Can anything be done about poorly managed 'rescue centres' ?

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Jambarissa

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Back story is that 2 horses in a field near me have suffered from neglect resulting in the death of one and the other being pts. I won't add details, they're pretty grim and identifiable. In both cases the horses came from local rescue places. In both cases the buck stops with the owner/loaner. But...

The rescue places are basically a one man band outfit that rescues horses without having any funds or back up in place. They seem to fund themselves by putting up pictures of the latest rescue on Facebook and asking for donations to help. I know this is basically what any charity does but it seems irresponsible to take on a horse without knowing you have means to pay for it.

They get the horses loaned out very quickly (before they're well enough really) so they can get the new one in to keep the cash coming in.

This is where its breaking down imo. There aren't people queuing up to take on a really old brood mare or an emaciated Shetland or the never ending stream of skinny sec A colts. I don't think they're doing due diligence on the loaners or doing regular check ups. In the case of the 2 above both loaners weren't at all horsey and seemed to lose interest and just stop going.

They aren't registered charities and as far as I can see they aren't doing anything obvious wrong. It isn't just these 2 cases but they're the most extreme, there is basically a horse for anyone who is willing to pay the rehoming fee and there were a lot of those over covid.

Can anything be done about this sort of thing? The established horsey community in my area is quite concerned because there seem to be fields of pasture ornaments all around us now and you very rarely see anyone with them. It's OK in the summer but we're on mossland so they'll all be on mud come the winter. It's very concerning.
 
It's a massive subject isn't it. The only way this will stop is to cut off their funding and make people aware of the malpractice. Maybe put a post anonymously on your local fb page saying what you would expect when rehoming a horse from a rescue. Like full vet check including strangles test and up to date vaccinations, dentist, farrier, worming, castration etc. For any medical conditions, behaviour problems to be disclosed and manageable. Passport microchip. Loan agreement if this how a charity runs. A home check and regular checks there after. Full support from the charity after rehomng and much more. Rehome responsibly from reputable charities and ask extensive questions on both sides.
 
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Wondering what their official status is. If they're not a registered charity are they a very cheap dealer? (In law I mean.) Just because you call yourself something, doesn't mean that's what you are!
If they're getting thin/ill animals in & then not treating them sufficiently before 'selling' them, they would be open to the same checks & regulations from legitimate charities that any other dealer is.
The only thing I'd think can be done is the same as any other cruel (or ignorant) dealer- constant vigilance & keep reporting.
 
A similar thing happened near me. The rescue didn’t bother doing the 6 month check that they claim they did. They rehomed 3 quite big horses so someone who already had several and it all went pair shaped. One of the 3 was pts shortly after it was taken back. The thing that horrifies me the most is that this rescue is on rented land. They could easily lose their premises (especially with all the house building going on locally), so those horses haven’t even got that security. They rehome horses quickly. I’m guessing they’ve never had one with strangles, because i’m sure they’d be more careful about their bio security if they had. They used to take in welfare cases, but it’s now turned into more of a rehoming centre where horses are taken on and loaned out quickly for a fee.
 
Until it is accepted that euthanasia isn't the worst option, these types of "rescue", for all animals, will continue to exist. Some of the photos and appeals I see just make me go wtf are you putting these animals through in a bid to "save" them.

GS is right, for some people it's a form of addiction. There's a woman near here who "rescues" endless dogs, and keeps them just until they do something to annoy her, and then they are pts and she gets more - from a registered charity rescue ... and she thinks she's wonderful.
 
Regarding pts a vet will not put an owned horse to sleep without getting paid or correct paperwork with the police/charity present. Sometimes charities have to get a horse signed over to them so they can do this, it is not as simple as people think. Again it's the animal welfare law and charities bare the cost.

Many do not even come onto site they are monitored and their owners are put under improvement notices. There is only so much again by law that charities can do. What you see on the outside is a tiny part of the work that goes on and its shocking what they have to deal with and the volience and threats they endure.
 
