Tuesday, August 23, 2011

I Wholeheartedly Agree!

Authorities seizing 4 starving horses

 
KAUFMAN COUNTY, TX - Under the authority of the Kaufman County Sheriff's Department, the SPCA of Texas is seizing four starving horses this morning from a Kaufman County property, just North of Crandall, TX. The horses--three adults and one foal--were kept in a small round pen on the property without appropriate food, water, shelter or care.
Two of the adult horses and the foal are extremely underweight. The third adult horse appears normal in weight.
On August 2, the Kaurman County Sheriff's Department contacted the SPCA of Texas regarding underweight horses on an approximately half acre property North of Crandall, TX. After visiting the property and seeing that the horses had no food, water, shelter or care, the Investigator for the SPCA of Texas and a Deputy for the Kaufman County Sheriff's Department contacted the animal owner, and attempted to work with that person to bring the animals' conditions into compliance with Texas Health and Safety Code. On a follow up visit, although the horses were being supplied food and water, the hay was moldy and the water was not drinkable, and the animals had been moved into a small round pen, so the SPCA of Texas' Investigator contacted the animal owner again. The animal owner claimed that other people were asked to care for the horses and blamed those other people for the lack of care. The Investigator reiterated that the owner is responsible for providing the horses consistent food, water, shelter and care and outlined how the animal owner needed to comply with Texas Health and Safety Code. On the last visit, the animal owner did not comply.
This morning, the Deputy and the Investigator for the SPCA of Texas agreed that the horses were in danger and in need of immediate care. The Kaufman County Sheriff's Department obtained a seizure warrant this morning and the animals will be removed by the SPCA of Texas and taken to the SPCA of Texas' Perry Animal Care Center at 8411 Stacy Rd. in McKinney,TX, where they will be cared for until the custody hearing, which will be determined later this morning.
"It is imperative to give all animals--livestock and companion animals--appropriate food, water, shelter and care at all times," said Art Muñoz, Senior Investigator for the SPCA of Texas. "When hay is scarce, as it is this summer, and the ground is bare, as it will remain until next Spring, livestock owners need to suppliment their animals nutrition and supply fresh water, in addition to providing appropriate shelter and care. These horses will now receive the food, water, shelter and care they so desperately needed."
To help support the SPCA of Texas and its efforts to help abused, neglected and homeless animals and to support the SPCA of Texas' other programs and services, please visit www.spca.org/helptheanimals. To learn more about the SPCA of Texas, please visit our website at http://www.spca.org/.

Update on Debe Bell Rabbit Raid

Taken from: https://truthfarmer.wordpress.com/2011/08/22/update-on-debe-bell-rabbit-raid/

 

