I'm a liberal pagan living in West, Texas. Yes. That West, Texas.

Monday, January 10, 2011

SMUGGLERS HORSES

written by Marc Lacey of the New York Times.
Phoenix-- Found tottering alone in the desert with their ribs visible and their heads hung low, horses play a back-breaking, unappreciated role in the multi-billion-dollar drug smuggling industry.
Mexican traffickers strap heavy bales of marijuana or other illegal drugs to the horses backs and march them north through mountain passes and across rough desert terrain.
With little food and water, some collapse under their heavy loads. Others are turned loose when the contraband gets far enough into Arizona to be off-loaded into vehicles with even more horsepower.
"We would pick up 15 to 20 horses a month, and many more of the animals would get past us,: said Brad Cowan, who spent 28 years as a livestock office for the Arizona Department of Argriculture befoer retiring a few months ago. "They were poorly fitted equipment. It's obvious they were not well taken care of. The makeshift saddles rub big sores in their backs."
Even once rescued, the horses face an uncertain future. Since they are not from the United States, the state of Arizona must draw their blood and conduct a battery of tests to ensure that they do not carry any disease that would infect domestic livestock. Then the horses head to auction, where some are bought and shipped back to Mexico for slaughter.
Others are luckier. They find their way to equine rescue operations, which help place them with homes.
"I'd get angry when I'd see the condition these horses were in," Cowan said. "The smugglers would buy them or steal them on the Mexican side and then work them almost to death. They have horrible sores that can take months to heal up."
He recalled one horse he came across in Pima Country, not far from the Mexican border, that had deep wounds in its hide, was clearly malnourished and was so weak that that it was trying to sit back on its hind end to take the weight off its legs. He and a co-worker had to carry the horse into a trailer.
Still, he said, horses are resilient.
"They can come back from a lot," he said.
Some of the abused horses end up back in the rugged border region where they were first found, Cowan said. Instead of smuggling though, they are sometimes used by law enforcement agencies to purse the traffickers who mistreated them.

Holy Fuck me....is this not the saddest thing ever?...I wish they had given an address or information on the people that are able to buy the horses and see that they get taken care of and given new homes. My grandpa, Daddy Red was right. There are more horses asses then there are horses.

13 comments:

Willym said...

I am without words on this... it makes me sad, it makes me angry. Your grandpa had it right!

jadedj said...

Very sad story this. The crap human beings do based on greed, is astonding.

My name WAS Female, I shit you not! said...

Thanks for bringing this story to the fore front.
Sure it ruined my morning, but I'll get over it.
Those poor animals don't have a wing and a prayer.
...and some are sold back to Mexico to be slaughtered?????
Goddess Help Us!!!!!!!!!!!

MarkD60 said...

We have neighbors who have horses and sometimes "park" them in an empty lot next door. I love it when the horses are there, and buy them carrots.

I cannot understand anyone who mistreats animals, they live on a different planet.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

When money is involved, there's no low to which people won't sink. Bastards.

Jan said...

Typical of the compassion shown by drug smugglers. They are in no way human.

Shrinky said...

Your grandpa was a wize man. Makes you feel shamed to be a human, doesn't it? Sigh.

billy pilgrim said...

someone ought to do something about these mexican drug dealers. oh yeah, some border officer did and got thrown in jail for it.

more horse's asses than horses. i'm gonna use that one of these days.

Daisy Deadhead said...

Thanks for the article.

:(

Anonymous said...

This makes my stomach drop. Anything with animals being abused, neglected and tortured makes my stomach sick. Again, I am reminded of this quote "The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged on the way it treats it's animals". How very true. How we treat the defenseless..those that are 100% dependant on us.

Wow.

texlahoma said...

That sucks. Just one more reason to legalize drugs and to shut down the border.
We should bring troops home from Afghanistan and let them guard the border.
We should use drones on the border too, let the word spread that the U.S. is FINALLY serious about stopping illegal immigration.

yellowdoggranny said...

the border between mexico and the us brings more than drugs in and guns out..it hurts more than people it also hurts animals..so sad.

Intense Guy said...

Now there are two policies that just aren't working...

Guns and drugs....

Maybe it would be best if the politicians would figure out how to "tax it to death" like they have everything else.