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Goldie's mum said:
Wondering what their official status is. If they're not a registered charity are they a very cheap dealer? (In law I mean.) Just because you call yourself something, doesn't mean that's what you are!
If they're getting thin/ill animals in & then not treating them sufficiently before 'selling' them, they would be open to the same checks & regulations from legitimate charities that any other dealer is.
The only thing I'd think can be done is the same as any other cruel (or ignorant) dealer- constant vigilance & keep reporting.
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I don’t know this case but they probably buy them very cheaply or are given them and then rehome them .
 
This reminds me of that woman that took on all them young coloured colt foals that ended up neglected.

Can anyone remember who that was?
 
There's a dog/farm animal charity in Ireland with (they just posted yesterday) 107 dogs and a load of cats horses sheep goats etc, and only 1 full time staff and 4-5 volunteers, mainly foreign students, per day.
She begs constantly, needing about 5k per week, and getting it mainly from the UK. No locals will have anything to do with the place.
How can just 1 adult with a few volunteers look after that many animals properly?
 
maybe licencing these sort of places would help. theres an animal "rescue" place close to where I live. all sorts of welfare issues going on yet people still give them money. the owners are making a goodd living out of it.this sort of thing should be stopped imo. on the other hand , an equine rescue charity i volunteer for ( a registered charity) is acting responsibly and has temporarily stopped taking any new horses as they have enough residents looking for homes at the moment or needing veterinary care before they can be rehomed.
 
stormox said:
There's a dog/farm animal charity in Ireland with (they just posted yesterday) 107 dogs and a load of cats horses sheep goats etc, and only 1 full time staff and 4-5 volunteers, mainly foreign students, per day.
She begs constantly, needing about 5k per week, and getting it mainly from the UK. No locals will have anything to do with the place.
How can just 1 adult with a few volunteers look after that many animals properly?
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If this is the place I’m thinking you mean, you are not correct.
 
Most of these sorts of 'charities' are just bin end dealers. They buy or are gifted broken horses and sell them on. The buyers are also claim they have 'rescued' a horse when they buy them. No you've bankrolled a bin end dealer!

One local woman 'rescued' a horse recently. Paid £1.5K! For a worm ridden, lice ridden, lame, emaciated youngster with horrible post castration infection. A castration which the vet insisted no vet had done! So dealer probably made over a grand on that little transaction and the owner is patting herself on the back for supporting this amazing 'rescue'. God its easy money: I have a sick, injured, neglected totally unsellable horse here. What do I do? Get a vet? CAre for him till he;s healthy?? PTS??? No I'll call myself a rescue and sell him for good money! And there's no shortage of folk who want tthe kudos of having a 'rescue' without the trouble of satisfying the fairly stringent requirements of legitimate charities. Especially as the dealers then write gushing congratulatory posts about how delighted the gorgeous horse who was going to be amazing one day was going to such an amazing forever home yada yada.

I don't know what the answer is really.
 
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Cortez said:
If this is the place I’m thinking you mean, you are not correct.
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Not correct in what way? The amount of animals was posted yesterday on the charity's FB page. Also under a previous name it was caught out for fraud by Charity Regulator, and taken to court and found to owe over 200k tax.
They do successfully home some dogs I agree but there are far too many animals there for the small amount of staff they have. There is also a very high turnover of volunteers, no one stays long.
 
webble said:
There is a charity local to me that is pretty much a hoarder who takes on way more than they can physically or financially manage. Sometimes PTS is the best option
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Not sure whether it is the same one, but we took on an elderly pony, then aged about 36yo, from someone near you.

He was a grand chap, but inevitably age caught up with him him in the end. I told them how he was and that I thought that his time had come, and asked them to visit him - I was proud of how I'd kept him as well as I did. They declined to visit him and I had him pts off my own bat, he was then over 40.

There's a local cat rescue who are always begging for help with vet bills, I strongly suspect that they are in the hoarder category.

