Law forcing CSU horse auctions
targeted
Some animals go to slaughter amid 'good home'
push
Thursday, November 27, 2003 -
Lawmaker Tom Wiens plans a push next week to change a
controversial law that requires Colorado State University to auction off horses
it uses for research and education. In some cases the horses are sold to
slaughterhouses.
CSU officials say state law gives them no choice but to
publicly auction the horses they can no longer use - even if they are sold for
slaughter. For years the CSU College of Veterinary Medicine &
Biomedical Sciences has run auctions to sell horses both donated and purchased
by the school. State law requires the university to sell horses to the
highest bidder. But critics are questioning the practice, saying that it leads
to the slaughter of healthy horses. The vet-med college lives under the same law that all state
government agencies do - one that requires it to auction assets no longer needed
to the highest bidder without favor or exclusion, said Lance Perryman, dean of
the college. "We cannot favor or discriminate against any potential
bidders. Anyone is eligible to bid," said Perryman. "Our desire is to
place our horses in a high-quality care environment in which they will continue
to live useful, productive lives. We advertise to bring in the largest group of
potential bidders as possible so we increase the probability these horses will
go to good homes that will provide excellent care to the horses." But the strategy failed at a Nov. 14 auction on the Fort
Collins campus, say bidders who were there. CSU auctioned 81 horses, and 25 were sold to two people well-
known for selling horses to slaughterhouses, said one bidder who attended the
auction. CSU officials would not confirm the number of horses sold to
slaughter buyers. "We don't know the backgrounds of the bidders. We
contract with an auctioneer," said Perryman. "It is the responsibility
of the auctioneer to record the names of the buyers." The auctioneer for the event, WW Auctions & Real Estate in
Fort Collins, did not return phone calls. Of the 81 horses sold, 12 were originally donated to the
university, CSU officials said. They did not know how many of the donated horses
were sold to a slaughterhouse buyer. "The issue of CSU bidding out the horses is
troublesome," said state Rep. Wiens, R-Castle Rock. "I have to believe
there is a way for us to change the law so they are not required to operate that
way. Here in the West we have a special relationship with horses. I want to find
what is the real economic impact for CSU. What is the revenue they get for
selling the horses at auction?" CSU made about $53,000 from the Nov. 14 event - an average of
$653 a horse, ranging in price from $300 to $1,625. The university auctions
horses about every two years, Perryman said. "The slaughterhouses knock the horses unconscious and and
hang them by their feet (before cutting their throats)," said Bill Stiffler,
founder of Friends of Horses Rescue & Adoption in Greenwood Village.
"The state and CSU need to be held accountable for the way they disburse
what they call state assets. I think the law needs to be re-examined." Horses are slaughtered for human consumption in Texas and
Canadian slaughterhouses to meet a demand for horse meat in overseas markets,
said Stiffler and Perryman. It's illegal to use drug injections to euthanize
horses slaughtered for human consumption, Stiffler said. CSU is the only veterinary medical school in the state and
uses horses it purchases or receives by donation for classroom instruction in
its reputable equine sciences program and for its embryo-transfer research. But once the horses are no longer fertile or of use in the
classroom they are auctioned. "We don't know, nor can we control where the horses
go," Perryman said. The school employs several strategies to try to get the horses
into good homes, Perryman said. A committee of eight people "deeply committed" to
animal welfare organizes and coordinates the sale, Perryman said. The committee
is made up of CSU's own nationally known animal ethicist - Bernard Rollin -
veterinarians, horse breeders and other horse owners. The auction is heavily advertised in publications that cater
to ranch and equestrian communities. Finally, third-party equine experts are brought in to vouch
for the suitability and ridability of the horses. (Horses available in previous
years at the CSU auction have included trained horses, horses suitable for
gentle riding, and a horse that went on to become a Colorado Hunter/Jumper
Association Hunter Champion.) More than 300 people showed up for the auction, and 149
registered as buyers, said Perryman. Forty-two individuals bought the 81 horses,
he said. "We think we were very successful in attracting people
who would give the horses a good home," Perryman said. Horse rescuer Stiffler says CSU could have done more. "Friday night is not a good night if you want to attract
the best crowd," Stiffler said. "If they had it on a Saturday or
Sunday in Denver, they would have been slammed with people to outbid the killer
buyers."