Animals’ Angel’s recent investigation into the New Holland Auction in Pennsylvania began with a sad discovery in the sheep and goat barn where a pitiful pile of dead animals lay discarded in the back of the pen area. Investigators suspected that one of the sheep may have been shot by the auction, based on the large amount of blood surrounding the animal’s face, but couldn’t confirm the cause of death.
Moving on to view the other pens, our team noted that several pens were very crowded, including the pens in the pig barn. The miserable animals in the pig barn appeared to be suffering from heat stress as several pens had no access to water and the temperature on the warm day hovered in the upper 80s.
Our team then continued on to view the cattle pens where they were appalled to see that many of the water troughs in these pens were also bone dry. The misery continued as they went outside to where the Amish buggy horses were tied up as usual. The poor animals were forced to stand on hot concrete in the baking sun without a drop of water to provide relief. Investigators witnessed several forlorn horses holding their heads low, appearing to be very depressed.
Next, our investigators observed the horse sale, which was extremely busy. The bidding was fierce, with the buyers seemingly desperate to secure a share of the available horses. All the main kill buyers and traders were in attendance, including Rotz Livestock, Cranbury Sales Stables, Cedar Ridge Farm, Brian Moore, Arlow Kiehl, and Fisher Livestock. Our investigators noted that Ron Harker, an auctioneer at a horse auction in Tabernacle, New Jersey, also attended the sale. It was the first time Harker’s semi and single deck trailer had been spotted at the New Holland auction.
The condition of several the horses inside the barn was poor. Some horses were pitifully emaciated, and one had an openly bleeding wound on his hip. Investigators found the atmosphere inside the horse barn quite hostile, since the auction workers appeared to be paranoid about people taking pictures and even yelled at several auction visitors. Our team was angered by the rude behavior on display, and outraged that the auction workers spent their time harassing customers rather than filling the water troughs of all the thirsty animals in their care.
Animals’ Angels will continue to monitor the New Holland Auction and will report all violations to appropriate enforcement agencies.