Update on Debe Bell Rabbit Raid

Yesterday I spoke with Debe Bell for quite some time about the raid and seizure of her rabbits, the actions of law enforcement and what her plans are regarding her future in the rabbit world. Bob McCarty did an excellent job of chronicling the event and bringing it into the light of public scrutiny, and you must read his article so you have an idea about what happened.
Since we also raise rabbits, and I have raised rabbits nearly my entire life, I know a little bit about them, and about what is normal and abnormal.  I saw the pictures from the Jefferson County, Colorado Sheriff’s Department that are the “evidence”  of extreme neglect and animal abuse. The pictures are, in a word, scary. But the photos need some background information to be understood by laymen. You can view the pictures from the Sheriff’s Office here.
Before you can condemn the lady, or think that it is justifiable to take her $17,000 herd and destroy 20 years of genetics by spaying and neutering all of her rabbits prior to a verdict being rendered as to whether or not she is actually guilty of the 25 charges of animal abuse levied against her, you need to have a little understanding of the scope. Also, you know, that pesky little thing called the 4th Amendment? It’s something we have to demand now…. Even though the Sheriff of every county takes an oath to uphold all of our Constitutionally guaranteed rights, they evidently are unaware what that actually means.
A few facts are germane. The Sheriff’s Department shows 11 pictures. One of an aisle and one of a fan. The fan has hair on it. When you have a rabbit barn, the hair on fans will get out of hand from time to time. So what? The aisle has triple stacked cages. There are water bottles on most of them, and those water bottles look clean. So, again….So what? 3 pics out of 11 are moot.
There are two pics of water dishes (crocks) that are filthy. When you put crocks in a rabbit cage the rabbits will often destroy it in a matter of hours. They drink their fill and then defecate in it. Nasty? Yes, but it’s what they do….and it’s why I only use crocks in an emergency, like when a waterer is broken and I can’t fix or replace it right away. The good thing is that dishes can be rinsed out fairly easily. 5 of 11 pics explained.
Then there are three pictures of Angora rabbits with matted hair. It is my understanding that those were going to be raptor food that weekend. In two days to be precise. So, does that matter?
Finally are pictures of four cages. The cages are bad. I have to say that I would be upset if they were in my barn. However, these are four cages out of 184 cages. Worth an inquiry? Probably….but worth seizing and destroying 20 years of work and violating someone’s rights? I don’t think so.
Finally, we have the search warrant. The warrant is based on an anonymous tip to a tip line that pays for information leading to prosecutions. Notably, the “informant” claims to have visited the rabbitry in May of 2010, and was so appalled by the conditions that they (he or she, I guess) waited fourteen months until there was a potential for a $2,000 payment to report these horrific conditions.
In the search warrant, which arrived six hours after the Sheriff, several deputies, Animal Control and the House Rabbit Society came onto Debe’s property and went into her rabbit barn, a veterinarian named “Dr. Hill” states that the rabbits need to be kept at a maximum temp of 80 degrees. The truth is that 80 degrees is the top of the optimum temperature range for rabbits. If they had to be kept below 80 degrees at all times there would be no rabbits in most of the United States. It was 84 degrees in Debe’s barn after six hours of having the door open on a 94 degree day. Dr Hill also says that rabbit cages have to be cleaned every day. That is just crazy.
Once in awhile you will have a rabbit that needs to have the cage brushed on a daily basis, but that is almost always a doe that has recently had babies, and the poop falls through the wire nearly all the time. Once a week brushing is usually sufficient to keep the cages clean. If you had to wire brush 184 cages once every single day, how much time do you think that would take? Is it necessary for the animal’s health? No. Look closely at rabbit with the most impressive pile of manure in her cage. She is shiny and healthy looking. And that pile of manure is huge. But the rabbit looks good. That particular rabbit is a 17 leg Grand Champion…..and now she is spayed.
Dr. Hill works for Foothills Animal Shelter. They are the ones who have spayed and neutered all these rabbits and are now re-homing them for a fee. Nice, isn’t it? They don’t believe rabbits can live in temps over 80 degrees and they get to profit by spaying neutering and charging a re-homing fee on livestock they never had to invest anything into acquiring. Hmm. Could that be a motive?
I was only able to find one video of Debe Bell showing her rabbitry, and it wasn’t the footage we discussed. She told me that she believed there was video footage on youtube of her barn the day of the raid and seizure, but I couldn’t find that. My main puter is shot and I am dealing with one that I am not too proficient on, so perhaps you may be able to find the footage she spoke about, or  you can look at this footage if you like.
My stand is this, at no time should a person’s property be violated without proper warrants, and proper cause. Due process must be followed before any agency deprives someone of their property. If there is a concern over animal welfare, the course of action should be to contact the owner and give them the opportunity to correct  problems. If an actual problem is not dealt with, then and only then should further action be taken.
What happened to Debe Bell was patently wrong.
Who’s next?

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Interesting points on the Bell Rabbitry Theft...

http://bobmccarty.com/2011/08/13/denver-post-coverage-of-rabbit-raiser-takes-180/



And a hopeful update:
UPDATE 8/18/11 at 7:43 p.m. Central: The Denver Post reported this afternoon that the Foothills Animal Shelter has halted adoptions of nearly 200 rabbits seized from an Arvada home last month after the rabbits’ owner filed an emergency motion in court.

Monday, August 15, 2011

What type are you?

Do you run TOWARDS a scene of an accident and/or a dangerous situation to help the woudned....or do you turn AWAY? 

I tend to be the time to run toward.  I have been known to stop my car on I-75 in the N Dallas area to pick up a dog that had no chance of crossing a bridge without getting hit. 

Our nation is on fire before our very eyes.  Everything that our Forefathers, down to our fathers worked to create is going up in smoke.  Our freedoms are the last bit of the granite foundation that we have left, and they are chipping it way every day.

Will you run towards the fire to help put it out and rebuild?  Or will you turn around, shake your head, and mourn?