Mounted search and rescue

[Karen Nesbitt <spanishequines@yahoo.com>]

Message: 37
Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2007 16:05:09 -0600
From: "David Skofstad" <dbs54neigh@earthlink.net>
Subject: [MSAR] IL truck wreck
To: "Mounted search and rescue" <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <380-22007101292259625@earthlink.net&YY=69762&y5beta=yes&y5beta=yes&order=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=a&head=b">380-22007101292259625@earthlink.net>
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I have been minimally involved in this list for some time, as I felt an
interest in forming a MSAR group in our area. I am president of the
Lake County (Illinois) Mounted Posse.  Unlike other Posse groups, we are
a private horse club not associated with any governmental or law
enforcement  agency.

Our group was contacted Saturday evening to help with the double-decker
wreck.  There is no countywide plan for such an event.  All civilians
who responded did so at their own risk.  I doubt if any of them gave it
a thought.

I had begun working with the Newport Township fire chief this spring
to get some personnel trained.  He has been very receptive.  Our club
paid for one firefighter to attend training at Kentucky Horse Park in, I
believe, August. There are plans to bring qualified instructors to our
area next year for a training event. 

For those wondering, the trailer was NOT suitable for transporting
equines, particularly those as tall as the Belgians we handled Saturday
night.  There are excellent photos available in the "Comments" section of
the online story in the Chicago Tribune.

As to the intended destination of these animals, no one around here
believes the driver's story of transporting from a sale in Shipshewanna,
IN, to another sale barn in Minnesota.  I didn't see them, but some
people at the scene reported seeing several animals with "Killer tags" on
them, while others had the regular sale tags.  Most of the animals were
female. The fillies were mostly in good physical condition (before the
wreck) while the colts were mostly quite thin.  It is thought by many
that the load was headed for Canada, some for PMU and some for
slaughter.  It seems doubtful there would be real good money in buying animals
at auction in Indiana so as to transport them to another auction
hundreds of miles away.

Beyond the horror of the triage scene on US Highway 41,  there is now
the question: "Who is going to pay for all of this?"  There were
personnel from at least six fire departments,  veterinary supplies were being
consumed at a dizzying rate, disposal of the deceased,
and care and feeding of the survivors. 

I will attempt to keep this list apprised of any structure that may be
established for donations and such.  As of now, the feed costs are
being borne by one of our members who graciously accepted responsibility
for the care and housing of the victims.


David Skofstad
dbs54neigh@earthlink.net
EarthLink Revolves Around You.
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Dave, you could probably check out the details for having a CDL license regarding this driver of the truck.  For one thing it is illegal to haul horses in a livestock semi trailer as such.  Those trailers are not designed to haul horses.  Another thing, how was this driver managing the horses care while on the road? Animals need to be rested in hauls and water and feed provided....if not there could be issues of abuse there too one would think.

 

I would imagine the driver as well as  the company he was hauling for would be held liable and accountable for the mess with the horses etc. in reference to your millinon dollar question of WHO IS GOING TO PAY.. and of course, us taxpayers will get nailed in the end too for someone elses issues.

 

How in the heck that semi got away on being on the road for so long is a good question too.  Did he not have to stop to pay tolls, other truckers surely spotted him, why did  they not report him before the incident....it could have been an accident that could have been prevented.  Other drivers might not like to RAT on those on the road with them, but better to be a live rat than a dead one if that semi is hauling in the lane next to yours.  SHEESH!  And what of those taking the tolls.. sheesh, didnt anyone there notice?  But then that is not there job....I guess, but comon sense may have been avirtue there.

 

Problem in issues of hauling livestock, is what to do with any animals that are confiscated...that always is an issue and in many cases is unfortuneately why many animal haulers do not get stopped and regretably it takes an accident or tradgedy like this to open eyes.

 

Animal contol in most cases deal with dog and small animal issues. It is often the Department of ags problem for livestock and horses or animal welfare.  Stray livestock onthe highwya is not always a 9-11 issue to the dispatchers...(been there had a case like that where the dispatcher thought I was a crank call calling on a long horn steer that was on the highway...she flat laughed at the call and here we were needing assistance to keep somone from getting killed.   not a laughing matter, but guess the dispatcher never dreamed any cow would have horns with an 8 foot span especially one on the lamb, in Illinois... !  grrr and UGH!)  

 

Once you call one department in, you cannot call the other in too.  The second one will balk at taking the call since it was already a reported incident.  (Been there done that on other issues and learned that through the experience.)  The Department of Ag, Animal Welfare and Animal Control each have their own disiplines if you will and do not mix.  Caveat and catch 22 is how do you know until you make the call - very often you don't.  But leave the small animals to Animal control.  Biggies to the DOA and the Abuse to animal welfare...and soemtimes it is hard nto to know if you should not call two out of three.

 

So many cases can get lost in the cracks just trying to find the correct department to call in an incident and more often than not, the time period to report a call lapses and nullifies a lot of the issues in a good BAD case and then everyone is left wondering what the heck happened there and why did so and so get of scott free.  It is sincerely a matter of too many laws and not enough knowlegde on the well intends part and even LE has issues in enforcing laws they too are not abridged with.

 

Also, I am irked that awhile back I ran across a website offering rescue for horses..only to learn that the horses were headed for the killers....please be on the look out for these types of scenarios and scams on the net.....or for persons wanting literally a free horse, they are not always what they are cracked up to be.  And just because slaughter is banned, does not mean it does not go on.

 

It is highly unlikely a small trailer is going to the killers at the price it would cost to haul

one from Illinois to say Canada at roughly $2.50 a mile....that alone makes it a deterant to most killers, however an 8 horse trailer loaded with 12 or fat ponies...hmmm...not necesarily.  And all it takes is a cogins test paper to cross the Canadian line.  No other papers needed unlke food animals that require a pile up of papers to ship.

 

We all would do well on this site to also research the proper burial methods allowable by law on our livestock.  There are legal ways and illegal ways and unfortuenately for many of us faced with urban sprawl and what to do with our elder  or even sick animals we are all running into difficulties now that slaughter is being banned.  Sometimes things do have its place.  We might not like it... but we need to be real.

 

I for one and currently facing the losing of my favorite equine of some 26 years...as my faithful companion, I beleive she deserves a decent burial...however, when the time comes, perhaps the law or circumstances may prohibit what I feel is proper.  And most folks in boarding stables that offer no land only an arena to ride in...well, they require rendering services.. so folks, we do have serious animal husbandry issues to be concerned with.

 

Respectfully

Karen Nesbitt

Iroquois County

Illinois

 

PS - we are still in desperate need of hay here....situation warrants donated hay for 10 equines to get through winter. These animals however are not of this wreck incident. Thank you to those again who have offered us assistance...we have only enough hay for about 3 weeks. Spring is a long time coming.

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