Reply by Colin J Ely on December 24, 2009 at 4:35pm

Rashida
Who is this bloody RSPCA anyway? Members of the Police swear an oath to uphold the law and, under the Westminster System of Democracy are, theoretically, responsible to a Minister of the Crown, who is supposedly responsible to us, at the ballot box! The RSPCA are just a private organisation. Who gives them any more rights than anyone else to come on your land without your permission, or to search you or your property?
Perhaps when Barnaby gets into government he can see about getting them banned?!

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Permalink Reply by Rashida Khan on December 24, 2009 at 5:26pm

Hi Colin,

The problem is that they appear to have made their minds up to charge the man and have no interest in hearing his story. Obviously there is a reason for everything and in this case the man needs the opportunity to be heard. There are clear reasons for all of his actions and the RSPCA have actually tried to interupt a rescue so that they could "rescue the horse". This gets them on TV and then they can put an add down the bottom "please adopt a pup that we have taken from someone for xmas". This is purely someones opinion of what a horse should look like and it makes no room for the occurence of accidents and misfortune. Everytime I have a shower I find another cut or bruise that I have got during the day from work or play. The same applies to animals, accidents do happen, if they didnt we wouldnt need vets. This is why the owner needs the chance to make them hear the truth. Im guessing that the RSPCA deal with so many bad people that they dont know how to behave properly when they meet a decent soul with a conscience who is trying to make a difference.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Michael Pattel on December 24, 2009 at 10:25pm

Hi all,
There is a misguided and growing interest in animal welfare that is reaching out and capturing innocent people trying to do what has been excepted practice for decades.

In the livestock transport industry we are facing new regulations that will hamstring our operation and expose drivers to all kinds of prosecutions, an example of this was highlighted just recently when the owner of a beast with ‘Lumpy Jaw’ was prosecuted for transporting the animal to slaughter, it would be easy to miss a beast in that condition when loading 144 head on a triple road train, we don’t do a health check on every beast and we’re not qualified to do so.

The door is opening wider for self appointed experts to create havoc in an industry they have no expertise in, but governments continue to ignore industry input in favour of Animal Welfare, Bureaucratic and Academic ‘do good feel good’ agendas.

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Permalink Reply by Janet H. Thompson on December 24, 2009 at 10:46pm

The RSPCA is not an animal welfare organisation, as many still believe. It started out that way, but they have been infiltrated by extremists and they are now an animal rights organisation. There is a HUGE difference between welfare and rights. Check out their home page and see that they are more interested in stopping live export than they are in cats and dogs. We all need to recognise these people for what they are, and STOP FUNDING OUR ENEMIES.

Rashida, thank you for the heads up on this story. We must all be aware, and work together to fight such injustices.

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Permalink Reply by Rashida Khan on December 25, 2009 at 10:15am

Have a look at the video on http://broome.igwn.com.au/index.php/news/prime-news/rspca-investiga...
This claims the horses are malnourished and were dumped. They were actualy let off the truck at the rodeo grounds to be fed and watered The owner was nearby. As anyone with eyes can see the horses are NOT starved to death!! The bay mare in poor shape is seriously ill and the bleeding sore is a cancer that NEEDS the Vets attention which is what the owner is trying to achieve!! The paint horse and small chestnut are rising 2yrs ASH and have come from a drought struck station. If the other horses are on the point of dying then the rest of Australian animal owners and particularlty the racing industry are in real trouble!!!! Yes some ribs are showing but the horses are in bright spirits and healthy and moving well. A near dying animal suffering from real malnutrition doesnt behave in that manner and looks considerably worse all over!!

Obviously the person quoting the condition score set hasnt seen a horse and doesnt know how to read the chart!

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Permalink Reply by Janet H. Thompson on December 27, 2009 at 4:47am

Steve, sorry I've not responded before now. We've been buried for 2 days! JJ.

We've only got about 2 inches of snow, and have had no wind, so it is the most gorgeous covering of white you've ever seen. It's noon Boxing Day now, and huge flakes are falling as I type. Wow, beautiful! Apparently, Oklahoma City got it bad. We're in mid-Missouri right now, but will drive through OKC on the way to my sister's in the Texas panhandle for New Year's. I think it will be clear sailing then, though. Cold but clear is the forecast.

