Abuse or not? Goat rescue in Ohio (pics)

[seedspreader]

Front Page of the Akron Beacon Journal Today...

Do you think the old fellow was just overwhelmed or an abuser? Notice he has straw down and goats in his living room. (of course it is a RENTED place, makes you think twice about renting out anything huh?)




Full Story

FRANKLIN FURNACE - Once-gorgeous cashmere and dairy goats dotted a theater of hills surrounding Christopher Weathersbee's Scioto County property. Many of them were dead.

For unknown reasons, nine carcasses were jammed into the refrigerator in his house and two in the freezer. Dozens of animals were so sick from hoof rot, they rocked on their knees. The heartbreak continued around a hill, with piles of goat bones.

Annette Fisher and Maggie Godfrey of Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary in Ravenna drove 232 miles in the wee hours of Wednesday morning to southern Ohio near the Ohio River to rescue as many of the pitiful creatures as possible. The nonprofit organization headed by Fisher, her husband, Russ, and a strong corps of volunteers is devoted to the rehabilitation of abused,

[mtman]

anytime you have more animals then you can care for is abuse in my way of thinking

[Ross]

Agreed and those goats don't look as well fleshed as I'd like to see them. Still as with many of these animal abuse cases if they are justified or not what distresses me is the total lack of compasion or care offered to the human who obviously has an even greater need than the animals with their mental state of health. Yes they have straw to bed down in and yes any large operation loses stock, but to have a farm in your living room (suucky bottle babes excepted) is stroking the soft underbelly of mental stability.

[big rockpile]

Dang!!! I love Goats but this is rediculous.In my mind he was wrong,I would be selling,butchering,something before I would put these creatures through this.

big rockpile

[Gailann Schrader]

Personally I think he got overwhelmed, didn't exactly know what to do with the dead ones, and it spiralled out of control. I'm glad he's getting some help. It was neglect seems like...

[willow_girl]

Oh my!

That is like my husband's worst nightmare.

(He is not fond of goats!)

I showed him the picture, and it caused him to curl up in the fetal position and begin mumbling incoherently ...

(Well, not really, but I'll bet he would've liked to!) :haha:

[Meg Z]

Originally Posted by Gailann Schrader

I'm glad he's getting some help. It was neglect seems like...

Neglect of the animals...and neglect of the human. It says dreadful things of our society when someone is allowed to reach this point before anyone notices. What happened to family, friends, neighbors? Did this person have nobody in his life who cared?

How sad.

Meg

[buttercup]

Originally Posted by Ross

Agreed and those goats don't look as well fleshed as I'd like to see them. Still as with many of these animal abuse cases if they are justified or not what distresses me is the total lack of compasion or care offered to the human who obviously has an even greater need than the animals with their mental state of health. Yes they have straw to bed down in and yes any large operation loses stock, but to have a farm in your living room (suucky bottle babes excepted) is stroking the soft underbelly of mental stability.

I had a pet chicken who was allowed in the house. Drove my mother insane, but it was my house.

I'm betting my husband won't stand for it now, and it is his house. So, next round of chickens I'm betting will have to stay outside. Even my favorite one that is my *pet*

I think this spiralled out of control. It is too bad someone did not help him before it got this far.

[comfortablynumb]

the old guy obviously need some help and the goats need relocated....
notice he gave the house to the goats with hay bedding, obviously he was trying in some capacity to care for them...

[marvella]

there are people that are animal collectors, just like there are people who collect big stacks of newspapers and trash in their house. i can imagine him letting them breed at will, too. he appears to be one of those. i mean he had dead animals laying around, and stashed in the fridge. could not have been pleasant. it's an illness, similar to obsessive compulsive disorder.

[Shazza]

Yes .....but....is the little goat in the freezer of the fridge alive? The chook in the plastic bag didnt look green...so is the freezer on? If the goat is dead then it was alive when put in then cos its curled up as if asleep.....so abuse. Where were the social workers?

[sancraft]

This guy sounds like a collector. He's mental. It's good he's getting the help he needs. The goats don't deserve to live like that and neither does he.

