Growing concern for horses at a Waterford farm

A warning the photos in this story are disturbing.

There is growing concern over the condition of emaciated horses in Waterford and protesters say not enough is being done.

One of the euthanized horses was buried today. The other two, that were supposed to be removed from the property, are in a garage, away from view.

The OPP blocked the road as protesters held signs at a private farm in Waterford, near Simcoe for the second day in a row.

Pictures posted on Facebook have caught the attention of animal activists. Three horses, skin and bone.

“Very, very skinny. You can pretty much count their ribs. Their faces look sunk in.”

“It makes me upset because there is no need for it.”

The situation is being investigated by the Ontario SPCA as well as the OPP. Provincial animal cruelty investigators haven’t been on scene all weekend but say, in their absence police have the same authority.

Protesters who stayed over night say someone entered the property with a horse trailer attempted to remove the animals. They were blocked by protesters from leaving out of fear that the horses would not be properly cared for.

“At this point, with the condition of the animals, its unacceptable for them to go anywhere other than an authorized rescue, that is trained to rehabilitate these horses.”

The horse that was euthanized yesterday was buried on site today. Covered by a green tarp, the horses body was put in a grave on the farm, which may violate provincial legislation on burying livestock.

“They are on a flood plain, there are neighbours beside them, its on a busy road.”

In a statement to CHCH News today, the OSPCA says while its been looking at ways at passing along animal cruelty protection of large farm animals to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the organization says it is still very much committed to the well being of livestock. They say the horses in question are sick but are being cared for by a vet.

While the vet was called to euthanize the one horse yesterday they were not on site today.

“It is possible that they are ill and there are reasons behind them looking the way they look. But its still unacceptable. An ill horse can still be maintained. There’s no excuse for them to get that far gone.”

OPP liaison officers were speaking to the owners today, and were called to make sure everyone is safe.

CHCH News has made repeated attempts to speak with the owners of the horses, to which they have declined. The protesters say they would like to bring the animals to a rescue centre where they can be rehabilitated by experts.