Terry Saulters has been in the horse slaughter business for quite some time, operating Saulters Livestock with his son Trenton Saulters. Saulters Livestock has multiple violations of USDA regulations as well as transport violations such as driving longer than allowed and falsifying log books. Despite these serious violations, they are allowed to continue their operations unabated. In addition to his own operations, Saulters has a long-standing connection to Mike McBarron and in fact continues to ship horses to slaughter for him. Saulters buys horses from auctions throughout Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma and delivers them to the Jerez plant in Mexico.
Animals’ Angels visited Saulters’ property in Waco, TX on July 12, 2014 to determine conditions and activity. Investigators noted that the property is well maintained with a nice private residence and several sheds and barns. A loading ramp could be observed in the back and there were pens with slaughter-bound horses behind the house. There were approximately 25 horses in the pen area, many with auction tags still attached. They were all gathered around bales of hay. Although some of the horses were thin, their overall their condition was satisfactory with no cause for immediate alarm.
Saulters’ white semi with a boarded-up single deck trailer was parked at the front of the property as well as a 2nd single deck trailer.
Although investigators monitored the property, there was no activity.