Witch-hunt?
by Bonnie Wheatley
The impact pending a court's decision reagarding a Michigan barrel horse breeder facing three counts of felony torture could have industry-wide effects.
So, I'll admit it, my barn is sometimes dirty. My arena is not always perfectly groomed and there are times when I don't get my stalls cleaned twice a day like I'd prefer. I had a horse return home from major surgery recently that had lost some weight due to the stress of the procedure. The surgeon and I talked about it--it's nothing that a little extra alfalfa and TLC won't cure. If animal control were to show up in my doorstep the day before we recieved a load of hay to an empty barn, two dirty stalls and one thinner than usual horse, would that make me a target for animal torture charges? I hope not. The purpose of the scenario I've created in the above sentences is to draw a parallel between any of us that own horses and the folks at Turn 3 Ranch in the small community of Grass Lake in Jackson County, which is located near Ann Arbor, Mich. All of the Turn 3 horses and ranch property was seized back in March.
According to the synopsis of events posted by Turn 3's Matt Mercier on his website, www.GLHorseTruth.com, he is now facing a trial date and three counts of felony animal torture. The charges are serious and could result in five years of prison time for both Mercier and his business partner, James Henderson. Mercier feels that Judge Filip in the 12th District Court in Jackson County and Jackson County Animal Control have made him the target of a witch hunt and a victim of government extortion.
"The Judge took all of our horses away based on the rationale that we might let more of them get sick or thin. That's the same as calling someone guilty for maybe thinking about doing something in my mind. I'm confident that we'll win the appeal. Every attorney I've talked to wonders how in the hell we lost," said Mercier.
Mercier asserts that Jackson County Animal Control ignored the counsel of their own contracted veterinarian, who stated that Turn 3's was not an abuse case. Mercier says that the Oct. 8 trial date that he is facing will likely be pushed back and that he has not been allowed to see his horses or set foot on the leased property that was seized from him by Animal Control on Mar. 20, with no warrant.
I'm no legal expert, but Mercier's case hits close to home for most horse owners. Yes, there are cases of neglect. Yes, I do drive by desolate pastures with no feed where I see think horses and think to myself, "Gosh, I wish those folks would put some hay out there in the wintertime." There are places like that everywhere. However, in reviewing the plethora of photos posted on Mercier's website, I noticed fleshy, hairy winterized horses. Who's right? Not for me to decide. However, 19 of the Turn 3 horses have already been sold at auction (despite a lien on them), and Mercier has yet to discover where an alleged $50,000 in seized saddles, tack, his truck and trailer and all his ranch equipment have been appropriated. Mercier is seriously questioning the justice system in Jackson County, and understandably so.
Mercier told me that there were in fact two older horses (ages 24 and 25) that had become thin as the result of a tough Michigan winter. He admitted to me that his barn gets messy. He also told me that he and his partner leased this property to house their horses, and that he wasn't motivated to sink money into improvements when in fact he was in the process of completing necessary paperwork to get the horses moved to a new facility. Mercier conceded to me that a young horse on the premises was thin due to bouts with colic. However, assistant prosecutor Jennifer Lamp's own expert witnesses reportedly testified that 56 of 69 horses at the Turn 3 Ranch were in ideal or close to ideal body condition.
Barrel Horse News will further research and track this issue as it unfolds in order to let our readers know how we are all affected as horse owners by this precedent setting case.
Until next time, Happy Trails.
Signed Bonnie Wheatley
My apologies for any typos, this article was not available in online form and had to be keyed in.
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