As Animals’ Angels has intensified its investigations into New Mexico kill buyer Dennis Chavez, conditions at his Los Lunas feedlot have grown increasingly concealed.
During a recent 2026 investigation, Animals’ Angels investigators encountered armed guards surrounding the property. From a nearby ridgeline, they documented a massive bone yard — containing what appeared to be the remains of hundreds of horses. The scale of this discovery raises questions about how many animals are dying within this system, and under what conditions.
But restricted access did not stop our investigation. It shifted it.
Unable to fully document activity on the ground, Animals’ Angels expanded our focus — tracing records, transport documents, and auction connections to better understand how horses are moving through Chavez’s operation.
We’ve now shaped a clearer picture of Chavez’s high-volume slaughter pipeline.
In 2025 alone, 4,880 wild horses were documented entering Chavez’s network — followed by an additional 1,160 wild horses in just January and February of 2026.
A significant portion of these horses originate from tribal lands in the Southwest. Records obtained by Animals’ Angels confirm that Chavez has acquired horses through agreements with the Navajo Nation and the Ute Mountain Tribe, moving large groups of horses off reservation lands and into his pipeline.
Three Dismal Paths Forward
Animals’ Angels investigators have observed how horses at the Southwest Livestock Auction in Los Lunas, which operates as Chavez’s feedlot and auction ground, are processed. Many of the horses — particularly those arriving from reservation lands — are already in poor condition, including cases of emaciation and illness. Upon arrival, they are quickly sorted into three groups:
- Mares and geldings are routinely shipped across the border to slaughter in Mexico.
- Stallions are castrated at the lot before being sent on the same path.
- Foals, too young to legally ship, are ripped away from their mothers and trucked to auctions across the U.S. to be resold.
These foals — often only weeks or months old — are separated before they are physically able to withstand transport or survive without their mothers, and then dispersed across the country.
Animals’ Angels has documented shipments of these young horses to auctions including the Elkhart auction in Texas, the Jones Auction in Oklahoma, and the Wisconsin Kill Pen. A significant number have also been traced to Missouri — a state Animals’ Angels has identified as a central hub in the U.S. horse slaughter pipeline — where they enter a well-established auction network.
This connection is particularly concerning in light of Animals’ Angels’ ongoing investigations at the Interstate Regional Stockyards and the Springfield Auction, where investigators have repeatedly documented foals arriving thin, sick, and in distress.
At these auctions, foals appeared visibly compromised — coughing, underweight, and struggling after recent separation from their mothers. Accounts from individuals who purchased these foals further underscore the severity of their condition: many do not survive long after the auction.
Animals’ Angels continues to closely monitor auctions across Missouri, where the volume, condition, and sourcing of horses point to a deeply entrenched and ongoing pipeline.
A Pipeline With Questionable Traceability
Animals’ Angels has uncovered troubling inconsistencies in the documentation tied to these shipments — pointing to what appears to be a deliberate effort to obscure the true source of the horses.
Health certificates and Coggins paperwork obtained during the investigation repeatedly list a shipper identified as “Rubber Duck Farm” in Peralta, New Mexico.
However, Animals’ Angels found no record of this entity:
- No business registration with the State of New Mexico
- No listing with the New Mexico Department of Taxation
- No record with the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office
- No such address exists
At the same time, these shipments are directly connected to horses moving through Dennis Chavez’s operation — many of them originating from the same sources and appearing at the same downstream auctions tied to his network.
Taken together, the evidence points to a clear conclusion:
“Rubber Duck Farm” is not an independent entity, but a name used to move horses through Chavez’s pipeline without directly identifying him as the shipper.
Without accurate documentation, tracing the origin of horses — especially those moving from reservation lands through multiple states — becomes significantly more difficult. For buyers, regulators, and enforcement agencies, accountability is effectively obscured.
Financial Accountability Concerns
If horses are being sold under the name “Rubber Duck Farm” — a business that does not appear to exist — it is unclear how these transactions are being reported, or whether regulatory requirements are being met.
Government agencies cannot collect taxes from an entity that does not formally exist.
Veterinarian Florian Sanchez and the Integrity of Transport Records
Despite clear discrepancies in the documentation, official transport paperwork continues to be signed and approved.
Animals’ Angels found that veterinarian Florian Sanchez — a long-time associate of Dennis Chavez — willingly signed Coggins tests listing “Rubber Duck Farm” as the official shipper, despite the fact that no such entity can be verified.
Sanchez’s credibility is questionable — given his long-standing connection to Chavez’s operation and the fact that this is not the first time his role has come under scrutiny. In a prior Animals’ Angels investigation, Sanchez was linked to the approval of shipments involving extremely young foals — well below an age where they could safely withstand transport.
As a practicing veterinarian, Sanchez is responsible for ensuring that Coggins documentation for horses crossing state lines is accurate and reliable. Authorities in receiving states depend on this information to trace the origin of horses and respond to the spread of contagious disease.
By signing off on paperwork tied to an entity that does not appear to exist, Sanchez’s actions compromise traceability — undermining the ability to protect both horses and the broader population.
A Pipeline Built to Obscure Accountability
From large-scale sourcing on reservation lands to the use of an untraceable shipping name, Chavez’s operation makes accountability difficult at every stage.
Foals are separated, dispersed across multiple states, and shipped under a name that cannot be verified — breaking the link between origin and outcome.
For buyers, identifying the responsible party becomes nearly impossible. For regulators, enforcement becomes significantly more difficult. And for the horses, the consequences are immediate.
Conclusion:
Animals’ Angels has taken these findings and formally notified the governmental agencies responsible for protecting horses across multiple states.
Official complaints have been filed in Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, and New Mexico, and we have been informed that aspects of these cases are now under investigation.
We expect action. Any operation — real or fabricated — that enables the movement of sick, vulnerable, and untraceable horses across state lines must be held accountable.
Animals’ Angels will continue to document these practices, expose those responsible, and push for enforcement at every level — for as long as it takes.
Animals’ Angels is there with the animals. We bear witness to their neglect and exploitation, making sure their suffering is not hidden. By exposing the truth and demanding accountability, we work tirelessly to end systems of abuse. We will not rest until no animal is harmed — and we will be their voice for as long as it takes.
With your support, our voice grows stronger. Together, we can bring change.
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