Animals’ Angels investigators returned to the weekly Sugarcreek Horse Sale. In its prime, the auction sold well over 300 horses per week and was frequented by multiple kill buyers from surrounding states. A lot has changes since then – Auction owner and former kill buyer Leroy Baker retired, and his son Brady took over the auction business in 2020. Brady renamed the auction to “Sugarcreek Stockyards” and added a sleek new website and social media pages to attract customers.
The number of horses sold each week has also decreased drastically to 20-50 horses on average. On the day investigators visited, there were 32 horses and donkeys inside the pen area. It was a hot summer day, with temperatures as high as 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Despite the heat, most of the horses had no access to water. With a few exceptions, the horses were in good condition. There were a few Standardbreds that were very thin with ribs prominently showing and their bodies covered in scars. A thin mare had an issue with her left hind foot and was unable to put weight on it. Also in the pen area was a BLM gelding who did not want to be approached and who appeared quite agitated.
The sale started at 1:10pm. All horses were moved into the ring individually and the handling was ok. Long time kill buyer Fred Bauer, in his 80s and barely able to walk at this point, sat prominently in the front row. Frankie Spitznogle, a young horse trader from West Virginia who is affiliated with Arkansas kill buyer Blake Wilf, was also in attendance. The horses sold for between $200 and $2000, two horses were no-saled. Spitznogle purchased most of the cheaper horses, among them the BLM gelding, the lame horses and the donkeys. Bauer only purchased very few horses, among them a team of Percheron drafts for $675 each.
After the sale was over at 2:10pm, Bauer and Spitznogle loaded immediately. Spitznogle’s truck did not have a DOT number displayed, which is a violation of the Federal Motor Carrier Regulations that Animals’ Angels has reported to the relevant authorities.
Overall, the observations that day confirm what investigators have been noticing all across the country – the slaughter horse industry and the auction market for slaughter horses continues to slowly fade away.