18/ DECEMBER 2018 THE RIDER Many questions remain after protest in Waterford


By Ellie Ross On Friday November


30th, a horse loving com- muter, Natalie Tupper, posted about three horses she watched gradually and consistently become thinner over the past six months, in a field visible from the road. Her concerns grew to the point where she knocked on the door. She received no answer and discussed this with the neighbours, who she claims advised her that they had made calls to the OSPCA. “There didn’t ap- pear to be adequate or con- sistent feeding” describes Tupper who made more than a few calls to the OSPCA herself. Tupper says she was assured by the OSPCA, that there was an open investigation yet states the horses’ condition ap- peared to be deteriorating as


bale of hay was delivered and devoured. “They were clearly very hungry and ap- peared to have no problem eating it”. Tupper states the fact that the OPP arranged for hay is evidence that there was no hay onsite. One horse known as


‘Simcah’ was visibly emaci- ated and there was an at- tempt to remove this horse from the property the fol- lowing morning. ‘Simcah’ was loaded on a trailer that, Tupper later learned, had no authorization, not even by the owner, but at the time, Tupper’s only concern was the horse itself. “This horse was too weak and I tried to explain to the driver that I didn’t believe the horse would survive the trip” but all I got was swearing and yelling,” says Tupper “so I blocked the driveway so


Tupper, that there was an at- tempt to remove the horse before the OPP or OSPCA arrived. Thompson was quick to make calls - “I con- tacted the OSPCA and was advised that there were no orders on the horses at that farm.


On December 1st a


veterinarian from Edwards Veterinary arrived. The horse was unloaded and after what is described as a short exam was euthanized right on the driveway. This sparked an emotional re- sponse from some of the people watching from the road.


The two remaining


horses were moved into the garage to be housed in what was described as makeshift stalls, with straw bedding, hay and water. Blankets were provided by WHHR and placed on the horses. The remaining mares were described by Thompson as being in poor body condi- tion.


An OPP negotiator


partnered with Thompson and made an attempt to have the owner relinquish the horses but this was unsuc- cessful. Another surpris- ingly unsuccessful effort was made by an unnamed Oakville woman who al- legedly offered $10,000 for the horses. Following the decline of her offer, the Oakville woman shopped for supplies such as heaters for the protesters that were camping out day and night on the road. The events that fol- included what


lowed


seemed to be a conflicting battle of social media state- ments between Tupper, WHHR, Edwards Veteri- nary and the OSPCA. Upon my contacting


she saw no signs of ade- quate feeding. Friday night she turned


to the OPP, who she says in turn, called the OSPCA. “I will never forget the desper- ate whinnies and screams from these horses as I ap- proached the fence,” to which Tupper describes as ‘heartbreaking’. Tupper was disheartened to be in- formed that no veterinarian or OSPCA officer would be arriving that night. A coordi- nated effort between the OPP and a nearby neigh- bour, brought temporary re- lief to these horses, when a


they couldn’t take him


away. ‘Simcah’ was kicking and screaming in the trailer.” Soon enough, the ‘two


legged herd’ (people that or- ganized themselves via so- cial media’) arrived and a protest began. Signs de- manding the horses be re- leased to Whispering Hearts Horse Rescue (WHHR) were quite a surprise to WHHR CEO Brenda Thompson, who arrived on the scene but had no knowl- edge of the protesting effort. Thompson became in-


volved upon hearing from


the OSPCA, I was advised that my questions would be answered in their media re- lease and they invited any additional questions. They were prompt to respond to my emails and admitted that they had received several calls about these horses over the past year. They stated “The OSPCA has attended the property and followed up several times as each concern was brought for- ward over the past year”. This statement is disturbing to Thompson who heavily questions why orders were not written during that time.


Visit www.therider.com The OSPCA states that


the horse that was eutha- nized had a pre-existing medical condition and was under veterinary care which they claim means they do not have the ability to inter- vene.


Edwards Veterinary


stated in a since deleted Facebook post that they had seen these horses six months ago and made phone calls to the proper authorities fol- lowing that first visit. The contact that followed was requests that care visits be booked. Edwards Veterinary claims they contacted the proper authorities and they cannot force anyone to com- ply or come to their clinic. It was also stated online, that the second visit did not occur until December 1st. That was the day ‘Simcah’ was euthanized. December 1st,


the


OSPCA posted a statement online that read ‘The Soci- ety would like to reassure the public that we have been out to visit the animals sev- eral times and have ad- dressed any concerns reported’. They also went on to claim the owners were cooperative and that the horses always had food, water, shelter etc. each time they were followed up on. Tupper demands to know why she didn’t see hay in front of these horses on her daily drive by and why ‘Simcah’ got to the condi- tion he did under what she calls ‘the watchful eye of the OSPCA’. On December 5th, the


OSPCA stated that they wrote orders on December 1 and December 3rd but both Thomson and Tupper state that there was no OSPCA officer on either of those dates and questions how or- ders could have been writ- ten. “We were expecting the OSPCA at 9:30 am. An OPP liaison along with others were left waiting all day. They (OPP) called and were told that an OSPCA officer was on the way. At 4:30 pm a call was received from OSPCA Inspector Jennifer Bluhm to advise that no one would be attending. What a waste of resources. We were there 24 hours a day each day and no OSPCA officer arrived until December 5th. How can they write orders if they were not there?” said Thompson. The protest was


nothing but peaceful and closely supervised by the OPP according to Thomp- son. “There was no valid reason to not attend”. The day before (De-


cember 4th), Edwards Vet- erinary arrived to examine and treat the two remaining horses housed in the garage. Thompson states the horses were being fed and watered but expresses doubt this will continue once the pressure is off.


There have been no


charges laid or seizures or- dered at the time of this sub- mission. The OSPCA posted online that animals can only be removed if: 1. It is in immediate distress as defined by provincial an- imal legislation 2. Ordered under the certifi- cate of a veterinarian or 3. If the owner has not com- plied with orders issued under the provincial animal legislation There are many ques-


tions surrounding this case that need to be answered. The protest has since


Edwards Veterinary,


disbanded and the road was closed by the OPP to ensure the safe exit of all present. Requests to interview the


horse owner and the OPP had gone unanswered at the time of this submission. The


OSPCA shared that in 2017 they investigated over 15,000 animal welfare con- cerns that were reported, is- sued close to 4000 orders to improve standards of care, laid 573 provincial charges and 21 criminal charges, re- moved over 1200 animals as a result of investigations. The fate of the two re-


maining horses ‘Trina’ and Diamond’ remain unknown


A Barn Woman A Christmas Poem by Ellen Schoeman


and the investigation re- mains open. In the meantime,


WHHR is circulating a peti- tion regarding changes to Animal Protection in On- tario. The petition can be ac- quired and shared by contacting


them at


whhr08@gmail.com or via their Facebook page.


Hello, Christmas morning Breathing in the crisp barn air The stable smells of oats and barley Nickers From the horses Stabled here I hand out carrots, mints, and apples Before I lead them into the snow They gallop through the banks The snow falling still The horses buck and strike and rear Dynamic Like foals again Jack Russells behind me Tunneling beneath the snow The horses roll and snort and buck again


I imagine my daughters’ faces Infants Toddlers Sorrowful gladness upon the past Adolescents Young adults Adults Children of their own To welcome Christmas morning Lovely Christmas morning The horses nicker to one another I smile against the cold air A reflection of mornings past The spirit of a young woman Breathing beneath the years Worn upon my face


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