Abuse Neglect in Wisconsin
MHWF gets a lot of calls from people all around the state asking what they can do about a particular farm where they see neglected, starving and abused animals.
We would like to talk about that a bit here in the hope that it helps many of you who have run into these kinds of situations and were unsure of what to do.
Finding a Humane Officer
If you have a question or concern about animal abuse or neglect, you may be able to contact a humane officer. Humane officers are not available everywhere in Wisconsin. To check for humane officers in your area, click on your county in the map below and it will take you to a list of humane officers in the county or tell you if there are none. Look under "Jurisdiction" for your city, village or township. If the officer has authority in the entire county, the county name is listed under "Jurisdiction." If only individual cities, villages or towns are listed, the humane officer has authority there and not in other parts of the county.
If you do not see your jurisdiction listed, you should contact your local police or sheriff's department.
Here is a link to a Wisconsin map which will help you find a humane officer in your county or nearby.
https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Programs_Services/FindHumaneOfficer.aspx
Why is it so hard to get help for neglected animals?
Each county in Wisconsin is different, depending on whether or not they have a humane officer on staff, if that humane officer knows horses and if there is money in the county's budget to deal with these kinds of situations. You will find that many counties do have the means to deal with these and many do not. Lets face it, in any situation it is not always what is right or what is legal or illegal. In a lot of counties it is about people who can deal with the situation and who will pay for it.
In Wisconsin horses are considered livestock, which also legally makes them property. In order for any action to be taken, abuse or neglect must be proven and that can often be hard to prove.
The State of Wisconsin does not give the authority to take action against a horse owner to any organization other than the County Sheriff's Department and to some extent the Department of Agriculture. Only a deputy of the county, an agent from the department of Agriculture or a state certified Humane Officer can work on these cases.
How does this work?
How this goes is completely up to the county. There is a procedure that is supposed to be followed however. You may find the level of cooperation very different from county to county.
It starts with a phone call to the county Sheriff. A complaint is made and the county sends out either a deputy or humane officer to go have a look. Whoever is sent out has a number of options to chose from if they find that horses are not being cared for properly.
1. They can warn the owner that conditions are not acceptable and educate them as to how things need to change. This is the primary function of a humane officer and it is always their goal to make things better for the animals without making it a legal matter.
2. They can serve the horse owners an abatement order. This abatement order gives the horse owner a set period of time to correct the situation and get some of the problems fixed and dealt with. Failure to meet the terms of the abatement usually ends up in fines and begins the process of removing the animals. You may find that a lot of counties are hesitant to serve abatement orders. That is generally because if the horse owner does not comply, the county must now begin to take legal action against that person, which can cause the county to spent a lot of hours and money. In many counties, the personnel and budget is not there to back these abatement orders up and the county is left in a situation where they know they need to act, but do not have the resources to act.
3. If the situation is really bad or the county is not getting any cooperation from the horse owner, the county can and often does file a temporary injunction. What that means is that the situation is bad enough that the lives of the animals are in immediate danger and there is little time to act. In these situations, the deputy or humane officer must take the evidence they have collected to a judge and get the injunction. That injunction gives the county the ability to remove the animals immediately and get them into a place where they will get the care they need. Essentially what the injunction does is states that the animals are in immediate danger and there is no time for the legal process to run its course. If action is not taken right away, the animals in question may no longer be alive or treatable at that point. This gives the county the right to remove them and place them somewhere safe. In the meantime, the horse owner has the right to his or her day in court. Depending how the court case goes, the animals are either returned to the owner or are permanently placed in new homes. If they are permanently removed, there are usually charges, fines and sometimes jail time involved as well.
In many cases, the county will make a deal with the horse owner, give up their rights to the horses and a court date in trade for all charges to be dropped. This is very common and has its purpose as well. Although in a perfect world people who neglect and abuse animals should be prosecuted, that is not always as easy as it sounds and sometimes just getting the horses out of the situation and into a better one is a good option.
What can you do if you see one of these situations?
If you run into one of these situations you have several options. Please do not trespass onto this person's property or you will most likely be the one in trouble. It is also not usually a good idea to insult the horse owner as it will usually end up with you not being allowed to see the animals or come back to that farm anymore. Now they are insulted and feel threatened and are more apt to block any efforts to get help to the horses.
The best way to deal with these situations are as follows.
1. If you know the person who owns the animals, stop by for a friendly visit and see if you can get a feel for whether they need help or even want help or if they even realize that the care of their animals is not normal or acceptable. You may be surprised to find out they do not know any better or really need and want help. You may also find out they know and don't care in which case you at least tried. You can also offer to buy the horses or horses in need. This is often a workable option and sometimes the easiest. You may even get them for free and out of there in a lot of situations. Please try not to be judgmental or threatening in these situations. If you take a hard line with them you will probably not get the cooperation you want and will not be able to help the horses, which is your real goal. Don't be afraid to bite your tongue even though you really want to let them have it. Behaving this way only serves your anger and does not usually get much accomplished. If you do not know the horse owner, you are probably better off letting the authorities deal with the situation.
2. You either do not know the people involved or are not getting any cooperation from them. It is time to call you local Sheriff's Department and file a complaint. The county is required to at least check the situation out and not give out your name and in most counties you will find that to be true. Whether they act or recognize there is a problem is another story and there are a lot of factors that play into it. Once you call the county and file your complaint, give them a day or two and call them back to see if they did investigate or not and if they took any action. In most cases they will share at least some of that info with you.
3. Hopefully your county took action after you called them and the situation is now being dealt with. If not, things get much more complicated. You can call the Department of Agriculture to see if they are willing to have a look. You can also start to contact other local people who share your concerns and put some pressure on the county to act. In some cases you will find that contacting local newspapers and TV stations really helps get things rolling and something to happen. Sometimes a combination of all these things are what it takes for things to change. Be persistent and firm, but yet polite and professional, becoming rude or angry will almost certainly not bear fruit in these situations. Appeal to people's good nature and do not feed into your anger or frustration and good luck!
This is our state, yours and ours:
There are still many parts of this state where these situations are ignored and Wisconsin needs to do something about it. It is the responsibility of all of us to make those changes one small step at a time. become active in your community and in your government and help make this a better state for our animals. Anyone can complain and wish, but it takes a person of true character to take action and stand up for what they know or feel is right. Don't be a bystander if you are offended by the neglect or abuse you see. Be a leader and stand up for the animals who do not have a voice and cannot stand up for themselves. If you do not fight for them, nobody else will. It is not the job or duty of someone else to fend for the animals, it is yours and ours and we can only make a difference if we each take our turn at bat.
Thank you, MHWF, Inc.
Our Mission
The Midwest Horse Welfare Foundation is dedicated to providing qualified homes for any horse in need. It is our goal to make certain that every horse placed in our care is provided with all the necessary ingredients for a safe and happy life, and that it is also protected from those who would do it harm.
Each horse placed in our care will receive our full efforts to ensure that it never ends up in the auction ring or on the slaughterhouse floor. We promise to do our best to provide only the best homes with dedicated families for every animal we place.
