Abuse of power, waste of money.

Associated Press still has some facts wrong, but they are getting people to take another look.

Animal abuse case hits Jackson County's budget

Associated Press
Published December 10, 2007

JACKSON, Mich. - Jackson County is taking a budget hit after tending to more than 80 horses seized last spring in an animal cruelty investigation.

As of Nov. 30, overtime wages for county animal control employees had come to nearly 400 percent of the amount budgeted for 2007, officials said. Food and medical expenses also were inflated.

County commissioners on Tuesday were to consider transferring $84,100 for wages and $20,000 for food from its contingency fund to cover the expenses.

"All of it is related to those horses," acting county Administrator Randy Treacher told the Jackson Citizen Patriot. "Horses eat a lot."

Animal control officials in March swarmed the Turn-3 Ranch, a horse farm in Grass Lake Township about 65 miles west of Detroit. They found 69 horses - including quarterhorses and thoroughbreds - standing amid piles of trash, rusted auto parts and animal feces. Several of the horses were visibly malnourished.

The owner of the farm, James Henderson Jr. and Matthew Mercier, who managed the horses, are charged with felony animal torture relating to three of the horses.

One of the horses was euthanized for a hip injury after the seizure, and more than half of the horses were late found to be pregnant. About 15 foals were born after the raid.

A few horses were adopted out, but most were sold at auctions that raised less than $50,000 for the county, Treacher said.

Donations for the horses poured in at first, but trailed off as the case continued.

The county budgeted nearly $400,000 for its contingency fund, which covers unplanned expenses, county finance officer Gerard Cyrocki said.

Henderson and Mercier have denied that the horses were harmed.

Copyright 2007 Lansing State Journal

News flash: horses EAT and POOP without constant supervision. Really!

I hope the recent coverage condemning Jackson County is a direct result of the protest that many who oppose the seizure took part in. The general public heard nothing about this case for so long, it made it easy for them to think that everything turned out hearts and rainbows.

Jackson County animal control overtime pay 400 percent over budget after horses seized

Posted by Kristin Longley
Jackson Citizen Patriot
December 07, 2007

Jackson County officials will have to make major budget adjustments this month to reflect the costs of caring for a herd of more than 80 seized horses.

As of Nov. 30, overtime wages for county animal control employees were nearly 400 percent of the allotted amount for 2007, according to a budget report. Food and medical expenses also were inflated.

"All of it is related to those horses," acting county Administrator Randy Treacher said.

Animal Control seized a Grass Lake Township horse farm last winter, impounding the herd based on allegations of abuse. The owner and manager of the farm, James Henderson Jr. and Matthew Mercier, are charged with felony animal torture relating to three of the horses.

Another compelling article.

Latest news from the front:

Michigan horses sold as owner faces more abuse allegations

By KEVIN WALKER
Michigan Correspondent

EAST LANSING, Mich. — After the fourth and final auction of Matt Mercier’s horses, Mercier could be described as down, but not out.

“I sat there on Sunday and watched my life’s work being auctioned off,” Mercier said of the large auction on Nov. 4 at the Michigan State University Pavilion, which included horses from other states and even Canada. “They rode poor, old, crippled broodmares through the sale ring, because it brings them more money.”

Mercier’s 69 horses were seized earlier this year after reports that the animals looked underfed and that the ranch was in disarray. He and his business partner for the past 10 years, James Henderson Jr., were originally charged with misdemeanor animal abuse.

Later, the charge was upgraded to felony animal torture, which carries a possible four-year prison sentence.

A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 3, in which Jackson County prosecutors will try to introduce into evidence alleged animal abuse that occurred in the past, but where charges were never brought. Meanwhile, Mercier has started a website to tell his side of the story, and has gathered supporters. He and his supporters paint a picture of Jackson County Animal Control officers and Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Lamp as run amuck. One of Mercier’s claims is that Jackson County Animal Control seized the horses and moved to auction them off in order to raise money for a new animal shelter.

Chief Animal Control Officer Kimberlee Luce denied this, saying the horses were auctioned off in order to pay for expenses already incurred by the county to care for the horses.

One Mercier supporter, horse hobbyist Kathy Brown, purchased two of Mercier’s seized horses at auction on Sept. 15 in Napoleon, Mich.

The other auctions were in October, in Onsted, Mich., and Napoleon. Brown said Animal Control made her sign a statement saying she wouldn’t return the horses she bought to Mercier. She said she was going to ask her attorney if the document is legal. “Do I think Matt should have the horses back? Yeah,” she said.

As a horse owner, Brown is concerned about the precedent the horse seizures could set for anyone who owns horses for fun or profit. “I have high-dollar horses,” Brown said. “I am afraid they will come in and take everything I own.”

Dr. Robert Sray, a veterinarian in Jackson County for the past 29 years and an adjunct professor at MSU, looked at the horses at Mercier’s ranch in March before they were seized. He said although conditions could have been better, it was not a case of abuse, much less torture.

“The majority of horses were not in bad condition, considering the winter,” Sray said. “Three of the horses were very thin, but that’s not unusual after a long winter. There was good quality hay there. If you looked at the horses that day, there were horses standing next to bales of hay. The whole thing of them not being fed all winter is totally ridiculous. What I saw was not unusual.”

According to Sray, the condition of the horses did not improve under Animal Control’s care. He also said, early on – before the animals were taken off the ranch property – that Animal Control Officer Heather Wheaton would not allow Mercier to have an animal with a cut on one of its legs to be treated.

“If Matt’s guilty of torture, so are they,” he said. “My personal opinion is that weather conditions caused a lot of the problems. If Animal Control had worked with him for a month, they would have seen a tremendous difference.”

Animal Control did not include Sray’s assessment of the situation in the original police report on the Mercier ranch; why they didn’t isn’t clear. According to Sray, Jackson County Animal Control has a history of aggressively trying to seize horses from horse owners in the county.

Luce denied this, saying little except, “We approach all cases the same.”

Sray insists the county could have saved itself a lot of “money and embarrassment” if it had just worked with Mercier to improve conditions at his ranch.

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