We're looking for your testimonials.

In my inbox yesterday, as a result of a mass email from another Turn 3 Army member, I received this testimonial.

I not only think everyone should read it, but if you have a personal experience to share involving this case, I'd like to hear from you, too.

Horse friends and associates;

Last spring I emailed many (if not all) of you when the media frenzy covering the seizure of horses in Grass Lake broke and I realized that I personally knew Matt Mercier, one of the young men charged in the case. Having shown with him at Spur of the Moment Horse Shows; having seen his horses, their willing attitude and affection for him; their healthy condition and witnessed first hand his consideration for his horses... the belief I shared in my email—that the charges being brought against these young men were not only suspect, but had to be inherently wrong—was validated several months ago.

If you have not been following the continued Grass Lake horse seizure—or been enlightened—the front page of the Farm Bureau newsletter disclosed earlier this year that all charges were dropped against Matt Mercier and Jim Henderson. Subsequent court decisions concluded the seizure was conducted without any basis in fact, and the return of their horses and property (or value) was ordered. However, Matt and Jim are still subjected to animosity from the uneducated public because the mass media has not sensationalize the truth like it did the falsehood.

With the charges dropped, rather than owning up and acknowledging they made a serious mistake, Jackson County Animal Control—using our public donation and tax dollars intended to provide for needy animals—is now taking a different direction to circumvent making restitution and admitting their actions were completely, totally and irresponsibly WRONG. Now, they are pursuing legal steps that jeopardize anyone who owns livestock. The results could give animal "shelters" more power and autonomy to make subjective decisions for privately owned farms and how we provide for our animals, and justify (and absolve) their misconduct in the Grass Lake seizure or the repeat of such.

Livestock and farm owners have to galvanize into action before this goes back to court in January! If WE don't keep people with limited knowledge about our animals and farms from making more arbitrary decisions and laws FOR us, the farms and horses that are lost tomorrow will be our own. Please contribute a few minutes of your time to write a letter; forward contact information for helpful sources for others to send letters to, and forward this email to your horse and farm associates for OUR mutual protection!

SINCERELY,
Gerry Eaton

This is exactly the kind of material that is needed to share and forward that will help spread the word about this case and motivate others to get involved. Thanks, Gerry.

To get involved, e-mail your letter to xpbuttercup@gmail.com and jdocpony@yahoo.com so we can share more testimonials with the public.

May the good you do today benefit us all tomorrow.

No excuse: Ag groups must act now.

I was at three of the four public auctions of "Turn 3 Ranch" horses held in 2007, after seeing photos from the first one. I was absolutely appalled at the condition of the horses that had been in Jackson County's care for at least six months:

• There was NO EXCUSE for the horses to be long overdue for hoof care, with the dollar amount that Animal Control demanded for their basic needs.
  
  
• There was NO EXCUSE for the weanlings—born after the farm was seized—to be bloated from an obvious parasite infestation, with their bones sticking out through dull, fuzzy coats a clear indication that those distended bellies were not "fat" by any means.
  
  
• There was NO EXCUSE for yearlings and two-year-old fillies to be bred for spring 2008 foals, which also clearly happened during the months that the county was "in charge" of the herd.

Fecal tests done by new owners showed that the horses suffered from as many as three different kinds of intestinal parasite, in numbers great enough to kill the horse if not dewormed with the utmost care. This indicates that regular deworming did NOT occur under the county's watch.

I didn't trust what I was hearing when this case first went public—didn't know anyone on either side—so I read the pre-trial hearing transcripts for myself. While conditions at the farm were truly not ideal, neither were they abuse.

To see abuse, you need to look at what the county's actions did to the defendants' lives. Read what the media reported based on what county officials told them.

• What manner of animal lives for six months without food or water?
  
  
• Who claims there are 30 pregnant mares, when only a month or two before foaling, it is clear to any knowledgeable farmer what is a developing foal and what is a "hay belly"? (Only about a dozen mares were actually pregnant, and the fact that they carried to term indicates they received adequate care during their pregnancy.)
  
  
• Who perjures themselves and says there was no food or water available, in order to seize the property, when their own photographs and testimony later entered prove that food and water WAS available?

This case is a nightmare for farmers. The agricultural community better wake up, and quick.

• How would it affect YOU if keeping livestock in muddy spring fields was considered animal cruelty? Does every cow in your herd need an individual stall and a clean blanket?
  
  
• How would it affect YOU if every scratch, cut or cough had to be appraised and treated by a veterinarian or you could be considered guilty of a felony?
  
  
• How would it affect YOU if wire fencing were banned for large animals? If a neighbor with a vendetta opens your gate at night, should you lose the right to own animals?

Think about it. National case law could be made in Michigan in January 2009. Are you ready?

Date set for appeal.

News today in the Cit Pat:

Appeals court to hear horse forfeiture case
Steven Hepker, Jackson Citizen Patriot | Nov. 4, 2008

Attorneys will argue the Grass Lake Township horse case on Jan. 13 before the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Jackson County Assistant Prosecutor Jerrold Schrotenboer said Monday the appeals court set oral arguments in the case of Jackson County vs. James Henderson and Matthew Mercier.

At issue is the court-ordered forfeiture of Henderson's large herd of horses at his farm on Page Avenue.

The American Humane Association, the Michigan State Bar Animal Law Section and Leelanau Horse Rescue filed amicus briefs supporting the appeal.

District Judge Joseph Filip ordered the county to sell the animals in July 2007, four months after Jackson County Animal Control seized more than 60 horses on allegations of abuse.

Circuit Judge Thomas Wilson in May overturned Filip's ruling in the civil forfeiture case.

In the related criminal matter, Circuit Judge Chad Schmucker dismissed animal-torture charges against Henderson and Matthew Mercier.

Jackson County Prosecutor Hank Zavislak appealed both rulings.

Henderson owned the farm and Mercier managed it. Schmucker determined Henderson was an absentee owner who did not handle day-to-day operations in the winter of 2006-07.

Eventually, after foaling season, the county sold nearly 80 horses for about $50,000 at three auctions.

Henderson plans to sue the county for lost horses and lost income.

He was fired as a probation officer in Washtenaw County last summer because of his legal problems.

Oral arguments will pit Schrotenboer against defense attorney Michael Dungan of Jackson.

Farm Bureau and others, where is your amicus brief in support of Michigan farmers adhering to the Right To Farm Act?

Where is the public outrage over the documented mistreatment of the horses at the hands of incompetent county staff and untrained volunteers?

Where is the outcry over the county selling these "rescued" horses to meat buyers at auction, with the inevitable destination of slaughter in Canada?

Why should the owners face felony animal cruelty charges in the death of a horse trampled under the "care" of Jackson County, weeks after the farm was seized?

Get the facts. Don't believe me, read the transcripts yourselves. Interview the witnesses at the auctions. Do not assume your government is there to protect you. Indeed, take action to protect yourself from your government.

I'm XP, and I approve this message.