Sheldon 2013 Fws Site Visit Report

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December 12, 2013

Memorandum

To: File

From: Project Leader, Sheldon-Hart Mountain NWRC

Subject: J & S Associates, Inc., Horse Adoption Contract F13PC00228,Site Visit November 20, 2013

J & S Associates, Inc. in Pelahatchie, Mississippi is under contract by the U.S. Fish and WildlifeService to provide for the adoption of feral horses removed from the Sheldon National WildlifeRefuge. In 2013, under the terms of contract F13PC00228, J & S received 245 horses foradoption. Acceptable placement options included, but were not limited to, as companionanimals, work animals, rodeo stock, or at sanctuaries.

On October 30, 2013, I emailed J & S informing them that I would be conducting a site visit oftheir facility the week of November 18, 2013. On November 6, 2013 I finalized the date andnotified J & S that the visit would be held November 20, 2013. As scheduled, on November 20,2013, I arrived at the J & S facility near Pelahatchie, Mississippi to inspect the facility, view all

Sheldon horses present, and examine horse adoption records.

Upon arrival, I met with Ron and Stan Palmer of J & S. I examined and discussed with themtheir adoption records. The following records were provided:

1) A spreadsheet listing the horses received. For each horse the spreadsheet included horseneck tag number, microchip (PIT tag) number, age, gender (gelding or mare), and status.Status was either the date of adoption, name, address and telephone number of theadopter if the horse had been adopted; a notation that the horse was dead; or the field wasleft blank for horses still in the possession of J & S.

2) Five completed adoption application agreements that each included the name, address,and telephone number for the adopter; brief descriptions of the adopters experience withhorses, their facilities for horses, and the purpose and intent for the adoption; a list ofhorses adopted by neck tag and microchip number; the adopters signature certifying theinformation they provided on the form and acknowledging the terms of the adoption, andthe date.

United States Department of the InteriorFISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

In Reply Refer to:Sheldon Hart Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex

Post Office Box 111Lakeview, Oregon 97630


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The spreadsheet provided by J & S listed 247 horses. These records and discussion with thePalmers categorized the status of the animals as follows: 41 remained under J & Ss care andwere still at their facility, 12 had died at the facility after delivery (spreadsheet listed 10, but StanPalmer indicated that 12 had died and documentation needed to be corrected), one was off-loaded dead from the transport truck on its arrival, two (only one listed on the spreadsheet) had

died during transportation and were not delivered to J & S (hence, 247 on the spreadsheet versus245 actually received), and the rest had been adopted.

The Palmers stated that of the mortalities at their facilities, five had died at least two weeks afterdelivery with no apparent cause of death; three had been euthanized because of injuries orcondition by their veterinarian, Dr. Jimmie Alexander; and two had sustained head/neck traumawhile they were being handled. Clarification from J & S regarding the number and causes ofmortalities is pending.

Stan Palmer stated that, in consultation with Dr. Alexander, he had taken five horses for whichthere was no apparent cause of death to the Mississippi Board of Animal Health lab in Jackson,

Mississippi for necropsies, but he had not yet received the necropsy reports. Mr. Palmer saidthat preliminary information from Dr. Alexander suggested that E. coli , salmonella, orsepticemia may have been associated with one or more of the animals deaths and that sandimpaction appeared to be cause of death for one of the horses.

At the visit I requested all veterinary records. Stan Palmer then placed a telephone call to Dr.Alexander in my presence and requested he forward me copies of the necropsy reports,euthanasia documentation, and a summary report of the treatment he had provided. Receipt ofthese documents is pending.

A preliminary review during the site visit of the records provided indicated that as of November20, 2013, five individuals had adopted horses. A total of 192 entries were listed for horse necktag/microchip numbers on the five completed adoption application agreements with the stated

purposes for the adoptions as follows:

Adopter Location Number of

neck tag/microchip entries Purpose of adoptionCushing, AL 47 bucking

Magnolia, MS 33 break, train, sale, breed,and bucking stockJasper, AL 56 bucking and ridingCalera, AL 29 bucking

Greenville, AL 27 bucking and ridingOf these five adopters, Stan Palmer stated that and use horses for localrodeos and that likely would train and resell some of the animals. He also statedthat , and participate in east coast rodeos together, usinghorses for both bucking and roping. He believed that these three individuals also planned to

breed some of the mares.

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Following the meeting I toured the J & S corrals. The corral facilities were in good condition.Forty-one horses were visually observed and photographed in the corrals (photographs attached).Fourteen mares were housed in one pen, 16 geldings in two pens, and three mules/hennies in afourth pen. The majority of these animals were in good health/physical condition with one marein fair condition. Seven horses that were in poor body condition and one that was partially blind

were in a fifth pen separated from the other animals. According to Stan Palmer, these poorcondition animals were separated from the others to allow for further treatment, evaluation, andworming under the direction of Dr. Alexander. Mr. Palmer said that he had intentionally notoffered these horses for adoption because of their condition and to provide further care.

All animals in all pens had ample hay and water available. They were also being fed pelletizedfood, and had mineral blocks and a supplemental block (SweetPro16) available to them. Avisual inspection of the hay in the pens and J & Ss stock pile revealed no visible mold.

