Fake Killpens:

We come across so many "I saved a horse from slaughter!" posts on social media. 

These are from horse lovers who have purchased a horse from one of the Facebook Killpen pages that had been offered for sale with "will ship on" dates attached to them. But were these horses actually being saved from slaughter? 

The short answer is: NO, these horses were never in the slaughter pipeline until they were purchased for the Facebook Killpen pages. 

Let us give you some background. As of October 22, 2020, since January 1, 2020, a total of 24,315 horses have been shipped to slaughter across the border into Mexico. These horses awaited a horrible fate in a slaughter house that lacks regulation and oversight. Yes, horse slaughter is plain wrong. 

But let's look at this number more closely, from January 1, 2019 through October 22, 2019, a total of 42,838 horses were shipped to slaughter into Mexico. 

That means that slaughter exports are down almost 50% from 2019.  That is a huge move into the right direction toward ZERO horses exported to Mexico for slaughter, which is all of our goal!

You may ask, why then are there all theses so many Facebook Killpen "shipping to slaughter on___" pages popping up all over Facebook? 

With actual slaughter numbers down, kill buyers are struggling for business! Thus, many of them have come up with the following business model. 

1. Offer horses on Facebook Killpen page for sale, with a "shipping to slaughter" date, but at the same time offer relatively cheap transport to various locations, such as to California or to Kentucky or to North Carolina. (see photos below)

2. Sell the horses and then ship a trailer with 10 horses to California, for example. Transportation costs between $550 and $650 to California. In addition to the sale price of the horses, the trailer of 10 horses has a revenue of approx. $6,000 for the round-trip to California and its return to Texas.  

3. Drop off the horses in various locations, including Bakersfield, CA and Atwater, CA (which is near Sacramento, CA). Once the trailer is empty, stop at Don Gates's feedlot and pick up 10 horses to take back to Texas, to be offered on the respective Facebook killpen pages or to run through auctions in Texas. After all, the transport has made a $4,000 profit. 

4. Don Gates (who is also known as Don Gatz - see more below) is one of the most prolific horse traders in the Western U.S. He attends auctions and sometimes purchases ALL of the horses at the auctions, outbidding private homes and rescues in attendance. He does not think twice to outbid a family with a child on a horse or pony. He does not care if the child is crying, he wants that horse or pony. Don Gates attends auctions on Sundays and the killpen drop-off trailers are scheduled for Mondays or Tuesdays, right after the auctions. 

5. Don Gates sells the horses that he specifically bought for the killpen drop-off trailers for $100 above his auction purchase price. On its face, that does not seem to be much, but he sells at least 10 horses that he had for about 24 hours, that is a quick $1,000 profit for him.

6. These 10+ California auction horses are then transported to the respective killpens in Texas and most recently all the way to Alabama. After all, the round trip from TX to CA and back costs $2,000 or less, so taking the 10+ horses back to Texas does not cost anything. Each truck has two drivers who trade off driving and the only stops along the 1,600-mile one-way stretch are to fuel up, use the bathroom or to get something to eat. The transport travels without stops. Yes, that is grueling for the horses, especially in the Summer heat of 110+ degrees. (see photos below)

7. Once arrived at the respective killpens, the horses are sorted out, photographed, videotaped and posted on the respective killpen pages, with a $300 increased price, above what the horse was bought for. Thus, if a horse sold for $600 at a local California auction, it sells for $1,000 on the killpen page. (Remember, Don Gates sold the $1,000 horse for $600 to the respective killpens). (see photos below of some of the horses that went through California auctions and then were sold on the pages)

8. Now the horses are offered again on the Facebook killpen pages with a "shipping to slaughter" date for some well meaning horse lovers to buy the horses and to potentially ship them back to California. 

These horses, that started out in a California auction, with private homes and rescues bidding for them for $400, are now in Texas and can be potentially be purchased by a California buyer for $800 plus $600 of transportation back to California.

So how can we stop this abuse and exploitation? 

STOP BUYING FROM THE FACEBOOK KILLPEN PAGES! 

• Support horse owners in need locally. If they need to home a horse, please help the desperate owner 

• Support your local rescues so that they can take in owner relinquished horses. 

• Support your local rescues that attend auction or safe a horse from auction yourself. 

But PLEASE stop buying horses from the Facebook Killpen pages! You are funding the abuse and exploitation of your local horses by buying from these pages. 

Here are some samples of horses that went through local California auctions and ended up in Texas killpen pages:

Facebook Killpen Pages offering transportation:

Alabama pen owned by Stanley Bros offering transport to Atwater, CA (Don Gates' feedlot)

                                               .  

                        Last Chance Direct Ship Horses owned by Trend Ward in Kaufman, TX

Bowie Pen in Bowie, TX

Who is Don Gates (aka Don Gatz)?

"California horse trader Don Gatz has been buying and selling horses for close to sixty years. Gatz, who operates a cattle & horse feedlot in Atwater, CA, is known to frequent local auctions such as Turlock and Escalon to purchase horses.

Gatz also has a long track record of abusing and neglecting horses. In 2011, Gatz was charged with 30 counts of felony animal cruelty. 30 horses in severe distress had been found on his property, among them 1 horse down/dying without assistance, 1 horse with a large open wound (which had never been treated), and 1 horse with hooves so overgrown that it had difficulty walking. Several others were suffering from strangles infections, had tumors, or were severely emaciated. Of the 30 horses found, 15 had to be euthanized." Source: http://www.animalsangels.org/investigations/horses/premises-don-gatz-atwater-ca-2-27-20