I dont know where to start, Ive been at work from 11 to 9 and come home to Chaos. Im sorry if some of this doesnt make sense I am very upset and shacking.
A little background on our barn. We rent a 7 stall 2 run in barn and have 7 horses 2 ponies on 13 acre. All are chubby and healthy I keep all vet records and have plenty of hay. Most are rescues and are only ridden lightly.
There is a house on the property that is rented by someone else. I can take videos to prove all of this of course
SO the SPCA apparently got a phone call and some photos of our horses out side in the rain from yesterday. All my horses have blankets on and we have a huge run in on the barn and a small run in plus seven stalls. The front field looks gross of course since it has been raining and they run around a lot. That field only has trees and no run in but they go inside at night.
Apparently the SPCA just came on the property and started looking around. The guy who rents the house came out to talk to her and she said she needed to speak to the owners and was he gave her our number.
The older woman living in the house (bless her soul I wish she was my grammy ) called us up right away upset and told us what happened, she is home all the time and said the day before there was a black SUV taking pictures of the horses. So now I dont know what to do. Was the SPCA aloud to just go on the property without the owner consent and look around? I wont know until Friday apparently what they want but im so upset about the whole thing. What should I do I feel like im getting so defense but I cant help it these are my pride and joy.
Where do I stand or what should I do? Has anyone ever dealt with this before.
Someone is concerned for your horses, SPCA will check it out and tell them nothing is wrong. If nothing is wrong, you have nothing to worry about. I don't know the laws regarding the SPCA's authority in your area, but I doubt they would overstep their bounds, they know the laws. Best to let them see everything & show them the horses are fine and they can report back to people who were concerned.
People can report what ever they like. SPCA coming out and taking pics may be the last you hear of them. They just need to document that they were there, and as it sounds, everything was Okee dokee. If horses in the rain is illegal, I'm a felon! Posted via Mobile Device
LOL yeh right they are on a semi busy street. My mom said the person most likely knows nothing about horses seeing as they are happier out side then stuck in their stall.
I doubt they can legally come onto your property without a search warrant. And reasonable suspicion is only allowed for police not animal control.
My horses are outside in the weather almost constantly in snow temps to and below 0 even tho barn door is open with their stalls wide open. I gave up putting blankets on them because they shred them,
It is hopefully nothing serious.
They took pictures and verified horses were fine and that will no doubt be last of it. Nothing wrong with horses in the weather.
I doubt they can legally come onto your property without a search warrant. And reasonable suspicion is only allowed for police not animal control.
My horses are outside in the weather almost constantly in snow temps to and below 0. I gave up putting blankets on them because they shred them,
It is hopefully nothing serious.
They need to do their jobs and crack down on the people who have bags of bones hobbling around on their property and leave people who take care of their horses alone.
I couldnt agree more. Ive tried searching for info on legally if she was aloud on the property considering its private. I have no problem getting checked up on but I would have liked to be there seeing as she could have been bit or kicked.
Wow..sounds like what happened to us last year when I was at my previous barn. Except, AC and RSPCA have no right to come onto private property without permission from the owners from what I've been told.
I'd get that looked up and see if you can charge for trespassing (I don't care what they're job is, my property is my property).
Are you by chance in western pa? I wouldn't put it past a few boarders I know that would call on something so stupid because they genuinely feel that they should be the only owners (with the disrespectful and dangerous horses nonetheless, lol).
A boarder called AC on my BO because there was a FILM of ice over the trough last winter...I really can't believe people some times. Posted via Mobile Device
Im in Eastern PA. I dont want to get the SPCA in trouble but I dont want the person who reported it to stalk us or do some thing crazy seeing as she reported us for having horses out in the rain. You know how the rain has been in PA.
One of my neighbours got a visit from the SPCA one time because someone had said his six horses were stuck in the mud (of course they weren't they were in a slough checking it out and playing around - quite a common occurrence for them). My neighbour said he was a bit surprised when the officer showed up but he showed him the horses (who were up at the barn by this time) and that was the end of it.
My initial thought when I read through your post, chubbypony, was that the absolute most that might be questioned is if the blankets looked soaked and thus might make the horses cold. If that was the case, that would be pretty minor and would probably work itself out with just a discussion between you and the SPCA officer. At any rate, try not too worry.
I've had animal control to my hose 6 times. A Nieghbor (who was losing his house, and has lost it now) called on my dogs constantly, last time they came out they said they were marking it as harrasment and wouldn't be coming out to any more of his calls. Posted via Mobile Device
I don't believe they call back unless whoever reported it calls again.
Also..I'd be inclined to slap a No Trespassing sign on my driveway and the barn/pasture.
Did you get to see the pictures they took? I'd be wanting to know if the person who reported you was on your property or not, as I'm sure that's your main concern.
