Animals’ Angels returned to the Santa Teresa livestock export pens, owned by a co-op of Mexican ranchers, the Union Ganadera Regional De Chihuahua. The USDA works on the Mexican side of the border and only inspects all animals entering the United States. Conversely, on the U.S. side, Mexican health officials inspect all animals exported to Mexico.
The large facility (35 acres) is located right on the Mexican border and it is the only export facility in New Mexico that handles slaughter horses. The pens are used by only two kill buyers, Dennis Chavez from Los Lunas, NM and Monzerrate Munoz from El Paso, TX.
When investigators arrived at the premises a blue Montoya truck with a single deck trailer was parked on the premises. He already had unloaded and the trailer door was open. Montoya Trucking (DOT 444262) is used by Dennis Chavez to haul his slaughter horses, the company is based out of Los Lunas, NM. A review of the trucking company’s driving record shows that in 2013 alone Montoya has accumulated 40 violations for false log books and requiring the driver to drive more than 11 hours.
There were approx. 15 horses observed on the premises, all appeared to be in average condition. No slaughter tags were visible. Based on our observations, there was no shelter, food or water available for the horses inside the pens, several were observed searching the ground for something to eat.
Animals’ Angels will continue to monitor the situation.