Hoover Horse Auction, New Holland, PA 7/7/12

Investigators arrived together with local law enforcement at 8:50am. It was a very hot day with temperature of 104 degrees Fahrenheit. There were approx. 250 horses for sale at the auction, mostly brought in by members of the Amish/Mennonite community.  Kill buyers Brian Moore and Bruce Rotz were present and had plenty to buy, since many of the horses in the catalog were being offered “as is” and with signed EID. Several of the horses were thin, horses #89 and #69 were very thin with ribs showing.  Despite the soring temperatures, the Amish/Mennonites were racing their horses around the dirt track. The animals were covered in sweat. No access to water was provided, all plastic water buckets observed were empty. The Amish buggy horses that had brought their owners to the sale, were “parked” in full sun, also with no access to water. When the auction owner was questioned about these conditions by the humane officer, he attempted to intimidate her and accused her of “harassment”. The Hoover sale is just another poor example of management fighting hard to keep things as is, when it would be so easy to improve these conditions. How difficult can it be to fill water buckets and to provide some shelter for the Amish buggy horses?