Authorities Investigate Condition Of Horses Set For Export
Just past the tiny West Texas town Presidio, there’s holding pens for hundreds of horses headed to slaughter houses in Mexico, where the meat is then shipped overseas.
When the U.S. shut down horse slaughter houses in Texas four years ago, meat companies began shipping the animals south of the border. But after photographs of dead, dying and injured horses surfaced along with complaints, authorities launched an investigation of export pens
the sheriff’s office here launched an investigation at holding pens run by the c-4 cattle company after getting complaints and photographs of dead, dying and injured horses. the horses stay in these holding pens until a meatpacking company takes them across the border.
in far west texas after complaints of neglect and cruelty.
(nats)
21:41:55 what i was able to see myself, a few of the horses you can tell probably died in the position they were in.
(vo)
amber taylor works for a horse rescue organization in virginia. she traveled to texas after hearing complaints about neglect and cruelty. she says she took these photos at the c-4 pens in presidio, before she toured the pens with a sheriff’s deputy and the owner.
(nats)
21:45:37 the fight down here is ensuring horses have adequate food and water and attention and care and that they’re not hurt or sick before they cross over in this situation.
(nats)
an employee of one of the companies that ships horses here also visited the pens to check on the horses. kaylea oyler says she took these photos of horses in the same pens. she said the horses she saw did not have enough food or clean water.
(sot)
21:14:26 they’d have to chew it before they could swallow. it’s disgusting.
(vo)
oyler says this is a photo of the water. she also gave us photos of injured and dying horses she says she took in the c-4 pens.
(sot)
21:13:19 there were horses down that were laying in mud holes that couldn’t get up. you could tell they’d been downed for a while, marks where they had fought and tried to get up and couldn’t get up.
(nats)
in mid august a judge ordered the sheriff’s office to seize all 252 horses in the c-4 pens during the investigation. a different judge later rescinded that order.
(nats)
the owner of c-4 told us the sick horses in the photos were among a group of 28 horses dumped on his property and never claimed. the sheriff now has custody of those horses. two died. the rest are improving.
(nats)
and c-4’s owner jim crenan told us all the horses in his pens get food and water daily. when we stopped by unannounced there were large bales of hay at the entrance.
(standup)
18:02:16 we asked if we could go inside and take a look at the horses for ourselves, but the manager of the pens said he could not authorize that because it’s up to the owner of the horses: the meatpacking company.
(nats)
the meat packing company in mexico, intermeat pays c-4 to provide food and water in the export pens. we talked to a representative of the company in presidio by phone who said in his words the horses get good care. according to the pen’s owner, intermeat is responsible for any veterinary services, but the meat company’s representative refused to discuss vet care.
21:20:00 i just want the horses to be taken care of and i want to be able to get the ones out of there that need help.
(nats)
the sheriff of presidio county who also has these photos says for now the investigation remains open. he said some of the horses were thin but so far he says there’s no evidence of neglect or cruelty at the c-4 export pens.
the texas commission on environmental quality has launched another investigation. the state is looking into complaints dead horses were dumped illegally in a dry creek bed behind the export pens.//
