Westminster Livestock Auction, MD 1/24/12

Investigators arrived at the weekly auction in Carroll County, MD at 5:00pm. It was a busy day and the parking lot was crowded with pick up trucks, stock trailers and semis. Among them was calf buyer Weynandt from Claysburg, PA as well as Beagle Livestock from Everett, PA. Inside the auction, none of the pens visible from the catwalk had any water for the animals. One pen, which was holding goats with and without horns, was very overcrowded. The horned animals were fighting and the animals without horns were caught in the middle. The handling of the baby calves was very rough. Some of them were only a few days old and could barely walk. Auction workers showed no patience and kicked them with their boots, pulled them by the tail and poked them with sticks. Afterwards, the auction workers started to move the heifers. All heifers were moved through a narrow chute in order to separate them for the scale. Once the animals entered the straight chute with the closed gate at the end, almost all of them spooked and tried to turn around. However, the chute is too narrow and several animals were stuck while more animals entered the chute and pushed. Some animals fell and others trampled on them, while workers used electric prods on their face and sides to make them move forward. Animals’ Angels will continue to monitor the situation and then send a report to management with changes needed.