Vancouver Sun
More than 20 horses at a B.C. farm have been saved from the slaughterhouse, but several still might be sold for meat on Monday if they are not adopted.
Lee Oakford, of T-Bar Ranch in Chase, ran into financial difficulty and has no choice but to sell his 30 horses, according to friends and supporters.
Each animal is worth $500 for meat.
After a call for help hit the Internet — on equestrian websites, message boards and Facebook — concerned animal lovers from B.C. and Alberta began flooding Oakford’s voice mail with offers. Some reportedly showed up at his farm with trailers.
They are being purchased for $500 each.
The horses, which range in age from two to 20, are healthy thoroughbreds. Several are riding horses.
As of Friday, seven of the horses remained, including a two-year-old bay filly with a hernia, a 10-year-old bay mare riding horse and a 14-year-old bay mare.
Photos and descriptions of the horses are available at www.forthehorses.com.
Marcie Moriarty, a spokeswoman for the B.C. SPCA, said the organization spends “months and hundreds of thousands of dollars” rescuing stray horses.
“There truly is not a market right now for horses for adoption,” she said. “I really pray that those horses get adopted, but I know it’s a challenge in this market.”
There are no rules regarding the number of horses one can breed, Moriarty said.
