Horse slaughter did not help these horses. People may say that horse slaughter will save all the starving, neglected, "unwanted" horses, but here is proof that slaughter does NOT save them. People that are mean and abusive are always going to be mean and abusive, no matter what. Ms. Vaughn has already been arrested for running a puppy mill - she doesn't care about animals. Horse slaughter is an option now; just because it isn't happening in the US, doesn't mean it's not happening to our horses. An American horse is slaughtered almost every 3 minutes in Mexico or Canada. Ms. Vaughn could of called a kill buyer, or taken horses to an auction, but no, she didn't! People are going to hurt animals no matter if slaughter is an option or not. Slaughter is not going to change their personality. ~Declan
Deputies: Worst Case Of Animal Abuse They've Ever Seen
NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |SEMINOLE COUNTY, Oklahoma -
Sheriff's deputies in central Oklahoma are calling it the worst case of animal abuse they have ever seen. Dozens of horse carcasses were removed from a farm full of malnourished animals early Saturday.
"You can feel through the hair how boney they are," said one volunteer who was working to save the animals.
Volunteers and deputies worked to save 64 horses, 26 dogs and many other animals from near-death conditions.
"It's terrible," Seminole County Sheriff's deputy David Hanson said. "It brings tears to your eyes."
Up to 30 dead horses were found on the property where deputies say convicted felon Carolyn "Nichole" Vaughn spent her days hoarding animals and junk. She kept the animals out of sight, but eventually someone saw them and called the sheriff's office.
Vaughn is currently behind bars and will be charged with animal cruelty and violating carcass laws. Deputies say before the nightmare, she was found guilty of running a puppy mill.
"Whatever the case might be, as long as someone can step in and help out, that's key," one volunteer said.
Officials said, early Saturday, someone brought the horses hay. The animals ate for hours before being taken away for medical observation.
"This is the worst I've ever seen," Hanson said.
Volunteers with a rescue called Blaze's Tribute said each animal will be checked out by a vet. The volunteers said they can't continue without support, and they may soon be looking for people to take the horses in after they are well.
"They're saving these horses," Hanson said. "They're doing a great job. Without them, I don't know what we would have done."
By the end of the rescue, the animals were carefully loaded onto trailers and sent off to be inspected, fed, washed up and loved. Deputies with the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office also assisted in the rescue.
Vaughn is being held on $100,000 bond.
I have no words.
ReplyDeleteI do because I know her personally. She grew up well off and is materialistic and money hungry. She has a '79 vette she could have sold, taken a loss on thr bayline, because the biggest part of it was paid by someone else. I know she is under investigation and charges are expected due to embezzling over 100k from a company of which she was treasurer and secretary. I know the 4k she used on bond could have went a long way in feeding Big Dan, Lil Ann, Bits, mooney Georgia, Skyler and thr rest of a herd of about 100. She cared more about having material items....
ReplyDeleteTo give her the benefit if we look closely at the video we see a lot of healthy horses too. Not all were skinny. She says the financial investment and orders to keep the horses, in spite of her plea to sell of horses plus a sickness slammed her herd caused everything to come to this place. She says she had people helping with food for the horses and there were vets involved in the sickness. Also, if we look at the news reports about her puppy mill that was suppose to be the worse case of animal abuse too, we will find that they do not say there were skinny or sick or dead dogs. The pens were very filthy and "they have sad eyes" was all the news reported could say about her dogs. I don't like her line of business any more than anyone else. I want all animals (including all our animals raised for commercial meat production) to have quality lives. But, to send Nichole to prison and take her away from her children and take a mother away from a couple of young girls is too much. Maybe she needs to have orders to always be supervised with her animals or maybe not allowed to have more than 2 or 3 animals but not prison. But, she really does love animals and she loves people. I believer here when she says that a series of unfortunate events caused all of this to happen. She also says that the sherrif never gave her any warnings about either the dogs or the horses. She was never given a chance to make things right even though both times she pleaded with them to work with her and give her a chance to make things right. Maybe the skinny and dead horses really were from sickness and not starvation. All of this has caused Nichole to almost have a complete mental shutdown. She's suffering from depression and panic attacks due to this. Maybe she is a victum as much as the animals were. Also, if her facebook lets everyone see her animals shortly before this seizure everyone would see healthy, happy horses, dogs, and children. There is more to this story than the world is being allowd to see. Up here in Washington state we have seen many, many people have their animals taken away and owners lives being destroyed from animal abuse charges. Because of this, the Washington State Stockmans Coalition was formed. It's a nonprofit organization that helps both the animals and the owners. They step in and see if there is really malicious abuse or just a family stuck between a rock and a hard place that just need some help to get through. 99% of the time the owners are animals lovers but have found themselves in tough times. Before any animals are removed owners are given chances and help to improve the quality of and animals lives. Then, after receiving education, help and guidance if the owners still don't show responsibility for the animals lives then the animals are removed. I think that if Oklahoma had a coalition group like Washington everyone would have seen a different story and both Nichole and her horses would have been helped.
ReplyDelete