When Animals’ Angels investigators arrived at the Billings Horse Auction at 7:00 am on October 26th, it was a chilly 33 degrees Fahrenheit. Show was falling and had already covered the ground. Approx. 258 horses were present at the sale, which included over 100 “loose horses”. While all the loose horses were kept in the unsheltered outdoor pen area, most riding horses were kept inside the barns, protected from the elements. Investigators checked on all the horses in the pen area, no emaciated, injured or sick horses were detected during this visit.
The loose horse sale began at 8:00 am. At the entrance door, a new sign had been attached prohibiting the taking of any pictures and videos as well as the “harassing” of any buyers. The handling in the ring was rough, and as usual, the sale was conducted very quickly with each horse staying in the auction ring only for a few seconds. Most of the bidding was done by buyer # 601, Anderson Trucking from Laurel, MT, who was likely bidding behalf of Bouvry Exports. Anderson did not have much kill buyer competition that day and sale prices were slightly lower than usual, ranging from $225.00 to $600.00. The most expensive horse sold for $2700.00.
The loose horse sale ended at 9:50am. Afterwards, the loose horses were moved to the pens in the back. Animals’ Angels will continue to monitor this auction.