My brother-in-law is in the feedlotting business in Texas, and he's been fighting the cold weather. Breaking ice for the cattle to drink water, pushing snow, bracing against the negative-temp wind chill, feeding the cattle come what may. I laughingly told my sister yesterday to tell him to just STOP trying to be productive...just get rid of all the cattle and let the government take care of him and his family! TIC, of course. It does get depressing, though, to see your 4 kids have no father home for Christmas because he's being a responsible member of society, and then he gets more taxes piled on him. This deal is pretty serious over here.

Rashida, I'm sorry we are off-topic here, but it does fit in, I suppose. Many non-producers are making decisions about how producers should do things.

It's easy to criticise. Any DOER will make a mistake. But I'd like for those that criticise to get out and DO and see how they like others criticising them.

Thanks for your interest, Steve. Hope you had a good Chrissie!

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Permalink Reply by Rashida Khan on December 28, 2009 at 8:59am

Hi Everyone,
My appologies for not getting back to you all. I have been travelling back from christmas "celebrations" and we have so many irons in the fire that its been stressful beyond words. ( Thank God for mums fancy imported italian red wine - cheers mum it was delicious, sorry I drank it while on the phone and internet and not with you but it kept me sane)

Now as to the comments, at this stage ladies I dont care what you call each other and I dont care what people do in their beds after dark (re the lesbian thing) because I need good advice here! This is a serious matter. An experienced horseman is being bullied at a time of great personal distress, by a large national organisation. This affects us ALL!!! even if you dont own a horse! You have seen the video and can see the ignorance. Now we need to fix this! Because this corporate bullying BS is unacceptable. The very thing I am highlighting is that the RSPCA have failed to hear the mans story and listen! lets not fail him again.

At the moment the man can show evidence of providing the right care, but will that be listened too? That shouldnt be a hard question in a free country!

Anyway I hope that you all had an enjoyable Christmas ( for half a day we were able to forget it all so that was awesome). Now I need solidarity and the word spread about this gross injustice. I will post more in a bit about the case and what has happened.

cheers
Rashida

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Permalink Reply by Rashida Khan on December 28, 2009 at 5:13pm

Update,

The owner of the horses has had to leave Broome and continue his journey to Carnarvon without the horses (which have been confiscated). The reason for this was because he was travelling with his family and small grandchildren, who needed to be taken to their home and settled, not made to camp in a truck for an extended period. He has NOT abandoned the animals and is going to fight these outrageous claims made by the RSPCA.

It seems that people are quick to judge what they do not understand. If we see a man walking through a shopping centre carrying a crying child do we assume and immediatly report him as a peodophile? I should bloody well hope not! We should be taking the time to investigate why the child is crying and then making a desicion, chances are it didnt get the icecream it wanted.

However it only takes one person to walk past a skinny horse and the owner is charged with all kinds of abuse and neglect of the animal. He is judged and portrayed to be cruel, uncaring and horrible. Nobody there saw the look on his face when he saw the horse! I can tell you he swore for about 10 minutes without stopping to take a breath and then went 200km straight to town for penecillin. he made a choice to help her and was shocked when the RSPCA sooled the police onto him for abuse of animals. Does that sound like an uncaring man?

There is alot of animal abuse going on in the world howevr it pays to think about what you see and find the facts before jumping in boots and all. Nobody disputes the fact that the mare was ill or that the young horses were not fat, what we dispute is the BS claims that we intentionally abused them so that thats how they were living their lives. The owner didnt ask for his $10,000 mare to contract a cancer on her mouth, he didnt ask for Cyclone Lawrence to intercept his trip home and prevent unloading every night, and he didnt ask for a late wet season that saw horses, cattle, wildlife and people loose weight in the North. But he did something about what he had! He bought feed, bought medicine and asked for help and advice and he decided to take the horses to his new home where he could care for them personally without burdening his mates.
Should he be charged for that? Is that what abuse really is? 1million camp dogs may just disagree with that!

