Investigation Updates October 16, 2012

Animals' Angels

The Transport of American horses from Presidio, TX to Mexico for slaughter

September 2012, Animals Angels revisited Presidio's export pens in  Texas just a short, six-minute drive from the Mexican border. After days of filming and surveillance, investigators verified that the same problems exist as were seen in 2011 and again in March of this year, with one change: The C4 pens are loading horses bound for slaughter all the way at the back of their facility. This has severely restricted visibility of the conditions & treatment of the horses. The C4 pens made the news in 2011, when horses were found left to die without humane intervention. Horses were denied food, water and made to endure the extreme weather conditions.  Photographs showed that they were laying  in mud and urine, struggling for hours or maybe days before finally leaving this world of torment. Their poor dead bodies were later dumped in a dry creek bed on a nearby property. Main concerns that remain: Condition of horses at C4 pens and why so many horses die No shelter available for most horses at all three pens Loaded trailers are parked for hours in nearby broker lot while horses bake inside the trailers under the blazing desert sun Inappropriate trailers with practically no ventilation are being used to transport horses Rejected horses are returned to their owner/shipper and face an unknown fate. Leaving Presidio, the investigative team followed loaded trucks to the slaughter plants in Mexico.  Large death pits were found as well as horses in despicable condition waiting to be slaughtered in shelter-less dry lots. Link to the full investigation report.... Link to March Presidio report... The report from the investigation at the Mexican slaughter plants will be released November 2012.

And from the Animals' Angels Blog:

An Angel Doing Battle

BY ANNE ST. MICHAEL, ON OCTOBER 16TH, 2012

Sitting Down with Sonja Meadows

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“We are there with the animals”

We all have a reason to be here on Earth, and it can be for numerous things we are to do, achieve, accomplish or reach for. We are nudged quietly or it might be a slap-in-the-face wake-up call. Whichever it is, the moment of impact is what always intrigues me. For Sonja Meadows she feels the call of our animals, the peril they are in, the torment they endure and the real need to step up and take action.

The USDA does not have the budget or the investigators to handle the workload or enforce the laws concerning horses in the pipeline. This left an opening that begged the need for a natural leader to step in and take the reins. The in-depth investigative work Animals’ Angels conducts, is the kind that shakes the very foundation of our beliefs leaving most of us wondering why things are as they are, each time these heinous acts are uncovered. Sonja Meadows has answered the call and stood her ground to deliver the truth.

Anne: I have been longing to know precisely what occurred and why you felt compelled to take charge and help these poor animals. Would you please describe the beginning of your involvement in this supreme endeavor? When did you become aware of the plight of horses?

Sonja: Animals’ Angels was born out of the belief that bringing first hand information and reliable documentation of what farm animals endure at auctions, slaughter plants and feedlots to mainstream public as well as government officials would be a very efficient way to improve conditions for all of them. Creating awareness is the first step to bring about change.   READ MORE.....