Three Horses Saved From Further Cruelty, I Hope
In "Man gets jail for starving 4 horses" (The Herald-Sun, 09/01/06), William F. West reports that Durham County’s James Warren Robbins, 62, who "already had been ordered by [a] judge not to maintain animals in the county and had a history of animal cruelty dating back to the middle 1990s," has been sentenced to 240 days in jail on yet another animal cruelty charge.
This time, he starved four horses, one of whom died. (The article actually says "one of which died," but "which" is reserved for things, and as far as I know, a horse isn’t a thing. But that’s a whole other problem.) The same horses were impounded in 2003 and 2004, for malnourishment.
West reports that the Assistant District Attorney who oversaw the case made a statement about how seriously her community takes the maltreatment of animals. "Animals, children and the elderly are voiceless victims–and they’re worthy of protection." That’s a significant sentiment.
But just before that paragraph is this sentence:
Prosecutors said more than $8,000 was spent to save and rehabilitate the animals, which were sold at auctions for modest prices.
Let’s deconstruct:
- Robbins, who has been ordered not to maintain animals, maintains at least four.
- Several years ago, those four were impounded for alleged malnourishment.
- The horses were returned to him for further abuse, and one died from the abuse.
- Robbins is sentenced to 240 days.
- The three remaining horses are compensated for their abuse by being auctioned.
- To whom? Will they be three of the tens of thousands of horses slaughtered for their meat each year in the USA? Are they in the hands of another person who will abuse them to near death a third time? Did they go to a sanctuary? Will they be part of some roadside circus? Haven’t they suffered enough?
- Finally, who took home the "modest" money? (A rude, but fair question.)
I’m going to write to Mr. West, because I see a broader story here, and though the successful prosecution of an animal abuser is an important event, what meaning does it have if the victims are auctioned off?
