Brian Travis invaded by bureaucrats

[Velma]

As far as NHSPCA being a caring organization...sorry - don't believe it.  They are supposed to be but in my wanderings yesterday I ended up here:

http://www.nhspca.org/MostRecentRescue.htm

After reading this article and seeing that wonderful Mr. Sprowl *gag* is the one to call if you have any information about this animal...I called them.  This happened on their premises.  Yes the animal died during business hours.  They didn't notice it there!!  Do I know this for sure?  Yes - the woman I talked to confirmed it.

[Porcupine_in_MA]

"Cruelty to Owners" by John Stossel

Part 1

Part 2

[AntonLee]

has anyone figured out the locations of these horses?  Are there any horse clubs that might post farm locations in the NH area?  I'm spurred on by this because of the one picture I saw that looked a lot like Kensington, NH.

I bet if we split up the state we might be able to find these vehicles that did the hauling, and take some pictures.  If those are confirmed, then we could return and start taking pictures of the horses, hopefully to identify them (and the owners)

Kensington is in my area of the state. . .what I plan on doing this evening is driving around the town looking for known farms, of which there are a few that even I know of.  Look for familiar vehicles and take pictures if needed.

[AntonLee]

[KBCraig]

Once their entry into the house is "legitimate" (or even a "good faith mistake", per recent SCOTUS rulings), anything they see there is legitimate fruit of the search.

The current Supremes give huge latitude to police, so that even if they act recklessly and kick down the wrong door without a valid warrant, they can use anything they find.

Sorry for the misinformation.  Didn't it used to be the way I specified?

Never, to my knowledge. It's true that they can only look where the person or thing to be seized could be located, which means that if they're looking for a stolen elephant, they can't look in your medicine cabinet. But if they're searching for drugs (which can be almost anywhere), any guns, stolen elephants, etc., that they come across are legitimate fruit of the search.

[slim]

"Cruelty to Owners" by John Stossel

I never saw that video before it was heart wrenching.

[slim]

If anyone has a account for wikipedia the site does not have anything for the NHSPCA. Maybe someone could start a page about the theft that the NHSPCA does.

[Russell Kanning]

I don't want to debate you ... that is my point .... actually I will just sit here

I fail to see the reason for speaking up on a topic you wish not to discuss

I just don't want to debate about it. I do want to talk about it. i have time to support my friend and others.

[Russell Kanning]

"Cruelty to Owners" by John Stossel

when questioned ... the guy mentions the law ,,, what the judge decided ... what law enforcement thought

[Porcupine_in_MA]

"Cruelty to Owners" by John Stossel

when questioned ... the guy mentions the law ,,, what the judge decided ... what law enforcement thought

Yep.

[the_central_scrutinizer]

 call the SPCA field manager Steve Sprowl at 674-9836 and give him and earful/demand an explanation. He is actually answering his phone and claiming I have the wrong number! lol. this is too funny.

[slim]

call the SPCA field manager Steve Sprowl at 674-9836 and give him and earful/demand an explanation. He is actually answering his phone and claiming I have the wrong number! lol. this is too funny.

When he answered the phone did he identify himself? If anyone calls they should make sure they are talking to the correct person.

[coffeeseven]

Neither Sprowl or the Chief of Police returned my call requesting an interview for print media.

[leetninja]

Anyone want to address this?

Just found this:
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rules/agr3700.html

Code Select Expand

PART Agr 3704  SHELTER AVAILABLE AND EXERCISE



          Agr 3704.01  Shelter Requirements.



          (a)  Barns with stalls shall be:



(1)  Structurally sound and maintained in good repair;



(2)  Ventilated by natural means and/or mechanical means of exhaust fans or air conditioners;



(3)  Structured with natural light;



(4)  Adequate in size in box stalls for animals to move freely about;



(5)  Structured with standing stalls that are a minimum of 5 feet wide and 8 feet long for equines over 750 pounds and 4 feet wide by 7 feet long for equines under 750 pounds; and



(6)  Bedded with dry material to prevent animals from laying in moisture.



          (b)  The 3 sided shelters shall be:



(1)  Structurally sound and maintained in good repair; and



(2)  Adequate in size for all animals in the paddock or pasture to enter at once, including a minimum of 100 square feet per equines over 750 pounds and 50 square feet per equines under 750 pounds.



Source.  #7989, eff 11-21-03

In the last topic you said this:

Code Select Expand

[quote author=brian.travis link=topic=15929.msg268597#msg268597 date=1226012211]
Here's an update. Steve Sprowl, the SPCA investigator, finally called me back today and said that all he wanted to do is to check out the sheds as required by law. I assured him that our very expensive racehorses were well taken care of. I explained that the "Animal Cruelty Officer" from the town next door visited a couple months ago and reminded me that there was a "law" that required shelter between November 15th and April 15th. I told the cop then that I was aware of that rule of theirs. Their law actually says November 1st. Of course, I was supposed to be aware of this law by the mere fact that I was born?

For you who might not know about horses, they were around long before humans could give them shelter. The fact that they are with us today is testament to the fact that they don't really need us to survive the cold winters. Horses are amazing at growing hair when they need a sweater, and shedding it when they don't. Believe me, those hairy beasts shed like crazy in the summer!

