It is very difficult to find the words to describe the horrendousness of today's sale at Hallworthy. The last couple of years we had seen improvement but today was more like descending back into the dark ages...It is a total onslaught on the senses - the terrified animals - you can hear, see, smell, and feel the terror...they were terrified before the appalling handling by the staff and "helpers". Even the catalogue now omits the names of those entering animals, presuming in an attempt to stop people complaining to the authorities!
No trading standards staff were present - they had been tasked with attending the poultry sale in the morning but they were told there was "no money" to send anyone for the pony sale, not even the Defra vets.
In all approximately 97 ponies/horses went through the ring - some making as little as £10. One anomaly of a chestnut miniature making £1000 - we just can't imagine how this came about ...presumably some sort of set up?? 18 ponies made £50 or less. 25 making between £50 and £100. 17 making between £100 and £200. 13 making up to £300. 5 made £1000 or more.
The handling was loud, over the top, and heavy handed..."staff" opening pens yelling at the animals to move - who could go nowhere with the staff stood in the gateway. Absolutely terrified the whole pen would clamber up over each other in an attempt to get away - we saw one foal rear up and get stuck over the top of another foal, the one below collapsing in the end to get the other one off. Panic stricken animals desperate to move and unable to get away. All it would have taken would have been to quietly walk along the rail to the back and the ponies would have moved away without anyone even looking at them....Even in the relatively small ring there were 11 people standing in it at one stage with the ponies being sold.
The work that would be needed to undo the trauma caused to ponies at this sale would be considerable...but of course they are not here to have a long-term future...
...Almost all the ponies/horses went with 3 main meat dealers - everything from the wild foals to 16hh horses, neither domesticated nor wild were spared. The blue alkathene pipe was in play. One dealer loading up full with purchases, disappearing for half and hour, and then coming back to pick up the next shipment - they gloat over the whole performance enjoying the fact that the welfare groups are watching and there is nothing they can do to stop them. Even if there is illegal activity NO-ONE from the authorities ever does anything to stop them.
The dealers that had disappeared after the horse meat scandal are now back...it's time to ask questions here - has one door shut but another opened??? Where are they all going? What we are seeing here is just the tip of the iceberg!
There didn't seem to be much hope for the few that went to non-dealer homes either. One young girl - about 14 years old spent 15 minutes wrestling a wild foal in a pen in a battle of strengths until she forced a headcollar on it. During loading it pushed out through the loading gates and ended up running around the car park - people desperate to keep it off the main road. It was pursued by people around the car park for at least the next half an hour...
...Within the hour in a separate incident another foal escaped and again was off into the car park.
A car sized van reversed up to the loading bays - with the aim of loading a Shetland into the back - full of all sorts of things - we saw them being yelled at (not by the auction staff!) and told to go and get a horse trailer or the police would be called.
A pony was loaded into a trailer with no upper doors to fasten - just a sheet - a person was seen to travel in the back of the trailer trying to hold the flap down as they disappeared off on their journey to where-ever they were going...
Another private home trying to cram ponies in the lorry - they loaded some, tried to add more, they all came flying out, loaded again, and one of the horses was going to jump the gates that were shut so the woman whacked it over the head as hard as she could and ran for the ramp to shut it.
There were so many incidents...
Two ponies had earnotches - illegal mutilations which the farmers know they are not allowed to carry out. These ponies also went onto the back of the meat lorry.
No food was provided for the horses and as the sale nears its end some horses start chewing the bars and the chalkboards to get some relief...
...This is another day where Bodmin and Cornwall should be ABSOLUTELY ASHAMED.
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