A Tangled Web…

This is a story that I actually had to draw a flowchart to keep track of… so bear with me here.

There are several key players, not the least of which are a well-known criminal and the OSPCA.  There’s also a rescue involved… go figure.

AND there are some horses that desperately need saving!

Player Number One

Richard “Butch” Clare

If you don’t know who he is, you’re obviously not from Ontario.  This is a well-known man who not only owns a cattle slaughter house / feed lot (Aylmer Meat Packers Inc.) – but he’s made a good living at transporting horses to slaughter.  Ah Butch, you’re already my favorite character.  My favorite part of Butch’s story is that he has plead guilty to, and been fined hundreds of thousands of dollars for, improper acts.  What improper acts?  Oh, you know… slaughtering cattle not fit for human consumption and putting it out in the market for us ‘humans’ to eat.  You see, the cattle he ‘slaughtered’ were already dead.  They showed UP dead.  The only animal that should have been eating that cow was a dog (not that I think that’s ok either).  He lost his (slaughterhouse) license FIVE times in 12 years!  That didn’t stop him from slaughtering cattle for human consumption though!  Oh no, not Butch!

 “I never, ever sold a piece of meat I wouldn’t eat myself.”
… He said to the judge… who then convicted him…

He’s also been fined for violations of the Ontario Water Resources Act.  So not only was he feeding you shitty meat, but he was polluting your water system.

One interesting quote:

Although Aylmer Meat Packers Inc. owner Richard “Butch” Clare isn’t talking to the media, lots of people around Burford, Ontario are – even if some of them will not allow their names to be used for fear of reprisal.  And, the story says, the picture many of them paint of the heavy-set, 50ish meat packer, who has been accused of taking in sick and dead animals for butchering, is not a flattering one; most people interviewed by the Star this weekend are in no way surprised by Clare’s current predicament.  Calling him, among other things, “loud,” “opinionated” and a “redneck,” more than a dozen people interviewed over the weekend claimed they were afraid of the man and of the crew of slaughterhouse workers he kept at the controversial plant, which now sits closed and under police guard as provincial inspectors sift through its secrets.

One man who knew Clare as a young boy was quoted as saying, “Butch was a crazy bugger who grew up, got involved in business (with) no education or nothing, and did pretty well.”  A couple who live near the plant were cited as saying they’ve seen  slaughtered pigs lying out back in the sun for hours before being taken into the plant for butchering.  Clare bought the facility about a decade ago and he and his two sons have expanded the operation enormously since taking it over, they say.  More than half a dozen nearby neighbours described regular late-night animal shootings, which would have occurred long after any provincial meat inspectors stationed at the plant had left the premises.

(my bold/underline)

And…

According to a 2002 audit:

  The operator does not ensure that employees use hygienic food handling practices.

  There is contact between cooked and raw meat products during processing.

  Each carcass is not suitably trimmed to remove contamination instead it’s hosed down with water

  Staff eat and use tobacco in food handling areas

(Personal Note:  Ugh!!!  Who EATS in “food handling” areas?  That’s like the TV shows where the coroner eats while autopsying some rotting corpse!)

Oh, did I mention Butch also made a tonne of money transporting horses for slaughter?  Right, I did.  But it bears mentioning again…

Player Number Two

Elaine Warren

But wait… check this out…  There’s a woman who was charged with Butch in the Alymer Meat Packers scandal, what was her name?  Oh, right… Elaine Warren.   Now where have I heard that name before?  Oh, lets see!   She runs M&E Rescue Farm!  What do they do, you ask?  Why they rescue horses from slaughter!  And who lives with her?  Got it yet?  Right!!  Butch Clare!  And what does good ol’ Butch do?  Right, he runs cows and horses to slaughter.  And what is Elaine’s ‘cover story’?  They’ve learned from their mistakes… they’ve repented… they’ve opened a rescue to make up for all their past misdeeds.

We are a private farm, and the money to enable us to care for horses like these, comes from our pockets and the sale of horses after rehabilitation/training. We love animals. Horses, donkeys, cows, goats and everything else you can think of.

Yeah.  Right.  And I’ve personally known – oh, about a dozen or so –  leopards who have changed their spots!

So Elaine, I have a question for you:  What happened to the grey Percheron?  You know, the one you recently took in?  The one from Ken Miltons?  Where did it end up?  And you can make up all the stories you want, but you don’ t have any proof to back up the idea that it may have gone to a good home, do you?  Why?  Oh right, because you don’t have any paperwork to prove it!

