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Horses saved amid truck wreckage on I-44
By Tim O'Neil
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
09/27/2006
ST. CLAIR
They were on a path to certain death, 41 horses and a mule heading in a
tractor-trailer along Interstate 44 to a slaughterhouse near Chicago.
But as the truck rumbled through Franklin County, it hit the median and
toppled to its side - and, despite the wreckage, might have granted an
unlikely reprieve to some of the animals inside.
Hours after the early-morning accident Wednesday, 25 of the horses that
survived the accident, plus the mule, were in an open-air arena that had
been transformed into a bustling animal hospital. The volunteers who
gathered at the St. Clair Saddle Club helped the Humane Society of
Missouri tend to the surviving animals - bandaging cuts, administering
IVs and breaking up bales of hay.
What will be the animals' fate? Earlene Cole of the Humane Society said
the organization would ask that question later. For now, the Humane
Society is trying to obtain custody of the animals so it can offer them
for adoption.
"All I know is the Highway Patrol has made us responsible for them,"
Cole said. "The legalities will get worked out."
All told, 16 horses died or had to be euthanized after the truck drove
into a median near Stanton, and turned onto its side at 3 a.m.
Wednesday. The 26 surviving animals were shuttled 11 miles in small
trailers to the St. Clair Saddle Club.
The animals were being taken from Oklahoma to the Cavel International
Inc. meatpacking plant in DeKalb, Ill., an hour west of Chicago. The
plant, one of three in the United States, ships its products to Europe
and Japan, where Cavel's wares are considered delicacies.
The accident near Stanton, about 60 miles southwest of St. Louis, caused
minor injuries to a passenger in the Freightliner truck cab.
That passenger, Ruth Facinelli, 56, of Greeley, Colo., suffered minor
injuries and was taken to Missouri Baptist Medical Center in Town and
Country, according to the state Highway Patrol. The driver, Richard
Facinelli, 63, also of Greeley, was not injured, a patrol spokesman said.
A spokeswoman for Cavel said the packing house had not yet bought the
horses and had not been contacted by the trader as of late Wednesday
afternoon.
"The horses legally belong to the horse trader that bought them until
they reach the plant," said the spokeswoman, Leslie Gwinn.
Richard Facinelli could not be reached, and his relationship to Ruth
Facinelli was not noted on the Highway Patrol report. It also was
unclear whether Richard Facinelli was the trader or a contract driver.
The patrol is still investigating the cause of the accident.
Cole said the dead horses were transported, along with the wrecked
truck, to a salvage yard near Stanton and were to be picked up by a
rendering plant.
At the Saddle Club, Cole made rounds with a clipboard, keeping track of
horses and offers of help.
Cole, who runs the Humane Society's Longmeadow Rescue Ranch near Union,
Mo., said the Franklin County sheriff's office awakened her with a call
about 3:15 a.m. Cole called some other horse people, who called others,
and soon a crowd of helpers gathered at the accident scene.
Cole said firefighters pried open the roof of the trailer. Eight horses
climbed out, and the rescue workers climbed in.
Dr. Amy Adams, a veterinarian from Wildwood, said the workers had to use
ropes and straps - and, once, a tow-truck winch - to pull horses from
the wreck.
"The scene was pretty bad. We did what we could to save them," Adams said.
Other workers connected portable fencing for an emergency corral in the
westbound highway lanes to keep the horses that awaited rides to the
Saddle Club, where other workers prepared for their arrival.
St. Clair volunteer firefighter Larry Lawrence went straight to the
Saddle Club, where he is president. Lawrence said he and others ran
extension cords and water hoses, and they set up temporary lights. He
said the first horses arrived there shortly after daybreak.
Lawrence and others said they were too busy to think much about the
original destination of the horses. Slaughtering horses for food is a
touchy issue among many animal associations, and the U.S. House of
Representatives on Sept. 7 passed a bill to ban the slaughter of horses
for human consumption. The bill awaits action in the U.S. Senate.
"Some people get real upset about the existence of these
slaughterhouses, " Lawrence said. "It's a hard question. Right now, we
want to ease the pain of these horses. We can't control what happens later."
Cole was trying her best. She arranged for veterinarians to care for the
more seriously injured horses, and she said the rest probably will go to
the shelter she runs. The Humane Society of Missouri issued a statement
saying it would try to obtain custody of the horses.
Cole said anyone who is interested in adopting a horse or in donating to
help pay for the rescue should call 314-802-5712.
toneil@post- dispatch. com 314-340-8132
Best regards,
Cheryl Hanna
Fundraising & Publicity Director
Another Chance 4 Horses
www.anotherchance4horses.com