Feel Terrible News Story

[davidc4430]

Badly neglected horses taken into care

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-31/15-badly-neglected-horses-taken-in-by-rspca-sa/8226138

i just cant deal with people who cause animal cruelty.

cant care for an animal, call the RSPCA and surrender it. dont just let the animal suffer until its too late. luckily it seems concerned people made the effort to report these cases.

[redders_60]

I too cannot condone animal abuse!

When younger (30 odd years ago)  I was a member of a Vic based  horse rescue group. Not officially condoned back then, but we'd rock up with a horse float in the middle of the night to abandoned horses in empty paddocks & "Liberate" neglected horses for care & rehabilitation. I had a farm back then with good paddocks & a friendly local vet with tight lips who volunteered but said nothing!

Those horses in your pics are the most badly neglected I've ever seen!  (& I've seen many!) - Extremely malnourished, worm burdened, overgrown hooves. with rain scalded & ringwormed coats. Pity is they seem fairly young & would have a lot of life & love to give with adequate care & attention by a caring owner!

While on the subject of animal abuse... I must say please everyone do not dump unwanted domestic ducks @ the nearest lake or pond & hope they will survive! They will not be able to forage for themselves, will be overly friendly to nefarious humans & dogs, & they will die!

I say this as a reminder to all because today I encountered 2 adult male Moscovy drakes @ my area's artificial lake. I stopped because I saw them nearing the road & shooed them back into the scanty parkland. Muscovies don't even like water!  Thay are a perching bird, but very large. They were so friendly that I gave them each a cuddle - despite having no food for them.

Neither my local council or the RSPCA will help me wrangle them; So I'm going back tomorrow with some cat cages to grab them & hope of rehoming 2 very friendly gents. I've a 14yo drake of my own - so cannot home them permanently. Any takers? Melb outer north. They are friendlier than dogs; Don't quack (they make a huffing sound to be friendly - which scares some people because they think it's aggression) ; But do wag their tails! Wish me well for tomorrow!  I couldn't grab them today as I had no facilities & a carload of stuff for the op shop. 

[lyndal1838]

It is a bit or a cop out to suggest that the negect has anything to do with extra expense over the Christmas period.

It takes way more than a few weeks for a horse to get into that condition.

Surely people noticed them before now...or did they not care enough to pick up the phone and call the RSPCA.

[davidc4430]

true, the comment about christmas was a bit silly.

it doesnt say in the story how long the RSPCA have known about these horses. i do believe sometimes it can take a lot of work to confiscate animals from owners who dont co-operate.

lets hope these horses find new homes.

cant rehome any ducks here, sorry

[lyndal1838]

The RSPCA can seize an animal within 24 hours if the animal is on a property that is obviously inhabited.  They have to notify the people that they are going to take them and give them a chance to explain.

If the animals have been dumped they can be impounded immediately.

In the case of horses I would say they would need to be seen by a vet before seizing them to make sure they are fit to be floated.  Then they would have to arrange for transport, depending on the number of horses to be moved.  I do know that here in Sydney they usually arranged for staff who had experience of horses to be on hand when they loaded them.

[redders_60]

As an update to my abandoned domestic duck story above... I spent most of the day yesterday on the phone & not an ounce of help from anyone! About 6.30pm my adult daughter & I went with 2 cat cages to try to get them ourselves. Daughter hates birds, despite growing up with them. so was more than brave in offering help with 2 goose sized men. 

To cut a long story short they had found a small group of trees & settled in early for the night. We were able to feed them some grain & bread, but could not get them to approach for wrangling. I wonder what happened during the day to make them more cautious? At least it was a good sign that they may survive the few days I need to get some help for them! 

[kopenhagen5]

Just had a look at gumtree and many selling muscovies.

$50 each.

Have a look for one your way and contact them to ask if they want 2 drakes for free.

They will probably find a good home for them.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-melbourne/muscovy+ducks/k0l3001317

[redders_60]

Thanks Kopes for your input - I do not do Gumtree - It's nice to know if I wrangle the blokes & can create an account there with help &  maybe someone will want them as "Free To Good Home"  or to add to their flock. They would be good breeding stock drakes. I've experience with the breed & these blokes are nice specimens. 

I just cannot believe the lack of help I've received from so called welfare groups, local council etc!  I'm not the most agile woman for my age & it's going to be a hard task trying to stuff a goose sized bird into a cage designed for a cat.  I'll try again tomorrow as I was so disheartened today after doing more phone calls, & really can't rehome them myself.

The reason I get up every morning is for Charlie (my avatar pic mixed breed small drake) he's now 14yo & blind in left eye. I really couldn't take on 2 such large young gents as it would be to Charlie's detriment. Now an elderly brown duck would be another thought entirely! Charlie lost his lifelong wife in June lastr year & is lonely

[kopenhagen5]

That's why I thought if you contact someone selling them nearby they can come and catch them.

Could be worth $100 to them.

Or they might want some good breeding stock.