The monthly horse auction continues to be one of the largest horse sales in the country, with over 6500 horses sold in 2024. The auction also steadily attracts kill buyers from all over the country, who battle over the hundreds of loose horses sold every month. When investigators visited the sale last time, 500+ horses were on the premises, of which 320 were consigned to the loose horse sale. Walking through the pen area, they noticed that most of the horses were in good condition. A few horses were noted with minor injuries, which did appear to be transport related. A Roan had a cut above his eye and a Palomino was found with a bleeding injury on his left hind leg.
The main concern regarding this sale remains the movement of the loose horses in bulk via riders on horseback. The employees move 30+ horses at a time into large pens located directly behind the auction ring. Once inside the pen, many of the agitated horses panic and a lot of fighting, kicking and biting is observed. Several horses were observed slipping and falling. It was especially heartbreaking to see a horse with just one eye in one of these pens. It was trying to stay away from the commotion but continued to get pushed and kicked.
The loose horse sale started at 8:04am. The kill buyers were all sitting in the front row, affectionately called “kings’ row” by the auctioneer. While some of the horses sold for thousands of dollars (135 horses sold for more than $2000.00), it also became very clear that prices for slaughter prospects were significantly lower than witnessed in previous years, which most likely can be attributed to the decline of Bouvry Exports horse slaughter operation. Public records obtained by Animals’ Angels also confirm that no slaughter horses have been exported to Alberta for slaughter from Montana for a while now.
Without Bouvry buying most of the “slaughter prospects” available, prices hovered on average between $400-$500. As usual, Colorado kill buyer Jason Fabrizius and Oklahoma kill buyers Joe Simon and FX Farms and Montana buyer Curt Anderson battled over the cheaper horses, which only spent seconds in the auction ring. Among those purchased were two horses that appeared lame when they ran through the ring, one sold for $350 to Fabrizius, the other one sold for $225 to buyer 589.
When the loose horse sale was almost over, investigators left the sale ring to observe any loading activity. They noticed a truck with a single deck trailer from the Kiwi Cattle Company based in Chappell, NE back up to the loading ramp. Shortly thereafter, the driver and a helper started to move horses from the pens to the loading ramp. Using sticks and whips they rushed the horses into the trailer. Several tried to turn around on the ramp but were ultimately pushed forward by the horses that followed. Twenty minutes later the loading was finished and the driver closed the trailer door. The truck remained at the ramp a while longer and the horses could be heard kicking the trailer sides.
The visit clearly showed that Billings is still one of the main hunting grounds for the small group of kill buyers that remains. Animals’ Angels will continue to monitor the situation.