Centennial Auction, Fort Collins, CO 10/6/10

Date: 
Wednesday, October 6, 2010 - 11:30
Investigation Category: 

At 11:30 a young bull calf arrived at the auction. The calf was very weak. At 13:00 the calf was down in the pen and appeared very dehydrated. Investigators were able to help the calf drink some water and then notified the auction vet about the situation. The vet briefly looked at the calf from outside the pen and said the calf “was just about gone.” The vet notified the owner that the calf could not be run through the sale and must be removed from the pen. The owner moved the calf to the back of his Chevy S-10 pickup. Several bystanders told the man that the calf had pneumonia and needed medication immediately to have a chance of survival. After putting the calf in his truck, the man returned to the auction ring for the goat sale. At 15:15 the owner returned and placed a billie goat weighing approximately 140lbs into the back of the pickup. The calf was down. All attempts to reason with the owner failed. At 16:15, the calf was barely breathing and it was apparent that the owner had no intention of doing anything other than letting the calf die. At 16:40, the owner left the auction without ever checking on the calf. It is unacceptable that the auction vet did nothing other than make the owner move the calf from the pen. Animals’ Angels has documented the license plate and reported this incident to local authorities.