Nevada Livestock is a full-service livestock auction company located in Fallon, Nevada and serves the Nevada, Southern Idaho, Southern Oregon, Eastern California and Western Utah areas. They have sales every Wednesdays with special sales scheduled at various times.
Our investigators arrived at the auction for the sale on Wednesday, May 21st. The auction property includes a small building and an extensive outdoor pen area with an overhanging wooden catwalk. The property appeared old and was generally run down.
The pen area itself was extremely filthy with all pens covered in a thick layer of mud and/or manure. There was water in place for the animals but absolutely no shelter from the harsh weather. Hay was available but only for those animals slated to remain at the auction for a longer period of time.
“Beef” cows are the mainstay of this auction although they do sell other livestock. Our investigators observed a pen holding longhorns together with non-horn bearing cows which posed a serious risk of injury to the animals.
Several of the cows observed were quite emaciated and some were limping. Investigators noted that one of the cows had a bloody stump where its horn was missing apparently from a transport or fight injury. An extremely emaciated “spent” dairy cow languished in a pen with a large udder, obviously in a great deal of pain. She was standing close to the fence trying desperately not to move.
Investigators made their way to the large pen at the back of the property which held approximately 20 horses and several foals. Investigators approached auction personnel regarding the horses and were told they were not for sale. The employee advised that the auction was simply holding the animals for someone. The horses appeared to be in good condition.
As investigators continued to observe the auction, it was noted that handling of the animals was average. There was no hitting, kicking or rough handling observed.
Animals' Angels will continue to monitor this auction.