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Animal welfare group acquires 17 of 19 neglected equines at auction

by andrea hahn
the southern

Sunday, March 26, 2006 6:44 AM CST

ANNA - If there were slaughterhouse buyers among the 200 or so people at Saturday's auction of seized horses in Union County, they didn't have a chance to take out their wallets.

Seventeen of the 19 surviving horses taken from a Dongola farm in December were purchased by representatives from the animal welfare groups PAWS ("Pets Are Worth Saving," Inc.).

Christy Anderson, a licensed equine investigator with Wright Way Rescue in Crab Orchard, said the auction was "a different kind of horse sale," and she and other animal welfare workers didn't want to see it treated as a general horse auction.

Anderson was present when the horses were seized, and she was one of the volunteers who worked with the horses during their stay at John Garner's farm before the auction.

For her, the sale was personal.

"The point of saving these horses in the first place is to make sure they get good homes," she said. "Just because there may not be any killer buyers here today - and there might have been before all the publicity - that doesn't mean someone won't buy these horses and then sell them later at a low-end auction where they probably will end up with the killers."

Anderson, the owner of two horses, explained that horses at general auctions are often on the start of a downhill spiral that can end at the slaughterhouse.

At a horse auction, she said, buyers are buying on the chance that a horse will work out for them. They buy without knowing the horse's history, its temperament or much about its level of training. In most cases, the horse goes to its new home almost on probation. If, after a few weeks, the buyer realizes the horse isn't as expected - too spirited, too fast, too slow, too whatever - the horse gets sold again, often at another auction.

There were some grumbles in the crowd Saturday as horse after horse went to PAWS. But Anderson said she realized that PAWS wasn't the only kind-hearted buyer at the sale.

"There are a lot of people here who don't understand why we're doing this," she said. "But it's just really important that the horses get good homes."

Deanna St. Germain of Anna bought one of the two horses not purchased by PAWS.

"I had a horse when I was a kid," she said. "I bought the farm I have with the idea of getting a horse. I wanted to be sure these horses got good homes, and I wanted to give one of them a home with me."

Alison Peacock of Goreville said she wasn't looking to buy another horse - she already has several. She was at the auction partly out of curiosity and partly as a safe-guard to make sure the horses did get adopted by people who intend to keep them.

"I think most of the people here feel the horses will get good homes," she said. "I think if anybody knew of someone down here who was going to sell for slaughter, they wouldn't be here very long. If they are here, I hope they don't take out their wallets."

Gerald Cain of Jonesboro said he had mixed feelings about the PAWS' near-monopoly on horse buying Saturday.

"I think most of them went for more than they are worth," he said. "I'm glad they are going to good homes. Some of them look like pretty good horses."

He acknowledged that selling horses is part of buying horses for some horse owners.

"I like horses," he said. "I buy a few and I sell a few. This was a tough situation. At least the county doesn't have to pay for it anymore."

Cathy Sheeley, PAWS board president, was a little overwhelmed immediately after the auction. The goal had been to buy every horse, or almost every horse, but accomplishing it was a breath-taking venture. It's not every day a person goes from owning zero horses to owning 17.

Sheeley said she knew some people in the crowd were disappointed they didn't get a chance to adopt a horse right at the auction. She said the PAWS board will consider giving some of those people a chance to adopt before the horses are sent to the Hooved Animal Humane Society in Woodstock.

"We had to work fast," she said. "It's been a difficult few days. We may re-think some of this. We know there were some wonderful people here, and we don't want to shut everybody out."

Southern Illinois University Carbondale President and local philanthropist Glenn Poshard was present at the auction. He made what was termed a "generous donation" for PAWS to use for horse buying.

"It's no more right to be cruel to animals than it is to be cruel to children," he said. Poshard is the founder of the Glenn Poshard Children's Foundation.

Union County State's Attorney Allen James addressed the crowd before the sale, pointing out that prospective buyers are really prospective adopters who must sign a contract pledging not to sell the horse for slaughter.

However, he said, follow-up and enforcement of the contract would be difficult.

"We do not have the capability to chase after all these horses wherever they go," he said.

That, Sheeley said, was the point of the PAWS intervention.

andrea.hahn@thesouthern.com

(618) 529-5454 ext. 15076