Well, I just need to vent. Here in SW Wisconsin near Lancaster 58 buffalo were found dead and rotting in December. The farm owner lives in Chicago and a local guy lives on the farm and 'takes care' of the animals. They had a fecal test done on the remaining, barely alive 12 buffalo and determined that they were loaded with parasites. So today there is an artice in the paper that they will not be prosecuted because they buried the rotted buffalo carcasses when they were notified. It was decieded that because they had parasites the cause of death was not neglect! GIVE ME A BREAK! It is stated that the 12 remaining are regaining their health, just added proof that proper care would have saved all of them. They must be part of the 'good ole boy' network. That someone could watch 58 buffalo die over a period of months and leave the carcasses to rot is not neglect? The obvious explaination id that the animals are now worth about 1/4 of their value a year or so ago. Its cheaper to let them die than to maintain the herd. No vaccinations or worming, but thats not neglect? Anyone with herd animals would have the vet out as soon as on or two died, but these folks don't care now that buffalo are no longer valuable.

Well, I rattled of a letter to the Sheriff, with cc to the district attorney and the state newspaper(including clippling from the local paper) I also threaten a cc to PETA, but those folks are nuts so I doubt I'll go through with it.

I'm sure I've opened a can of worms and I'll get harassed by the locals, but this is just sickening to me! Dianne

-- Dianne (yankeeterrier@hotmail.com), February 13, 2002

Answers

Dianne, the same type of thing happened here in Maine a couple years ago. The animals were taken from the guy who neglected them, but many had starved to death and the remaining animals were in a sorry state. I have no idea what the final outcome was as far as the original owner was concerned, but the remaining animals were rehabilitated and assimilated into another bison herd.

-- Sheryl in ME (radams@sacoriver.net), February 13, 2002.

Dianne,

Good for you!!! Somebody needs to speak up. I am not a PETA fan but I do believe animals should be treated kindly.

-- Pat (hiddentreasuresfarm@hotmail.com), February 13, 2002.

The People Eating Tasty Animals group have got to be really stupid, the last time I heard about them was when two members released 2000 hogs set for slaughter (England IF I remember correctly) and were promptly stomped to death by the stampeed of hogs.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), February 13, 2002.

Poisoning ,mistreating, or using animals for a target to shoot arrows at, is just a misdemeanor in probably all 50 states in the U.S..Most law enforcement wouldn't make an arrest even with proof of animals being tortured , mistreated or poisoned .I recently had 7 pigs weighting about a hundred pounds each, poisoned and 3 died. My neighbors were responsible by leaving chicken breast and dog food that was poisoned in a large pan and a trail of food going from my land to theirs, I'm assuming it was ment for dogs. But they know I take my pigs for a walk every day and the pigs always follow me up an old logging road, except that day when they caught a wiff of the food that was trailed from about 10 feet from their pen toward my neighbors land, they started following the trail of food and eating before I could stop them. They started to react to the poison about 3 hours latter and had to be shot 24 hours latter when I relized they were to far gone and would die a very slow death.I do have the option of taking them to civil court for the cost of the pigs.But no charges were made by the law.Homesteading is a joke to most people in my area.I depend on my small ammount of livestock for survival ,I give my animals a good life, take them for long walks in the hills to supplement their diet and keep them happy and healthy.Only to have a twisted individual kill them without cause.I hold the law just as responsible for thinking it wasn't a bad enough thing to do for them to want to make an arrest.I've had to burn a 3 month supply of hay for my goats because other neighbors told me , the ones who killed my pigs told them they were going to poison my goats as revenge for calling the law on them.I now keep small square bales of hay in my house to keep them safe because I feel they will sneak around where I used to keep my hay and poison it.Maybe it's time I write my congreesman and state representitives asking to make it a Felony to mistreat and cause harm to animals .Maybe it's time for all who raise animals ,whether for pets, food or hobby to write their state representives. with the laws the way they are, there's nothing to discourage a person from abusing animals.

-- SM Steve (notrealmaio@msn.com), February 14, 2002.

Dianne, Good for you I am glad to see that people still care about how animals are treated. As a buffalo herd owner this just makes me sick. I feel that with any of my livestock that if they are not acking right the vet is called if you are going to have livestock you need to attend to their needs. Those people that had someone else watching those buffalo must have more money then they know what to do with because buffalo are not cheap.

-- Tracy in TN (emilyfarms@tsixroads.com), February 14, 2002.

I can hardly believe it! Those fools. The cruelty is horrible enough, and the waste is unforgiveable! Those poor animals.

-- Susan in Northern LP Michigan (cobwoman@yahoo.com), February 14, 2002.

Upon hearing things like this, I console myself by remembering that there's a special place in hell for these type of people. They'll get theirs.

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), February 14, 2002.

I wonder if that guy got insurance compensation for his dead ones. They were probably worth more dead than alive to him. How terrible it must have been for those animals. Terry

-- Terry Lipe (elipe@fidnet.com), February 14, 2002.

Oh Terry, you are probably right, they probably had something on them and by it being ruled "natural" he probably got paid to let 'em waste away. Nauseating!

And yet a guy in Washinton(state) shot his dog quickly and humanely ( I don't remember why, but it was for a legitimate reason) he had to go to court, pay a huge fine, and it was nearly front page news!

Aparently bison are "just a crop"???

-- Novina in ND (homespun@stellarnet.com), February 14, 2002.

Dianne, sick the PETA on them, they certainly deserve it, and I am sure the owner got insurance money for the dead bison, they were worth more dead than live! That makes me even sicker, may they rot in Hell or worse, when their time comes!!!

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), February 14, 2002.

Mitch, your PETA anecdote is a crock. If something like that had happened, I would have heard about it. PETA may be controversial, and you're free to hate & ridicule them, but spreading silly rumors only makes YOU look bad.

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), February 14, 2002.

Novina: Of course they're a crop, just like hogs, cattle and sometimes horses! Just look at Ted Turner who's about to open restaurants across America featuring bison from his ranches in MT & NM.

-- al (yr2012@hotmail.com), February 16, 2002.