Animals’ Angels returned to the premises of one of Ohio’s largest slaughter horse buyers. Fred Bauer has been in the slaughter horse business for a very long time but has managed to operate almost completely under the radar. Bauer, who buys close to 7,000 horses each year, ships hundreds of horses each month to the Viande Richelieu plant in Quebec. Frequenting many of Ohio’s horse auctions like Bloomfield and Mt. Hope, he is also a weekly attendant and in fact, the largest buyer, at the Sugarcreek sale.
A review of USDA records shows that Bauer has had several IES cases initiated against him for shipping foals, “downers,” and blind horses. However only one of those cases resulted in an actual fine.
Sample cases include:
- MI07025: downer horse delivered to plant; determined not to be a violation.
- OH09022: shipping a 12-week old foal with its mother to slaughter; no further action due to insufficient evidence.
- NY07291: shipping a blind horse to slaughter; resulted in a fine of $1,300.
Bauer operates his own trucking company under DOT # 322027, but also utilizes the help of the Canadian trucking companies Guy Anjou and Utica.
Bauer’s premises in La Rue are immaculate and look like an idyllic farm with red barns and vast, green pastures.
When investigators arrived at the location, a group of approximately 20 horses were visible in a fenced area next to the barn. All of them had the green USDA slaughter tag attached to their hips. The majority of the horses were Quarter Horses and Standardbreds, all appearing to be of decent weight and in overall good condition. No injuries were visible.
Through the open doors of the barn, many more horses were clearly visible inside the building. It’s unclear why so many horses would be kept inside the barn despite having all of the surrounding, large pastures.
A pickup truck and stock trailer were backed up to the pen area apparently having just delivered horses. Bauer’s own white semi was parked across the street without a trailer attached.
Although investigators remained in place for some time, there was no activity during the period of observation. AA will continue to monitor Bauer’s location and operations.