Edit in:  The Percheron is in a new home.

You see, I know for a fact you don’t have an adoption process.  No application.  No home check.  No contract.  No reference checks.  Nothing!

I guess if someone has the cash in hand, anyone can come “adopt” a horse from you.  Right?

I guess that’s why you ask for donations but can’t offer receipts… because to become a charitable organization you’d have to report income and such, right?  No sense being accountable to anyone!

Wait, one more thing… according to local sources, you traded a couple of horses for some old, moldy hay.  Those two horses were a 20+ year old blind mare and a one-eyed mare.  Who did you trade them to?  Oh, Ken Milton.  See Player Number Three…

Player Number Three

Ken Milton

According to local lore, Ken is this fucktard who seems to get his kicks from starving animals.  Dogs, cows, horses – you name it he’ll starve it.  And when the animal finally dies from starvation, why ol’ Ken just hooks ’em up to the tractor and drags ’em into the bush and outta sight.

From what I heard, Ken is a man who lost his license due to drinking and driving, so putters about on his tractor – because you don’t need a license for that you know!  He’ll even haul horses in a trailer behind it!!  Except of course when he’s driving into town, right past the local police station, on his way to the bar.  For that he takes his unregistered, uninsured truck.  And where does he drink (you might ask)?  Well, Ken likes to drink at the local tavern – in neighbouring Drumbo.  That’s an important point but I’ll get back to the Drumbo link in a minute.

What is in Kens past, you also might ask?  Well, lets see… he’s got a history of spousal abuse, illegal firearms and trying to knock off his soon-to-be ex-wife (all in addition to the DUIs of course).  It seems no one wants to speak up against Ken, since he has a penchant for – oh lets call it “retaliation”.

Well, now Ken has a bunch of horses, including the blind mare, the one-eyed mare, and some studs.  Because that’s an excellent mix.

Not to mention that his horses often get loose – including the studs!  Why?  Well, I suspect because your fencing isn’t adequate!

Player Number Four

April Hussey

Ah, what an appropriate last name.  I guess she’s really trying to live up to that one…

According to local lore, again, this woman is a piece of work.  I’ll just leave it at that because her mommy is upset with me.  :( 

Suffice it to say she’s not an upstanding citizen – even if mommy doesn’t like to see the truth in print. 

April had five horses.  She moved them to Ken Miltons place.  They were being neglected.  One was a Percheron with very bad hooves.  A concerned citizen asked April if they could buy the horse for $200.00, and was told she’d rather the horse go for meat.  That Percheron was picked up the next day, by Elaine Warren… then disappeared.  There are now four horses that belong to April living at Kens.  Did I mention that April is such a good mom, she has a three year old pony stud for her five year old daughter? Yeah, because THAT’s not an accident waiting to happen!

Where does April work?  The pub in Drumbo…

And by the way, how does someone who has a child, is a single parent, and works in a bar afford four horses???  Oh, right, don’t bother with vet, farrier or feed.  THATs how.

Player Number Five

OSPCA

And what has the OSPCA done?  Well, not a fuck of a lot in my opinion.  All of the players in this story have long histories with the OSPCA, yet after receiving multiple complaints from multiple people, they dragged their heels in getting out to see the horses.  Then, when they finally DID go, they ordered the horses into the barn and out of inclement weather.  That’s it.  There’s no food, but as long as they’re out of the rain.  Right?

Several days and several complaints later, they were finally removed.

What is their excuse for the long period of time between receiving complaints and acting on them?  Oh, right, they were busy.

But, and here’s the kicker, where were the horses sent?  The ones that don’t belong to April Hussey?  Oh, yeah, M&E Rescue Farm!  Back to where at least two of them they came from!  And to my knowledge, the OSPCA has been told exactly how those horses came to be at Kens.  Via M&E Rescue Farm.  Now the pregnant blind mare is in a field with a bunch of other horses.  Anyone who knows anything about blind horses knows this is an accident waiting to happen.

When someone inquired about the Percheron that went to M&E Rescue within a couple of days of them receiving it, it was already ‘gone’.  Hmmm… nice big horse, huh Butch?

And the four horses belonging to April are still at Ken’s.  Nice.

…….

So, the long and the short of it is there’s a pro-slaughter activist living with a supposed horse rescuer, horses disappear, and there’s no way to track where they went.  The 20-something year old blind mare (who’s in foal – lovely) and the one-eyed mare (also in foal) are at M&E Rescue Farm, where they are having difficulty getting food in such a large herd.  Please, someone, go get these two horses and get them safe!