Animals’ Angels investigators returned to the monthly horse sale in Mira Loma, CA. When they arrived at 6pm, they parking lot was already very crowded and the tack sale was ongoing. There were 54 horses inside the pen area. Just like during their last visit, investigators were appalled by the poor condition of several of the animals. Several were very emaciated with every rib showing, others were covered in scars. Some has obvious eye infections and were coughing.
Despite the fact that these could be signs of a highly contagious Strangles infection, the horses in question were not separated from the other horses. Many of the horses appeared very tired and lethargic, with their heads hanging low. In one of the pens investigators spotted a very thin, neglected looking filly with a BLM brand. It also still had the neck tag from the BLM holding facility attached, which could mean that it was sold/adopted out quite recently. The poor filly was very skittish and tried to avoid being touched.
When investigators walked through the parking lot, they immediately saw the Dodge Ram & canvas top stock trailer of California horse traders David & Bubba Misner parked prominently up front. Our research shows that the father son duo remains very active buying & selling horses in California as well as Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. This night was no exception - When the horse sale started shortly after 8pm, David Misner took up a front row seat while Bubba maintained a presence in the auction ring. Misner purchased a lot of horses, paying as much as $1200 for some of them. Among them were a 5-year-old blue Roan stallion, a 12-year-old Quarter horse gelding and a 7-yearold grade mare. Luckily, he did not get the BLM filly, it sold for $535 to a private buyer.
The following week, investigators attended the second auction operated by the Murphy family, located in Buckeye, AZ. It was an extremely hot day with temperatures exceeding 112 degrees Fahrenheit. Despite the excruciating heat, there were several horses in the outside pen area that did not have shelter or water. Several of the horses present were thin, however, overall in better condition than at the California sale. A few unbranded Mustangs were present, which (according to the information provided by the seller), came from an Indian reservation “up north”. One of them was a sad looking 2-year-old filly, that stood motionless and appeared as if her spirit already had been broken. Investigators also noted that several of the horses that had sold to Misner the week before were at the sale. Each came with a lengthy description of the horse’s features & skills, which made it sound as if the seller had known the animal in question for years.
Misner’s truck and empty stock trailer had been parked all the way in the back. It is important to note that Misner’s truck has no name of DOT number displayed, which is a violation of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. Bubba Misner was roaming the pen area drinking beer and was observed making multiple trips back to his truck to get more out of a cooler.
When the sale started, several buyers were purchasing multiple horses. However, no known kill buyers were noted, and no large tractor trailers were present. Animals’ Angels will continue to monitor both sales and report all potential violations that were observed to the relevant authorities.