This Is Not Your Grandma’s Humane Society

Scot Dutcher is standing in the gap between solid investigations of legitimate animal mistreatment and those that are misguided. As a former staffer at the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal Protection, Dutcher was involved in cases involving alleged livestock mistreatment.
 
After 15 years assisting law enforcement in various cases, he has a deep understanding of the state’s animal care statutes as well as the criminal and civil animal neglect statutes.
 
He has created AgNav Consulting to work with law enforcement agencies investigating livestock neglect, to provide training to law enforcement and key farm and ranch employees. Training topics run the gamut from recognizing and determining an animal’s body condition score to basic animal nutrition, to humane euthanasia. Providing training to law enforcement to identify which allegations are legitimate is key, and training regarding the necessary evidence in a legitimate investigation help both producers facing bogus charges and law enforcement faced with differentiating between the two.
 
On-farm assessments are a service Dutcher can provide, offering feedback to owners or managers regarding the placement of no trespassing signage, gates, and things, like sick pens, for example, that would be better located out of sight from a public road. Making simple changes to avoid being a target of extremists can be an effective first step for many operations, especially in Colorado, a state he said is second perhaps only to California in the number of active animal rights extremists and activists.
 
When hiring employees, Dutcher said a simple Google search can provide a look into any connections or interactions an individual could have to animal rights groups, especially on social media. If no data appears at all, that could also be a red flag.

h/t Carrie

8 Replies to “This Is Not Your Grandma’s Humane Society”

  1. If the US is serious about animal neglect they could start by allowing slaughter of horses. They need meat plants to take care of sick and debilitated horses. Animals that are no longer thrifty, suffering from disease.

    Before you flame me out hear me out. There are many horses that get to the end of their years and are left to suffer because it costs money to have a vet put a horse down. Then you have the carcass to dispose of. Believe me this is a bigger problem than you think. A lot of recreational horses fall into this category.

    A meat plant fills a need. I don’t care if horse meat is @.01/lb. People will bring a horse in who’s useful life is over. It’s the humane thing to do.

    The animal rights crowd succeeded in having all the plants close. It was a cruel irony.

    1. Don’t know the first thing about this. I would trust your expert judgement.

      Didn’t ranchers say they shoot, shovel and shut up essentially about anthrax, it must’ve applied to animals as well.

      However with feral horses it’s another ball game. You wrote about this a few weeks ago. Sad situation.

  2. This is a difficult and complex issue.

    I don’t know one rancher who doesn’t get sick to his stomach when he/she has to put an animal down. Nobody likes to do it and if it’s your old rope horse there’s a tear in your eye. My old neighbour once remarked that it is the one thing about ranching that he disliked.

    On a lighter note I’ve got the new Corb Lund cd ‘Agriculture Tragic’ or just Ag Trag – that’s what he calls his music ha . He wrote a song on it based on a story his Mom told him (she’s a ranch girl).

    “Never not had Horses” give it a listen. Or since were on the Ag Trag theme maybe, ‘Everything is Better with some Cows Around’.

    Saturday nite man – Let ‘er Buck! Yahoooo it’s Stampede time

    1. I don’t know one rancher who doesn’t get sick to his stomach when he/she has to put an animal down.

      Every time my parents sent one of their dogs to her final reward, it was a time of great sadness and grief. The house became too empty and too quiet but, after a few weeks, it was filled once again with copious amounts of bark, lick, and wag.

      Their last dog (my canine “stepbrother”) outlived both of them. I arranged to have him adopted after my father died, which means I won’t have to make the decision as to when he’ll join his predecessors. Still, I know I will mourn when his time comes.

  3. I hear you fellas..

    Ever laugh when you should cry?
    I was once in a parking lot in a strip mall where there is an Animal Hospital. Out from the Hospital came a whole family….just bawling their eyes out…. heaving and snorting.

    One could only guess what had happened there. Not pretty. The people were so pitiful. It was the sight of the Dad that seemed a tad funny– but he didn’t care who saw him. They must’ve been a mess for 3 days and nights.

    I should’ve given them my pizza… but I was too hungry and tired.

    1. I remember when the first dachshund in our family died. She was sick for a long time and taking her to the vet for her final departure was the only thing they could do.

      My mother cried frequently for the next few weeks. My father mourned as well, but showed it by sulking.

      1. So sad eh. My doggo went fast like the car he thought he could race! One last time, it didn’t work out for him. No more dogs now.

        I have a beautiful (floral & shrub) garden to feed and weed, it has great colors this year!

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