Neglect of horses
Shelby, MT (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Jun 8, 2002
County: Toole
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged:
» Claude Bouvry
» Benny Kropius
» Howie Solberg
Hundreds of horses bound for the slaugherhouse stand idly a the Bar S feedlot east of Shelby, Montana off Highway 2.
Investigators, acting on a tip, videotaped finding 35-40 dead horses rotting in pens after drowning or suffocating in up to 3 feet of soggy manure.
4 horses were still alive but were euthanized. At the back of the property another 20-25 dead horses carcasses were stacked in an open pit.
The Bar S feedlot, owned by the Bouvry family of Fort Macleod, Alberta Canada, will be going to trial this fall on only 5 charges of cruelty to animals for the above incident.
State records indicate a pattern of negligent conditions at the feedlot.
1. The records show the Bar S is constantly overcrowded. At times, as many as 2200 horses were squeezed into exposed pens on 3 acres of land.
2. The feedlot empoyed only a couple of workers to shovel manure out of the pens and treat sick and dying horses.
3. The horses were not sorted by gender, so mares and studs were corralled together, often prompting fights which resulted in numerous injuries.
4. Pregnant horses were force to give birth in pens where they were unprotected from bigger horses. Newborn colts and foals often were trampled to death.
5. The Bar S failed to brand incoming horses as a way of signifying that they had not been tested for Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA), a contagious and incurable disease. Nor did they keep these horses in a quarantine facility.
The state Department of Environmental Quality in April, 2002, instructed the Bar S to install a system to redirect and contain stormwater runoff. 15 months later they had not done as requested and now are under a compliance schedule.
The Humane Society's Northern Rockies regional office and the Cascade County Humane Society have reported that the Bar S feedlot is a substandard animal handling operation.
The Shelby veterinarian Hardee Clark, who issues health certificates for the Bar S voiced concerns about the feedlots husbandry practices and that horses get overlookd when shipments are selected and consequently may languish in the feedlot for a year or more. Dr. Clark was the whistleblower who reported the June 2002 cruelty to the horses.
The Bar S is privately owned and is exempt from regulations that govern commercial feedlots. As a result the Department of Livestock can only inspect the horses when they first enter the feedlot and once again when they leave. They do not have the power to shutdown the feedlot for substandard sanitary conditions, under the current regulations.
Even the former state's veterinarian has had numerous converstions with the Bouvry's about conditions at the feedlot. Dr. Arnold Gertonson is now employed by the USDA's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Services in Colorado
Benny Kropius, an agent for the Bouvry family, blames former manager Howie Solberg for the less-than-adequate conditions at the feedlot. Solberg left the feedlot shortly after the animal cruelty charges were filed. He has not been charged with animal cruelty.
The Bar S began as a feedlot for cattle, but changed to horses 20 years ago. It is estimated that as many as 300 horses are trucked the 120 miles from Shelby to the slaughterhouse in Fort Macleod.
The horsemeat is flown overseas and sold in butcher shops and restaurants. Other parts of the horse are used to make baseballs, showes, pet food, fertilizer and feed for zoo animals.
In March 2000, 2 weeks after the state and the Bar S signed a memo of understanding outlining the branding requirments, Kropius diverted a shipment of 34 untested Idaho horses destined for the Bar S to a feedlot in Conrad without notifying the state. Kropius claimed the lot was full at the time but by doing so he violated not only the contract but state law. A veterinarian tested those horses for EIA and they turned up negative. The state cited Kropius, who posted a $120 bond.
For the current 5 animal cruelty charges the Bar S will be going to trial on, the Montana animal cruelty law is a maximum of 6 months in jail and a $500 fine for each guilty count. Because Bar S is a corporation, no one will go to jail if a guilty verdict is handed down.
The address for Bouvry Export Calgary, Ltd.
#312, 222-58th avenue S.W.
Calgary, Alberta
Canada T2H 2S3
ReferencesVoices for the Voiceless - The Great Falls Tribune
- The Billings Gazette
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