Also, Phly, it's always good to hear about how ignorant/rude people are, so I'm curious as to what they reported you for with your dogs, if you're willing to say. Posted via Mobile Device
I took it as a big screw him! Every time they were out, I was all good and he looked like a fool. And as I said, they seen the pattern and ain't been back since. But it is annoying to have it hung over your head till then. Posted via Mobile Device
As for them being in the rain, I find that pretty ridiculous to report that I could just take the coats off and they can stand in the rain from 9 to 7 naked. You know what I mean, they have tree coverage. I feel like this is the only thing this person could think to get us for. I drive by a cow farm every day that has NO shelter but the barn when they get milked, is it fair for them to stand in the rain? I feel like some people need reality check. We rescued a horse who was skinny enough not to make it through winter yet no one reported it....
^^ Exactly. Call them and talk to them. If your horses are taken care of I wouldn't be so concerned. Noone can help that there are crazy folks all around who call authorities over nothing....they DO eventually get a "crying wolf" reputation, and the authorities pay them little attention.
We had the health department called once because of the "odor" of out barn......the cow farmer up the road had just spread manure...and the suburbanites thought it was our horses, so they called. They came, looked around, decided that our barn was cleaner than most houses, and left. ;-)
FWIW...one of my neighbors reported that our dog "Dan" was starved, beaten, injured and in need of immediate vet care. The lady from animal control left her office at 6AM hoping to catch us unprepared. She found a dog who had bacon bits on his food, because he refused to eat without toppings. She ended up making a notice on the complaint that the dog was in "outstanding" health...said if the complaint hadn't been anonymous, we'd have ground for suing someone.
I suspect the caller was the same neighbor who filed so many bogus zoning complaints against us that the county put her on a "do not respond" list. Some people are just vicious.:evil:
Agree - call whoever it was that came out and discuss it with them
A lot of non horsey people have no clue about how horses live. If one of mine lies down in sight of the road for any length of time I can bet I'll have someone calling to tell me I have dead horse.
The only problem I can possibly think of is what are your zoning laws there? I know its something thats rarely checked up on but someone being spiteful might do it if the field looks muddy they might push that you have more horses per acre than your zoning rule allows.
The zoning laws here are an acre per horse and the property we are on is grandfathered so its after 10 ac we could have more but we keep it down to usually seven, right now we have more but it doesnt really matter since we have over what we need.
We are going to get the call tomorrow, it was the SPCA and I do not think she had any authority to be around the horses. We are not going to make a big deal out of it but we putting up more signs of private property.
If AC (not the SPCA) didn't leave you any notices about your animals or property, you're in the clear.
County ACs can and do come onto properties without warrants, but if you want to be an *** and demand one, they'll get one.
Why is it that people are always screaming 'call AC!!!!' when someone notices something they don't like, but when the shoe is on the other foot they get indignant? AC isn't out to get you, and if your animals are in good health and obviously cared for properly, they're going to close the case and go on about their business.
Sure, some folks call out of spite, but others may be doing it out of genuine concern, although rather ignorant of how livestock are treated. Wouldn't you rather have AC investigate and find nothing wrong, than them ignore a real problem?
If AC (not the SPCA) didn't leave you any notices about your animals or property, you're in the clear.
County ACs can and do come onto properties without warrants, but if you want to be an *** and demand one, they'll get one.
Why is it that people are always screaming 'call AC!!!!' when someone notices something they don't like, but when the shoe is on the other foot they get indignant? AC isn't out to get you, and if your animals are in good health and obviously cared for properly, they're going to close the case and go on about their business.
Sure, some folks call out of spite, but others may be doing it out of genuine concern, although rather ignorant of how livestock are treated. Wouldn't you rather have AC investigate and find nothing wrong, than them ignore a real problem?
Animal control would have to notify you if they were going to take action against you. It is their responsibility to check out any claims - I wouldn't worry too much unless they personally contact you. It helps when the local animal control has any horse experience... if they saw that your horses had access to shelter and fresh water, and were not starved, I'm sure they just went about their business and don't plan on coming back. People who know nothing about horses don't understand that often, if given the choice (as in, they have a run-in shelter, etc), horses will choose to stand in rain and muck... good luck!
me and my friends at a do it yourself barn had the SPCA come out because people driving by thought we had hoods on the horses head ( fly masks) and they could not see -when I ride with a quiet ride fly mask people ask me why do I have the my horse's eyes covered some people do not know and other have nothing to do all day -If all is good with your horse them show them how proud you are to show them the care you give your horses
We were told she checked up because they were worried horses were out in the rain. To me that is no reason to go look at some horses out in normal weather for PA right now. Never said one thing about being under weight not having food or in any danger , I feel like the whole thing is so darn fishy especially since the SPCA as im finding out has no legal reasons to do it if they are privately owned. Hoping this all end tomorrow
Checking for horses in the rain???!!!! What the? Up here we can barely get them to go check on starving horses that are completely neglected, and they come to your place to check on horses in the rain??!! That is nuts. wow
In some places (New York at least) duly organized SPCA organizations (which are private non-profit corporations) do have "Peace Officer" status. That means they wear uniforms, carry guns and have arrest powers. Your state or county may or may not have an SPCA with that status.
Still, they will usually require a warrant to enter your property. And unless there is a compelling reason to down unannounced "raid," they will knock on your door first.
If they do not have peace officer status or arrest privileges in your area, their powers are considerably more restricted.
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