[Stickywitch]

Oh!!!
Now this just really get's my goat! :no:

[seedspreader]

The thing I struggle with in this type of story is not OVER reacting. I personally hate the fact that it is a big story and the authorities are involved. There are so many people who run their farms in the good an proper manner and you never see press on that. I appreciate folks who do the rescue effort, but I find that a hard line to walk too, as many are PETA types. This fellow obviously had some problems, but I don't want to add any impetus to their cause. For example. The farm that is doing the rescue, won't allow any of the adopted animals for anything except pets. Not for food, breeding, agricultural production, etc. And that seems like folks that just don't understand the purpose of animals, as far as I am concerned.

[mightybooboo]

abuse,no matter the intent.

BooBoo

[MMyers1]

Originally Posted by ZealYouthGuy

There are so many people who run their farms in the good an proper manner and you never see press on that.

Funny you should say that, Katie Curic (sp.), NBC morning anchor, did a spot where she spent a day or so experiencing a dairy goat/cheese factory. It was very well done, and I thought showed good press regarding a properly run farm!!

My $.02 worth!

[Nomad]

I just saw the story on the evening news. It didn't go into a lot of detail about where they were before, but they are here in Northeast Ohio now along with one poor sadly undernourished horse. They are seeking temporary as well as permanent homes for the goats. My wife was oohing and aahing over them. I wish I lived out of town, so we could take some. Unfortunately all we can do is hope they find good homes. I think they said there are 203 with many of the females pregnant.


Nomad

[Pony]

Looking over the whole story, I truly think the guy is overwhelmed and needs as much/more help than the goats.

It's a truly pathetic situation, and I feel bad for all parties involved. What really upsets me in cases like this is when certain parties (e.g. PETA) demonize the human being involved rather than seeking to provide support for him. They go to the courts and try to nail the guy's hide to the proverbial wall. Hello! I love and respect my animals, but a human life is worth far more to me.


Pony!

[crashy]

Oh dear....I think he got in over his head looks like he was trying at least. I know thats not good enough the animals were abused but I think that was due to over crowding not neglect. As for the freezer thing??? Thats kinda creepy. I love what he did to his living room nice decor!!! Could you imagine being the land lord I think the only option there would be a match and a can of gas.

[MikeD]

Z, having worked in and experienced the animal welfare community, I can understand why the rescue is not allowing these particular animals to be used as anything other than "pets". Once they are cleared of any health issues they may be healthy enough to be "pets". However, despite the best guesses that could be made, it would be next to impossible to determine exactly what these animals have been fed, what they've been exposed to, and what, if any, genetic defects they may have. That being the case, would you really want any of these animals to find their way into the human food market whether they be used for direct consumption or for breding stock, etc?

I used to run a reptile rescue. Part of our contract stated that any animals that were adopted out absolutely could not be used for breeding stock. The simple reason for this was that we simply did not know any of the animals previous husbandry and, therefore, could not guarantee that it would produce at all nevermind healthy offspring.

I hate to say it but I agree with the rescue in not allowing these goats anywhere near the food chain....

As far as the situation itself is concerned, some people become "collectors" purely out of trying to do something good. Unfortunately, there are many, many more animals out there than there are homes for them in most cases. And the animal welfare community is so politically motivated as a whole that, in many cases, the original purpose of a rescue or shelter frequently becomes lost to the greed of personal furtherance. The $150 million+ organization known as the Humane Society of the United States is a perfect example of that. If you're working in animal rescue or welfare the is absolutely no need for ANYONE to make a six figure salary nevermind 5 or 6 salaries being paid out at that level.

That being the case, people running a "rescue" or "shelter" sometimes quickly forget that they are calling themselves an "animal" shelter as opposed to a "dog, cat, horse, and anything else cute and/or fuzzy" shelter. And for that reason, many cases such as this one with the goats pops up. Many times, situations with "collectors" are ignored simply because the particular collector is dealing with animals that others simply do not want to deal with. That was the single reason that I started our rescue - no one in the state or surrounding states wanted to "officially" handle snakes and lizards. The surrrounding shelters wanted nothing to do with them for the most part and whenever one of them DID get something in or even heard of something scaly needing attention they immediately attempted to foist the animal off on us. Unfortunately, things aren't always as they appear in shelter/rescue situations. Unfortunately, many times, there are other motivating factors that determine courses of action that the general public will never know about. Of course, there are always exceptions to every rule....