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Permalink Reply by Dinah Aram on December 28, 2009 at 8:06pm

I have been following this story because I am a horse owner, a property owner and I just know how things can happen just as this story has been told.
Last night I went to the GWN site and posted my opinion on the story - I noticed at the time the only comments were in condemnation of the owner of the horses and "how could he be so cruel"...I left my comment and it was responded with an automated"under review" message. I notice that as late as a few minutes ago it still has not been posted on the GWN website. I am hoping that it is entirely due to the Christmas holiday period because I said that (basically) I was disgusted with the story presented because of it's one-sided reporting focussing on the persecution of the owner without presenting any information from the owner of the horses or the circumstances.
I have to say tho', the horses were not in any condition that I would prefer, but having said that, I know exactly how it can come about. I have had animals on property that have gone drastically backwards in condition for whatever reason and have even joked when I have collected them to put them in better circumstances "they are almost an RSPCS case"! Just bad luck that some so-called "do gooder" got the RSPCA involved in his rescue mission!!!!

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Permalink Reply by Dinah Aram on December 28, 2009 at 10:27pm

I have been following this story because I am a horse owner, a property owner and I just know how things can happen just as this story has been told.

Last night I went to the GWN site and posted my opinion on the story - I noticed at the time the only comments were in condemnation of the owner of the horses and "how could he be so cruel"...I left my comment and it was responded to with an automated "under review" message. I notice that as late as a a few hours ago it still has not been posted on the GWN website. I am hoping that it is entirely due to the Christmas holiday period because I said that (basically) I was disgusted with the story presented because of it's one-sided reporting focussing on the persecution of the owner without presenting any information from the owner of the horses or the circumstances.

I have to say tho', the horses were not in a condition that I would prefer, but having said that, I know exactly how it can come about. I have had animals on property that have gone drastically backwards in condition for whatever reason and have even "joked" when I have collected them to put them in better circumstances that "they are almost an RSPCS case"! In hindsight, and with regard to this story....how lucky have I been?????

I consider this very bad luck that some so-called "do gooder" got the RSPCA involved in his rescue mission in this instance!!!! I am disgusted that the RSPCA haven't offered to assist him and instead have decided to focus on the negative and pursue him!!! Grrrrrrrr

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Permalink Reply by Rashida Khan on December 29, 2009 at 8:32am

Hello Everyone,
Thank you for your input thus far! The owner is under great personal stress and I am passing on your comments to him which has lifted his spirits considerably. As many of you know there are certain horses that do not reach fat, high condition scores, due to metablolism, age and breed. Arabians, Thouroughbreds and Australian Stockhorses (ASH) are prime examples. Yes you can fatten them but it takes alot and they generally only reach hard fit condition and stay there. I have owned alot of horses and seen alot of accidental injuries, isdiagnosis by the vet and horses that were not raised properly to start and hence have not developed their gut proerly and so cannot fatten.

These horses that have been taken are used mainly for mustering, which means a fat horse is actually at risk of heat stress and injury. We need fit horses as its like running a marathon over changing terrain, or walking/ trotting with cattle for a long distance. These animals are workers and as much a part of the team as any stockman. I have been mustering many times and had to put my life in the hoofs of my horse, that kind of bond is not taken lightly.

We are a fair way from the vet and like many animal owners know how to treat most common ailments. So we do our best and call the vet in if its a really serious injury. At a first glance the mares "cancer" looked like an infected cut and so was treated as such to remove pus and then we could see what was going on. She gained several kilos under this treatment and her coat improved considerably. Remember in the tropics you only have to leave a cut for a couple of hours before infection sets in. It was decided that she would go to Carnarvon with her owner who needed to be back home, and be treated by a vet there. How unfortunate that the RSPCA wanted to up their publicity at christmas time, just when the mare was on her way to treatment. Because of the mares age, cost of treatment and condition, I wouldnt be surprised if the RSPCA deem her too expensive and hence put her down "for her own good". Her owner on the other hand would go without a feed himself if it meant getting the mare through this and safe in his paddock.

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Permalink Reply by Rashida Khan on December 29, 2009 at 9:28am

Hi Peter and Jeff,

Is there any more information along these lines that you know of? I would appreciate links to other related stories. My feeling is that there is a strong counter case to be had but evidence is needed. Thanks for this link its an important one!

cheers
Rashida