Follow-up with J & S:

Upon return to my office on December 2, 2013, I re-examined the records provided by J & S inmore detail, including the spreadsheet and adoption application agreements. Data provided forsome horses on the spreadsheet contained errors for the neck tag numbers, microchip numbers,adoption dates, and adoption status when compared to the Refuges master horse data base,statements made by J&S, or the adoption application agreements. While most errors weretypographical in nature (e.g., missing, incorrect, or transposed digits in a microchip number),three horses listed on the adoption agreements were not entered as adopted on the spreadsheetand a horse with neck tag number 114 was not noted as having died in transport, i.e., it was notdelivered to J & S.

Six errors or discrepancies were also apparent in the lists of horses on the adoption agreements asfollows:

1. : horse neck tag number 208 was listed as having the microchip number for horse237.

2. : horse with neck tag number 32 was also listed on agreement.

3. : horse with neck tag number 351 was listed twice.

4. : horse with neck tag number 32 was also listed on agreement; horseswith neck tag numbers 179 and 193 were not shipped to J & S and therefore could nothave been adopted out by J & S; and one horses neck tag and microchip numbers werenot listed.

On December 4, 2013 I contacted Ron Palmer by telephone and reviewed the above errors anddiscrepancies with him. I requested that he provide corrected documentation and/or explanationsas soon as possible including further clarification on mortalities. Receipt of these documents is

pending.

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On December 4, 2013, I also spoke with Dr. Alexander by telephone, and then sent him a follow-up email, requesting all veterinary records related to horses at J & S including necropsy results,euthanasia documentation, horse care and treatment, etc. As noted above, receipt of thesedocuments is pending.

Follow-up with Adopters:

Beginning on November 2, 2013 and immediately following the site visit, I contacted the fiveadopters that had adopted horses in order to verify horse disposition and information provided byJ & S. Attached are summaries of this follow-up and my conclusions related to each adopter.

Other Items Discussed During the Site Visit:

During my meeting with J & S, Stan Palmer stated that the Mississippi Board of Animal Health

had recently conducted an inspection of his facility because of the number of horses that were present and because J & S is a registered livestock dealer. At my request, Mr. Palmer telephonedMr. Ronnie White (Mississippi Board of Animal Health) and requested a copy of any inspectionreport that may have been completed following his visit. Ron Palmer then provided me copies oftheir Dealer Registration certificate dated 11/05/2010 and contact information for the Board ofAnimal Health. To date I have not received an inspection report.

Stan Palmer stated that local horse advocates including had beendriving by his property taking photographs of the horses. According to Mr. Palmer,

had followed one of the adopters as far as Monroe, Louisiana while wastransporting adopted horses home. Apparently, Mr. Palmer then contacted the local countysheriff and filed a complaint.

Stan Palmer also stated that he had received several threats of bodily harm, especially on socialmedia sites and the internet regarding J & Ss role in placing Sheldon NWR horses. Accordingto Mr. Palmer, one individual had threatened to castrate and shoot him. Because of these threats,Mr. Palmer had contacted Law Enforcement Officer Scott Peace, a Special Agent with theBureau of Land Management in Mississippi, so that he was aware of the issue.

Preliminary Conclusions:

As of December 12, 2013, the following preliminary conclusions are supported and consist withthe results of the site visit described above and follow-up conducted with the five adopters asdescribed in the attached documents:

1) In 2013, J & S had placed Sheldon NWR horses for adoption with five individuals by November 20. The primary stated purpose for the adoptions was for use as bucking/rodeo stock, an acceptable placement option under the terms of the Servicescontract with J & S.


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2) As required by the contract, J & S has demonstrated a reasonable effort to screen potential adopters and has maintained, albeit not error free, documentation for eachadopter. They have provided to the Service completed and signed adoption applicationagreements for each adopter that state the goals of the adoption program; ensures that theadopter is aware of and agrees that adopted horses are not to be sold at auction or for

slaughter; includes a general description of the adopters experience with horses, facilitiesavailable to house horses, and a stated purpose for the adoption; and lists the horsesadopted.

3) As required by the contract, while corrections/explanations for a few errors anddiscrepancies are pending, J & S has maintained and provided records of the dispositionof all horses by microchip number that includes the name, address and telephone numberfor each adopter. General information regarding deaths and euthanasia has been

provided; specific information is pending receipt of veterinary records from Dr. JimmieAlexander.

4)

As required by the contract, horses under the care of J & S have been and are being caredfor properly with access to appropriate food, water, mineral blocks and veterinarian care.

5) As required by the contract, poor condition horses requiring extra care have beenseparated from other animals and are under the care and treatment of a veterinarian.


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Photographs taken at J & S during the site visit, November 20, 2013

Mares:


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Mares, continued:


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Geldings:


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Geldings, continued:


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Mules/hennies:


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Separated, poor condition horses:


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Separated, poor condition horses, continued:


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Hay and feed:


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Supplements:


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Water:

Documents

Sheldon 2013 Fws Site Visit Report