Over at the FUSSYlittleBLOG Daniel looks at the situation surrounding the West Wind Acres farm in Schenectady County -- the owner is facing a a group of charges related to the care and feeding of the farm animals, even though a veterinarian reported them to be in good health with what appeared to be adequate care and food.
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Comments
Thank you for sharing this story. It's disheartening how many media venues are simply running the police report and farmer Josh's mug shot without looking any deeper into the situation.
... said Daniel B. on Mar 17, 2015 at 6:08 PM | link
This poor guy is getting railroaded. It's a sin that corporate farming has made people blind to what farming actually was. All people do these days is personify the creatures they pretend they don't eat. Wake up folks. Go visit a family farm and then an abattoir and see what living and dying is all about. Hope he finds pro bono legal help that will sue all the municipality and ag and markets brownshirts.
... said ace on Mar 18, 2015 at 10:10 AM | link
Can Animal Sanctuary in Watkins Glen be of help to you?
... said June Gordon on Mar 23, 2015 at 1:48 PM | link
http://news10.com/2015/03/17/glenville-man-arrested-for-not-feeding-farm-animals/
That article is the other side of that story. The horses pulled from the farm are at Peaceful Acres being overseen by a reputable equine vet. The pony's feet in the video are well beyond what is acceptable for a healthy, well cared for horse. I'm guessing the owner doesn't know about the proper care of horses and instead of apparently listening to any sort of criticism or offering to resolve the issue, is instead going on a PR blitz trying to make this a "corporate farm vs small farm" govt attack. It isn't. If any large scale industrial farm kept horses in that state without access to clean, unfrozen water they would be removed, too.
I wrote about this on Daniel's blog but I think it's important to post here as well. We want to eat food locally and "know our farmers", but the uncomfortable truth is that sometimes our farmers, with the best intentions, have just started keeping livestock but don't have the knowledge to care for them.
What is being shown in the above video IS visible neglect. That pony's feet did not grow overnight and it does not happen over one cold winter month, but several months of this man not providing proper care. It would have cost a couple of farrier visits of between $30-$50 a visit to resolve this issue.
What I'd like to see happen is that this guy admits a degree of culpability in the poor state of his animals, takes some animal husbandry courses, signs an agreement that he will care for the horses with occasional oversight from an independent vet, all that kickstarter money goes to pay vet bills, and we can move on.
... said Cmaxby on Mar 23, 2015 at 4:58 PM | link
Sorry Cmaxby, but you don't have all the facts. That pony has founder. He was brought to that farm recently as a rescue. Anyone who knows anything about founder knows that you don't start hacking at their feet. This has turned into the usual revenue generator for the town and for the shelter that's charging them astronomical amounts of $ to take care of the three horses that they grabbed. The farmer won't see the kickstarter money. The people that wrongfully charged him will, with all their fees and fines. I'd like to see the town ordinance that requires you to have heated barns for your sheep.
... said jellen on Mar 26, 2015 at 4:16 PM | link