The only difference between a horse kept in a warm barn and an outside horse is that the outside horse needs more calories to keep warm. They will be warm, they just need to eat more. We "free-feed" our horses, which means there's always a big round bale of hay that they have access to. So they can eat as much as they want, whenever they want.

Put these two facts together and you will see that building shelters for the horses just makes economic sense. The cost of a shelter will be paid for very quickly in the reduced feed requirement. We would normally have shelters finished long ago, but since we just moved here, there were other priorities (like keeping the hairless apes warm for the winter) that pushed back the horse shelter plan.

But we will have the shelters finished by the end of this weekend.  Mr. Sprowl asked if he could come over next week. I told him that he is free to visit to see whatever he can see from the street. I could be there to point out where the sheds are, and that the horses are being well cared-for. I asked if there was someone in his office who might be kind enough to give us some pointers on the unique aspects of New Hampshire weather or pests that we might be unaware of. Instead of offering me someone from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, he pointed me to the New Hampshire State Veterinarian's office!

But no one who tries to get their way at the barrel of a gun will set foot on my property without my permission or a search warrant. And the latter will open up a whole new can of whoop-ass!
[/quote]

Most importantly in there to me right now:  "But we will have the shelters finished by the end of this weekend."

Were the shelters finished?

Also,

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/XL/435/435-16.htm

Code Select Expand

435:16 Penalty. – Any owner failing to comply with the provisions of this subdivision shall be notified as to the proper care of horses. Upon a second offense, the horse shall be seized and not returned until restitution for the expenses involved in the seizure is made and proof of proper care is given. Upon a third or subsequent offense, the horse shall be permanently seized. Whoever violates the provisions of this subdivision shall be guilty of a violation.

Source. 1985, 72:1, eff. July 1, 1985.


According to that, even if you were somehow in "violation" you would get a three strikes and you're out sort of thing.  Warning #1, warning #2, and then the permanent loss of your animals.

Step one was when coop was there etc right?  Was this step #2 or step #3?  It is seeming like three but i never heard about 2!?

Also I think it would help a lot if you did all of the following:

#1 - got your own vet to speak up for you - if you dont have one GET ONE and get them to check all of your horses INCLUDING the ones seized.

#2 Take pictures NOW of your land, house, and most importantly the SHELTERS and the other horses that you still have.  In fact, i would go as far as to take photos of the seized horses if you know the location of them!
Furthermore!  I have a new Rebel XSi and photography experience.  I will come up with my friend who also has a great HQ camera and we will take the pictures with/for you if you like.  This would put an end to the assumptions about the care or lack of, the conditions, and all the other BS that people are coming up with to defend this asshat Sprowl with.  Ok!?

#3 Get your hands on a better video camera - youll need it now and in the future.  The grainy quality etc makes it very hard to see details in that youtube vid.

#4 GET THE MEDIA INVOLVED HEAVILY!

In regards to #2 - please let me know if you want to have me come up.  I am more than willing to help you in any way that I can.  I can photograph and print if needed.  If you wanted I could even print them on a plotter at very high quality and size (up to 54" wide i believe"

I also just found this! Looks like a whole lot more to the story that talked about in any of these topics???

Look at item number IV

What the hell!?

Code Select Expand

Jones Ranch Conservation Easement - Mr. Sprunk said the owners of Jones
Ranch property are violating their conservation easement by grazing 26 horses on
the property. Animal control officers recently posted the property and threatened
to start removing horses that were malnourished. The owner of the property has
left the state and the house is in foreclosure. Mr. Sprunk said he will try to
3
contact the Animal Welfare Officer next week to see if there was any new
information. The landowner is supposedly trying to find new homes for the
horses.
Mrs. Matthews said steps are being taken so that a title search will reveal the
conservation easement violation and make the property difficult to sell. The
County Attorney's office will be responsible for this process. The asking price
for the property is $650,000.
Mr. Sprunk said the recent rains have at least helped the appearance of the land,
he expects the property will recover if the horses are removed.
Mrs. Matthews said a lender cannot be held liable for the violation of the
conservation easement since they were not a signatory to the easement.
Mr. Sprunk has never actually spoken with or met the owner, Heidi Fredrick. Mr.
Weston asked if we could have the Sheriff's Office serve the letter to the owner.
Mr. Sprunk wondered how this could be accomplished if the owner is out of state.
He expects the realtor may be of some help, he must be concerned about the status
of this property.
Mr. Welle asked what the goal is at this point. Mr. Sprunk said the primary goal
is to get the horses off the property and that is happening, largely because they are
being neglected.

[drockel]

If in the end in lese faire a person's reputation is what makes them act morally. Why not as free staters try to locate the people who were not police that came onto the property. Why not have other free staters check local ranches for new arabian race horses. Once they were located these  places could  be harassed and shamed so that they will never participate again.

Whatever happened to police  being required to tell you the crime before seizing property?

The police especially the chief should be hounded until he makes public on what legal basis the horses were stolen and why he chose the most expensive in the heard and did not take all the horses. I think they took the horses because of the NSA for being "Arabians" You know how stupid some of those security agents, can be now days.

If I was in the area I'd lend a hand, too bad I'm not.