Like them or not, the RSPCA did a thorough home check on me and then 6 monthly in person checks when I fostered young ponies from them.
 
Tiddlypom said:
Not sure whether it is the same one, but we took on an elderly pony, then aged about 36yo, from someone near you.

He was a grand chap, but inevitably age caught up with him him in the end. I told them how he was and that I thought that his time had come, and asked them to visit him - I was proud of how I'd kept him as well as I did. They declined to visit him and I had him pts off my own bat, he was then over 40.

There's a local cat rescue who are always begging for help with vet bills, I strongly suspect that they are in the hoarder category.

Like them or not, the RSPCA did a thorough home check on me and then 6 monthly in person checks when I fostered young ponies from them.
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I think I know the cat rescue, they beg for money for cats/kittens that have so much wrong with them they would really be better pts. They have also changed vets several times, not sure if that's because they don't like what the vets advise.
 
Many years ago in Ashton under lyne there was a cat charity, Molly something or other. I was asaturday girl on a pet food market stall and they were always coming for food and cat litter and running funding events,then one day the RSPCA seized all the cats. Turned out she was breeding them in cages.
 
Jambarissa!
Under current Animal Welfare Act Legislation by law owners must:
Provide a proper diet (food and water).
Give them somewhere suitable to live.
Meet animal’s needs to be housed with, or apart from, other animals.
Allow them to express normal behaviour.
Ensure they are free of disease or illness

If they are not doing so then contact:
BHS (British Horse Society) Tel: 0247 6840 517 24/7
WHW (World Horse Welfare) Tel: 0800 0480 180 8.00 a.m. – 5.30 p.m. Monday – Friday
RSPCA (Royal Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals) Tel: 0300 1234 999 24/7

Who will send one of their inspectors to investigate and take appropriate action.
 
I also now one that has way to much horses than they can physically handle they also have dogs goats and pigs. People have struggled to return horses that have only been temporarily fostered . Unfortunately there has been case where people have abandoned these rescues horses at yards because the rescue won’t take them back . They post Facebook saying they’re stolen and are really angry about it. They do zero checks after theses horses are rehomed . They have also attacked the racing studs saying they abuse their horses because they don’t agree with breeding. This allegations are quickly deleted and they also like to attack a certain group of people.
 
Ah yes, I forgot about the accusations of theft. I know for certain that people have tried and failed to return horses and then have ended up selling them on and getting accused of theft. It is theft really according to the loan agreement, but what on earth are they supposed to do if they can't care for the horse or return it?

I did see 2 tied to the fence outside their property (with haynets) one morning. Thought they might have been abandoned but looked well, now I wonder if they were returns.
 
The local community have stopped funding them so I assume they'll struggle and will have to wind down. It's sad, I do think they were set up with the best of intentions, they definitely started out well.
 
There;s one near me. Horse hoarder had some taken away and one PTS on the advice of a vet as had a huge infected open sore and couldn't stand, the sanctuary argued that it was cruel to pts but the welfare officer wasn't having any of it and said they would take them all if they didn't allow the pts, they also removed 2 with laminitis that were hideously overweight, this sanctuary goes round collecting food scraps from bakeries and cafe's and feeds the horses that....beggars belief
 
stormox said:
Not correct in what way? The amount of animals was posted yesterday on the charity's FB page. Also under a previous name it was caught out for fraud by Charity Regulator, and taken to court and found to owe over 200k tax.
They do successfully home some dogs I agree but there are far too many animals there for the small amount of staff they have. There is also a very high turnover of volunteers, no one stays long.
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There has been a long standing vendetta against this charity. I have a couple of dogs from there, and know others who have rehomed from them. I have no complaints. The place is big, the animals have always looked well looked after whenever I've been there. Volunteers are usually short term, it's the nature of the system. There is an animus against the founder which I do understand as they are quite abrasive, but, having taken an interest in the world of animal welfare over many years, this is one of the better facilities.
 
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