Nevada mustangs saved from slaughter by Wellington, Fla. horse advocate
Wellington, Fla. horse advocate, Victoria McCullough stepped up to the plate on Friday in Reno to save 150 mustangs from a probable brutal ending at horse slaughter plants in either Mexico or Canada. A temporary restraining order was lifted on Wednesday by a federal judge despite the protests of horse advocates who claimed the unbranded mustangs are federally protected.
According to ktvn.com, McCullough paid the Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Tribe from northern Nevada $200 per horse – adding up to $29,800.
The horses will be heading to rescues and sanctuaries in Nevada and California.
McCullough’s Triumph Project, named after the rescue of an aged Belgian workhorse, brings awareness to the mistreatment and ultimate betrayal of American horses. The organization continues to advocate for the global awareness of the horses thrown away and routinely sent to slaughter.
This is not the first time McCullough has rescued a large number of horses at one time. On May 23, 2008 the Triumph Project, in conjunction with Pure Thoughts Horse & Foal Rescue in Loxahatchee, Fla., successfully saved every horse at Sugarcreek Livestock Auction in Ohio that was shipping to slaughter that day. In all, 162 lives were saved which included Thoroughbreds from the race tracks, standardbreds, ponies, quarterhorses, Belgians, percherons and donkeys.
Since then the horses have been adopted out to responsible and loving homes, and many proudly display winning ribbons as they continue to excel in local and national horse shows across the United States in various disciplines.
Both the House of Representatives and Senate appropriations committees have already voted to halt all funding for horse slaughter in FY 2014. A request for Congress to prevent tax dollars from supporting horse slaughter was also included.