Justice for horses

I don't understand why people are cruel. There's absolutely no excuse & no justification. It's a choice they make & they should be held accountable.

Yeah Im with you on that @oldnewie. Its just unacceptable that people are cruel to animals. There is just no reason for someone to be cruel to an animal.

The most despicable thing about it to me is that not only is it their choice to inflict the cruelty, it's their choice to take on the responsibility in the first place. They actively went out and decided they would take in animals, who are fully dependent on them for food, water and health care, and then deprived them of it. It's absolutely unforgivable in my eyes.

I hate to say it, but it's unlikely that you'll see him get much more than a slap on the wrist, a fine and be banned for a few years from animal ownership. That's how things go in rural America, and Alabama isn't known for having one of the best records on animal rights. It actually ranks one of the worst for animal protection laws.

I am all against cruelty to animals and everything and I think what those horses had to go through was terrible but I really don't see how this petition is going to make any difference do the outcome at all. The article is not at all objective either, how do you know the man didn't get sick or have mental problems. To say there is no excuse isn't always correct. I doubt he got the animals with the intention of causing harm in the first place.

@ClemmyOddieIndy I know it's a long shot, but I'd still rather fail and be able to say I'd tried, y'know? At least that's how I look at it.
@guineapigman if he was so sick he could never get up to feed his animals (they didn't get in that state overnight) I think he would have sought medical help, or asked a friend/relative to help out. And if he was any kind of decent person, if he was that sick, he would have given the horses to people who could provide what he no longer could.

I have depression and social anxiety. My animals are well fed, and well cared for. My mother has psychosis and paranoia. Her animals have all also been well fed and well cared for. Unless he had something extremely serious that caused him to not realise he had horses at all, then mental health isn't an excuse either. The fact is, that animal ownership is often recommended to those with mental health issues as the company, love, and responsibility can be very uplifting and helpful to those in need. And if he had something so serious that he was unaware of his surroundings, responsibilities and needs, then he'd be malnourished and dying too, not just his horses.

I have worked with rescues and seen some of the cases where cruelty genuinely wasn't the owners fault. I saw one case of a man with dementia who's greyhounds hadn't been taken from him (I would argue that whoever left the greyhounds with him was the one responsible) who instead of feeding all 10 of his dogs (they were in separate kennels and runs) would feed 1 dog 8/9 times a day and leave the others with nothing and I can definatley say the cruelty was not his fault.

Ii saw saw another case of a woman who got severe depression and hardly ever left her bed for weeks on end. There were care workers coming for her everyday but nobody ever though to look into the back yard where she had 4 cats in an aviary type situation who were starving and living in their own feces. Until a neighbor complained nobody knew they were there.

It it is also very common for elderly people to become very isolated and when they can't look after an animal anymore (sickness, financial problems etc) they just don't know how they can surrender it to a rescue or know anyone who would take it, I wouldn't necessarily say that it was their fault but luckily enough most of these cases the animals are willingly surrendered.

Im im am just saying, it is not always the peoples fault, and then others will only look at part of the story and still blame them. I am just saying that article is very particular about the information shared, there could be a whole other side to the story.

I wouldn't deem a person with dementia in that situation as an act of animal cruelty, I'd say that's the other persons fault and they deserve punishment.

I had to be hospitalised after doing something very bad (in hindsight) to myself because of my depression. My animals never suffered because of it. In fact, the first thing I said when I regained conciousness was "Is Chip okay". Chip was my dog, I didn't have guinea pigs at the time. Depression is no excuse for neglecting animals. She was concious and aware of her responsibilities, it's still her fault the animals were in the situation they were in.

So yes, in some cases, it's not entirely the person in questions fault. But I'd say that's a very small minority of the time. The bottom line is, if you're concious, mentally stable (in terms of awareness of your surroundings and responsibilities) and you allow an animal to suffer while in your care, you deserve everything you've got coming to you and more.

It is quite obvious that there is something terribly wrong with the guy who made his own horses starve. He must be suffering some severe mental of physical disorder to allow such madness. I tried to find out more details on the internet about the incident. There are no details. I am not sure if it would be just to blame the man for what has been going on. But what I know is there are shiploads of people on our planet who buy animals with no feeling of responsibility about their long-term well-being and abandon them to death when they feel it is time for the next distraction. Some people seem not to conceive that animals are not their toys and that they can feel.